by joeygraham on Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:26 pm
A Strong Euro
Three top international prospects declare for the draft.
Sanel Nagy, Petr Radjo and Bogdan Ljubuski are three of the top young international talent and their declaration for the 2008 draft has vaulted them up the draft boards. Nagy, a 6'11 234-pound forward, hails from Slovakia though has moved to play in Italy; Radjo, a 6'10 253-pound power forward-center, was born and continue to play in Croatia; and Ljubuski, a 6'4 193-pound guard-forward, comes from Georgia but plays in Russia. "All three will impact the league. The only question will be the extent," raves one Eastern conference scout.
Ljubuski is the eldest of the bunch at 24. He is most comfortable at the small forward position, though his size is a bit of a drawback. He's a prolific shot blocker and a pure shooter, a rare combination of raw offensive and defensive ability. "The biggest knock on Bogdan is his playing sense. Somtimes he seems lost at both ends of the floor. When he's on though, he's incredible," says a Western conference scout.
Radjo, 23, is a force to be reckoned with in the paint. He goes to the rim hard and with his body, few people want to get in the way. "He's great on offense," claims one scout, "and he's not bad on defense either but his rebounding is a little weak for a man his size. He'll pull down a bit more than the average rebound but he doesn't get off the ground very much." He is also easily the strongest player of the draft. The allure of his size, youth and mouth-watering potential make him a coveted draft pick.
Finally, there is Nagy who is only 20. "Andrea Bargnani was hailed as the next Nowitzki," reminds one of our aforementioned scouts, "that crown should more likely have been given to Sanel." He is a natural small forward though he can shift over to power forward. He has phenomenal range and an array of inside moves and unlike Ljubuski he picks up sets with ease. "He gets outclassed, even in Europe, at the four on defense and on both boards but he is too fast for most of the power forwards in the any league." He has great ball control, a rare skill in a big man, and is counted on regularly to step up with the game on the line - and he delivers. "He's going to be a steal if he goes outside of the top 2," raves one scout.
All three players are currently anticipated to be top 5 picks.
Last edited by
joeygraham on Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
