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.
Wei Lun Zhao (G | 182 cm | 05’) ~ Campus Varese
This Chinese crafty guard had an exciting November month in the Italian 3rd with Campus Varese. Zhao is a small point guard who had the opportunity to showcase his talent at the ANGT held in Varese, and he’s now blowing out in the local senior team. He’s an intriguing playmaker, who lacks of size but can be impactful in various ways: he’s an elite ball-handler and creator, adding to this an improved shooting and passing ability. In the past month he had a 17-14-14-32 streak, in terms of points, against grown men. It seems like Zhao he’s not willing to stop, since he started December with another 20-piece. His best performance was surely on 26th November against Legnano, when he had a losing effort of 32 points, 8 assists and 2 rebounds, but also 2 steals and 3 turnovers, while shooting 4/9 from the 3-point range and scoring only 2 free throws. What really impressed the most was his already developed feeling for the game.
Nadir Hifi (G| 182 cm | 02’) ~ Le Portel
The level of talent in France has always been crazy but this season is kind of different. Of course the main reason of all the LNB hype is “You Know Who” but there are so many other names that should be mentioned more. One of those players is 2002-born prospect Nadir Hifi of Le Portel. Hifi played 4 games in November and averaged 16.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in those games. Hifi is one of the most explosive slashers in Europe right now and his ability to finish around the rim adds up to it. It’s no surprise that he impacts both ends of the floor and tries to be one step ahead of his matchups when you see his quick first step. He might get into foul trouble or get scored against but one thing is for sure, he will do anything not to give anyone easy buckets. One of the most important aspects of his game mentally is that he doesn’t shy away from clutch moments in games and he exactly showed it this month several times. Hifi almost single-handedly kept his team alive against Nancy in the 4th quarter even though it was not enough for them to get the win. His assist numbers are not very impressive but in a different structure, this might change in the future. He has some decision making problems but is on the right track of becoming a decent playmaker and it’s possible that he will be considered as an underrated passer. Hifi shot 34% behind the 3-point line in November which is not so bad but still his most notable weakness that he has to work on. Overall, the 20-year-old Hifi had shined during November and got himself a place in our All-November Team!
Bogoljub Marković (F | 210 cm | ’05) ~ Mega Mis
Bogoljub had a dominant month of November. He was great at the ABA U19 tournament in Zlatibor with averages of 25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 asists and 2.0 blocks in two games while he also showed great performances in Serbian U19 league with averages of 24.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in three games played in that competition in November. As I already mentioned in the U19 ABA League (Zlatibor) recap Marković biggest strength is his fluidly on open court. At this level there are not many players capable of running with him and stopping him in transition. His instincts are advanced and he is a constant mismatch in offense. I expect that he will improve in his shooting during the season and that he will be one of the players to watch at the ANGT in this season.
Saša Ciani (PF/C | 205 cm | ’03) ~ Cedevita Junior
Saša Ciani was one of the best players in Croatian Premier league in the month of November. In the five games played in last month, Saša averaged 16.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.0 steals per game and logged three double-double performances. He exceled in the catch & finish role or as a screen setter and roller in pick & roll actions. Saša showed a dominant presence in the paint on both ends and was very efficient when he received the ball. He was shooting 37/50 (74.0 %) from the field in November and was usually at the right place to grab the rebound. He protected the paint well but sometimes got lost when he defended in open space on perimeter. Definitely a good month for Saša Ciani and that got him the spot in our All-November team.
Victor Wembanyama (F/C | 221 cm | 04’) ~ Metropolitans 92
The French wonderkid lived and played another month as a superstar and in November he was even better than before. Wemby is carrying his team to second place in the French league, while he was also selected – and played a major role – in the French national team, scoring 39 points combined in 2 games (the only two games in November in which he didn’t score 30+ points). With his club, he had two 30-point games and a season-high of 33 in the LNB and he is the early favorite to be the MVP of the competition. The potential #1 pick demonstrated how his one-leg deep three-pointer is not a random shot and he started to hit those kind of shots a bit too frequently to be still considered an accident. We’re all witnesses.
