Young talent in Euroleague at an all time high

[Chuck Diesel]

When I take the time to write and in-depth, thoughtful and serious post about European basketball it usually means that I’m pulling an all nighter and procrastinating on what I’m supposed to be doing. SO with that said-

I really believe the caliber of talent and NBA usefulness (NOT POTENTIAL) among the young veterans in the Euroleague right now is at an all time high. Never before have I seen the kind of athleticism and physicality paired with the skill sets that some of these players possess. I’ve given it some thought and come up for a list of reasons for what I believe to be an evolution in Euroleague basketball, and what it means for the NBA.



1. Players, agents and NBA teams have smartened up since the Darko and Nikoloz Tskitishvili type fiascos from 5-10 years ago. When undeserving skinny teenage Euros started getting drafted highly only to suit on the bench for the first 3 years of their career, no one came out on top. NBA teams looked idiotic and lost money, the players’ egos were so severely bruised that they were never able to recover and properly develop, and agents weren’t getting their guys that much coveted second contract. All three parties have seemingly come to the understanding that it’s more beneficial financially and developmentally for these young NBA caliber international players to stay in Europe for a while. So what we have no is a lot of those guys drafted and “stashed” or not taken at all have been” have been producing at a high level and making good money for multiple seasons.

2. Those players given the opportunity have been put in a terrific position for improvement and development, as well as overall earnings potential. American players have also been traveling overseas and stashing Euros like nobody’s business, which has really affected the level of play over there. In this country we tend to measure a pro basketball player’s worth by his NBA success, but in reality it’s almost all depends on the situation (prviding the player works hard and all that). Excluding the superstars, there is so much parody in pro basketball players right now that there a ton of guys could go from being a D-leaguer to NBA starter to sitting on a Euroleague bench (or any or all of the above) simply because of chance and opportunity. The influence of American players in Europe is tremendous. The athleticism and isolation ability of guys in the States in unparallel. The Euroleague is now flooded with Americans with those kinds of skills, meaning Euros are learning how yhow to play with and guard against them. Not to mention all of the top veteran European players making already making an impact. That means, young developing European players are being forced to match up with the likes of Anthony Parker, JC Navarro, Marcus Haislip, Josh Childress, Mike Batiste, Linas Klieza and vets who play with some combination of skill, athleticism and physicality. The talent influx on in Europe has been really apparent in the way the younger guys are learning to play. I’m seeing a lot more guys over there who are thriving because of their athleticism. Combine this with the emphasis those teams place on practice and skill development, and you have a perfect storm for NBA prospects.

The result is a collection of players in Europe right now who are either just entering or yet to enter their primes and capable of being huge factors in the NBA.

Looking at very recent history, the young players who got a chance and produced in the Euroleague are already doing their thing in the league. Guys like Rudy Fernandez, Ilyasova, Marc Gasol, Omri Casspi, Danilo Gallinari.
Here are the players I’ve watched, been thoroughly impressed by and would be willing to bet follow suit as NBA producers. If anyone is interested I’d be happy to provide my thoughts regarding each individual player’s skill set.

Joel Freeland
Nikola Pekovic
Tiago Splitter
Jan Vessely
Yiannis Bouroussis
Giorgos Printezis
Erazem Lorbek (more on the skilled than athletic or physical side of things, not soft though)

I have to see more of Aleks Maric, he put up some nasty numbers but has been injured for a while.
Ricky Rubio is at the very least going to be a borderline All-Star Andre Miller type point guard for a long time. His playmaking is unreal.

[Egg Nog]

Tell us about Giorgos Printezis, I want him on the Raptors. (They have his NBA rights)

[brassviews]

^^^ He signed a new contract and likely isn't coming over anytime soon.

[doc.end]

Spelling: Jan Veselý
Pronunciation: http://www.acapela-group.com/text-to-sp ... -demo.html choose czech, copa+paste and say it!

I'm just a nitpicker. And the link could be useful on this board too, as it has quite a few languages and accents.