Brazil is a country whose players are characterized by raw athletes with little polish but a lot of potential. A lot of these players are gifted by some or most of the following: a good vertical, a long wingspan, above average speed/quickness.

 

Hylavo Cellurie, a 6-1 point guard with a thick set but most of those attributes listed above, is currently the top prize of Brazil right now. He's still extremely young as a 1988 prospect and still extremely raw, but his defense is extremely advanced and to many scouts, that is simply the hardest thing to learn. He has a lot going for him and what he has to learn is simply easier than what he already has. For that reason scouts are oozing at the amount of potential he has and what wonders he could potentially do at the NBA.

 

Over the past month, Cellurie has really stepped it up, averaging 8.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.9 apg and 2.6 spg. Keep in mind the Brazilian stats are somewhat skewed due to the system his team plays, so they are not an accurate reflection of his abilities. Cellurie had a standout game against Varkanian the other day with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals however. That game he was breaking down defenders, getting to the basket and really dominated the weaker Brazilian competition, exploiting them both on offense and defense. He put up a solid showing against Veurutiane as well, the powerhouse team of Brazil, with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 steals. Overall his learning curve has been good and he's slowly improving and learning how to make use of his skills.

 

Marcello Blaine already looks like an NBA player on the court, what with his build, his shooting ability and his athleticism. He fits the typical NBA swingman who looks to score first. For a 1988 prospect he already has a polished skill set and he has an advanced game already especially for someone hailing from Brazil. However, he has a huge concern--his attitude. That is really holding him back from making a supreme impact in Brazilian basketball. He has missed quite a couple of games due to suspensions, been in coach Leonardo Ravli's doghouse from time to time, and simply hasn't played up to his potential because his behavior took precedence over his game. He needs to take everything in stride and play a paced game, because his potential is enormous, but unfortunately it is as enormous as the amount of baggage he carries.

 

Blaine has had decent outings over the past few months, but really exploded against Kalistevos with 27 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist on 9-16 shooting, 5-10 three pointers. He's also compiled 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in another game as well. For the year he's averaging 13.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.4 apg and 0.8 spg on 41% FG shooting, 36% threes.

 

Pacemos Despiros de Molles was also a standout when we saw him play, showing his aggressive demeanor and translating that into something effective on the court. He grabbed rebounds, played decent defense and dunked relentlessly nearly breaking the backboard at times. His athleticism is extremely good for the NBA but in terms of polish and fundamentals he still has a lot to learn. He is the least polished of the 3 Brazilian prospects we have profiled today but nonetheless with his tenacity and athleticism (that lethal combination) he has a lot of potential.

 

He averages 10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.1 bpg for the season but had his standout game against Brasil Esvarda three weeks ago, with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. He's also had 16 points and 11 rebounds in yet another solid game.

 

As for the Israelis now, their country is characterized by fairly polished players with decent athleticism and solid skill sets. They are more refined but less athletic than the Brazilian players.

 

The star player we saw in Israel was SaSean Batswa. Batswa is long, lanky, athletic and simply knows how to get to the basket. We watched him the other day and he would continually use his strides to get to the basket even with defenders around him and dunk relentlessly. He has an ugly stroke but he knows how to fill the blanks solidly both offensively and defensively and most scouts around me (and me myself) came away impressed with his game. The NBA needs more all-around players and Batswa has that plus NBA physical attributes.

 

Batswa averages 12.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.4 spg on the season on 54% shooting from the field. He's had games against Tal Valpur where had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, whereas against powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv he put up a solid showing with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

 

Corsey Aljur is one of Batswa's fellow point guards; Aljur possesses good athleticism and solid physical tools, which he uses to make his impact defensively. He has a frail frame but has good lateral quickness, plays hard and has the athleticism to play in the NBA if at least defensively. Offensively he can take the shot and be a gunner where if he gets hot, he can put up good scoring numbers mostly from three pointers. However, that hasn't happened as much over the course of the season (only flashes, and mostly from last year) and he leaves most of his mark defensively.

 

Aljur averages 7.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.4 apg and 1.7 spg, on 38% shooting and 37% from threes. He's still young at a 1986 prospect but he needs to expand his game because point guard is one of the least neediest positions in the NBA and his overall skill set is not really on par with that of NBA PGs. He can eventually find a niche though. One of his few hot games also came against Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he poured 22 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists on 5-9 three pointers while playing harassing defense.

 

Clava Botzong is the post man of the team, but a very reliable offensive player with a polished game to boot. He's not very athletic and doesn't do much besides scoring, but he has a wide frame and knows how to take advantage of his man offensively, getting to the line frequently and simply scoring around the basket. He averages 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg on 58% shooting, 81% FTs. His potential isn't sky-high with his lack of speed, height, conditioning and whatnot, but he's a 1985 prospect and may eventually find a niche in the NBA. Post scoring is a premium after all.

 

Takinje Arraf can potentially be a tall point guard in the NBA, and has a thick set reminding of players such as Royal Ivey, Orien Greene and Milt Palacio. He plays extremely good defense, especially in terms of disorienting the opponent's offense, and has a clear NBA body. The only problem is that he's somewhat of a tweener, lacking point guard skills and shooting skills. He doesn't ultimately fit the need of a NBA PG or a NBA SG, just a defensive specialist. He's extremely one-dimensional on the court.

 

He averages 6.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 2.4 apg as well as 1.2 spg. He had 18 points against Baccarmann and 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists against Salmantur.

 

So we have scouted 4 Israeli players and 3 Brazilian players who we consider to be "gems" so far. There will be more to come as he explore more of these regions over the next couple of weeks.