Note: Players are in order of how I value them as NBA prospects. I acknowledge that I haven’t seen these guys in any other settings, so this is my evaluation of them based solely on this tournament.
Filip Petrusev
- Very quick decision maker, played very effectively out of the short roll with some nice assists
- Threw a ton of very accurate high low passes for layups
- Saw the whole floor and hit the opposite corner of post when doubles came
- Strong player, forced a ton of fouls and got deep position with his seals for post ups on the inside
- Overpowered opponents in the post, very physical, sought out contact
- Very good throwing high low passes to his fellow big man
- Fluid athlete who gets up well off two feet in traffic, had some nice dunks in traffic
- Showed some touch from the midrange
- Good footwork in the post
- Not a 3pt shooter at all yet, completely ignored from out there
- Very quick reactions on defense, instincts
- Active on the offensive glass, great motor
- Okay switching on the perimeter, beat a couple times but didn’t look out of place, mobile
- Offered some rim protection, not big enough to be a great drop big in PnR regularly
- Had good recovery speed when he did hedge
- Rim protection wasn’t great but he provided some resistance, out of position a couple times but tried to help, bothered some shots
Takeaway: The best player at this event. Think he’s got great potential, especially if he can develop a 3pt shot (which I think is possible). A good athlete, great feel for the game, plays really hard. Should be a good help defender and has potential to be adequate switching on the perimeter.
Luka Samanic
- Lacked physicality in every aspect of the game
- Avoided contact on finishes, doesn’t have strong frame
- Didn’t get off the ground well through contact
- Was pushed around on the defensive glass too often, combination of lack of aggression and strength.
- Was pushed so far off the block on all of his post up attempts, didn’t fight for position. Got knocked off balance by Arturs Zagars a couple times even (small PG)
- Not a great rim protector, doesn’t have great athleticism, girth to wall up well
- Most of his blocks came on ball, rather than from help side
- Poor positioning in rim protection as well, stepped too high a couple times, took poor angles, was late reacting on the back line
- Had decent block numbers but was scored over regularly
- Had mixed results switching on the perimeter. Guards got into the paint off him when he pressed up, but he recovered well enough to contest/prevent shot
- Several times he played too far off on switches, couldn’t contest shooters well
- Not the best positioning in PnR drop coverage, showed too high and allowed pass to big
- Aggressive help defender, led to some good contests, but more often left him out of position on shooter
- Great rim runner, really ran well in transition
- Go to move in the post was spin baseline and reverse, got that several times
- Not a very refined post game, right hand dominant, refused to use left even when it was obvious he should
- Lacked the lower body strength to be on balance for his finishes when defenders got into his body
- Doubled in the post regularly, was either an opportunity double or teams really respected his post game
- Passing out of the post was mostly poor, got better dealing with doubles but looked flustered, several turnovers, slow reads, would often pass out of it to reset, not making incisive passes
- Improved and started hitting weakside corner with passes, but those got predictable and stolen a couple times
- Flashed some Pick and Pop potential, had a couple very smooth attempts. Shot well from outside overall
- Doesn’t bend his knees much on his jumper, had some bad misses
- 3pt shot allowed him to attack closeouts very effectively, good first step for a big man and had the fluidity for some nice perimeter drives for dunks
- Good hands and finishing in traffic, mostly finesse finishes, not exploding vertically in traffic without a running start and time to load up
Takeaway: I’m not a big believer in his combination of skills. Not going to protect the rim or switch well at the NBA level. Has some intriguing offensive skills with his perimeter shooting and ability to attack closeouts. Didn’t think his offensive skillset was well rounded enough (no left hand, bad passing, limited post game). Was getting visibly frustrated and flustered. He can add strength, but will he add toughness and physicality? Has some rare skills at his size but has to fix some of his warts.
Nikita Mikhailovskii
- Thought his shot looked much better than his shooting percentages
- Most of his misses were short but on line, needed more arc on his shot, good rotation
- Stepback move created space for jumpers, and he converted some
- Willing shooter, took some tough looks late in the clock creating in iso, lowered his 3pt%
- Great cutter, came in from the weakside corner regularly for reverse layups/dunks
- Got some offensive rebounds in traffic, including a nice tip slam over a defender
- Good athlete when he has time and space, showed some nice dunks in the open floor
- Ran the floor well in transition to fill lanes
- Very good handle, had the ball on a string
- Very creative player with some shake, liked eurosteps and behind the back moves, spins
- Struggled with pressure from French guards
- Doesn’t have great burst on his drives, can get to the rim but not great at getting separation, got stripped/blocked a couple times on drives
- Showed good touch around the basket in general
- Decent passer, started to make plays out of the PnR in the Lithuania game when he got hot
- Threw some nice lobs, also forced some passes weakside, not a high level creator but a capable one
- Competed on defense but has limited lateral quickness
- Fought back to get into plays when he got beat
- Not good at navigating screens, took too long for him get over screens
- Had some good steals pressuring DHOs, active in passing lanes
- Hustled back in transition to break up some baskets
- Crashed the defensive glass hard, good athleticism off two feet
Takeaway: Has some creation upside with his handle and shake going to the basket. Played a year up in competition and stood out, one of the better athletes in the tournament to go with a good skill level. Needs to show he’s a better shooter than this but I think he’s capable. Needs to add strength, not the biggest frame. Guy to watch for sure.
Artus Kurucs
- Great looking 3pt shot, both off the dribble and spotting up, gets good elevation
- Has some midrange game with pullups out of PnR and with floaters, not amazing but in his arsenal at least
- Doesn’t have great burst to turn the corner on defenders, not an iso player
- Can attack well off closeouts and in PnR, needs to be given an advantage and then he can do something off the bounce
- Used some hesitation and eurostep on his drives
- Struggled mightily to finish at the rim, has poor flexibility, vertical, touch
- Was fast with the ball in the open floor but very poor athleticism off one foot at full speed
- Got to the rim a surprising amount actually with his willingness to attack the rim out of PnR, off closeouts, or in transition
- Very good distributor out of PnR, made quick decisions and saw the whole floor well
- Wasn’t as reckless with the ball as Zagars, made safer decisions while still creating offense
- Very good cutter off the ball, cut into open spaces for easy baskets
- Had a couple impressive offensive boards, showed some athleticism getting up in traffic
- Was very active on the defensive glass, always looking for something to do on the court, crashed hard and had some athleticism off two feet
- Really good navigating screens on defense
- Mixed bag with on ball defense, had some really nice sequences where he locked up drivers in isos, other times he got beat badly on closeouts, overall he was a plus
- Fought hard in the post on defense
- Great hustle a couple times in transition defense
- Stayed attached to ballhandlers’ hips getting over screens in PnR defense
- Great rotations on the weakside to tag rollers and deter passes inside
- Showed good length to strip some ball handlers and get some steals playing passing lanes
- Very sound defensive player with some tools (strong, length, fast in a straight line)
Takeaway: Kurucs is intriguing to me, I think he’s bigger than 6’3” (maybe he just plays like it). He could really be something if he figures out how to finish at the rim at all. Has great shooting, passing, decision making, rebounding, valuable defender. He checks a lot of boxes but won’t cut it in the NBA if he can’t attack the rim at all. I think he could be a secondary creator who can play with a wing initiator. Definitely a guy to track.
Arturs Zagars
- Has a variety of effective ball handling moves to go with adequate quickness
- Used eurosteps, crossovers, hesitations, off foot layups, scoop layups, and pass fakes to avoid defenders. Very creative
- Very small frame, listed at 6’3” (wouldn’t be surprised if that was generous), didn’t look very long, not strong
- Struggled finishing at the hoop against contests, tried acrobatic finishes, got too fancy at times, doesn’t have the frame/athleticism to challenge shot blockers. Has nice touch on difficult shots though
- Shied away from shots at the rim at times, opted to pullup or dribble out of them
- Big threat pulling up from 3 when defenders go under the screen in PnR
- Versatile 3pt shot off the dribble and off screens, very confident and compact stroke
- Did well to bend the defense toward him and dime up shooters on the weakside
- His size and strength limited some of his passing angles, very ambitious passer who will turn it over trying to pass through tight windows
- Gambles a ton on defense, will leave his man completely to go for the steal at times when player with the ball turns their back. Led to a lot of steals, but also really compromised the defense
- Didn’t stick out as someone who was getting beat regularly off the bounce
- Competed, had a nice chase down block in transition
- I liked his toughness, fought bigs in the post, set some nice back picks
Takeaway: Very creative guard who has a ton of playmaking potential in Europe. I question if his size/athletic limitations will prevent him from being an NBA quality player. He’ll need coaching that will be patient enough for his boom or bust approach on offense and defense. He’s not going to be switchable at the NBA level on defense as will and could be a liability. He’s someone to track, his skill level is very high for a player his age but he needs to refine some of his decision making to limit his mistakes.
Marko Pecarski
- Absolute bruiser down low. Played so hard and was too strong for any opposing big man
- Great hands catching passes in traffic
- Terrific touch on the inside
- Drew so many fouls with his physical play
- Scored a lot off deep seal postups
- Great timing on cuts, master of creating passing angles and being in the right spot for easy baskets
- Not a pure shooter but showed the capability to hit the 3 in this tournament
- Wasn’t as good from midrange, would’ve had better shooting %’s by taking less
- Overextended himself a couple times with his handle and creation abilities
- Total beast on the offensive boards with how hard he played
- Didn’t defend well on the perimeter in space, poor lateral speed, won’t be able to switch
- Not very long, not a vertical athlete either, limited rim protector
- Didn’t impact plays at the rim or make plays out of his area
- Number of plays where he was in position to step in to stop a drive and didn’t for whatever reason
Takeaway: Totally dominated this tournament, but I question how much improvement he has left. Not going to be this physically superior at professional level. Not a rim protector and can’t switch on defense, how is he going to guard PnRs? Offensively he’s got some perimeter game but won’t be as effective on the glass or finishing inside. Probably more of a high level European Pro player than an NBA player in my opinion.
Joel Ayayi
- The best touch on floaters I’ve ever seen for a player this young
- Perhaps a bad sign that he has to settle for so many floaters instead of getting to the hoop, but he was burning drop PnR coverage badly in the midrange
- Average 3pt shooter, took them confidently
- Pullup jumper was his go to move in iso situations even against bigs
- Doesn’t have great quickness or shake to his driving game to get by defenders
- Bad finisher around the basket, doesn’t elevate off one foot, below the rim finisher
- Good frame, length, strength
- Can attack closeouts effectively but will usually try finesse finishes at the hoop (reverses)
- Not a good playmaker, poor reads, off target passes, didn’t see the floor well, poor feel for passing and timing
- Very inconsistent defender
- Has good lateral quickness, strength to body up, length to contest
- Locked up some drivers in iso situations
- Has good hands and can really pressure up, forced a bunch of turnovers in the press
- Had some possessions where he just didn’t seem to be trying, not in a stance, allowed easy straight line drives
- Blocked a spot up 3 on a closeout, makes plays when he wants to
Takeaway: Don’t feel good about his NBA potential. Not a great shooter, not a good enough ball handler to use his floater a lot, poor passer. Will have to be an off the ball player in the NBA. His defense could be a plus at the NBA level, but I worry about his motor/intensity. Should be a very good college player at Gonzaga, but not a likely NBA player. Gonzaga’s great player development system may be able to improve his skill level/feel.
Mattia Palumbo
- Extremely high skill level
- Post up skill, some touch on post push shot, spin move baseline, good feet
- Good start and stop ball handler, some shake to his game
- Great handle in the open floor, looked to push often and weaved in between traffic very well
- Hang dribbles, crossovers, and a very effective spin part of his main off the dribble arsenal
- Played some PG at 6’6”, brought the ball up and ran a ton on PnR
- Plays at a different pace, keeps his man in jail off the bounce
- Was able to create space with stepbacks and crossovers for his jumper
- Can hit the roll man in PnR, sees over the defense, can make passes from angles others can’t
- Drew a ton of attention as a ballhandler and created opportunities for his teammates
- Very turnover prone, threw some overambitious passes
- Used body on drives to shield the ball on his finish attempts
- Very confident shooter, but didn’t have the results to match that confidence
- Shot a ton off the dribble and in iso situations, hit some impressive shots after advanced dribble moves
- Several moving parts on his shot, doesn’t look smooth
- Doesn’t get a ton of lift on his shot and shoots off balance too often
- Below average finisher at the rim, just okay touch and doesn’t have the physical tools to finish over help from opposing big
- Very adept at drawing FTs and forcing contact
- Not a great athlete vertically, but does have a very quick second jump
- Really competed on the glass, nose for the ball and even showed some good technique boxing out bigger players
- Poor on ball defender, competes but lacks the lateral quickness to stick with more athletic wings
- Especially struggles fighting through screens, doesn’t navigate them effectively
- Doesn’t have exceptional length or size to contest jumpers on the wing
- Good hands, stripped some ballhandlers
- Very aware help defender however, did his job and made rotations
- Bumped rollers from the weakside
- Rotated in the help, anticipated well, even blocked some shots on the inside
Takeaway: Doesn’t look like an athlete by any stretch but did athletic things (rebounded, got steals, got to the line). Really high skill level for a player his size, can do so much with the ball in his hands. It is notable that he suffered an injury in his 2nd game and missed one game with injury, it’s fair to wonder if that injury limited his play for the rest of the competition. He’s a bad on ball defender but smart off the ball. Probably won’t work defensively but the ball handling, passing, and rebounding have me intrigued. I think the shot is workable, that’s the key to making his game work.
Sasha Grant
- Very young player for this competition
- Looked among the most physically gifted there, strong base, absorbs contact well
- Fluid athlete that moves very well in a straight line
- Active on the offensive glass, good vertical off 2 feet, played through contact
- High pointed the ball well in traffic, long arms
- Poor handle, no change of direction or shiftiness
- Attacked some closeouts with straight line drives, capable first step
- Robotic looking 3pt shot, needs much more development here, but not a complete non-shooter
- Inconsistent on ball defender but has great potential here
- Too upright in his defensive stance, reacted a little slow sometimes
- Strong chest that doesn’t get knocked back with contact, slides well laterally when he gets low and is ready to react
- Didn’t stand out either way in off ball defense, didn’t make many mistakes or impactful plays
- Rarely tried to create his own offense, but struggled when asked to, no creativity
Takeaway: Age makes him less of a finished product, projectable role player. Could be a good 3 and D prospect to track for the future, highly doubt he’ll develop any advanced creation ability. Frame and athleticism give him the chance to develop into a good defender. Coaching will be huge in maximizing his defensive potential.
Timothe Crusol
- Under the radar guy that I really like
- Might’ve had the best feel passing out of PnR in the tournament, super advanced decision making
- Used hesitation moves to hold the big’s attention in PnR, found the roll man with delayed passes
- Saw the whole floor in PnR, making advanced reads, assist numbers didn’t do him justice
- Split the PnR several time, nice handle, plays at different speeds
- Not a great athlete but not a bad one either, got up for a dunk in transition
- Got to basket and forced help in some iso situations, made good passes out of it
- Couldn’t hit a jumper, shot it confidently, didn’t see anything wrong form wise but his shooting percentages make it hard to defend his shooting
- Not a flexible athlete at the rim but could use his hesitation moves and passing threat to finish at the rim a couple times
- On ball defense was actually pretty good, not the longest or the quickest but he competes, he’s physical, anticipates well
- Wasn’t beat off the dribble much
- Showed some good help instincts on defense, did his job, tagged roller, contested vertically in help
Takeaway: Has next level feel for a PG with some decent size and adequate athleticism. Needs to be able to shoot, but he can really play out of PnR. Played a year up in this competition, so has more time to develop. He’s a guy I would keep an eye on, more of a sleeper.
Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos
- Absolute gunner, took some really tough shots and made a bunch of them
- Took a ton of 3s off screens, has a really versatile shot, will shoot with a hand in his face
- Hit some deep pullup 3s and some stepbacks as well
- His perimeter game set up his driving, attacked closeouts and attacked when his man was trailing him off screens
- Not an athlete, won’t get off the floor vertically but he’s fast running off screen
- Has some touch around the hoop on difficult shots
- Got to the line well, created contact and exaggerated it when he got it
- Had some good cuts, good sense of how to use screens (fade or curl)
- Couldn’t turn the corner on his man in iso situations, usually settled for jumpers
- Good footwork on some of his finishes at the hoop (eurostep and nice post spin move)
- Shot selection was terrible, forced some shots that had no chance of going in
- Struggled facing ball pressure, didn’t look comfortable with his ballhandling and turned it over a couple times when he faced better athletes
- Threw some nice passes in transition and to cutters, didn’t create much out of PnR but can be a ball mover when he wants to
- Bad on ball defender, looked like a traffic cone at times, had no chance in isos against France’s athletic guards
- Didn’t compete when bigger players posted him up, little resistance
- Hit the defensive glass pretty hard
Takeaway: Rogkavopoulos likely isn’t good enough to replicate his gunning style in the NBA. He has great shooting ability but he’s not a diverse enough offensive weapon to make up for his massive defensive deficiencies. He’ll be targeted repeatedly with his lack of footspeed and strength, hard to run a switching defense with him on the floor. His ability to run off screens is intriguing, but he’ll have no slashing or post game. He’s not a lost cause but it’s far less likely that he makes it to the NBA than the previous 3 players I’ve mentioned. It should be noted he’s only 17.
Deividas Sirvydis
- Versatile 3pt shot, very quick release
- Can shoot off the move/off screens
- Doesn’t need much space to get his shot off
- Very fast running off screens and receiving DHOs, can create separation without the ball
- Not much of a PnR creator but can make good decisions coming off DHOs and screens with an advantage
- Pushes very hard in transition, fast with the ball in his hands, not an advanced ballhandler though
- Not very effective attacking the rim in the halfcourt, prefers to shoot floaters
- Doesn’t have the shake to create in iso situations, needs an advantage to get all the way to the rim
- Below the rim finisher
- Plays very hard on defense, active in passing lanes, makes good rotations
- Liked to pressure ballhandlers even fullcourt sometimes
- Not the fastest change of direction on defense, beat on some cuts and closeouts
- Not a strong frame, knocked back when drivers put their shoulders into him
- Not very switchable, not terribly long and doesn’t have the lower body strength to hang with bigs
Takeaway: Good off ball player but doesn’t have the frame you’d like to see at the NBA level. Doesn’t have any creation ability with the ball in his hands but does provide some off-ball gravity. Defensively its highly unlikely he’ll be able to compete at the NBA level, needs to add some strength. His strengths aren’t good enough to outweigh his weaknesses, not one of the top tier prospects in this tournament.
Rokas Jokubaitis
- Very poor athlete
- Tried several times to turn the corner in iso situations and was unable to
- Poor finisher at the rim, his man is usually on his hip and the help is still there, leads to some no chance finish attempts
- Got to the point where he was passing up looks at the rim he should’ve been taking
- Used his pullup midrange jumper a bunch, has a good release point, has good touch
- Strong frame that absorbed contact well and knocked back defenders to create space
- Shrewd PnR operator, either hit the roll man or pulled up from midrange most of the time, patient
- Saw the whole floor very well, used his eyes to manipulate defender
- Poor elevation off one foot, but gets good elevation on his jumper
- Very good spot up shooter, can play effectively off ball
- Total turnstile on the defensive end. Some of the worst lateral footspeed you’ll see
- Got beat very easily off the dribble in iso situations
- His closeouts were almost always beat off the dribble
- Doesn’t have great size or length
- Doesn’t navigate screens well, can’t change directions well
Takeaway: Not a dynamic enough creator despite being very crafty. Midrange game is a plus but tough to see how he’ll operate effectively as the primary ballhandler. Total defensive liability, not going to be able to guard anybody at the NBA level. Not an NBA prospect to me, doesn’t meet baseline athleticism threshold.
Karlton Dimanche
- Out of control 90% of the time
- Can get to the rim but has no idea what to do when he gets there
- Missed several open teammates
- Was such an outlier athlete in this setting that he could beat his man basically at will, but awful decision maker when he did create advantages
- Bad touch at the rim, could elevate but had some terrible misses
- Doesn’t have a very strong frame, would bounce off contact
- Tried several lobs that never connected to big men, off target
- Total non-shooter from the perimeter, not confident, slow release, low release point, really high arc, like a catapult
- Great length and pressured up well in the backcourt, got a ton of steals in France’s press (3.9 spg)
- Great sliding laterally
- Made a ton of mental mistakes on defense, went under on shooters, didn’t help on back screens
- Didn’t seem engaged consistently defensively
- Had a couple chances to step in to protect the rim, just straight up chose not to
- Very active in the passing lanes
Takeaway: Has great athleticism, but not much skill. His basketball IQ is really low even for this level. Besides on ball defense (when he’s locked in) and beating someone off the bounce, his other skills are so far away from NBA caliber. Has so many holes in his game that it seems highly unlikely he figures it out.
Kenny Baptiste
- Long frame, NBA body type
- Weak without much strength
- Bit on every pump fake around the basket
- Great changing ends in transition, very fast
- Poor handle, not tight
- Weird rotation on his 3pt shot
- Go to move with the ball was a one dribble pullup into a contest, had some terrible misses, poor feel and not a good shooter
- Has the length to bother shooters on the perimeter
- Deflected a lot of passes with his length
- Had some good putbacks at the hoop, very active on the offensive glass and good motor
- Poor post defense, not the quickest reaction and fell for fakes
Takeaway: Not close to an NBA prospect right now. Has some good tools and a good motor but his skill level and feel are very poor even at this level. Not really a guy worth tracking to me.
BBall Vibes and Stuff 