isaiah-hartenstein-hd.jpg

55 - Isaiah Hartenstein

7-0, 250 Power Forward
Germany International
Birthday
05/05/98 (25.9 yrs)
Hometown
Eugene, OR
International Team
Zalgiris Kaunas
Team Site Profile
LKL Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
8
Defense
7
Strength
8
Quickness
7
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
8
Rebounding
8
Potential
7
Post Skills
7
Intangibles
7

NBA Comparison: Donatas Motiejunas/Dino Radja

Strengths: Versatile left handed player, who can play either as a power forward or as a center … Possesses nice size for a power forward … Has a solid wingspan (measured at 7-feet-2) … Has a good physique, with a really strong frame and solid length … He looks in great shape, which is a sign of someone who takes care of his body … He is a fluid athlete, who can play above the rim off two feet … Runs the floor well … Has a great first step that helps him blow by his defender … Amazing body control for a player his size and age … Great inside-out potential… Has the ability to mix it up on offense … Has nice footwork with his back to the basket, with enough counter moves … Can turn from either shoulder with ease and also finish around the tim with his off hand with no problem … Not afraid to bang bodies in the post… Has NBA range in his shoot … Can become a very good stretch-big and is improving in Catch and Shoot situations … His Face Up game is also at a good level… Plays very good the Pick-n-Roll as a screener, going deep to the basket after he sets a pick… Can also play the Pick-n-Pop at a very good level … Attacks close outs thanks to his great first step … His ball handling is very good for a guy his size, with some crossovers and behind the back dribbles and can even start the fast break as the ball handler … He can change speed and pace like a wing when he has the ball in his hands … He has even been used as the ball handler in Pick-n-Roll situations due to his great ball handling and passing ability … Probaly the best frontcourt passer of his generation … Has great court vision and can see angles that a few players can when he is double teamed … Can pass either on the move or while standing … Very good passer on high-low situations … Can start the break after he takes the defensive rebound with great outlet passes, which can make with either hand … Goes to the line a lot, since he has the ability to draw a lot of fouls … He is a very good rebounder at youth level, with great rebounding instincts… Like on offense, he is not afraid to bang bodies in the post on Defense too… Solid shot blocker … Fills the lanes on Defense at a good rate when he is concentrated … His lateral quickness isn’t bad and has the potential to become good defender on Pick-n-Roll situations …

Weaknesses: Very emotional player, who at time lets his emotions distract him … His attitude and body language on the court make him look a little cocky, or immature … He is just an above average athlete  … Jumps almost exclusively off two feet and needs some time to gather before he does, which will probably be a problem at the next level … Has incisostent shooting mechanics, since he changes his release point when he is closely guarded … Seems to have problems finishing in the paint against physical opponents, with the main problem being that he doesn’t always go strong to the basket and settles for floaters and finesse moves … Misses a lot of easy lay ups, which is something you don’t expect from someone with his talent … He may have the ability to become a great stretch-big in the future, but he can’t do this at a consistent level yet due to his incosistent shooting … Has to improve his free throw percentage, which for now is in the 65-72% rate … He is out of control with the ball in his hand at times, trying to do too much … Turnover prone, mainly because he either looks for the flashy move rather than just making the right play, or because he has the tendency to telegraph his passes… He loses his concentration on Defense and forgets assignments … Has problems defending the Pick-n-Roll, because he often either over commits to the ball handler or leaves after the player he is guarding sets the pick … Gets in foul trouble too often … He doesn’t have the length or the athletic ability to be considered an elite rim protector … He doesn’t know the law of verticality on defense just yet, which is something that could help him … Has a tendency to put his hands down when he tries to block a shot and he is whisted for a lot of fouls because of it … It’s questionable whether he will be able to guard athletic stretch power forwards at the next level…

Overall: Hartenstein is one of the best bigs of his generation in Europe. His combination of size, skillset and versatility is difficult to ignore, since he can become a great inside-out player. He is still a work in progress though and he needs to continue working in all aspects of his game

Notes: He is the son of Florian Hartenstein, a German former professional basketball player and basketball coach… His mother is American and he was born in Eugene, Oregon … He lived in USA until 2008, when he followed his familly in Germany where his father was playing professionally… He has been a member of the German junior national teams since 2014, when he was 16 years old…  He was voted in the All-Tournament team of the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship

Stefanos Makris 1/25/17

Strenghts: He has the perfect size for a modern NBA SF at 6’10’’ with a nice wingspan. Strong body with a great frame and still room for improvments … He is very explosive in his moves to the basket, not averse to contact, he goes way above the rim to finish with powerful dunks … Has a nice control of his body, which helps him a lot in transition to avoid charges utilizing Eurostep or spin moves … A beast under the glass, he can push it in transition himself … Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that he is rapidly becoming a much better shooter, with a soft and nice lefty touch, he can hit 3 pointers or step back on pull up jumpers … He really has all that it takes to become a great player, a very rare talent who is talented and has great feeling for the game, and could have a immediate impact in the NBA in just 2 years …

Weaknesses: for as good as he is he wasn’t able to lead a good German team to the victory in last EuroU16 … It’s not a big deal but so far he looks a little more to shine for himself than helping his team winning … We are obviously talking about an elite young player, but he lacks consistency within games, where it is common place for him to do a couple of amazing plays and then disappear for a while … If he can develop the killer mentality, he should be dominant … His decision making is questionable, he doesn;t always make the best decision, but often gets away with it because he is way more athletic and stronger than everybody else, but these types of plays will not work in the future … His shot is good but needs more consistency (though he is getting a lot better as previously mentioned, and his mechanics are pretty good already). Defensively he is lazy, wants to block shots or get rebounds more than get his butt low and play tough defense …

Overall: If you are looking for the next big thing coming out of Europe over the next years, a player who could have a huge impact in the NBA, look no further than Isiah Hartenstein of Germany who has become in a few short years the best prospect since Dirk … We first saw him at Eurocamp in 2014 where he was part of the Next Genreation, after that he had a great European championship u16, but this year who took a huge leap forward in his game becoming stronger and more explosive, showing the he can have a legit future as a SF in the league a la Gallinari, not the same shooter but a much better athlete … There are things to improve like any 17 years old, but the upside is huge and with a great base already, if he was in the US he would be a top 5 recruits out of High School, and with a good summer at Fiba U18 in a couple of weeks he could start to book a ticket for the 2017 draft …

Notes: Son of former University of Oregon basketball player, Flo Hartenstein …

Rick Pietro 7/15/15

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