Poor European economy delivering more players to...
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BASKETBALL TIMES More and more international players are coming to the USA for college and prep school. This situation has increased as a re- sult of the economic downturn in Europe. Many players who previously would have signed professional contracts after high school are becoming more open to pursu- ing other opportunities. That’s particularly true in countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece. These are countries where play- ers have not traditionally considered col- lege in the USA seriously. Again, there are hundreds of international players that will participate in the upcoming college sea- son. Over 50 international players covered in NetScouts Basketball’s International Recruiting Service signed with and will be playing at NCAA schools this season. Many of these players are role players, but some are key players for their teams. In a prior article we covered the top international freshmen: Steven Adams (Pitt), Anthony Bennett (UNLV), Prezem Karnowski (Gonzaga), Amadeo Della Valle (Ohio State), Nik Stauskas (Michigan) and Volodymyr Gerun (West Virginia). This month, we’ll re- view the top returning international players in college. Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are once again on top of the list of schools that depend heavily on international play- ers. Gonzaga adds the big Karnowski (7-foot-1, 280) to a squad led by G Kevin Pangos (6-2, sophomore, Canada), Elias Harris (6-8, senior, Germany) and Kelly Olynyk (7- 0, junior, Canada). Pangos (13.6 ppg, 3.4 apg) will run the offense and play team-leading minutes. He’s a solid floor director and good shooter (40.1 3-point percentage) and scorer. He’s also very experienced from playing in interna- tional competitions with the Canadian national team. Harris should benefit from both Karnowski and Olynyk, as their presence down low will create space for him outside. Har- ris started off slow last season but finished strongly (13.1, 8.5 rpg). He’s also improved his outside shot (41.4 3-point percentage) and should have more opportunities outside as teams worry about the Zags’ size. Olynyk returns from a redshirt year bigger, stronger and healthier. We’re looking for him to contribute at a much greater level. He’s active, can run the floor and score inside and out. Gonzaga’s WCC rival, Saint Mary’s, returns three players who came up through the Australian Institute of Sport. Guard Matthew Dellavedova (6-4, senior, 15.5, 6.4 apg) can play both guard spots and has unlimited range. He’s already the Gaels’ career leader in assists and is second in 3-pointers. The production by Mitchell Young (6-9, senior) dropped last season from 10.2 ppg and 5.1 rpg in 2010-11 to 4.6 and 2.8. His minutes were reduced because of 6-9 Brad Waldrow’s emergence. Jorden Page (6-1, junior) will share point-guard duties with senior Ste- phen Holt. Page (8.0, 2.3 apg) is quick but needs to become more consistent. The other top Australians are 6-10 senior Brock Mo- tum of Washington State and 6-7 senior Ryan Broekhoff of Valparaiso. Motum (18.0, 6.4) is on our preseason Pac- 12 all-conference team. He came into his own last season, Poor European economy delivering more players to U.S. International Game doubling both his scoring and rebounding totals, and was named the most improved player in the conference. Motum led the conference in scoring, showing off an im- pressive inside-out offensive game. Broek- hoff (14.9, 8.5) was named the Horizon League player of the year. He does many things well, as he improved his shooting (39.1 3-point percentage) and led the team in steals. Broekhoff just missed making the Australian Olympic team, but look for him to repeat as the conference player of the year and take his performance up a notch. Two other Canadian players will fig- ure prominently – Myck Kabongo of Texas and Brady Heslip of Baylor. Kabongo (6-1, sophomore) will run the point for the Long- horns in what likely will be his last season in Austin, assuming that he is allowed to play this season. The NCAA is investigat- ing Kabongo’s relationship with a profes- sional agent. He had a solid freshman season (9.6, 5.2 apg) but needs to solidly improve his shooting (39.1 percent) to help the Long- horns reach the NCAA Tournament. Heslip, a 6-2 junior, is one of the best shooters in the country. He set a Baylor record in 3-point shooting percent- age (45.5 percent) and should get many opportu- nities from long distance this season as Baylor’s big frosh duo of Ricardo Gath- ers and Isaiah Austin keep defenders down low. Louisville’s 6-11 ju- nior Gorgui Dieng (Sen- egal) came into his own late last season and helped the Cardinals to the Final Four. At the rate Dieng is improving, look for him to be the top big man in the Big East. He can transform the game at both ends. Di- eng’s offensive game (9.1) continues to improve but the defensive end (9.1 rpg, 3.2 bpg) is where he is truly exceptional. He has added 50 pounds over the past few years and at 245 pounds he can no longer be pushed around. With a 7-4 wing- span and great defensive instincts, he’ll be one of the top big men in the country. Arsalan Kazemi (6-7, senior, Iran) transferred from Rice to Oregon this summer and has petitioned the NCAA for immediate eligibility. At press time, the NCAA has not issued a ruling. Kazemi is an extremely intelligent player who is one of the best rebounders in the country. He averaged a double-double the last two seasons (12.1, 10.3 in 2011-12) and would be an extremely important part of Oregon’s team if he is granted eligibility this season. He could help the Ducks to the NCAA Tournament, combining with Tony Woods and Waverly Austin inside. Without him, Oregon figures to be fighting to get to the middle of the Pac-12. We previously mentioned Pitt’s Adams (New Zea- land). Adams is someone worth mentioning again. He is explosive and athletic for his size and figures to start for the Panthers early. Adams has been projected as a potential top-two pick in the 2013 NBA draft, so this might be the only season to watch him in a Pitt uniform. Carl Berman and Chris Denker, who contributes regu- larly to this column, are Managing Partners of NetScouts Basketball. Information on NetScouts Basketball and their International Recruiting Service can be found at www. netscoutsbasketball.com. Carl Berman INTERNATIONAL RECRUITING SERVICE NetScouts Basketball is the expert on International Basketball in the United States. We write the “International Game” column in Basketball Times and are partners with the Euroleague and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Our International Recruiting Service is now available for both men’s and women’s programs and includes: Our online database, containing hundreds of reports, which is • updated daily. Pictures, video footage and statistics with full-detailed scouting • reports and contact assistance. The NetScouts Basketball International Recruiting Digest, sent • by email quarterly. MAKE US YOUR INTERNATIONAL RECRUITING CONNECTION Carl Berman • [email protected] • 541.359.9653 Chris Denker • [email protected] • 408.772.9620 www.netscoutsbasketball.com 40 Kevin Pangos
Transcript of Poor European economy delivering more players to...
B A S K E T B A L L T I M E S
More and more international players are coming to the USA for college and prep school. This situation has increased as a re-sult of the economic downturn in Europe. Many players who previously would have signed professional contracts after high school are becoming more open to pursu-ing other opportunities. That’s particularly true in countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece. These are countries where play-ers have not traditionally considered col-lege in the USA seriously. Again, there are hundreds of international players that will participate in the upcoming college sea-son. Over 50 international players covered in NetScouts Basketball’s International Recruiting Service signed with and will be playing at NCAA schools this season. Many of these players are role players, but some are key players for their teams.
In a prior article we covered the top international freshmen: Steven Adams (Pitt), Anthony Bennett (UNLV), Prezem Karnowski (Gonzaga), Amadeo Della Valle (Ohio State), Nik Stauskas (Michigan) and Volodymyr Gerun (West Virginia). This month, we’ll re-view the top returning international players in college.
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are once again on top of the list of schools that depend heavily on international play-ers. Gonzaga adds the big Karnowski (7-foot-1, 280) to a squad led by G Kevin Pangos (6-2, sophomore, Canada), Elias Harris (6-8, senior, Germany) and Kelly Olynyk (7-0, junior, Canada). Pangos (13.6 ppg, 3.4 apg) will run the offense and play team-leading minutes. He’s a solid fl oor director and good shooter (40.1 3-point percentage) and scorer. He’s also very experienced from playing in interna-tional competitions with the Canadian national team. Harris should benefi t from both Karnowski and Olynyk, as their presence down low will create space for him outside. Har-ris started off slow last season but fi nished strongly (13.1, 8.5 rpg). He’s also improved his outside shot (41.4 3-point percentage) and should have more opportunities outside as teams worry about the Zags’ size. Olynyk returns from a redshirt year bigger, stronger and healthier. We’re looking for him to contribute at a much greater level. He’s active, can run the fl oor and score inside and out.
Gonzaga’s WCC rival, Saint Mary’s, returns three players who came up through the Australian Institute of Sport. Guard Matthew Dellavedova (6-4, senior, 15.5, 6.4 apg) can play both guard spots and has unlimited range. He’s already the Gaels’ career leader in assists and is second in 3-pointers. The production by Mitchell Young (6-9, senior) dropped last season from 10.2 ppg and 5.1 rpg in 2010-11 to 4.6 and 2.8. His minutes were reduced because of 6-9 Brad Waldrow’s emergence. Jorden Page (6-1, junior) will share point-guard duties with senior Ste-phen Holt. Page (8.0, 2.3 apg) is quick but needs to become more consistent.
The other top Australians are 6-10 senior Brock Mo-tum of Washington State and 6-7 senior Ryan Broekhoff of Valparaiso. Motum (18.0, 6.4) is on our preseason Pac-12 all-conference team. He came into his own last season,
Poor European economydelivering more players to U.S.
International Gamedoubling both his scoring and rebounding totals, and was named the most improved player in the conference. Motum led the conference in scoring, showing off an im-pressive inside-out offensive game. Broek-hoff (14.9, 8.5) was named the Horizon League player of the year. He does many things well, as he improved his shooting (39.1 3-point percentage) and led the team in steals. Broekhoff just missed making the Australian Olympic team, but look for him to repeat as the conference player of the year and take his performance up a notch.
Two other Canadian players will fi g-ure prominently – Myck Kabongo of Texas and Brady Heslip of Baylor. Kabongo (6-1, sophomore) will run the point for the Long-horns in what likely will be his last season in Austin, assuming that he is allowed to play this season. The NCAA is investigat-ing Kabongo’s relationship with a profes-
sional agent. He had a solid freshman season (9.6, 5.2 apg) but needs to solidly improve his shooting (39.1 percent) to help the Long-horns reach the NCAA Tournament. Heslip, a 6-2 junior, is one of the best shooters in the country. He set a Baylor record in 3-point shooting percent-age (45.5 percent) and should get many opportu-nities from long distance this season as Baylor’s big frosh duo of Ricardo Gath-ers and Isaiah Austin keep defenders down low.
Louisville’s 6-11 ju-nior Gorgui Dieng (Sen-egal) came into his own late last season and helped the Cardinals to the Final Four. At the rate Dieng is improving, look for him to be the top big man in the Big East. He can transform the game at both ends. Di-eng’s offensive game (9.1) continues to improve but the defensive end (9.1 rpg, 3.2 bpg) is where he is truly exceptional. He has added 50 pounds over the past few years and at 245 pounds he can no longer be pushed around. With a 7-4 wing-span and great defensive instincts, he’ll be one of the top big men in the country.
Arsalan Kazemi (6-7,
senior, Iran) transferred from Rice to Oregon this summer and has petitioned the NCAA for immediate eligibility. At press time, the NCAA has not issued a ruling. Kazemi is an extremely intelligent player who is one of the best rebounders in the country. He averaged a double-double the last two seasons (12.1, 10.3 in 2011-12) and would be an extremely important part of Oregon’s team if he is granted eligibility this season. He could help the Ducks to the NCAA Tournament, combining with Tony Woods and Waverly Austin inside. Without him, Oregon fi gures to be fi ghting to get to the middle of the Pac-12.
We previously mentioned Pitt’s Adams (New Zea-land). Adams is someone worth mentioning again. He is explosive and athletic for his size and fi gures to start for the Panthers early. Adams has been projected as a potential top-two pick in the 2013 NBA draft, so this might be the only season to watch him in a Pitt uniform.Carl Berman and Chris Denker, who contributes regu-larly to this column, are Managing Partners of NetScouts Basketball. Information on NetScouts Basketball and their International Recruiting Service can be found at www.netscoutsbasketball.com.
Carl Berman
InternatIonal recruItIng ServIce
NetScouts Basketball is the expert on International Basketball in the United States. We write the “International Game” column in Basketball Times and are partners with the Euroleague and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Our International Recruiting Service is now available for both men’s and women’s programs and includes:
Our online database, containing hundreds of reports, which is •updated daily.
Pictures, video footage and statistics with full-detailed scouting •reports and contact assistance.
The NetScouts Basketball International Recruiting Digest, sent •by email quarterly.
Make uS Your InternatIonal recruItIng connectIonCarl Berman • [email protected] • 541.359.9653Chris Denker • [email protected] • 408.772.9620www.netscoutsbasketball.com
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Kevin Pangos
