Dzanan Musa - Bosnian sensation

Stackey · Post #21 » by **Stackey** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 3:11 am

I hope to see Dončić vs Musa matchup in the next season of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament. I'm pretty sure that Musa will play for Cedevita U18 in that competition, not so sure about Dončić and Real Madrid U18. But there is no question that Dončić is a better player right now. I'm not talking about which player have higher upside, just how good players are right now.

I wonder is Musa better prospect than Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.

sisibilio · Post #22 » by **sisibilio** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 12:53 pm

I don't think Doncic will play any more in junior tournaments.

Sports Geek · Post #23 » by **Sports Geek** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 6:30 pm

Stackey wrote:I hope to see Dončić vs Musa matchup in the next season of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament. I'm pretty sure that Musa will play for Cedevita U18 in that competition, not so sure about Dončić and Real Madrid U18. But there is no question that Dončić is a better player right now. I'm not talking about which player have higher upside, just how good players are right now.

I wonder is Musa better prospect than Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.

Doncic is going to be a member of the Real Madrid pro team next season. He should be playing Euroleague's Final 4 by then, so impossible matchup in my opinion.

Stackey · Post #24 » by **Stackey** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:34 pm

Not like it would be some matchup anyway, Dončić have much bigger, stronger body(pay attention on those legs):

But it should be noted that Musa is like 5 cm taller than him.

Sports Geek · Post #25 » by **Sports Geek** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:54 pm

Doncic is way over Musa in terms of talent and maturity, IMO. He can play the PG, SG and SF in Real Madrid as coach Laso said. That means a lot.

MrTwister · Post #26 » by **MrTwister** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:47 pm

Eurohopes interview with Musa, talking about offers from KK Partizan, Duke and choosing between Adidas and Nike.

http://www.eurohopes.com/news/6175/bosnian_sensation_dzanan_musa

doordoor123 · Post #27 » by **doordoor123** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:08 pm

I'm surprised you guys are gushing over Musa. He doesn't have elite athleticism, has weird lateral movement and his frame looks way too thin. He also needs a lot of work on his handle and with his footwork. Just looks really raw on that end. On the plus-side he has big hands, can palm the euro-ball and has a soft touch. I also love his floor-vision. I think his upside is pretty high, but he's not a franchise-changer or anything.

Stackey · Post #28 » by **Stackey** » Fri Aug 28, 2015 8:12 pm

Number 13 in dark jersey(kid in orange shoes, can't miss him), that's Musa one year before(seems like he was obviously shorter than now)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqkVDqiubno[/youtube]

Most of those players in both teams are two years older than him. And they are not just some random kids, his team played here against SPARS and in that team I recognize Atic(#6), Penava(#10), Manjgafic(#11), all of them 1997 born, Gegic(#9) who is 1998 born, those players were core of the Bosnian U18 national team in this summer and they ended as fourth in the U18 European Championship. Still you can see how much problems they had with Musa the kid.

Stackey · Post #29 » by **Stackey** » Sun Sep 6, 2015 11:30 pm

Musa made impressive debut for a first team of Cedevita. In a preperation game Cedevita - Istanbul BB(81 : 74), Musa made 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for only 16 minutes played. He made two consecutive three point shots which were crucial for a win. He played against Damir Markota, Marcus Denmon, Sean Armand, Kadeem Batts, Metecen Birsen, Dusan Canketin...all of them played for Istanbul BB in this game, it's a serious test, especially for someone who just turned 16 couple of months ago. Before some time, it was announced that Cedevita will loan Musa to Zabok, a team that compete only in Croatian league and that he will play for Cedevita Under 18 team only in Adidas Next Generation Tournament. It least it was a plan couple of weeks ago.

Stackey · Post #30 » by **Stackey** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 4:50 pm

He was a part of the Cedevita's first team photo session

Stackey · Post #31 » by **Stackey** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 10:07 pm

Tonight he made his Euroleague debut against European powerhouse Olympiacos at the age of 16, one of youngest Euroleague players ever.

Played 5 minutes, scored 4 points(1/1 for 2, 2/2 for 1), and he guarded 3X Euroleague Final Four MVP Vassilis Spanoulis

Video of his two point shoot(before of that, Musa scored 2 free throws after he grabbed offensive rebound and Olympiacos player fouled him)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu6U8tF4km8[/youtube]

Stackey · Post #32 » by **Stackey** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:26 pm

Tonight in a win over Union Olimpija he played his best Adriatic League game so far. It was a first time actually that he spent so much time on the floor in one game. For 18 minutes, he scored 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and had 1 assist and 2 steals.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5kor_MvmQ[/youtube]

Stackey · Post #33 » by **Stackey** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 12:40 am

In last 6 games for Cedevita in the Adriatic league he averages 6.2 points, 4 rebounds and 0.8 assists for 16 minutes per game.
In those 6 games: 8/17 for 2, 2/5 for 3, 15/17 for 1.
He still isn't ready to contribute in the Euroleague, but in the Adriatic league as time goes by he is playing more and more.

Now, after watching so many games of him, and because I'm a fan of Draft Express, I will try to make a scouting report of him in their style.

Strenghts:

- Excellent size for a SG(measured 6'8.25'' on the Eurocamp when he just turned 16)

- Good frame. Could look impressive when he fills out

- Stunningly quick first step

- Elegant ball handler with both hands

- Goes low in the dribble

- Attacks the rim constantly without fear. Earns a lot of free throws

- Skilled in floaters. Uses them frequently

- Huge basketball IQ. Great court vision. Excellent passer

- Intense defender. Goes low in the stance

- Active rebounder. Aggressive on offensive boards

- Extremely self-confident. Competitive mentality. Constantly talks and encourages his teammates. Shows leadership, isn't afraid to take responsibility, clutch player is written all over him

- Already well known for his great work ethic. Claims personally that he don't even go out with friends, 100% focused on basketball. Very coachable, praised by every coach he ever worked with

Weaknesses:

- His body looks little odd. Hunched over in his back

- Shows promise, but right now not a great shooter

- Good, but not a elite athlete

- Average wingspan(6'8.25'', same as height)

- His self-confidence sometimes turns into cockiness. Love to mock his opponents. In interviews he say things like: "I want to win more NBA championships than Jordan did", "I'm Kobe's successor", "In three years I see myself as a top 3 in the NBA draft and I think it's realistic that I will become a leader of one NBA team". Is it too much?

Outlook: His combination of height, polished ball handling skills and quick first step makes him almost unstoppable when he play against his own age group. Already playing for the first team of Cedevita Zagreb. Still a lot of potential for improvement, and there are as well some question marks. How good shooter will he become? Is he little hunched in his back just because of rapid growth and it will disappear when he fill out his frame? Could he grow a couple of inches more and lose quickness which allows him to play SG position? How effective as a SF would he been? Overall, one of the best European prospects right now, but still needs a lot of work to become a productive player on professional level. He will not turn 17 untill May 2016, so there is a lot of time for him.

In the summer of 2016 he will play for Bosnia and Herzegovina on the FIBA U - 17 World Championship, now that will be interesting to watch.

Bosnian Diehard · Post #34 » by **Bosnian Diehard** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:28 am

I really hope he pans out and fills his tremendous potential. A combo of Musa and Nurkic could be lethal for our national team.

Mirotic12 · Post #35 » by **Mirotic12** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:56 am

As for Bosnian talents besides Musa, what about Atic? I wonder why no one mentions him here at all. I like him better than guys like Osman and Korkmaz - guys that NBA teams seem to be drooling over.

Stackey · Post #36 » by **Stackey** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 2:38 am

Mirotic12 wrote:As for Bosnian talents besides Musa, what about Atic? I wonder why no one mentions him here at all. I like him better than guys like Osman and Korkmaz - guys that NBA teams seem to be drooling over.

Atic just doesnt' play for his club, so there isn't really anything to talk about. Actually, often he isn't even in the roster of AEK for the games in Greek league. They reportedly payed €750,000 euros for his transfer from SPARS Sarajevo and he is on the 6 years contract, so I guess they will give playing time to him sooner or later, but right now it's not happening.
But yes, he's good, no doubt about that
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR46cZoN1B4[/youtube]

Musa in the other hand just couple of hours ago played 13 minutes in the Top 16 Euroleague game, ended with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, so that's reason why he is more interesting right now. Unlike Atic, he actually plays for his club, and at same time he is two years younger than him.

As for that mentioned Top 16 Euroleague game against Lokomotiv Kuban, Musa hit a three-pointer, scored with a floater and once again showed his ability to beat his defender with his quick first step and force him to foul(1/2 free throws). And played good defence for all the time he spent on court.

He already seems ready to score 10 - 15 points in one Euroleague game with a 25 + minutes on court, but seems like Cedevita coach is "dosing" him, there isn't need for hurry, they will go step by step with him.

Mirotic12 · Post #37 » by **Mirotic12** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 11:14 pm

Stackey wrote:
Mirotic12 wrote:As for Bosnian talents besides Musa, what about Atic? I wonder why no one mentions him here at all. I like him better than guys like Osman and Korkmaz - guys that NBA teams seem to be drooling over.

Atic just doesnt' play for his club, so there isn't really anything to talk about. Actually, often he isn't even in the roster of AEK for the games in Greek league. They reportedly payed €750,000 euros for his transfer from SPARS Sarajevo and he is on the 6 years contract, so I guess they will give playing time to him sooner or later, but right now it's not happening.
But yes, he's good, no doubt about that
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR46cZoN1B4[/youtube]

Musa in the other hand just couple of hours ago played 13 minutes in the Top 16 Euroleague game, ended with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, so that's reason why he is more interesting right now. Unlike Atic, he actually plays for his club, and at same time he is two years younger than him.

As for that mentioned Top 16 Euroleague game against Lokomotiv Kuban, Musa hit a three-pointer, scored with a floater and once again showed his ability to beat his defender with his quick first step and force him to foul(1/2 free throws). And played good defence for all the time he spent on court.

He already seems ready to score 10 - 15 points in one Euroleague game with a 25 + minutes on court, but seems like Cedevita coach is "dosing" him, there isn't need for hurry, they will go step by step with him.

I don't think not playing in AEK means anything for an 18 year old player. I don't think most people realize how huge AEK's budget is and how deep their team is. Probably because like half their team has either been unregistered or injured when they played in Eurocup, and they kept having to switch players all the time. They played in the group of death in Eurocup, and still went 5-5 with like half their team.

It's really, really hard to get playing time in that team, and near impossible if you are 18. Phil Scrubb has barely played at all, and has been like a 13th man the whole season there, and I am fairly certain that Phil Scrubb could be the leading guard on many teams in the Adriatic League.

Malcom Armstead didn't even last like 3 weeks in AEK during practice, training, and games, before he was released. So an 18 year old guard not playing in that team really is going to be expected. Even Chris Warren, who was playing a lot for AEK, eventually got cut by them for not being at the level they are demanding with guard play. And Chris Warren is one of the most athletic and best one to one scorers at point guard in all of Europe.

Believe it or not, AEK is setting a very high standard of play for their guards. It has nothing to do with Atic as he compared to other players his age in Europe.

Stackey · Post #38 » by **Stackey** » Sun Jan 3, 2016 2:51 pm

Mirotic12, I know that AEK is a good team, you don't have to prove that. That doesn't have anything with my claim that nobody talks about Atic right now because he isn't getting playing time in that club. At the same time, Musa is a regular part of the Cedevita rotation, and he is 2 years and 4 months younger than Atic. And that's the reason why he is in the spotlight. It's very simple.

Don't get me wrong, I like Edin Atic. Actually, I wrote on this forum about him.

He and Musa are similar to some degree: both of them are creative guards with a above average size for that position, both of them possess elite first step and both of them are great rebounders for their position.

Atic is shorter(6' 6.75'') but with a better length(6' 9.25" wingspan). With his narrow shoulders, that wingspan is all about his long arms.

Also, it seems like he is a slightly better athlete than Musa.

Here is a gif that shows how Atic uses his length and athleticism:
https://media.giphy.com/media/p9GePPfFNpD44/giphy.gif

As for defense, Atic uses his long arms and gets in passing lanes. He is able to have 5 + steals in one game. And when he is focused, he can play really good defense. Musa in the other hand, while he isn't a huge stealer as Atic, is a more willing defender. He seems to enjoy playing aggressive defense. Again, maybe it just have something with his far better stamina:

Musa can play 30 + minutes day by day as a leader in the offense and as same time as aggressive defender, you can kick him, foul him hard, that kid always seems relaxed and rested. Incredibly. Atic just doesn't have that level of stamina(at least, not now), he isn't capable of playing intense in both sides of the floor in one game, so maybe that's the reason why he choose to turn into Harden mode in defence. Again, as I said that, when he is focused, he is a good defender.

Their attitude and behaviour on the court are very different. Musa is confident and competitive, but at same time very calm and with strong mind. Opposite fans can boo him, opposite players can trash talk him, there is no reaction. Atic often seems nervous and weak-minded, it's easy to provoke and disconcert him. His body language isn't good too.

So, Musa is in better physical condition and his mind is more mature, which means that he is more ready for professional basketball than Atic(obvioulsy, that's the reason why one of them plays for his club and other one not), although he is almost two and a half year younger. Maybe that doesn't say a lot for their long term ceiling :-?

But, aspect of the game where Musa is far more superior to him and to all others European prospects on guard position is ball handling. Atic can handle the ball too, but he is all about right arm. He can finish with the left arm, but his handle with that arm is very poor. Thar's why he is a turnover prone sometimes. Musa seems like one of those rare people able to do everything on same level with both hands. I saw a thread on this forum how many SF in NBA are able to "break a ankle" of their defenders. Musa isn't a SF, but he is still 6'8.25'' player capable of doing this using mainly his left arm(he is a right - handed):
https://media.giphy.com/media/XJCrZub8ogY1i/giphy.gif

As for shooting, it's hard to tell. None of them are bad shooters, but also not a great shooters. Still, potential is there, for every time one of them shoot 0/8 for three, there is a game where he had 4/7 for three. What worries me about Atic is his free throws. He misses ton on them. But maybe that also have something with his lack of concentration on the court.

In the end, it seems that except ball handling skills, there is only one thing what makes Musa better player than Atic, and it's attitude. Musa refused to sign for Olympiacos because they could not guarantee him playing time in this season, next season or ever basically. Atic was perfectly aware that he will not get playing time in AEK for at least one year, but huge contract they offered to him was perfectly enough reason to accept to sign for that club.

But attitude is not a unimprovable thing, especially for a 1997 born player. Atic needs a authoritative but patient coach to work with, he needs to work more on his mental approach than his basketball skills. He possess tools to become a great player, and I hope he will. But at this moment I'm more confident in Musa, just because he is so mentally strong. Of course, I really want that both of them succeed.

Stackey · Post #39 » by **Stackey** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 8:45 pm

Yesterday another good Adriatic league game for him, 9 points for 15 minutes played. Had couple of nice plays, here are two of them:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2JL1AmZjjU[/youtube]

Stackey · Post #40 » by **Stackey** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:18 pm

Yet another good performance in Adriatic league, 14 points(4/5 for 2, 1/2 for 3, 3/5 for 1), 6 rebounds, 2 steals for 21 minutes played against Mega Leks. Also, 5 fouls were made on him.

Some of his plays from this game(at 00 : 57 he made 2 + 1 alley oop play and the guy who fouled him is 95' born Timothe Luwawu, projected as the first round pick for the 2016 draft)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xmhjrEl8Yk&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

This is my last report on his Adriatic games performances. It just isn't a big deal anymore that he is having a good game. He seems very close to the level when he will be able to put some numbers even in the Euroleague.