Davide Casarin

Davide Casarin (G | 197 cm | ’03) ~ Reyer Venice, Italy

Very good showings at the camp for Davide Casarin. He stepped up in the finals and had a few minutes when he was doing everything. What stood out the most at this tournament was his defensive effort and mentality. It looked like he is not scared to go physical against anyone and he had just one goal in mind – how to stop the offensive player. Usually he was successful at it and was amongst the best perimeter defenders at the tournament. Showed versatility on the offensive end too and scored points in many different ways. Was one of the surprises of the camp for me since I have not expected such performances from him before the camp started.

2003 Davide Casarin is seizing the opportunity to be the backup of Stefano Tonut and is using his minutes thanks to high motor and speedy moves. He demonstrates complete and superior technical package for his age as well as a tremendous knowledge of the game (can play also as secondary handler) and a remarkable ability to think out of the schemes. It still has to manage his defensive effort but may not look out of place even in Eurocup.

Played in two games for Venezia in Eurocup in last season already and with no bigger roster changes in the roster from Venezia, a much bigger role is not expected from him this season but should get minutes on more matches in my opinion. Davide is one of the many talented Italian guards that are coming and will be the future of Italian and European basketball. A high IQ guard with a great feel for the game. Shifty, knows how to use his body to manipulate the defender and get to the rim. Due to his size he can absorb contact well and finish under fouls. Also has a good eye for his teammates and can deliver precise passes, especially out of pick & roll situations to the roller. His shoot release could be quicker and also needs to work on his consistency since there were games with some pretty bad misses.  

Davide Casarin (’03), Umana Reyer Venice, 6’5’’, G

17.5pts, 2FG-30.4%, 3FG- 17.9%, FT-67.7%, 5.8rebs, 3.8ast, 3.8stl, 4.8to, 0blks

Another 2003-born on the Italian team, Davide didn’t have his best tournament and was expecting him to have a bit bigger impact on this occasion. Looks stronger from physical standpoint than in the summer, especially upper body which allows him to dominate weaker guards 1 on 1 and compete with success on mismatches when fully engaged. Very crafty guard with swagger in his game, reads the game well taking defenses apart, creative in the lane both distributing the ball from the middle to his friend Nicola getting into the shooting position as well as to slashers.

Tends to make risky decisions; with his passes overcooking or overcomplicating some of them resulting in a high number of TO’s (4.8) as well as forcing shots inside when can’t fully separate, instead of focusing on getting his teammates involved more which resulted in poor – 2FG – 30%. On the other hand, a constant presence in the lane allowed him to check-in at the FT line regularly and was shooting on okay 67%. 3-point shot is still left to be improved, didn’t impress, 17.9% (5/28), couldn’t find the rhythm from behind the arc throughout the whole tournament. Defensively has a lot of good moments mixed with bad ones, when engaged looks very competitive but then when loses focus is not as sharp in rotation and gives up his position way too easy.

Italian backcourt dynamic duo of Davide Casarin & Matteo Spagnolo led the host team all the way to Semi-Finals but fell short against stacked French team. Ended up playing for a bronze medal where they came out on top against Russia to whom they have lost previously in the group phase and secured the place on the podium.

Both Matteo and Davide shared ballhandling responsibilities, have good ball control with either hand, but Davide looks a bit better as a pure ballhandler and distributor shocking his opponents with fakes, good hesitations or very crafty passes on PnR’s and his drives to the basket. Matteo, on the other hand, is more of a combo guard, has a deadly mid-range game, reliable 3 point shot and quickly converts defensive rebounds or steals into rapid drives coast to coast, very good acceleration. He is also a good rebounder for his size, regularly crashes offensive glass, snatches occasional balls away, but on defence often ends up sacrificing box outs to pursue them. Sometimes not focused enough on what his man is doing, as a result, he is getting out of sync with team’s rotation and allows cuts inside for offensive rebounds or easy points. Needs to improve his overall defensive game as he is giving up his position 1×1 too often and is an easy target on mismatches inside not being able to even attempt to disturb opponents.

Despite being a backcourt general and most productive with a ball in his hands, Davide has also shown promising off ball game, getting well to position using screens in catch&shoot situations as well as cutting to the basket from the weak side. Looked competitive as a defender fairly holding his position 1×1, rotating well, playing with effort on mismatches and was also putting up a good fight on the glass. Sometimes likes to take risks with his passes and from time to time is late with his execution ending up turning the ball over. Matteo was recognized with All-Star Five honours after finishing the event as a top scorer and rebounder for the Italian team, averaged 16.3pts, 6.7rebs, 2.6ast, 2.4to’s, 3stl. Davide finished with 15.5pts, 5.3reb, 4.2ast, 3.2to’s.

DAVIDE CASARIN (GUARD, ITALY, 2003) 22pts, 8rebs, 5asts

Son of Umana Reyer Venezia president is a real baller with big balls who already shined vs two years older players at Belgrade AdidasNGT. A bit of an early bloomer but already stands at 6’4, displays tremendous intensity and solid scoring package for a guard. Always around the ball, plug and play kid. Really shots a lot, shows some occassional passing flash but may need to become more balanced between scoring and assisting moving forward.

Davide Casarin / 6’3, 2003 / Reyer Venezia

Italian guard was phenomenal in group stage for Reyer Venezia. Being two years younger than the tournament, he was very comfortable and cold-blooded when he had the ball in his hands. Handles the ball very well but needs to work on creating separation with his crossovers as they are not efficient yet. Size and body looks already enough and it will only get better. Has a tendency to score in bunches quickly, somewhat a microwave at scoring the ball. Fortunately for him, team was got stuck on offense multiple times and then he stepped up. Good outside shooter, there is room for improvement in terms of consistency and shot decisions. Defensive effort and awareness are just OK. Not an athletic player but moves well, he still has a long time ahead of him to improve first step and body strength. Off the dribble he cannot build up lower body balance yet. Vision and passing skills are promising, definitely a player to keep an eye on in the next two years.