GERMAN BBL
NO KILLIAN NO PROBLEM?
Highly touted French prospect decided not to play in 10 team tournament. His team was unexpectedly a revelation of the competition even without true point guard in the roster. Killian was a centerpiece of Ulm before pandemic especially once Zoran Dragic left to Baskonia but as we know numbers and highlights he put didn’t really go together with winning and it’s uncertain whether Ratiopharm would advance to the playoffs at all if lockdown didn’t happen. Hype he has in USA is understandable given how he fits NBA game and tremendous flashes he has shown but occupying top sits in some of the mock drafts seems less obvious especially after Munich contest. Anyways at the end it turned out to be win – win situation for Killian and his employer. Hayes improved his stock dramatically comparing to last summer while Ratiopharm killed two birds with one stone thanks to getting worldwide attention (credit goes to Killian) and also achieving great result (semi-final, without Killian).
Len Schoormann stats (minus eval) are confusing but he really had a solid stretches during the tournament and played a lot (probably forced to be on the court too much) especially later on. At times he lacked confidence, was missing shot badly or even layups but obviously looked the part from physical standpoint and was playing strong defense. I am not really sold on him becoming a full-time lead guard but it still seems like he is underapreciated. Talented guard may play a lot next season on regular basis which might bring him back on the draft radar.
While Ariel Hukporti as usual showed flashes but was already on the way out from Lubu to join Nevezis next season which possibly affected his overall playing time, Jacob Patrick unexpectedly contributed as rotation player for finalist from Ludwigsburg. Son of a coach is a shooter with positional size who displays good basketball IQ and can play within himself. He struggled defensively at times but still was able to survive on the court for much longer stretches than anyone could expect before munich tournament. He looked every bit of top 30 caliber prospect of his generation in Europe.
SPANISH ACB
Surprisingly, Saski Baskonia won the championship in Spain but they deserved it. They played good defense all tournament and showed less nervousness in last minutes of semifinal game vs Valencia and in the finals vs Barcelona. They won both matches with two points difference. Luca Vildoza was the hero of the final match with a nice backdoor cut and with a basket made 3 seconds till the end. Their two prospects, Arturs Kurucs and Miguel Gonzalez, got a few minutes vs Joventut and Kurucs scored 6 points in 15 minutes while Gonzalez scored 2 points in 18 minutes.
Barcelona’s top prospect Leandro Bolmaro had a minor role on the tournament. Got a few minutes vs Joventut and Tenerife. Played much better vs Tenerife, scored 11 points and dished 3 assists in 15 minutes with shooting 3/5 for three.
Real Madrid’s Usman Garuba also didn’t get a lot of minutes to prove himself on the tournament. Played good in defense but was nowhere to be seen in offense in those 17 minutes that he spend on the court
Youngster from Joventut got more minutes. Arturs Zagars got more freedom. Played good in defense, made some flashy moves and passes in offense but hasn’t really had the best tournament shooting wise shooting just 1/12 for three. Solid tournament for Joel Parra too. Showed some of his offensive arsenal with attacking slower bigs with drives or stretching the floor. Was active in rebounding too. Arnau Parrado and Pep Busquets also got some minutes and played well in the time they were on the floor.
Prospect wise, the most interesting team on the tournament was Casademont Zaragoza. Coach Porfirio Fisac gave a lot of minutes to Carlos Alocen, Vit Krejci, Jaime Pradilla and also Aitor Etxeguren and Javier Garcia got some minutes but they haven’t had any bigger role on the court. In the end they won just one of their five matches but first three players proved that they can play on that level and their good performances were recognised by top teams.
Carlos Alocen will return to Real Madrid in next season after spending this season on loan in Zaragoza. Spanish playmaker averaged 8.4 points, 5.0 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 turnovers in 20 minutes over the five game span. He played really smart for his age, made good decisions and read the game well. Elite court vision and passing, run pick & rolls really good.Even though he is still a teenager, he was leading his team very well on the floor.
Jaime Pradilla is probably the biggest “success story” of this tournament. Played for Palencia in second spanish league during the season and got his chance at the final tournament to play for Zaragoza. Showed toughness, fought for rebounds, brough energy, run the floor really well.. was doing everything what you expect from a young big man. Had some good post up moves too. Signed a four year contract with Valencia after the tournament finished.
The third prospect in Zaragoza’s team was Vit Krejci. He showed some good performances too. The versatile and athletic Czech guard was attacking the rim, showed some confidence in his off the dribble shot and dished a few nice assists. Had a big role in defense too, usually guarding the best offensive player or shooter in opponents team.
ISRAEL WINNER LEAGUE
DENI AVDIJA
Israeli prospect besides the game vs Yam Madar in which he looked like someone stole his talent, has been really good since renewal of the season and had bigger role than before pandemic (look at the chart below pre final game). Avdija improved his body even more during lockdown and causes a lot of damage in the post vs well seasoned ripped veterans. He clearly plays with chip on his shoulder and wants to secure another trophy before being drafted. Shooting splits were very promising just after restart but seems like he got back to his regular percentage. Avdija still needs to improve spot up % but with this he is pretty much unfailable in the game of basketball and may never look out of place at any level. With improved face up shot creation he can have complete package and eventually arrive to star status even in NBA given his proven winning mentality and off the charts skillset on both ends of the floor.
YAM MADAR
After the coronavirus halt in Israel, Yam strengthened his position in the starting 5 and quickly reignited his game with every performance better than the previous one, raising his stock considerably. It looked like Hapoel Tel Aviv was preparing an upset for us with Yam on the forefront leading the team in points and assists in the first round. But, after forcing game 3 they couldn’t seal the deal even versus badly wounded Maccabi without Yovel Zoosman and Scottie Wilbekin. Yam was expected to withdraw his name from draft to prepare for another year, but after such an impressive performance in this tournament he could be snatched in the second round. Maintained his image of a pesky, very tenacious and rapid guard and would be arguably one of the best on-ball defenders in the draft. Even managed to terrorize bigger players like Avdija forcing a lot of mistakes, but he still needs to add more muscle to his frame in order to physically compete with the best guards in the world day in and day out. His transition game, smooth touch on finishes and ability to facilitate the ball will nicely translate to another level, but his outside shot is still lacking consistency.
