Fw: Insider top 15 international prospects (LONG)

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven Wallace" <swallace4922@attbi.com>
Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.boston-celtics
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 6:10 PM
Subject: Insider top 15 international prospects (LONG)


> Attributed to the author - very long - very interesting
>
> Top 15 international NBA prospects
> Chad Ford
> NBA Insider
> Wednesday, May 14
>
>
>  On The Road Again
>  NBA Insider Chad Ford has hopped across the pond once more for an
up-close
> look at some of the top European prospects in the 2003 NBA Draft. Follow
> Ford's trip in his daily journal:
>
> NBA scouts claim that this year's crop of international players may end up
> dominating the lottery and the early part of the first round of the 2003
> draft.
>
>
> Currently, Insider is projecting as many as 13 international players could
> be selected in the first round this year.
>
> NBA Insider Chad Ford has already traveled to Germany, Yugoslavia,
Croatia,
> Spain, Italy and France along with NBA international scouting guru Tony
> Ronzone to get a first-hand look at 13 top international prospects: Darko
> Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Florent Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Pavel Podkolzin,
> Anderson Varejao, Maciej Lampe, Zarko Carbakapa, Alexsandar Pavlovic,
Victor
> Khryapa, Zoran Planinic, Kresmir Loncar and Slavko Vranjes.
>
> After returing from the Euroleague Final Four, here's Ford's latest take
on
> the guys teams are buzzing about:
>
> 1. Darko Milicic, PF/C, Yugoslavia
> The line: 7-0, 245, 17 years old
> The skinny: He struggled two weeks ago in front a packed house of NBA
talent
> scouts in Greece. It won't matter. Darko has the luxury of being one of
the
> best scouted international players ever. Most teams have a great feel for
> what he can do. Like Dirk Nowitzki, he has the full complement of skills.
He
> can handle, shoot the 3 and play in the paint. Unlike Nowitzki, he's tough
> as nails. A strong defender who gets aggressive in the post. He's going to
> be a top-three pick in this year's draft.
>
> 2. Mickael Pietrus, SG, France
> The line: 6-6, 210, 20 years old
> The skinny: Pietrus has been working on his jumper since we saw him in
> December. Some teams felt that was his only weakness. Actually, his
ability
> to shoot the 3 consistently is really one of his strengths. He's got a
great
> stroke. Pietrus has a very American game. He loves to take it to the
basket
> and use his athleticism and leaping ability to fly past his opponents.
He's
> also a superb defender. He's aggressive on both ends of the court. He's
very
> strong for his size. Think a mixture of Desmond Mason and Ray Allen. The
> Bulls have already been making numerous inquiries. He could go as high as
> No.7. I doubt he slips past the Grizzlies at No. 13.
>
> 3. Maciej Lampe, F, Poland
> The line: 7-0, 255, 18 years old
> The skinny: Lampe was getting mixed reviews before we finally tracked him
> down in Menorca, Spain last week. He was huge. With the team's center and
> MVP, Jaime Peterson, out of the game, Lampe went off for 27 points and
nine
> boards in just over 23 minutes. Lampe's combination of size, shooting
touch,
> ball-handling skills and an advanced inside-outside games have drawn
> comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. His shooting stroke is one of the smoothest
> I've ever seen in a big kid. He's got a nice body, has a very fluid game,
> and despite reports to the contrary, looked very good with his back to the
> basket. He's needs to become a better rebounder, defender and get
stronger,
> but he's probably secured a place in the lottery. Look for the Bucks and
> Sonics to give him a long look.
>
> 4. Pavel Podkolzin, C, Russia
> The line: 7-4, 300, 18 years old
> The skinny: He's going to be the toughest kid in the draft to get an
> accurate read on. I saw him practice in Verase, Italy last Monday. He'd be
> the biggest guy in the NBA (height and weight) since Shaquille O'Neal.
He's
> just huge. His best attribute is his athleticism for someone that size.
He's
> not a lumbering center by any means. He runs the floor well, has a pretty
> good handle and can really shoot the ball. The problem is he's very raw.
He
> doesn't know how to take advantage of his size in the post, is just an
> adequate defender and lacks game smarts. That's understandable because of
> his age and lack of experience. It will probably take three years for him
to
> be a contributor in the NBA. Major buyout issues with the team (right now
> they're asking for a boat load of cash) may also sink his chances at
getting
> drafted in the lottery. But at the end of the day, don't be shocked if a
> team takes the chance on him in the late lottery. His upside is second
only
> to LeBron, Darko and Carmelo.
>
> 5. Boris Diaw, SG, France
> The line: 6-9, 220, 21 years old
> The skinny: A big-time prospect who's been overshadowed by the emergence
of
> Pietrus. I finally caught up with him in practice on Monday. He's very
> smooth and one of the best passers I've seen in the draft. He has a real
> point guard mentality and is very unselfish. He has a nice body and is a
> good athlete. Diaw is more skilled than Pietrus, but Pietrus is the better
> athlete and scorer. The only question with Diaw is aggressiveness. He can
be
> too passive at times. Some scouts believe that will change when Diaw gets
> out of the system he's playing in and gets more familiar with the NBA. The
> comparisons to Scottie Pippen aren't too far off, but I doubt he'll ever
> average more than 12 to 15 ppg in the league. He's probably a
> mid-first-rounder. Phoenix (at No. 17) and Utah (at No. 19) both have
> interest.
>
> 6. Leandrinho Barbosa, PG, Brazil
> The line: 6-4, 185, 21 years old
> The skinny: How quickly can Barbosa learn English? That's the biggest
> question in most scout's minds. One Western Conference coach told me he
> loves Barbosa, but he's afraid to draft him early because of the language
> barrier. Your point guard must be able to communicate with the coach and
his
> teammates. His agent has him in English lessons for two hours a day; he
> better make it four. Barbosa is considered the best player in Brazil. He's
> very long and an explosive athlete. The thing that has scouts buzzing is
the
> speed at which Barbosa plays for someone his size. He's constantly
attacking
> the basket on offense, and aggressively harassing his man on defense. With
> his long arms (6-foot-10 wingspan) he gets an unusual amount of steals and
> blocks for a point guard. Only a few teams have actually been to Brazil to
> see Barbosa play. He averaged 29.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 spg and 0.8
> bpg while shooting 57 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the
arc
> and 85 percent from the free-throw line. Several NBA scouts who have seen
> him feel that he could move his way into the late lottery with strong
> workouts.
>
> 7. Alexsandar Pavlovic, SG/SF, Yugoslavia
> The line: 6-7, 210, 20 years old
> The skinny: Pavlovic is a 6-foot-7 athletic swingman who some scouts are
> comparing to Peja Stojakovic. While scouts say that he struggles as a
> defender and doesn't have a great long-range game, other teams feel he
could
> be a kid who could come in and make an impact in year one. The rumor is
that
> he already has a promise between 14 and 19.
>
> 8. Anderson Varejao, PF, Brazil
> The line: 6-10, 230, 20 years old
> The skinny: He's slipping. Few teams have a good handle on him and his
play
> at the Euroleague Final 4 didn't help him. If you're an optimist, you say
> that the fact that he got playing time in two key games is evidence that
> he's a legit player. If you're a pessimist, you look at the stat line and
> ask, what's the big deal? Teams get excited about his rebounding, shot
> blocking and aggressive play. Others claim he's a tweener. He's not
physical
> enough to thrive in the post in the NBA, and his game isn't developed
enough
> on the offensive end to play small forward. If he could work out with
teams,
> he'd probably move back into the lottery. But because of Barcelona's
playoff
> schedule, he won't be able to go through private workouts. That's likely
to
> push him out of the lottery and into the mid-to-late first round.
>
> 9. Zaur Pachulia, PF/C, Georgia
> The line: 6-11, 250, 19 years old
> The skinny: A former teammate of Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Pachulia is more of
a
> classic low-post banger. He's strong, likes to mix it up down low and is
an
> excellent rebounder. Pachulia actually threw his name into the draft last
> season and wowed several teams, including the Pacers. He was considered a
> late-first-round pick last year. Pachulia's agent felt that he'd be better
> off waiting a year to get Pachulia more exposure. After a slow season in
> Turkey playing behind the Euroleague MVP, Joe Blair, Pachulia finally got
> his chance a month ago when Blair went down with an injury. He responded
> with 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting and added eight rebounds, three
assists
> and three steals in a huge win over defending Euroleague champ
> Panathinaikos. The game wasn't a fluke. He followed it up with a 13-point,
> 17-rebound performance against Skipper Bologna. He's probably a
> late-first-rounder.
>
> 10. Sofaklis Schortsianides, C, Greece
> The line: 6-10, 287, 17 years old
> The skinny: Nicknamed Baby Shaq by his teammates in Greece, he's very
strong
> and capable of playing with his back to the basket. His stock has dropped
> lately as teams question his size. His agent, Marc Fleisher, claims that
he
> was recently measured at 6-10, 287 with shoes. Will that stop the
slippage?
> It's tough to call. The international field is getting more crowded by the
> day and Sofaklis' skills aren't that unique. He's a big bruiser in the
> paint. But after watching some tape on him, I'm not sure what he does that
> Michael Sweetney and Mario Austin don't do better. There's only so much
> demand for physical, undersized power forwards in the league. Workouts
will
> be big for him. If he projects to be like Elton Brand, he'll move way up
> this chart. If he's closer to Danny Fortson, then the mid-to-late first
> round is just about right.
>
> 11. Victor Khryapa, SF, Russia
> The line: 6-9, 200, 20 years old
> The skinny: Helped himself tremendously at the Euroleague Final 4. His
> defense on Dejan Bodiroga (the Euroleague Final 4 MVP) was impressive.
He's
> very long and an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. Khryapa gets a lot
of
> comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko. Both players are long and
> mutli-dimensional. Khryapa's a good shooter with NBA 3 range. However,
he's
> not quite the athlete that Kirilenko is nor is he quite as polished as his
> European counterparts. He also has to get stronger to compete at the next
> level and won't be able to come to the NBA this year because of contract
> issues. That's a minus for some teams and a big plus for others. With all
> that said, most teams still consider him a great prospect. He'll likely be
a
> late-first-rounder.
>
> 12. Carlos Delfino, SG/SF, Argentina
> The line: 6-7, 215, 21 years old
> The skinny: Several teams like Delfino, but a serious ankle injury a month
> ago really hurt his stock. I had planned to go to Bologna to see Delfino
> play, but his ankle still was still hurting. His agent, David Bauman,
claims
> that there was no ligament damage and plans to bring him to the U.S. for
> private workouts. He'll have to prove that there isn't any reoccurring
> problems with the ankle. Teams love his toughness, shooting ability and
how
> he can get to the basket. Can he slip into the first round? He has the
> talent, but his workouts will be key.
>
> 13. Zarko Carbakapa, PF, Yugoslavia
> The line: 6-11, 230, 22 years old
> The skinny: NBA scouts were out in force last week to get a better look at
> Carbakapa. He's another versatile athlete who plays three positions in
> Europe. He's an excellent outside shooter. He just needs to get stronger.
> Teams are also concerned that he's a little one dimensional. He's not
nearly
> as comfortable putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the hole.
He's
> represented by super agent Bill Duffy, which won't hurt his stock come
draft
> day. Given a string of recent strong performances, it's not out of the
> question that Carbakapa could be the 13th international player selected in
> the first round this year.
>
> 14. Zoran Planinic, PG/SG, Croatia
> The line: 6-6, 215, 20 years old
> The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Jiri Welsch. He plays both guard
> positions, but his NBA future is at the point. Unlike Welsch, he's more of
a
> one than two. An early season injury really wrecked his season. He never
> really rebounded and his stock has really dropped. But, remember, teams
will
> always take a risk on a 6-6 point guard. Should be an early second
rounder.
>
> 15. Malick Badiane, PF/C, Senegal
> The line: 6-11, 225, 19 years old
> The skinny: Badiane, a native of Senegal, has long arms (7-foot-4 wing
span)
> and a solid NBA body. He already has the shot blocking and rebounding
down,
> but scouts say he's very raw (think Olumide Oyedeji) on the offensive end.
> But unlike Oyedeji, he's bigger, stronger, more athletic and has decent
pro
> instincts. NBA scouts think he's probably a second-rounder, but don't be
> surprised if Dallas takes a look at him with the last pick of the first
> round.
>
> Others to watch: Slavko Vranes, C, Yugoslavia; Kristaps Voltars, PG,
Latvia;
> Paccelis Morlende, PG, France; Alexsandar Vujacic, PG/SG, Slovenia; Boyko
> Mladenov, PF, Bulgaria; Szymon Szewczyk, PF, Poland; Blagota Sekulic, SF,
> Yugoslavia; Florent Pietrus, SF/PF, France; Mican Nikabase, PG, Germany