I'll move it here since there is a new thread:
BlazersBroncos wrote:I like him much more than Topic. The Manu comp may not be as apt as the first steps are not that comparable (Manu was a freak first step). He may be more in the Dragic range of talent - which is still a Top-10 pick.
The athleticism potential of Ben Saraf and the possible comp to Manu is a subject that intrigues me.
I'm following Saraf from closely since his 40pts game against Spain U-18, and I'm trying to figure out his athleticism potential. A few times this year he actually flashed really nice bounce, not ultra-elite by any means, yes? but still in the teen years Manu territory. But for some reason so far he rarely repeats it. I remember one time he drove in the EuroCup, I think against an Lithuanian team named Wolves, and it has looked like he bounced high enough to dunk impressively over someone's head with his two hands. Or there is that play when he dunked on a Spanish payer's head with his two hands. It looked athletic. But you much more often see him with an average NBA level athleticism at best.
Question is, is it a mental thing that you need to unlock in him? a conditioning thing? or maybe it's common for every player with average athleticism to flash in rare occasions above average athleticism but that doesn't mean they can become above average athletes? I'm not sure yet.
It's an interesting issue because I think his game is so fun and aesthetic to watch, skill and size wise, that if he can have a respectful level of explosiveness + first step to a point he can repeat it regularly, I really see star potential.
I'm watching the full match replay of the Ulm-Blazers game right now and that what made me coming here and share my thoughts, especially after the good observations I saw from BlazersBroncos.
Same applies to his first step. Often he would look slow, but occasionally would flash a step faster:
BTW, here is a Manu clip from 1997, when he was 19 years old.
He seemed here less explosive than on his prime years.
