Jan Vesely

[infamousva]

Cool article i found comparing Vesely with Blake Griffin

http://www.wizardsextreme.com/2011-arti ... tions.html

"With that being said, I do think Jan Vesely has the potential to be a lighter version of Blake Griffin. The problem that most people have in rating players such as Vesely is that when they think of European players, they think of finesse players who must encompass a great jump shot. These players also have a reputation for generally being soft or weak compared to American players. So when fans read a scouting report of a foreign player like Vesely and see that he doesn’t possess a great jump shot like Nowitzki, or that he doesn’t exhibit the ball skills of a Barea, or Dragic, the conclusion is generally reached that he will not have an impact as an NBA player.

However, what needs to be realized is that Vesely like Griffin is an extremely athletic big man, who can finish at the rim with extreme ease. Yes he is a bit raw fundamentally, but which 21 year old isn’t? Yes the bad hands could be a problem, along with his turnover rate in the paint, but the Wizards brass seems to believe they can correct that. Blake Griffin himself doesn’t do much more offensively yet, other than finish on fast breaks or attempt to score with a still developing low post game. Of all the things that have made Griffin as successful as he has been thus far in his short career, the attributes that stand out are his athleticism, size, determination, and high basketball I.Q; all of which Jan Vesely also has, minus the muscle. So basically what you have in Vesely is a fundamentally raw offensive player with potential, freak athleticism, years of experience as a starter and glue player on a championship team in the second TOUGHEST league in the world, behind the NBA of course."

[closg00]

Top 5 Most Promising Frontcourts

#5 – Jan Vesely (Rookie) and JaVale McGee (3 years of experience), Washington Wizards –
If you're a fan of athleticism, you need look no further than the young bigs Washington has put together to run with John Wall. McGee isn't necessarily "great," but that doesn't mean he has to fall short of "very good," and his athleticism and shot-blocking abilities alone make him one of the more interesting center prospects in the league. Add him to Vesely, who apparently jumps through the roof and could be one of the more exciting Euro players to come along in several years, and you could certainly call the duo promising. The fact that they've got Wall dishing to them makes it easier to believe they'll be effective for many years going forward.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?sto ... z1SXpdJc92

[TGW]

I think comparing Vesely to Griffin is a joke. Griffin is 250 lbs of pure muscle. Vesely is 240 (he measured at 240 in Detroit -- he and Valuciunias measured at the same height and weight) but he's nowhere near the physique or power of Griffin. BG also had a very solid post game coming out of college. Vesely's post game is decent, but not on BG's level. Griffin also has terrific hands and can nab rebounds and passes in traffic...can't say the same about Vesely.

They both dunk hard and run the floor like gazelles -- that's the only similarity.

[nate33]

Wouldn't it be awesome if Vesely took some steroids during the lockout and came back next year with a physique like Blake Griffin? It would totally solve all of our problems.

[dangermouse]

He could probably get some real good sh*t in Serbia yeah? Or Russia. Some Gorilla hormones or something should do the trick.

[Ruzious]

I think comparing Vesely to Griffin is a joke. Griffin is 250 lbs of pure muscle. Vesely is 240 (he measured at 240 in Detroit -- he and Valuciunias measured at the same height and weight) but he's nowhere near the physique or power of Griffin. BG also had a very solid post game coming out of college. Vesely's post game is decent, but not on BG's level. Griffin also has terrific hands and can nab rebounds and passes in traffic...can't say the same about Vesely.

They both dunk hard and run the floor like gazelles -- that's the only similarity.

Well said. And the thing that's so wrong in that wizardsextreme.com article is - he doesn't finish anywhere near as well as Griffin. When scouts talk about finishing, they're talking finishing while being defended - not taking snowbird dunks. When Vesely's in traffic, he doesn't finish well - at least from what I've seen. He doesn't handle contact well, he's got poor hands, and he's clumsy with the ball - all things that Griffin doesn't have problems with. These are reasons - among others - why I don't project Vesely to ever be a legit PF. How can you be the Euro Blake Griffin when you're not even a PF? 6'8 220ish lb James Gist was the PF for his Euro team, and he's a better finisher than Vesely.

[nate33]

Wait. I thought that the one thing Vesely could do well was finish. Doesn't he have an obsenely high FG% from close to the basket?

[theboomking]

Wait. I thought that the one thing Vesely could do well was finish. Doesn't he have an obsenely high FG% from close to the basket?

Seventy Five percent at the rim, as I recall. Vesely is an excellent finisher, and there are multiple instances in the highlights of Vesely finishing through contact.

That being said, Vesely is almost nothing like Blake Griffin as an athlete or a player. Griffin, contrary to popular belief, is not a particularly high riser. His max vert reach wasn't as high as Wall's was last year, or Derick Williams' this year. Griffin is extraordinarily coordinated, very powerful, has great hands, gets off the ground very quickly, and is a classic quick twitch athlete. He is sudden in all of his movements. Griffin is also fairly stocky for a PF, shorter, with fairly short arms for an impact PF.

Vesely is not a particularly strong athlete, doesn't seem to have great hands or coordination, and also doesn't appear to be very sudden. Vesely is very long, is very fast, but appears to be a long strider. While Jan is a great jumper, I wouldn't say that Jan seems to be particularly sudden getting off of the ground.

I expect Vesely to make an impact in transition with his speed and athleticism, but in the half court, I look for Jan to make most of hs impact with his length and toughness. I don't see Jan as having the quickness and strength to get to the rim frequently enough to really maximize his jumping ability. We are not in for a season long Griffin-like dunk fest, IMHO.

[Ruzious]

Wait. I thought that the one thing Vesely could do well was finish. Doesn't he have an obsenely high FG% from close to the basket?

I hear he makes a very good percentage of his uncontested dunks against European athletes.

[Ruzious]

Wait. I thought that the one thing Vesely could do well was finish. Doesn't he have an obsenely high FG% from close to the basket?

Seventy Five percent at the rim, as I recall. Vesely is an excellent finisher, and there are multiple instances in the highlights of Vesely finishing through contact.

That being said, Vesely is almost nothing like Blake Griffin as an athlete or a player. Griffin, contrary to popular belief, is not a particularly high riser. His max vert reach wasn't as high as Wall's was last year, or Derick Williams' this year. Griffin is extraordinarily coordinated, very powerful, has great hands, gets off the ground very quickly, and is a classic quick twitch athlete. He is sudden in all of his movements. Griffin is also fairly stocky for a PF, shorter, with fairly short arms for an impact PF.

Vesely is not a particularly strong athlete, doesn't seem to have great hands or coordination, and also doesn't appear to be very sudden. Vesely is very long, is very fast, but appears to be a long strider. While Jan is a great jumper, I wouldn't say that Jan seems to be particularly sudden getting off of the ground.

I expect Vesely to make an impact in transition with his speed and athleticism, but in the half court, I look for Jan to make most of hs impact with his length and toughness. I don't see Jan as having the quickness and strength to get to the rim frequently enough to really maximize his jumping ability. We are not in for a season long Griffin-like dunk fest, IMHO.

And as we know, highlights tell the whole story. How is he going to make an impact with his length and toughness when he's not going to get to the rim very often? And if he doesn't get to the rim often and isn't "sudden getting off the ground" and "doesn't seem to have great hands or coordination", how is he going to be an excellent finisher in the NBA?

[nate33]

Well, good grief! Is there anything that Vesely can do well? We've already concluded that he can't shoot, finish, catch, rebound, stay with perimeter players, or bang with post players.

[fishercob]

I hear he's a well above-average kisser.

[Ruzious]

He can turn sideways in the rain and not get wet.

[closg00]

You guys are cracking me up.

Ahhh, the enigma that is Jan Vesely, a non-shooting Euro with a murky set of NBA translatable skills. As-far as I can tell, Jan will be used to score in mis-match situations over small defenders, in the post and on the break. Not shooting, but dropping it in, dunking, catching oops....but hoping he doesn't get fouled before he can score

[TGW]

Well, good grief! Is there anything that Vesely can do well? We've already concluded that he can't shoot, finish, catch, rebound, stay with perimeter players, or bang with post players.

Um well...uh...he can run the floor well and he's tall and athletic. That's pretty much the reason he got drafted as high as he did. Unfortunately, none of that really translates into actual basketball skills.

From a tangible point of view, it's hard to say what he will excel at from a purely statistical standpoint. He might be one of those guys who don't do much on a statsheet, but always makes the little plays that help win games. Or at least I hope that's the case. My thinking is that if this team expects Vesely to be a statstuffer, they drafted the wrong kid.

[dangermouse]

Just wish we had a summer league to see what he can do! Arrrughhh.

[willbcocks]

I watched the one game that was posted and I think he'll get to the rim. He moves really well without the ball. NBA teams are not great at staying with those type of players, and we have John Wall to get him the ball.

Also, I think his skills are being undersold. He might not have SF level skills, but he looks like an able passer and has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket.

[theboomking]

I watched the one game that was posted and I think he'll get to the rim. He moves really well without the ball. NBA teams are not great at staying with those type of players, and we have John Wall to get him the ball.

Also, I think his skills are being undersold. He might not have SF level skills, but he looks like an able passer and has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket.

I should have been more specific. I do think he will get to the rim moving without the ball. I don't think we will see him get to the rim a lot off of dribble penetration and post moves.

For everyone that knocks Jan, why can't he be a Luol Deng caliber player that scores a bit less and is better in transition? That is really how I imagine him on our team, a 12-13PPG Luol Deng. We still need, and lack a big time scorer that can create for himself, but it's not like we were gonig to find that guy at #6 in the 2011 draft.

[closg00]

I watched the one game that was posted and I think he'll get to the rim. He moves really well without the ball. NBA teams are not great at staying with those type of players, and we have John Wall to get him the ball.

Also, I think his skills are being undersold. He might not have SF level skills, but he looks like an able passer and has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket.

I should have been more specific. I do think he will get to the rim moving without the ball. I don't think we will see him get to the rim a lot off of dribble penetration and post moves.

For everyone that knocks Jan, why can't he be a Luol Deng caliber player that scores a bit less and is better in transition? That is really how I imagine him on our team, a 12-13PPG Luol Deng. We still need, and lack a big time scorer that can create for himself, but it's not like we were gonig to find that guy at #6 in the 2011 draft.

It's just that for his described skill-set, Vesely was taken way too-high, plenty of guys drafted well after 6 could have given us 12-13PPG + rebounding and better shooting %. Like many, I am very eager to see what all the hype is about.

[theboomking]

It's just that for his described skill-set, Vesely was taken way too-high, plenty of guys drafted well after 6 could have given us 12-13PPG + rebounding and better shooting %. Like many, I am very eager to see what all the hype is about.

Well, EG wasn't taking Vesely off of a described skillset. They have been scouting this kid for years, and based on EG's record with Blatche, Young and McGee, who were all better than the choices immediately after them, I tend to trust EG on Vesely over other choices available at 6. Furthermore, the choice was roundly lauded by NBA pundits, and I can't remember a single, "expert", suggesting that another player would have been a better choice.

If we made a mistake, it was in not trading up.