Gianluca Basile

Basile is truly an accomplished player, having won multiple titles at both the international and club scene. He is a very charismatic player who should provide great leadership for am inexperienced Italian squad at this Championship, even if his game is starting to decline and he is close to the end of his impressive career. Gianluca was never a big time individual prospect, a true star, however what made him such a recognizable and respected player is his leadership, consistency, winning mentality, clutch shooting and loyalty.

Before signing for FC Barcelona last summer, Basile spent seven great seasons in the basketball city of Bologna, playing for Fortitudo where he became one of the true legends of the club. Basile was always a dependable player for Italian National team, playing among others a big part in their success at the Olympic games in 2004 where they grabbed the silver medal. Dealing with numerous absences, with probably the biggest being that of top draft pick Andrea Bargnani, Italy is not expected to finish near the top at this World Championship.

Basile is most known for his great shooting stroke, which is truly a thing of beauty. He can knock down shots from well beyond the international three-point lane showing great touch and range. Gianluca has good size for a point guard and a good wingspan that helps him on the defensive end, where he shows a very solid level of ability, using his length and smarts to stay in front of opposing guards. Basile has a very high basketball IQ and he exhibits it on the offensive end of the floor constantly, making smart passes, taking good decisions and being very patient waiting for the best opportunity to arrive. He is also a clutch player, handling pressure well and being a very confident free throw shooter with percentages of over 80% in each of his last four Euroleague campaigns.

At 31 years of age, Gianluca isn’t getting any younger. His best years are obviously behind him as last season at FC Barcelona showed. He was never a great athlete, and is now becoming even less impressive after losing quite a bit of his speed. At this stage in his career Basile can’t get into the line as often as desired, and he lacks the drive and dish game of a true point guard. Because of his regressed ability to play of the dribble, Gianluca has been used mostly as a shooting guard last season at Barcelona and is expected to play a similar role for Italy in Japan.