Jan Vesely

[hands11]

Hmm... I was feeling fairly good about this pick, until it hit me.

What makes this guy different from a young Birdman?

Someone please tell me, so that I don't feel depressed.

No tats ?

[hands11]

This video gave me goosebumps. Kinda makes you feel like we may have something here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iSdFa1M ... re=related

(Pretty sure they never chanted Pecherov's name like that)

One thing I'll say is that the kid has swag! Did nobody else catch his comment about Blake Griffin???? He said "Blake Griffin is the American Jan Vesely"! I can't believe nobody mentioned that on the telecast! I think people must have missed it due to his accent, but I thought it was great. The guy has a ton of swag and will approach the game like a starter from day 1, guaranteed.

Yep, this guy will be an instant fan fave. Nobody currently on our team makes plays like this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCqYJOlFmT4&feature=related[/youtube]

The more I watch the more he looks like a more mature McGee who isn't afraid of contact and tries hard and plays smarter on D. Now that is kind of an interesting piece to add. Specially if it wakes up McGee and makes him better. This is the advantage of selecting more mature motor players.

Give it a year and lets see where these two players are. It could be a sick combo.

Dunk mania and shot blocking. And you have three other athletic though players in Booker, Seraphin and Singleton. Could be interesting.

[hands11]

Here's a Vesely hilight mix...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zlB5w08 ... re=related

And another...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KxIxIsL ... re=related

And another...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5O-gvmc ... re=related

This one starts with Vesely busting heads in the middle of a brawl. Then he goes on to have his best overall game of the season scoring 23 points with 16 boards 5 steals and 13 blocked shots trash talking all the way. Afterwards fans started calling him Rocky...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbq0fSxt ... re=related

Bring some energy and grit to our post. I think he will get some PF minutes.

I guess I'm warming up to this based on his fire. He intrigued me the first time I saw one of his videos. And he can play SF, PF and C.

He could be the energy that Wall is but to our post game and players. I think I'm as excited as anything about what effect he may have on the other players. It looks like he may be that kind of dude. Someone who is going to push the level of play of other players. Singleton also.

Dray and McGee better take notice. Dray either raises his level of drive or they may ship him out. That said, I still may give him this year and next because I don't know where they need him most. is it PF or C. He can play both. I long thought Dray may eventually get moved when I saw how McGee play. Dray is probably the least athletic on the team now. He may need to transition his game back to center since he can't jump that well but he has some bulk and around the net game.

Dray could still end up being a really valuable player, he just needs to find a position and gear his body and game toward that. He was a center. Then go some time as the starting PF. Then got hurt. He could start at either or back up either. I guess that mean keep him around for a while and see what happens.

[hands11]

Eventually we could see this is Lewis is gone.

Wall/Craw/Mack
Nick/Craw/Mack
Singleton/Booker
Ves/Seraphin
Dray/McGee/Hamady

You can really line them up lots of ways. Should be an interesting development year for Flip and line ups. It's going to be a god fight. Who want to start and where. It could play out all kind of ways. Once they can move Lewis, they need to add a shooter. This team is looking a lot like Chicago now. Defense and energy with a stud PG.

Singleton SG/SF/PF - if he can defend all three he can lock down the hot player
Booker SF/PF
Ves SF/PF/C
Dray PF/C
McGee C/PF
Seraphin PF/C
Hamady C

[hands11]

Nothing interestin in czech newspapers* (pretty much rip offs of articles in english and stating what we already know) buit I ran into this video, some of you may like it lol.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVs0mASSFyk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

* in general not just on the kiss topic

Wow. She is adorable.

I hope they stay together. That would be good for him. Last thing we need he doing to running around chasing the women. She is definitely a keeper. No reason to go fishing if you already have a good women.

Nice story about meeting on the basketball court and how his father was her geography teacher.

[hands11]

His "I like to dunk" quote reminds me of Big Pecker's "I get buckets son" garbage...Just hope he's not another Euro bust...Welcome to the NBA pal...News flash: pretty much everyone is athletic and can dunk...

I see Zero OP comparison here.

Saying you get buckets when all you do is shoot long balls and your are 7-0 vs what I have already seen in the video of this guy dunking is totally different.

Dunking vs long 3's how is that remotely similar?

This kid doesn't just dunk, he goes aggressive to the rim like get the hell out of the way. Now some teams may draw fouls but its going to be with his nut sack in their face. Once a few of those posters go up, we will see how many want to set up to draw the charge/nut sack poster.

He looks like a less crazy version on Birdman with better handles. Kid already has a break your ankles cross over move. That isn't such a bad place to start. Team need energy guys like that who attack the rim.

I wanted us to get a finisher, I just saw it being someone who was a little shorter and with a killer J, but I will take this.

[hands11]

Hey Wizards fans, I am writing from Serbia and I hope I will bring Vesely closer to you.

I watch him for 3 years, since he came to Partizan Belgrade. When he came here he was 17 years old and was trying to get to bench. At Partizan Belgrade (his previous team) there is a rule that if you want minutes you must fight for them in defense. After a back up on SF got injured Vesely got his chance from the bench on very important game in Euroleague where he guarded Ramunas Siskauskas then maybe a best SF in Europe. He did it marvelously and there it all begun. For next three years he was one of most important players for Partizan.

First I will talk about his strengths:

1. His character

He is just a great guy and a great person. Although a foreigner he in just 3 years entered in hart of all Partizan Belgrade fans, and we know love him on a same level as we adore Vlade Divac or Predrag Danilovic (I mentioned those two, because you never heard for ones that never played in NBA). You can see it yourself (his last game where whole crowd chants his name) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2CD7KHy ... re=related

He is great professional and he works really hard for the team. He never does anything that is not in function of the team, and he won’t play for personal statistics I guarantee you that, he learned it here. And every minute he plays he will give no less than 100 percent for the team. Also he played in a team where 90 percent of a matches is a must win, and in a 3 years he won 9 trophys and never lost a final. His winning mentality is very important for a franchise like yours, very very important may I say.

2. His length and athleticism

I don’t think I need to write much about this, you saw it on youtube, those are stuff tha don’t require further analyze. But I will say that for his game Wizards will suit him better than Partizan. In Europe most of the teams play positional basketball, slow pace and controlling a tempo. He is a player that likes to run brakes and Wall on PG will suit him amazingly.

3. Good defender

In his previous team he learned he will not play unless he plays defense. For example Partizan defends pick and roll in a way *I don’t know English word, but where SFor PF defender stays on PG, I hope you understand what I mean), so Vesely stays defending PG, and because of his athleticism it is possible to do that. He can easily guard everybody from PG to PF, if someone is stronger than him he will not back down without fight. He is also great in blocking shoots.

4. Tactical awareness

In my opinion basketball in Europe is more tactical than in NBA, in here there are more than 10 types of defense (man to man, zone 2-3, zone 3-1-1, zone 1-3-1, match up zone, half zone half men to men…). He can recognize defense quickly and can react fast. Same thing when in offense, he knows how to use space, to go under a basket or to go out, he can improvise.

5. Played on professional level already

This is also interesting point. Unlike players from NCAA he has already played against experienced and great players. I will not name players, as for many of you that don’t follow Euroleague they don’t mean much, but for example last year he guarded Josh Childerss and was great. This experience will help him adopt faster for players in NBA.

Now I will name his weaknesses:

1. Shooting

This is his biggest flaw. I really don’t like his shooting technique, it is raw (not smooth like Ray Ray or Stojakovic have) and very slow. His shooting percentages are better and better every year. But I think problems lays in his head, I watched him making 9 out of 10 3 pointers before the game, and when game starts he gets 1 or 2 out of 4. As for his free throws, I believ reason is also psychological. Like I said in Partizan almost every game is like an NBA play off one, because one lost at home might mean you have finished Euroleague season in October. So missing free throws is very common for all Paartizan players. But he will have to shoot much better if he wants to be great NBA player, maybe even changing jumper technique.

2. Bad hands

This is a little problem, but taller guys get motor skills with age. I think in a few years when he grows he will fix this problem.

3. Rebounding

With his size he should have more rebounds per game, but remember when I wrote he plays for team not statistic. In Partizan it is common that taller guys just box out, while little ones collect the ball (Last season there where games where Bo McCaleb had 8-10 rebaunds). And if you watch Vesely’s statistic you can see he has similar amount of offensive rebounds just as defensive rebounds. And let me tell you many of his off reb where clutch. But I am sure he can become better rebounder.

4. His low post game

This is I think a field where he can do a lot. With his size in Europe he had almost every SF player on a miss match, but he didn’t use it as much as he could. In NBA it will be different situation, because SF are much much better, but with 6-11 I think he still has an adventage. He must work on this.


I hope I helped you on knowing Vesely, if you want to know something just ask.

Also I don’t know are you aware the fact that since draft you know have 2 million fans more (from Serbia). He can give a lot to you, if he gets his chance. But you must be patient, because transition from Euro basketball to NBA is not easy one. I hope you and Vesely will have a play off season.

Welcome and thanks.

Man, I am defiantly going to have to hit the games and bars in DC this year now that we are going to have Serbia hotties running around. I love that accent.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9bjrUs2JVQ[/youtube]

[fishercob]

Somewhere I saw Ves compared to Robert Horry when he came into the league. Very interesting, especially given that Horry just became the ultimate winner. People here have decried the "empty stats" put up by Jamison or Dray or whomever over the years. Well Ves strikes me as the exact opposite type of player (especially thanks to our new friends who have been watching him for some time and are sharing their thoughts). He just wins.

Overall I think most here are completely underestimating what Ves's experience at Paritzan -- especially not as a native Serb -- means. To paraphrase Omar Little, Ves don't scare. He seems like the complete epitome of a "foxhole guy."

It's that type of heart and commitment that makes me less overtly concerned about his shortcomings. All young players, save a precious few superstars, come into the league as unfinished products. It's really a question of who has the heart and mental toughness to deal with failures and to bust their asses to improve. Big Shot Bob, Mario Elie and Derek Fisher or Derrick Coleman, Eddy Curry, or Skita? champions and also-rans. Ves exudes winner. I'm excited.

[SumTingWong]

She wasn't that hot.

I can think of oh, let's see here at least 30,000 plus people who happen to disagree with you and here's the evidence to prove it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrxaHI_r ... re=related

Two possibilities to explain your effrontery exist:

1. You are in dire need of an oculist.

2. If we were taking an innocent shower together I would not be bending over to pick up the soap. (Uh, not that anything's wrong with that).

[theboomking]

Here's what David Aldridge thinks of him and his fit in DC. Hint...he likey!

Between Jan and Trevor everybody is going to be so mean to Andray in practice, this will be very hard for him. Everybody else will go out dunking and they'll be like, "hey dray, want to go throw it down with us?" And he'll have to make up some awkward excuse like "uh, go ahead, I'll catch you guys next time I have a, uh... exotic dancing event to MC." And they'll all nod and be like "okay, no problem man" but everyone will know, there was no exotic dancing event, not on Tuesday, it was on Thursday.

You were already my hero because of your avatar, but this post clinches it. HOF caliber post.

[sfam]

I think the other thing you guys are underestimating about your team is your defensive potential. Saunders was one of the best zone defensive coaches in the league when given defensively versatile guys. Now you have tope athletes at nearly every position who can probably guard two position. I'm really excited to follow you next year. I think you are going to be the NBA answer to ST. Louis gretest show on turf. Has there ever been a more athletic front line in the NBA.

+1

I think we're gonna see a very different team on the floor if McGee can quit his jumping bean routine. Smart, defensive-minded athletes who can switch off and run and gun at the drop of a dime sounds like fun basketball to me.

[FAH1223]

I'll go farther than this - if Vesely is to be anything more than a "superstar role player", he MUST be converted to a PF. He has perfect size for the position (he's bigger than McGee when he came into the NBA), he's incredibly long, and for a POWER FORWARD, he suddenly doesn't look very unskilled, as Hoopa said. He's already potentially a good weakside defender, and his shot isn't horrible, again for a PF, though it's nowhere near money.

Now, he needs to bulk up and get stronger, and he needs to become a better rebounder. He also needs to improve his passing. But while I doubt he will be a star at PF (not enough shooting or ballhandling abilit, and might struggle against quicker SFs defensively), at PF he actually could be special, like, a 6'11 version of Josh Smith with way better intangibes.

I know its kind of cliche, but should he improve his shot and rebounding... he can be our poor-man Dirk

don't kill me, but he can shoot over people... but he needs to improve his technique, I don't like what I've seen in videos of his shot technique... he is going to have to change it

[Ed Wood]

Certainly it's hard for me to feel that, particularly in the short term, Vesely would be more effective or impactful as a small forward than as a power forward. I understand that he's been (sort of, I mean the guy played along side another combo forward who was a much better shooter last year in James Gist, who'd be a cool guy to bring over if his rights weren't held by the Spurs) a small forward for his entire professional life, but when his offensive repetoire primarily consists of finishing around the rim and the occasional catch and shoot situation it's not as though his offensive game is so clearly suited for a wing position and, as has been said, his lack of muscle on the inside isn't necessarily any more of a detriment to his defensive effectiveness than his possible lack of quickness on the perimeter.

I will confess that I was not overly enamored with the idea of Vesely going into the draft, and was ultimately mildly opposed with one caveat, if he were drafted in conjunction with either Derrick Williams or Chris Singleton, or possibly Kawhi Leonard (an optimist might also say Marcus Morris but I think Marcus is also a power forward and the two wouldn't work very well defensively) I thought the pair could be made to work.

To me Vesely, while not literally undersized as a power forward, possesses many of the potential positives and negatives of an athletic but undersized power forward: he's likely going to be able to out-athlete and outwork his matchup on some nights (not unlike Trevor) and he's going to be a good fast break player, probably a good finisher around the rim, and potentially even a decent floor spacer with time. Defensively he should be fine (or as fine as one can be) against finesse and skill-heavy forwards like Chris Bosh or Dirk, and those guys comprise the balance of high level power forwards in the league today. Plus it is my general impression that guys who are perhaps a little small to play the four and have perhaps just enough skill to play the three, but not enough to be an obvious small forward, are generally much much more effective at the four spot (consider Shawn Marion, AK, Paul Millsap, and Josh Smith among others).

The net conclusion was that Vesely was probably better off as a power forward, which prompted two major concerns, the first and most pressing was rebounding. I don't think Vesely will be an awful rebounding power forward, but I'm using Kirilenko as a rough guide and assuming he'll be below average. Considering that JaVale is okay, not overwhelming and particularly not phenomenal on the defensive boards, a weakness Vesely shares, and doubly if Nick Young's sub 5 rebounding rate is to share the court with both, I wanted somebody at the small forward who could compensate. Considered as a power foward Chris Singleton wouldn't stand out either, but my hope is that the two together could manage a net rebounding rate at or above league average. The other is defense, Jan looks like he could be (another) help side terror and a disruptive force defensively but much of the offensive firepower in the NBA currently resides outside of the paint I thought he'd have to be paired with another forward who could get things done as a primary wing defender, freeing Ves to maximize his impact as a secondary defender. Again Singleton is about as good a match as could have been hoped for.

The remaining, unresolved issue is whether the two together won't be so hopeless shooting the ball that we're treated to another season of "won't you take an eighteen footer John? You have four seconds left on the shot clock, maybe Jordan would like to throw up something nasty." and to that I can only hope. I take some solace regarding Vesely's offensive prospects by reminding myself that Trevor managed a respectable, if limited, offensive output last year with virtually no outside touch and much less size to work with on the interior and that Thaddeus Young (another guy who's much better when allowed to play at the four) managed a very respectable 19.6 points per 40 with a healthy TS% of 56.6% last year, and he's not much of a perimeter threat either. Something approximating Young with less offense (Thaddeus can shoot a little) but more defense is my wildly optimistic upside for this coming year. My more realistic downside is more or less what Al Thornton gave the team last year, but again hopefully with a larger defensive impact and fewer stupid shots.

[doclinkin]

Overall I think most here are completely underestimating what Ves's experience at Paritzan -- especially not as a native Serb -- means. To paraphrase Omar Little, Ves don't scare.

Except at the free throw line?

Or he just has lousy technique. His mechanics look decent, natural, if rushed, no hitch in the stroke, a little too casual maybe. His girlfriend cracked that he basically closes his eyes when at the line.

[dangermouse]

Ed Wood, I like the Thaddeus with more D and less of a J comparison.

As for playing Jan at C, i think it could work as a situation thing. Need to lock down Spencer Hawes or Bargnani? I think we have our guy. I think he should be able to do good work against the perimeter oriented bigs in the league. A little bit more muscle and strength and he could be effective in guarding Nowitzki and Chris Bosh types at PF, utilizing his speed, length, his tenaciousness and his other intangible junkyard dog style attributes.

I dont think he'll put on much weight at all, looking at his body type hes a definite ectomorph, even moreso than McGee is. He just needs to add some core strength without bulking up too much and he should be good to play PF, able to finish through contact and be strong enough to hold off most PF's in the post. I dont want extra weight slowing him down at all, whereas I think McGee's body is maturing and his getting bigger and stronger is a good thing. He said he was at 270 yeah? Around that, maybe a little more and thats enough before it starts bringing his athletecism down.

[Wizardspride]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

Jan Vesely, Wizards’ top NBA draft pick, is a crowd pleaser

Jan Vesely’s final game with Partizan Belgrade was coming to a close nearly three weeks ago, his club well on its way toward winning its 10th consecutive Serbian title. He went to the bench, hugged and high-fived his teammates, and was overwhelmed by the sound. For several minutes, thousands of fans at Pionir Hall bobbed up and down — including a handful waving lit flares — and most were serenading Vesely, screaming his name.

“Ve-se-ly! Ve-se-ly! They chanted to him like he was the king,” said James Gist, the former Good Counsel and Maryland star who was a teammate of the Washington Wizards’ top choice in the 2011 draft last season in Serbia, as he recalled the scene in the closing seconds of the championship game against Hemofarm. “He was the face of Partizan. He was Partizan’s icon.”

Vesely didn’t let the moment go to waste, as he applauded the fans right back, hopped up on the scorer’s table and boisterously pumped his fists. When fans mobbed the floor afterward, Vesely began jumping with them, and it wasn’t long before he was nearly disrobed, still gleefully bouncing around.

“That was the best moment,” Vesely said with a grin. “I really liked that.”

The Wizards will formally introduce Vesely on Monday at Verizon Center, but the organization has been hoping to add him to the roster for some time. He could’ve entered the draft last year but opted to return for another season at Partizan that allowed him to mature into a greater role with more responsibility.

“I have to grow up mentally and work on my game,” said Vesely, who averaged 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in Adriatic league play and 9.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in Euroleague play last season. “I was one of the more important players on Partizan. Two years ago, I was a different player. I learn basketball. I learned almost everything else. I feel like that’s my home. The people they treated me like I’m from there.”

The decision to take Vesely was practically unanimous within the basketball operations side of the organization, with the Wizards enamored with the freakishly athletic 6-foot-11 forward who runs the floor and attacks the rim as if ignited by a fuse. Vesely also has the charisma and confidence to respond to a question about being called the “European Blake Griffin” by calling the Los Angeles Clippers’ all-star and rookie of the year “the American Jan Vesely.”

[fishercob]

Overall I think most here are completely underestimating what Ves's experience at Paritzan -- especially not as a native Serb -- means. To paraphrase Omar Little, Ves don't scare.

Except at the free throw line?

Or he just has lousy technique. His mechanics look decent, natural, if rushed, no hitch in the stroke, a little too casual maybe. His girlfriend cracked that he basically closes his eyes when at the line.

Ha. Typical 21 year old, right? He's not afraid of the things he should be scared of, like brawling in front of fanatical crowds, but damn if those free throws haven't turned his brain inside out. For what it's worth, here's Coach Bassy Pruiti's take on his struggles at the line.

The first thing is while Vesely has the same repeatable routine, there is a problem with it. The whole time he is at the free throw line, he looks at the basket for one second before he shoots. Vesely keeps his head down the entire time he is taking his three dribbles, gets set, then looks up to find the rim, and finally shooting the ball. It may sound simple, but how are you supposed to shoot at a target you don’t have your eyes on? Nobody is defending you. Take your dribble and bend your knees with the eyes on your target. I think just by doing that, he can be more accurate. Also, due to the ball with the multi-color panels (I love those and wish the NBA would adopt them) we can see Vesely doesn’t get a ton of rotation on the shot, which is part of the reason you never see him get the “shooter’s roll.”

[hands11]

Probably a bad habit he developed by not being all that great at it. So now it is a catch 22.

Kind of like, I don't want to look up until I have to because I don't want to over think this and get stressed out over it so I'm just going to go on instinct.

[orangeparka]

Wes Johnson without the jumper.

[Hoopalotta]

Wes Johnson without the jumper.

You're talking about 4 inches and 20-25 pounds of size diference in that comparison, though.