2004 Reebok Eurocamp

[gary_moore]

2004 Reebok Eurocamp

By Marco Fracasso
June 6th, 2004

The Reebok Eurocamp, like the Big Man Camp, was held at the La Ghirada sports complex, in Treviso, continuing between the 3rd and the 5th of June. This time around the 40+ players (almost exclusively the best young talent in Europe) from all positions were invited to show their stuff, with the oldest player (Mile Ilic) being 20 years old and the youngest being 15 (Danilo Gallinari). For the first two days, the camp went as follows. The players were divided into six groups. In the morning there were several teaching stations, run by coaches with NBA and international experience, and all six groups rotated to practice in all of them. They consisted of shooting excercises and 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 drills. At the end of the morning sessions, three games were played simultaneously on the three courts of the gym.

On the third day, some competitions were organized. The players rotated around the six stations as usual, and in each one they found different challenges, which were designed to find out who had best mastered those exercises in each group. The winner was rewarded with prizes like Reebok T-shirts and socks.

In the afternoon it was time for the All Star game, which was naturally made up of the best players in the camp. During the breaks, the finals of the 3 point shooting contest and slam dunk contest were held (selected based on the competitions of the morning). The dunk contest had an interesting format, because the challenge was to take off for the dunk as far as possible from the basket. We have some highlights of the dunk competition at the end of this article.

The finals participants for the dunk contest were: Alex King, Mouhamed Saer Sene, Mirza Teletovic, Roman Gomenyuk, Johan Petro and the winner Marcin Gortat, who took off at the free throw line and after he won, thanked the cheering fans (and other players) with more highlights.

One note is that only the international NBA scouts were at the camp on the last day, because many had to go back to the States to prepare thmeselves for the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp.

Now lets talk more in depth about the most interesting players at the camp.

Roko Leni Ukic

Roko Leni Ukic

(6-5, 183 pounds, 1984)
Probably the player who had the biggest impact on the floor. At 6-5 he has great size and very good ball-handling for the point guard position. He has very quick feet and hands, reminiscent a little of Ginobili as far as the way he reacts to what’s happening on the floor, he has good court awareness and the mental and physical tools to go along with that. His 6-7 ½ wingspan makes him a threat defensively in the passing lanes. He’s very aggressive on defense, something that has to be corrected a bit because he gambles a lot as many of those guys do. He showed the ability to contain the penetration of smaller players very well, something that he didn’t always have, which is great as far as his NBA potential is concerned.

He’s a very good athlete, although he does need to become stronger, but he has yet to turn twenty and his body looks far from mature. He’s really great leading the fast break, but he’s not always patient enough in the half court game. He forced several situations by over-penetrating, running into brick walls, and he was caught getting up in the air a couple of times without having decided what to do yet.

Because of plays like that he ended up with too many turnovers, a problem that needs to and probably will be cut down with more experience and maturity. Ukic is very creative off the dribble, he can find the open man while slashing both on the perimeter and with a close pass; he’ll likely be able to beat his man off the dribble even in the NBA.

According to scouts, he’s probably going to be drafted somewhere in the second half of the first round, with how close to the middle depending on his individual workouts. Since he hasn’t been paid by his team for several months now, he’s free to opt out of his contract at any time.

Nemanja Aleksandrov
(6-11 ¾, 212 pounds, 24 inch vertical, 1987)
Aleksandrov is projected by many as the #1 overall pick of the 2005 draft, and as you might expect he had a lot of eyes on him. There were very high expectations on the kid who just turned 17 two months ago, and that’s probably why he couldn’t impress that much, even considering that he’s younger than most of the other players.

At this point he’s a small forward, which is probably the role that he’s best suited for on offense. He can easily beat players his height off the dribble and create separation to knock down a good looking jumper, even if it isn’t falling consistently.

He can take advantage of his height closer to the basket, using the angles and his pivot very well, with his go-to move being the half hook which needs to be refined. He is very quick and athletic, runs and moves like a point guard, a role he could easily play at this level. The downside is that he seems really weak, he didn’t look able to finish at the basket in traffic while relying more on runners and rainbow shots, but we must always keep in mind how young the guy is and how his body is still developing. In the games itself he didn’t get the ball as much in the beginning and wasn’t asking for it too much either (normal in Europe, there’s a lot of sharing of the offensive load). Later on there were some more plays ran for him and he did hit the potential game winning shot for his team in the first day with a few seconds left on the clock. He was the go-to guy in the All Star Game, but his team got blown out.

His character and mean streak need to be tested, because at first glance he seems a bit soft. Overall he’s obviously a very rare talent, but he didn’t really dominate the competition as much as someone might expect a future superstar to. Always keep in mind that he was one of the younger players on the floor and that he didn’t look like it. At this age one year can and does make a world of difference. The best NBA comparison for him at this point would probably be Lamar Odom.

Martynas Andriuskevicius
(7-3, 230 pounds, 25 inches vertical, 1986)
As promised, here’s a more in depth report on him. If you eval‎uate what he can do, he’s defenitly going to be a lottery pick in one of the next drafts. He moves like someone ten inches shorter, with very good fundamentals close and far away from the basket. He can play inside and outside. He’s still weak but he doesn’t look scared by the contact, and that’s the most importat thing because his body will develop for sure. He complains a bit too much, but in the second day he answered a few bad calls that went his way with a couple of two hand dunks.

He has to get MUCH stronger, Teletovic (6-9 PF, 248 pounds, not an NBA prospect in the near future but very mean and physical near the basket) owned him in the low post. He has to improve his defense like all of those guys, but he has the physical abilities to become a great help defender.

In the Johan Petro match-up he clearly looked like the better player, able to take good shots but not hitting any of them. His team lost probably every game, and several were blow-outs. He claimed to have pain in his back, and it was likely true, but he did everything to show it during the games. He was seen joking with fellow Russian-speakers Pavel Podkolzine and Vladimir Vereemenko, but most of the time looked like he was sulking. He pouted a bit too much with his teammates for their mistakes. It’s unfair to read too much into these things, maybe he was really injured and played through a lot of pain. He was very competitive on the floor--he looked really pissed off after the losses--but all these aspects of his character will be deeply scouted in the future, if he’s going to pull his name out of the draft as expected. He missed the All Star game on the last day because of a stomach ache.

Johan Petro
(7-0 ¾, 258 pounds, 7-2 ½ wingspan, 1986)
Possibly the biggest disappointment of the camp. Looked very raw on offense, and not smart enough to have an impact on defense at this point either. He has very good size and he’s a good athlete, runs the floor very well, but he’s far from being a Stoudemire-like freak. His development stage doesn’t look much further along than Pavel’s, but he has less potential because he doesn’t have the same unique physical tools, and unlike Pavel, he seemed a bit soft too.

Not great as far as finishing, unless he’s alone under the basket, he might even have soft enough hands, but he doesn’t have yet have the shooting form most of the other guys at the camp have. He did show a couple of promising half hooks with both hands. To be fair, he’s still really young, and because of that he could even be a lottery pick down the road, but if he stays in the draft he’s a huge project at this point, probably with not enough potential to go much before the mid-twenties.

Marcin Gortat

Marcin Gortat

(7-0 ½, 240 pounds, 7-1 ½ wingspan, 29 inches vertical, 1984)
The surprise of the camp. He did nothing in the German league last year, but came out in a big way in Treviso. He’s not as polished offensively as many others, and he lacks a bit of game experience, which causes him to make some unfortunate errors on defense by losing his man and helping at the wrong time. He’s an energy player, probably the best athlete in the camp. Dominated Petro in the head to head matchup, blocking him several times. Really got some good exposure thanks to the dunk competion where he took off from the free throw line ala Dr. J, and then pleased the crowd by doing a between the legs dunk and closing with Vince Carter’s “elbow in the rim” (see the video at the end of the article). Scouts seem to see him more as a project, but they certainly wrote his name down for the future.

Erazem Lorbek
(6-11 ½, 243 pounds, 1984)
Has declared for the draft this year. Known to NCAA fans because of his one year with the Michigan State Spartans, Lorbek played for the Euroleague runner up Fortitudo (Skipper) Bologna this year. On that young but elite team, Erazem had consistent minutes up until the Italian league playoffs, where his playing time was cut down to almost nothing. He is known as a very polished player, but not athletic enough and without enough bulk to be considered good for the power forward position in the NBA. In Treviso he turned out to be a much better athlete than expected, registering a camp high 30 inch vertical leap, showing good mobility even if his lateral quickness might be a bit suspect, and overall looking like a better athlete than what he’s been credited for. His size was better than expected too, being measured at 6-11 ½ and 243 pounds (but he has no neck!), with a 7-1 ½ wingspan, when he’s always been listed as 6-9. His defense in the post has to be tested more, but a late first round pick is not out of question.

An intersting note from chatting with some players, he was stated (along with Ukic) as the best player in the camp. Missed the All Star Game because of the last game of the Italian league finals.

Others to keep your eye on:

Roman Gomenyuk

Roman Gomenyuk

(7-3 ½, 217 pounds, 1987)
We already mentioned him in the previous article (click HERE). In the dunk competition he proved that he’s certainly not a stiff (see video at end of article), and he again showed good moves near the basket during the workouts. But in the games he lacks the experience that usually comes with age, while he’s not scared of contact he’s too weak to effectively play inside at this point. Seen several times in the Treviso area in the past months, it seems that he’s linked with Benetton. That’s usually a good thing.

Oleksiy Pecherov
(6-11 ¾, 206 pounds, 1985)
I n the Big Men Camp he impressed with his ability to hit big shots in the games. He’s way too skinny, needs to become much, much stronger but it will probably come considering that he is going to turn 19 in December. A very good athlete, everyone needs to respect his shot, and if you do it he’s able to beat you off the dribble. Good leaper, he’s active on the floor. As many players in Treviso, he’s not strong enough to finish near the basket, even if he was aggressive enough attacking the rim. He looked focused on defense, but he was never matched up with the most physical players. Interesting note: at the end of the skills competitions held on the last day, he had four different t-shirts that he won.

Marko Lekic
(6-10 ¾, 267 pounds, 7-0 wingspan, 1985)
He has a great NBA body and enough mobility. Possesses wide shoulders, he will definitely be able to carry at least 15-20 more pounds of muscle. Looked like a good post player in the workouts, inconsistent in the games. He has the time to develop into a first rounder in the next few years, maybe even a lottery pick.

Drago Pasalic
(6-10 ¾, 236 pounds, 1984)
A very solid player, does everything well enough. He can play in the post, handle the ball, has good range, and was effective on defense. The downside is that he probably does nothing well enough to be a first rounder. He declared himself elegible for this year’s draft.

Aleksandar Ugrinoski
( 6-4, 166 pounds, 1988)
A few months shy from being the youngest player in the camp, he showed a lot of self confidence and poise at the same time. Very good at running a team at this level, excellent in the open court. You just have to look at him to understand that he’s just a kid, but remember his name because it will likely come back again down the road.

Vladimir Vereemenko

Vladimir Veremeenko

(6-10 ¾, 226 pounds, 1984)
Had a terrible accident with Pawel Mroz in the second day, head to head, 4 stitches needed (see picture). Played in the All Star game, the very next day. Very tough guy, very mature player, knows how to play. He looked good on defense against the small forwards (his NBA position, could play also power forward in Europe) at the camp, probably not quick enough to be effective against the NBA ones. Does not have the potential of other guys, but given the right chance he will have a career even in the US. More info HERE. He averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds in the Russian league playing for Avtodor Saratov.

Damjan Rudez
(6-10, 199 pounds, 7-0 ½ wingspan, 1986)
Very far from having an NBA body, but showed the whole package as far as offensive skills, being extremely effective in the games while moving well without the ball, hitting all the important shots and showing unexpected solidity on defense against Veremeenko. He looks shorter than the 6-10 he’s been measured, but if his body develops enough (he’ll turn 18 in a few days) he’ll likely be a NBA player in the future.

Dunk Competition Video
The following video shows one dunk by Roman Gomenyuk, one dunk by Nemanja Aleksandrov, and two dunks by dunk competition winner Marcin Gortat. Remember that the goal of the competition was to take off for the dunk from as far away as possible. The video could take awhile to load for those with slower internet connections.

Click here to see the video.

Top in the camp:
Height: Roman Gomenyuk, 7-3 ½
Weight: Marko Lekic, 267 pounds
Wingspan: Mouhamed Saer Sene, 7-7 ½
Vertical jump: Erazem Lorbek, Alex King, Manuchar Markoishvili, Roko Leni Ukic: 30 inches

Special Thanks to Claudio Manzan.

[캠프만세]

큰넘들 참 많군요...

[Yes! I Do It!]

다들 키는 큰데...웨이트가 적게 나가서....다 말라깽이 아닐까요?

[gary_moore]

덩크 컨테스트 우승한 저 놈, 7피트의 키에 프리드로 라인 덩크를 해버렸습니다.-_-;;

[gary_moore]

그리고 선수들 몸무게는 지금 보시면 안될 겁니다. 나이들을 보세요. 이제 겨우 17-18인 선수가 태반입니다. 저 나이 때에 몸에 근육이 NBA 선수들 처럼 붙어 있을 리가 없죠.

[y2kings]

킹제임스씨의영향때문에^^ 이제 20살짜리도 근육맨들도 좀 있더라구요