2009 (Early) Reebok Eurocamp Roster/Pete Philo Interview

The 2009 Reebok Eurocamp will take place June
6th-8th. This year’s group appears to be the deepest and most talented
camp ever and should draw a record number of GMs and scouts. Here is
an early look at the participants. Special thanks to Camp Director Pete Philo for
providing the list and answering our questions. (below)

Early Entry:


	Brandon Jennings

Nikolaos Pappas
Rodrigue Beaubois
Brandon Jennings
Carl Embo
Nemanja Bjelica
Sergey Gladyr
Vagelis Sakelleriou
Adam Hanga
Aleksandros Sigkounas
Fernando Raposo
Omri Casspi ( not confirmed ) Possible
Rudy Jomby
Anton Ponomarev
Ludovic Vaty
Vladimir Dasic
Milan Macvan
Baris Hersek
Artem Zabelin
Amadou Zaki
Boban Marjanovic
Giorgos Bogris
Miroslav Raduljica

Draft Eligible or 1987 born:

Patrick Beverly
Rudy Mbemba
Daniel Hackett
Ivan Paunic
Milenko Tepic
Jaka Klobucar
Jonas Jerebko
Joe Ingles
Povilas Butkevicius
Andrei Vorontsevich
Johannes Lischka
Nemanja Aleksandrov
Henk Norel
Vyacheslav Kravtsov
Anatoly Kashirov
Adam Lapeta
Dragan Labovic

Next Generation:

Thierno Niang
Bozidar Avramov
Alexey Shved
Oleksandr Kolchenko
Harry Ezenibe
Edwin Jackson
Andrea Milutinovic
Semen Shashkov
Tornike Shengelia
Marko Keselj
Tomas Satoransky
Jan Vessely
Elmedin Kikanovic
Pablo Aguilar
Tibor Pliess

Michele Diouf

Pete Philo Interview

Pete Philo is the Reebok Eurocamp Director and International
Scouting Director for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

NBADraft.net: With Orlando/Chicago draft camp being scaled back to essentially
just measurements and light workouts, has Treviso become the most
important NBA draft camp?

Pete Philo: It seems as if many
people are saying this and it just might be the case. Regardless, the
camp is very important as all pre draft type of events are. The more
coverage you can get, the better prepared you are.

NBADraft.net: Will more scouts
attend this year than in the past because of this?

Pete Philo: As of this moment we have double the amount of credential requests.
Not only scouts, but coaches, GM’s, media etc.

NBADraft.net: How do you see
this year’s group of Treviso players measuring up with past camps?

Pete Philo: I think this camp is the deepest by far.
We have the most amount draft eligible and early entry candidates than we have
ever had. In total we are at 36 draftable players out of 48. The other 12 are
"next generation" players that will be considered for next years draft
for sure. A wonderful combination…

NBADraft.net: Is this a down year for International talent?

Pete Philo: It seems that every year this is cliche.
At the end, there will be a few first round picks and several second round picks.
There are strategies for where players are picked that are becoming more prevelant
so you may start to see more second round picks just due to the way the picks
in the first round are all slotted with set salary ranges. It may be sexier
to be a second round pick in some scenerios. There is great value nowadays for
an international player and the second round….

NBADraft.net: Last year you drafted Nikola Pekovic
of Partizan. He is now playing in Panithinaikos having an outstanding season.
He was basically the main guy at the final 4 in Berlin in which the coaching
staff of each team had to prepare for and around. The Timberwolves have his
draft rights. You picked him, that must be a good feeling knowing you got a
steal as well as a very talented center for the future of the Wolves.

Pete Philo: Nikola is a very good basketball player. Yes he was very instrumental
in how the coaches prepared for the games as he was basically unstoppable with
single coverage. However, I cannot take full credit for drafting him. Kevin
Mchale made the final decison with Jim stack and Fred hoiberg. I do my part
and prepare our guys with all necessary International information in order to
make a clear selection.

NBADraft.net: As camp organizer, getting the top players
to show at the Treviso camp each year is a difficult task and an incredible
accomplishment on your part, how are you able to stock the camp with such quality
talent every year?

Pete Philo:We have been very fortunate to have the
trust of many people. It all starts with trust. We protect the kids from outside
influences as well as try to put them in the best position possible in order
to help them succeed. The NBA attending drives the kids and the great level
of talent drives the NBA attendance. Not to mention many of the Euroleage, Spanish,
Italian, German, French, Serbian, Scandinavian teams and teams from all over
europe and world attend. It is a place on the calendar that is a cant miss so
this all drives the traffic in one direction. Everyones support has helped in
so many ways. We have a great coaching staff as well as Reebok staff who work
extremely hard and are all very accomplished individuals. Of course my partner
Jelena Soce. She is one of the main organizers along side myself. We are in
daily contact and have a formula that works. She doesnt sleep, she really works
hard and deserves much credit.

NBADraft.net: With the NBA’s pre draft camp doing only vitals and some skill
work as well as opening workouts for a longer period of time do you
think you will see more GM’s attend the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso in
June?

Pete Philo: Great question. It is still a bit funny
to me that every year you see the same GM’s at the event and the same GM’s missing.
The formula is very simple. We have had over 40 players drafted in 6 years.
As well as getting a peak at the "future" of Intl basketball talent.
For example, we will for sure have several players drafted out of this years
event, but an interesting thing is that we will have several players that will
be considered in the 1st round of the 2010 draft playing in Treviso this year
as well. Its a wonderful combination. There is also a great elimination process
that is as valuable. We also allow teams to do private workouts while on site,
interviews etc… Scouts sit court side in a very cozy environment. It is a very
"scout friendly" atmosphere. It is the most important INTL Draft tool,
I would think all 30 GM’s would attend but there will be some that don’t. I cant
answer why. It just happens.

NBADraft.net: Doing the math,
NBA teams can workout 6 players at one time at their facility in the states
during draft workouts. The camp is on the weekend and most teams don’t workout
guys on the weekend. Giving up a Friday to travel returning on a Monday. Teams
will essentially lose two "real" workout days. 12 players…. They
will see 48 International guys, many of which will be selected in the draft. Possibly
two U20 National teams playing against your all stars. Is this accurate? Why don’t
teams just go over on Thurs after their morning workouts, return Monday and
begin again on Tuesday?

Pete Philo: All is accurate and I have no idea…. There will be many GM’s there
this year. I think we have 10 confirmed now and prob others that are booking
that I am not aware of. Maybe more. At the end, the GM’s that miss are the ones
that are not as prepared. They have to be comfortable with not knowing the players
all that well when draft time comes around. I just cannot see missing this event.
No matter the position. All 30 teams are confirmed so teams will have it covered.
Some teams bring 4 or 5 people. I think those teams have a leg up but I am not
a math major 🙂

NBADraft.net: This year two Americans
are rumored to be playing in the camp, Brandon Jennings and Patrick Beverly
(formerly of Arkansas). Could this start a trend of players going to Europe
to play just to have the chance to work out in front of NBA scouts in Treviso?

Pete Philo:The camp is for players playing outside of America as the US has
its own pre-draft event. However when these situations arise and players are
in Europe before their draft year then yes we will accommodate. I don’t think
players will go to Europe just to play in Treviso but going to Europe to develop
and put themselves in possibly a better position to grow as a basketball player
and person. Europe has a very unique system that certainly promotes developement
at a greater pace than the united states. I can see the trend continue to grow.

NBADraft.net: Will will see more Josh Childress scenarios, or now that Europe’s
economy seems to have been hit even harder than the US, are teams in
Europe less likely to outbid NBA teams for stars.

Pete Philo: The
world has officially shrunk. Anything is possible. I do think teams
will be more aggressive in their approach to making their teams better
if they have the ability and several teams in europe have this ability
to go out and try to get whatever player they want.

NBADraft.net Has the popularity of basketball in Europe
continued to increase the way it was 5 years ago?

Pete Philo: Absolutely, I just arrived to the states from a week in Berlin at
the Euroleague Final 4. The atmosphere was outstanding, the tv coverage has
increased every year as well as attendance. The fans are absolutely wonderful.
It is truely a global game and a game that from a purist point of view is a
great game to watch. Aran,
Thank you once again for the great support and taking the time for the interview.
We are all extremely excited about the Eurocamp and look forward to seeing you
there.

NBADraft.net: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions and we’re really
excited to once again be in Treviso covering the camp!