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Player of the Week

Frank Ntilikina (98’, 6-5, PG, France, Strasbourg)

Ntilikina continues to establish himself as the frontrunner of this year’s international class with solid performances, despite limited minutes on the court. He has shown solid athletic skills, combined with solid instincts as a PG which should allow him to quickly adapt to the NBA level. The highlight of the past couple weeks was his high flying tomohawk dunk that he made in the FIBA Champions league against Mornar, in a game where he had 10 points and 4 assists.

Who’s Hot

Alpha Kaba (96’, 6-10, PF, France, Mega Leks)

After a season with more dark moments than lights, this year the French prospect is really shining with Mega Leks, a team which is quickly becoming a model to groom players for the NBA. 12 points and 10 rebounds in FIBA Champions League, 10 points and 8 rebounds in ABA league for a player that has shown solid improvement in his confidence and energy standpoints. He’ll definitely gain consideration at least for a second round spot.

Kostja Mushidi (98’, 6-5, SG, Germany, Mega Leks)

Mushidi has shined over the last few weeks, averaging more around 12 points and 3 assists in the 6 games played between ABA league and FIBA Champions league. Joining Mega Vizura likely was the best decision of his early career, at least to boost his profile for the NBA. After having led Germany to the victory of the Mannheim tournament, his performances have been consistently solid. He’ll get first round consideration as early as this year’s draft.

Vlatko Cancar (’97, 6-7, SF, Slovenia, Mega Leks)

The development of Cancar has been stable over the past 3-4 years, from a lanky, skinny kid to a versatile wing playing solid minutes for a solid European league. He still has to work on his confidence and on his body, but his combination of size and shooting (around 45% from 3 point this season), makes him a legit second round pick. He’s averaging around 7.5 points per game thus far both in ABA league and FIBA champions league.

Marko Guduric (95’, 6-6, SG, Serbia, Crvena Zvezda)

Every draft has its late bloomer, and this might be Guduric’s year. He was the leader of the Serbian U20 national team in the summer of 2015, becoming a stable presence in the notebooks of NBA scouts. A 6-7 SG, possesing a strong body and a variety of finishing abilities (he shoots around 35% from 3 point), might be a perfect pick for a team looking to add a scorer for their second unit. He’s averaging more than 17 points per game in the ABA league and 10 points per game in EuroLeague.

Who’s Cold

Jonathan Jeanne (97’, 7-2, C, France, Le Mans)

The newest French tower had just 2 points and 2 rebounds over the last 3 games in French ProA, simply not ready yet to compete at the senior level. His stock continues to drop as he can’t seem to turn his potential into productivity.
 
Nik Slavica (97’, 6-8, SG, Croatia, Cibona)

Slavica’s strength is well known, as a 6-8 SG with a tremendous body for the role, and the ability to use his height and athleticism to attack the basket as a true slasher. The biggest red flag? This season he is shooting less than 10% from three point. In today’s basketball this is a serious concern for any scout.

Isaiah Hartenstein (98’, 6-11, PF, Germany, Zalgiris)

Hartenstein remains a legitimate lottery level talent, despite struggling to play to his ability. As a 6-11 PF, he has the mobility and the versatility that every coach seeks from a big man. Given that, his choice to join Zalgiris was likely related to finding minutes on the court and the possibility to play in the 2nd best league in the world before the NBA. At the moment he has played only two Euroleague games, for an average of less than 3 minutes. Not what you might expect from a top prospect.

Dark Horses

Arnoldas Kulboka (98’, 6-9, SF, Lithuania, Bamberg)

After shining with Bamberg’s youth teams, the Lithuanian prospect is playing on a regular basis with the German farm team of Bamberg (Baunach Young Pikes – German 2nd division). This season, he has shown all his skills as a shooter, combined with a good size for the position, with long arms, upon which he definitely needs to add muscle. He’s in the transition from PF to SF, but his mobility and ball handling skills show that he’s already at a good point. With Baunach Young Pikes he averaged 14 pts and 3.6 rb thus far, but his stats are improving over the last month with a season high of 31 points.

Louis Olinde (98’, 6-7, SF, Germany, Bamberg)

Olinde is another prospect of Bamberg, after the first part of his youth career spent in Hamburg. As a 6-7 SF he has an impressive body, coordination and ability to score in a multitude of ways. Compared to Kulboka he’s less developed, but he might have a higher ceiling. He’s averaging 4 pts and 4 reb thus far with Baunach, playing around 20 minutes per game. Apparently around 10 NBA teams have already visited Bamberg’s facilities to watch him and Kulboka.