Brad Oleson

No player in the ACB has been as productive as Brad Oleson in this young season, and possibly no player in Europe has been as surprising in his production. The 6’4 shooting guard and native of North Pole, Alaska, who made a name for himself as a prolific scorer during a three year collegiate tenure with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in Division II, has been nothing short of brilliant in his team’s first four contests. After helping Bierasar Rosalia earn promotion from the second division of the Spanish LEB to the first in in 2007, Oleson signed with Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada.

Despite this significant jump in competition, Oleson has been more impressive on both ends this season than he was during any of his three seasons in Rosalia. His deadly outside shooting stroke (he is the most prolific shooter in the ACB at four 3-pointers made per game, hitting 67% of his attempts) has been the key to his ACB leading 22 points per game, but his defense has been equally impressive (he also finds himself ranked 2nd in steals per game).

While Oleson is by no means a likely NBA target, it is tough to ignore how well he has played with defenses keying in on him. The German passport he acquired in 2005 could garner him some serious interest around Europe in the future, especially if he continues to play at such a high level. Players like Oleson show us how much improvement can be made by college players once they reach the professional level, as there surely weren’t many anticipating him being where he is now after he graduated from Alaska-Fairbanks in 2005.