Menu

Reebok Eurocamp Summary, Part Two

Reebok Eurocamp Summary, Part Two
Jun 12, 2009, 02:16 am
All measurements are the official ones taken at the Reebok Eurocamp. Listed heights are in shoes.



Slava Kravtsov, 6-11, 7-2 ½ wingspan, 235 pounds
BC Kyiv, Ukraine, 1987


Likely the most interesting player at this camp as far as the big men are concerned, Slava Kravtsov did an excellent job putting his intriguing physical tools on display, showing very nice potential for the future. Kravtsov’s main appeal lies in his good frame, above average athleticism and strong 7-2 ½ wingspan and 9-3 standing reach. In some of the games here he was able to make his presence felt in a major way, while in others it seemed like he was sleep-walking, which has been a major issue for him throughout his career. When on, Kravtsov was a force on the offensive glass, coming up with a number of emphatic put-back dunks. He was also an active presence rotating from the weakside, blocking shots and altering others, even trailing his man and coming up with a terrific rejection in transition at one point.

Offensively he looked very limited, not always looking ready or interested in catching passes, and showing very little in the ways of footwork or perimeter shooting ability. It’s unlikely that any team would be all that interested in him for what he offers on this end of the floor. Regardless, Kravtsov is a good candidate for a team picking in the second round to draft and stash overseas for a few years to see how he continues to develop. Despite already being 22 years old, he still has plenty of upside left to grow into, and if he can find a way to improve his feel for the game and consistently be more aggressive in his approach on the floor, he could develop into an interesting player.


Joe Ingles, 6-8 ¼, 6-10 ¼, 215 pounds
South Dragons, Australia, 1987


Coming off some strong NBA workouts in the States, and primed for a breakout performance, things didn’t work out all that well for Australian Joe Ingles, who really had a tough week. Ingles’ perimeter shot wasn’t falling for him right from the get-go—partially due to poor shot-selection, but also because of the fact that he seemed to lose his confidence after he had a few open looks rim out. It wasn’t hard to see the talent—Ingles is an above average athlete with great size for the small forward spot, is capable of creating his own shot and seems to have good court vision, but he wasn’t able to put that together here in Treviso. He seemed to fall in love with his pull-up fade-away jumper, not attacking the rim very frequently and avoiding contact when he did. At some point he started getting frustrated and seemed to force the issue. Defensively Ingles seemed limited guarding the perimeter, and there are plenty of question marks regarding his ability to defend his position at the NBA level. Ingles is likely a better player than he was able to show here in Treviso, but considering how little he’s been seen by NBA teams in his native country of Australia, it’s not quite clear what this does to his draft stock.


Nemanja Gordic, 6-3 ¾, 6-5, 194 pounds
Buducnost, Montenegro, 1988


After a very impressive season in the Adriatic league and Eurocup, Nemanja Gordic didn’t really play up to expectations here in Treviso, struggling somewhat to make his presence felt on both ends of the floor. Gordic was fairly turnover prone and didn’t make shots at a very good rate, showing average decision making skills while appearing to play too fast and out of control. While Gordic clearly has better potential than most guards here thanks to his good size for either guard spot and above average athleticism, he needs to continue to gain experience and become a more polished all-around player. He is supposedly on the market, but was rumored to have turned down a 4-year, 2 million dollar offer from Tau Vitoria that would have included a 600,000 buyout to his Buducnost team.


Daniel Hackett, 6-5 ½, 6-4 ¼ wingspan, 210 pounds
USC, Italy/USA, Draft-Eligible


Hackett was somewhat up and down throughout the week, showing his nice potential as a defender and big combo guard, but also struggling with his shot-selection and decision making at times. Hackett was an aggressive driver as usual, showing nice footwork and a powerful first step on the pick and roll, but he didn’t always seem to be on the same page with his teammates, turning the ball over a little more than you’d hope. It’ll take him some time to learn the European game most likely, and this camp probably didn’t do a great deal for his draft stock considering how well known his strengths and weaknesses as a college player already were. He has a multi-year deal in place with Benetton Treviso, but has an NBA opt out in his contract he can exercise should he get drafted and offered a deal.


Semen Shashkov, 6-8 ¾, 6-10 ¼, 212 pounds
CSKA Moscow, Russia, 1989


Shashkov had a fairly average showing at this Eurocamp, again looking too passive and raw offensively to really make his presence felt on a consistent basis, and again waiting until the very last day to show the small glimpses of potential that keeps people interested in his progress. A 6-9 perimeter player with a great frame and nice athleticism, Shashkov is impressive from a physical standpoint. He can attack the basket with big, long strides, but lacks the ball-handling skills or aggressiveness to really take advantage of this part of his game, looking mostly to play off the ball, shooting 3-pointers or finishing at the rim, with very little coming in between. His feel for the game remains average, and it doesn’t seem like he’s made all that much progress from last year to this. Shashkov has the tools to be a very good defender, even if his effort and motor seems inconsistent at times. Still a young player at just 19 years old, Shashkov would probably be well served going to a team where he can see consistent playing time this upcoming season.


Fernando Raposo, 6-9 ½, 6-10 ¼ wingspan, 225 pounds
Pau Orthez, Portugal/Germany, 1989


Despite coming off a pretty strong season in the French league with Pau Orthez, Fernando Raposo had an up and down performance at this year’s Eurocamp. While his physical tools are clearly excellent for European basketball—he shows strong athleticism to go along with good size and a nice frame—Raposo looks like a fairly raw prospect at this juncture, which isn’t a shock considering that he’s just 19 years old. Raposo makes most of his impact around the paint, where his quickness and leaping ability allow him to make plays on occasion, particularly on the offensive glass. His skill-level is very underdeveloped offensively, though, as he has little to no footwork and is a poor shooter once he steps outside the paint. Defensively he has good potential but seems to rely too much on his instincts, not looking like someone who possesses a great deal of experience at this juncture, which is exactly the case. Raposo is probably a long-term prospect who teams may need to look at in two years when he becomes draft-eligible, depending on how he progresses, particularly in terms of developing his frail frame.


Luigi Datome, 6-8 ¾, 6-10 ¼, 203
Lottomatica Roma, Italy, 1987


Fresh off a breakout season in the Italian league, where he was a major contributor on a strong Lottomatica Roma team, Luigi Datome didn’t have quite as good a performance in this Eurocamp as he may have hoped considering his experience-level. Datome was aggressive offensively, sometimes overly so, settling for some very difficult off-balance shots from mid-range and beyond the arc. His ball-handling skills looked limited, particularly with his left hand, which didn’t stop him from driving straight into traffic at times. He also struggled quite a bit trying to defend his man on the perimeter, exposing his average lateral quickness in the process. It’s not hard to see that Datome has talent, he can get up and finish around the basket, make difficult shots inside and outside the arc, and has fairly advanced scoring instincts, but he’s still trying to put it all together at this point. He still has a chance to be a leading player in the Italian league, but his NBA potential looks limited.


Ludovic Vaty, 6-9 ½, 7-1 wingspan, 239 pounds
Pau Orthez, France, 1988


Vaty came into this camp billed as one of the more productive big men in attendance, but ended up being mostly a complementary player for his team. Vaty’s main appeal lies in his physical attributes, as he has decent size for the power forward position to go along with an excellent frame and wingspan, not to mention strong athletic ability. Most of his game revolves around his strength and athleticism, as he lacks great polish offensively, particularly in the low post, where his footwork appears limited. Vaty nonetheless plays hard and can emerge as a strong rebounder and capable defender, he runs the floor hard and finishes well around the basket. His feel for the game appears to be average, though. Vaty probably didn’t do a great deal for his draft stock with his showing in Treviso, but he’s still a guy to keep an eye next year on if he decides to withdraw his name from the draft.


Artem Zabelin, 7-1, 7-0 ¼ wingspan, 239 pounds
CSKA Moscow, Russia, 1988


Zabelin is coming off a tough season, being less than a year removed from tearing his ACL in last summer’s U-20 European Championship. He looked very rusty to start off, struggling badly trying to finish around the basket, step out and guard the perimeter, alter shots around the rim or go after rebounds—which is all to be expected considering his physical condition. Still, he managed to show some of the things that make him such an intriguing prospect, particularly his terrific touch from the perimeter, his ability to put the ball on the deck with his long strides, and his solid instincts offensively. Zabelin’s body looked a bit better than it did last season, but his athleticism has taken a major hit. It will be very important for him to get playing time next season, as he’s already 21 years old.


Terrence Oglesby, 6-2 ¼, 6-1 wingspan, 188 pounds
Clemson, Norway/USA, Automatically Eligible Next Year


A surprise entry on the roster after deciding to forgo his final two years at Clemson in favor of playing professionally next season, Oglesby had somewhat of a rude first acquaintance with European basketball, struggling badly to make a strong impression throughout the camp. Oglesby’s decision making skills and shot-selection was very poor, which neutralized basically the only thing that makes him interesting at this point—his perimeter shooting ability. He settled badly for tough, contested fade-aways and really wasn’t able to convert on the spot-up jumpers he took as well, which is not indicative of just how good of a shooter he really is.

Oglesby will need time and patience from the team that signs him in terms of learning how to play the European game. He’s never going to be the type of player that stands out in a setting like this, as he’s far better when his team is creating shots for him rather than trying to get things done on his own. With that said, he also needs to improve his body language and become more of a willing teammate if he’s to reach his full potential. Defensively, Oglesby struggled throughout the week as he typically does—his poor wingspan coupled with his average athleticism makes it difficult for him to guard his position even at the European level, which is something he’ll have to work on. Nevertheless, Oglesby is a lights out scorer who can absolutely bury an opponent with his deep range and terrific stroke. In the right situation, he could be quite an offensive weapon.


Tornike Shengelia, 6-8 ¾, 6-9 ¾ wingspan, 217 pounds
Pamesa Valencia, Republic of Georgia, 1991


The second-youngest player in attendance at the tender age of 17, not a great deal was expected from Pamesa Valencia’s Tornike Shengelia. He didn’t do much over the course of the week to change that notion, having a somewhat difficult time making his presence felt on the floor at times. Still, you could see that there are some raw tools there to work with, and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the next few years. Shengelia is intriguing as a big small forward with a nice frame and solid athletic ability. He can put the ball on the floor with a solid first step and decent ball-handling skills, even if he mostly looked content moving the ball around the floor within his team’s offense, not trying to assert himself on the game. Shengelia can stand to become a better perimeter shooter, but he showed solid potential defensively coming up with some strong possessions. His feel for the game looks solid, making a couple of nice passes throughout the week.

Recent articles

5.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
7.4 PER
-->
4.5 Points
2.1 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
10.8 PER
-->
5.6 Points
1.6 Rebounds
3.8 Assists
6.1 PER
-->
7.0 Points
3.0 Rebounds
3.5 Assists
16.9 PER
-->
1.3 Points
1.0 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
3.7 PER
-->
1.6 Points
4.0 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
0.9 PER
-->
7.8 Points
1.1 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
13.0 PER
-->
10.6 Points
4.6 Rebounds
1.9 Assists
19.5 PER
-->
4.8 Points
3.3 Rebounds
0.8 Assists
10.7 PER
-->
3.9 Points
1.2 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
5.9 PER
-->
14.7 Points
5.8 Rebounds
3.4 Assists
23.5 PER
-->

Twitter @DraftExpress

DraftExpress Shop