Strengths: A 6-7 lefty guard with legit point guard skills: excellent court vision and ball handling ... Ponkrashov has great size and natural point guard instincts, unusual skills for a 6-7 player ... Has nice penetration ability with a good handle and solid first step, which he should utilize more often ... Very good vision and finds teammates well on the drive ... His size and lead guard skills make him intriguing ... Gaining solid experience at the highest level of European basketball ... Has a very good feel for the game for a 21 year old ... Solid decision maker ... Good scorer despite a funky release on his shot ... Long arms and excellent versatility allow him to play positions 1-3 and even 4 at times ... Most comfortable with the offense running through him at the point position, less comfortable playing at SG ... Shows a lot of personality and plays with good energy on the court ... Uses his size well in mismatches posting up smaller guards ... His body strength is good especially considering his age ...

Weaknesses: Questionable whether he has NBA athleticism ... Lacks much upside ... Not extremely quick or athletic ... Doesn't wow you with athletic dunks or blinding speed ... Not a great shooter, needs to work on the mechanics of his shot ... Has decent shooting touch, but needs to expand his range ... Better in the half court than transition game ... Holds his own defensively, but not a real ball hawk or lock down defender type ... Despite his ability to get by defenders with a good first step, he appears reluctant to attack the basket as often as he should ... Not great at finishing around the basket ... Can be too unselfish ... He is raw defensively, understanding how to rotate ... Needs to improve his body balance ... Has a tendency to jump and then pass on drives to the basket ... Too left hand reliant, 90% of his drives are to the left ...

Notes: Very precocious young player. At 21 he is already getting solid minutes playing for the defending Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow. Became the youngest Russian national team player in the 2005 European Championships. Led the Russian U-20 national team to the European title and was the leading scorer for them in the finals against Lithuania with 13 points (3/5 3PT). Had an impressive performance at the 2006 Reebok Euro Camp.