EuroLeague Update 3

First of all, Mabari, who is born roughly at 1989, and at 6-8 and 215 lbs., possesses all the physical tools which have scouts dreaming about what kind of prospect he might just turn out to be. Although 6-8 and playing center for his severely undersized Cameroonian team, Mabari hones a 7-2 and a half wingspan with freakishly long arms which always seems to be within the defenders' peripheral vision. In the few games he showcased his talents against upper level competition in the EuroCamps, many European shooters fell way below their averages simply by the fact that Mabari was always there, even just sticking an arm up just to simply alter their shot. Not to mention that Mabari is a superb shotblocker as well, mostly due to his wingspan and reflexes. He knows how to play the ball, and not the man, and rarely gets into foul trouble, in fact often finishing with more blocks than fouls although against lower competition. His rebounding skills are impressive even though he doesn't box out, which is a more a testament to his natural physical tools. He can get rebounds over defenders even if they are trying to box him out. Mabari also possesses great lateral quickness especially on defense (although not so much on offense) and he shows vast potential in guarding what could be all five spots in the NBA. He alters everyone's shots from bigs to smalls simply due to his wingspan and movements. Lastly, Mabari is EXTREMELY athletic, and this cannot be emphasized any further. Combine that with his wingspan and speed, he hones a 40' inch vertical. He doesn't do anything flashy currently with his raw ability, but he high-rises often with power dunks, blocks and rebounds. He uses his vert as more of an intimidation asset. All in all he simply displays very intimidating characteristics on the court.

As for Mabari's weaknesses, most of them revolve around his raw ability. Mabari shows very little in terms of offensive game, rarely being able to do anything besides lay the ball up (which even sometimes misses) or dunk. He needs to be a few feet away from the basket, but even so, his ballhandling skills and coordination with offensive moves are so unrefined and unskilled that he is extremely turnover prone whenever he takes a few dribbles or when he faces pressure defense. When he releases free throws (he doesn't take jumpshots), the shot comes out extremely flat and misses badly, showing that he lacks touch although this part of his game can be adjusted. To emphasize, he rarely gets more points than blocks, a testament to his poor scoring ability or great shotblocking skills, either one. Mabari even sometimes looks lost out there, not looking fully concentrated or understanding the playbook, sometimes just being out there to do things out of his own accord. To boot, despite his youth, he plays very much like a center right now in what would seem to be a small forward's body. He lacks many small forward skills and what would seem to be a power forward's as well. He may need to adjust his game especially if he doesn't grow any further.

In Ukraine under-the-radar shooting guard Savre Jingen, a 6-5 skinny guard, had the game of his life with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists displaying great offensive versatility and conformity while playing a paced game, never forcing anything out of the context of the offense. Jingen is more or less the prototypical Euro shooter with great fundamentals but with his age (born 1987) it would be interesting to see where he goes from here on out. Vitaly Oburr, a 6-10 big, had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. If nothing else, if passing is one of the best for a big in the EuroLeague.

Lithuania today also had some nice games from Flasjas Narvu (born 1987), a stringy center with some perimeter game, who produced 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Narvu can rotate well and already has NBA three point range at such a young age, but he suffers some a certain degree of softness, lack of rebounding and lack of weight. Erdrich Tarev had 13 points today on 6-10 shooting, but had 6 turnovers in a dreadfully-called game against Valtieren. Sheveri Debess, a stocky and slow 6-2 guard (born 1986) showed his excellent pure shooting ability with 11 points and 3 assists (3-4 three pointers today).

In Yugoslavia, the guards continued to pour on their dominance. Yanny Nezgarov had 16 points (albeit on 5-14 shooting, 5-9 threes) and 6 assists against Obercaine, Ergy Salari had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Selem Verjo had an off night but contributed in other places with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and Palaj Terrin, a 6-3 180 lb. PG (born 1986) showed some of his raw skills today with a 15 point, 4 assist outing, with his playmaking skills steadily improving. Dubei Seranine compiled an impressive game as the leading scorer, with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and bulky Devla Teslev (born 1987) showed his consistency once more with a 13 point, 6 rebound, 3 block game against Vercilles. In junior Yugoslavian competition, 7-0, 251 lb. Arven Majeri (born 1989) had 11 points and 3 blocks while Urstarv Ratari had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

In Italy Ivan Motlev had a poor outing today, with 6 points on 3-12 shooting, and Valli Scamparey compounded the horrendous Italian basketball day with only 12 minutes of playing time, 1 point, 1 block and 4 fouls. Lis Phrenz (born 1986) of Alkatari Loggagio also had a horrible outing, displaying poor shot selection and forced layups in a miserable 2-10 shooting night for 5 points. The junior competitions held one of the few bright spots for the Italians, as 6-3 pure PG Bellio DiRuggio had 18 points and 9 assists against Valcommer, albeit against very lax defenses and extremely poor competition.

In Croatia, Avala Geothe had 8 points, 12 boards, 2 steals and blocks today, and Forap Rensur had a nice 11 point, 11 rebound outing. Timu Sur (born 1986), a speedster and one of the most athletic European white guards (can dunk the basketball standing at 6-0) put his shooting ability and off-the-dribble passing ability on display with 16 points and 6 assists, but he sorely needs to improve his decision-making and make use of his natural talents. Najuvett Pontja (born 1987), who had some clashes with his coach in the past, put aside his differences at least for today in showing his slashing and perimeter game to the tune of 18 points (8-10 free throws). Pontja's teammate Uros Kavalu , a fellow 6-5 wingman, had 13 points and 4 steals in displaying his slashing and anticipation skills.

In the Balkans, the basketball land surrounding Greece, Bulgarian guard Mermis Sadaine (born 1986) had 12 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in leading Cyprusi Mantcullen to a victory. Sadaine has the prototypical NBA swingman body but besides his rather ordinary shooting/slashing ability and athleticism, what sets him apart is his desire to become the defensive stopper for his team. Turkey guard Sumy Vezghev had an average outing with 10 points, 2 assists and 3 turnovers, but dictated tempo fairly well. Georgian giant Jafur Mhazgury did not do much in limited playing time, but had two impressive blocks against big defenders in 8 minutes. Young Greek guard Tarvu Sajai displayed his heart and hustle throughout the game as well as his playmaking abilities with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. He's not a scorer, but his play is infectious and is rare in such a young player. At 6-0 solid, height will be a huge detriment to him. Greek guard Delios Mantinezzos was solid against Aoribis with 9 points, 8 rebounds and an assist.