Each month our team will pick five players (usually two guards, two forwards and one big) that we think had a month of great performances and that they deserve a spot in our All-Month Team.
The focus won’t be just on the “mainstream/top tier/NBA talent” prospects but we will go deeper and highlight other players as well. We will also try to not repeat the same players every month and we will look for different players that had a breakout month or a really dominant performance.
We are aware that our teams won’t always be perfect and that sometimes a player that had a dominant month will be left out, either because we couldn’t watch his matches or we just weren’t aware of his performances, but we will try our best to not miss on those prospects too many times.
Ajay Mitchell (G | 192 cm | ’02) ~ UC Santa Barbara
Ajay Mitchell had an amazing month of December! UC Santa Barbara won all 7 matches in December and Ajay was the best player in the team. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game but the game against San Diego Christians is skewing his averages because he played only 11 minutes in that match and scored 2 points and dished 5 assists. Without that match, his averages would be 21.3 points, 3.7 rebounds. 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals in six games. Great numbers! The athletic guard displayed his versatile scoring arsenal and the ability to score on all three levels. His driving skills are advanced and he always finds the right angle to attack. There were many pick & roll plays and he created a lot of points for himself or his teammates out of those actions. He was definitely a guard that stood out in December and he deserves a spot in our team.
Hugo Gonzalez (G | 193 cm | ‘06) ~ Real Madrid
The Madrilenian youngster showed glimpses of his pure talent during the December month. Hugo Gonzalez, despite his attitude which hasn’t always been perfect, confirms himself as one of the most complete prospects in the 2006 class. He’s one of the gold pieces of the Real Madrid U18 solid generation that have just won the “Torneo Junior Internacional de Hospitalet”, with Gonzalez as the best performer, beating Baskonia, Barcelona and the other Spanish competitors. December was Hugo’s month since the start, he had a 27+5+6+4 performance on the 4th, in Liga EBA, repeating with a tough one on December 10, with a 16+5+4+5 game. The following day he has been rewarded with one minute of playing time in the ACB with the senior team. What really impresses about his impact on the game is his ability to fill the statsheet with continuity. Hugo Gonzalez combines a soft touch and a great shooting range to a huge feeling for the game that allows him to get boards, steals and good reading both on offense and defense.
Tom Digbeu (G | 195 cm | ‘01) ~ Gries-Souffel
The last month of 2022 confirmed that the choice to join Pro B league was, so far, the best one for Tom Digbeu’s career. He never lacked talent, continuity and the most comfortable context to show up were the missing points in Digbeu’s progress. It seems that the french late-bloomer has finally found his dimension back in his home country: he scored less than 20 points in just one game in the entire December. In 6 games, he averaged 21.2 points on 52.9% from the field, adding 5.2 rebounds and 3 assists, drowning a consistent number of free throws (9.2 per game). His quickness, explosiveness and athleticism look really unstoppable at the second division level, while his shooting from the arc is currently struggling to find consistency (5/22 3FG). Digbeu posted a season high of 27 points on 16th december, when he gained and hit 14 out of 14 free throws. His finishing at the rim has reached an elite level, he’s too strong for his opponents when it comes to get around the basket, Tom gifted the french crowd with some highlight plays like some putbacks, poster dunks and circus layups.
Nikolas Rogkavopoulos ( F | 203 cm | ‘01) ~ Yukatel Merkezefendi Belediyesi
Yukatel Merkezefendi’s Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos (01’) has played 5 games in December and it was one of the most memorable stretches of his career so far which got him a spot in our All-December team. Rogkavopoulos averaged 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1 steal during the month. He shot 50% from the field and 90.6% from the free throw line which is pretty impressive since he’s attempted 6.4 per game. 18th of December could be the highlight day of the month for this team simply because of his phenomenal performance against Fenerbahçe. Rogkavopoulos played with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, leading his team to a win against a top-tier EuroLeague team. His hustle and timing for rebounds, defensive effort against players like Marko Guduric and Dyshawn Pierre and his enthusiasm for driving to the paint and drawing fouls were few of the many things that stood out. He didn’t shoot well behind the 3-point line during the month but got it covered by running in transition both on and off-ball situations, putting on effort not to be limited with catch&shoot plays in half court offense and creating for himself too. Really, really impressive stuff.
Ąžuolas Tubelis ( C | 210 cm | ‘02) ~ Arizona Wildcats
Ąžuolas Tubelis (02’) had a great month for University of Arizona in the NCAA, contributing his team winning 7 of their 8 games in December. Tubelis has averaged 20.7 points and 9.2 rebounds during the month and showed why he’s considered as an mid-second round Draft pick for 2023. He’s at top-5 in averaged points, rebounds and field goal percentage per game amongst Pac-12 players. Tubelis demonstrated his skills on the post offense and transition which he can dribble, find the open man or run the floor. On the defensive end, he is getting better every single game with a lot of interceptions and decent on/off-ball defense. His career-high 4 blocks against Washington in the first game of January also showed that he can become a decent rim protector as well. Tubelis has potential to be an efficient 3-point shooter and stretch the floor, also when he gets the ball behind the 3-point line, his passing ability forces other teams not leave him open around the area. The game against Morgan State which he played with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the win was impressive and the big man definitely deserves a spot in our All-December team.
