Treviso’s Global Camp had its ups and downs. Being organized for the first time by the NBA at almost the last minute, this makes sense. As it turned out, many NBA prospects who have declared for this year’s NBA Draft decided not to attend it for different reasons. Still, even in an event with not as much talent as someone would expect, there were some players that managed to raise their stock for the upcoming NBA draft.
At the same time, it has to be noted that in the games that involved players that aren’t eligible for this year’s NBA Draft (mostly born in 2000 and 2001), things were different, with many players with NBA potential deciding to participate.
With that said, here are the players who managed to stand out in this year’s Global Camp and raise their stock for the upcoming NBA Draft.
Adam Mokoka (6-4, SG, France, 1998)
The French prospect had the best showing in Treviso. After a dissapointing season with limited playing time in France, Adam Mokoka was able to impress the scouts with his well bulit body, length (he measured with a 6-10 wingspan) and athletic ability. Graveline’s guard is a beast. He is already a great defender on the ball, who can smother his opponent. On the other side of the court he can create problems with his explosive first step and abiity to finish strong at the basket. He still has to improve his shooting (with his shooting mechanics looking better already) and the way he is reading the game, but it’s safe to say that he raised his stock with his showing in Eurocamp.
Marcel Ponitka (6-3, PG, Poland, 1997)
Trying to learn the point guard position on the fly, Marcel Ponitka was one of the players that were able to impress in this year’s Global Camp. The Polish prospect is a high motor player who is not afraid to attack the basket. He has a strong body and can create havoc and put pressure on his opponent with his mentality and ability to draw fouls. If he manages to find stability between scoring and passing and improve his shooting, he could be an interesting player.
Issuf Sanon (6-3, PG, Ukraine, 1999)
The guy everybody had an eye on. With players like Musa, Bonga and Okobo deciding not to participate in the Global Camp for different reasons, Issuf Sanon knew that a lot of scouts wanted to watch him play. The Ukranian prospect didn’t dissapoint, but he didn’t impress either. Being the only ball handler on his team, Sanon had to deal with a lot of pressure, but he had his good moments, especially on the offensive end of the floor. It’s obvious that he is still trying to adjust to the point guard position because he used to play as a shooting guard, which leads to some wild shooting selection and bad passes. His fearless approach and explosiveness, though, work on his favor and if he continues working he can become an NBA player.
Karim Jallow (6-6, SG/SF, Germanny, 1997)
The German prospect had more good moments than bad in this camp and an amazing one when he put an opponent on a poster with a ferocious dunk.. He is still one of the best on ball defenders in Europe at his age, being able to guard 4 positions thanks to his athleticism and body, having 3-and-D potential. This is always good in the “switch everything era” that NBA is heading. The thing though is that, at least for the moment, he is still not a consistent shooter, which continues to limit his game and he also wasn’t able to show anything new regarding his ability to create his own shot. With that said, he can still be considered an NBA prospect, but for him to take the next step he has to improve his shooting.
Arnoldas Kulboka (6-10, SF, Lithuania, 1998)
The Lithuanian prospect came to Treviso with a big target on his back after his mediocre showing one year ago, but that didn’t prevent him from being one of the players who managed to make a good impression. He looked way more comfortable than a year ago, playing within the system, passing the ball better and hitting the winning shot in one of the games he played. What was really impressive though was his body, since he gained almost 15 pounds this season. Kulboka’s calling card of course is still his ability to shoot from everywhere on the floor and his almost unlimited range thanks to his smooth jump shot. He still needs to work on his defense and must improve his ability to create his shot, but the talent is there.
Matur Maker (6-9, SF, Canada/Australia, 1998)
The younger brother of Thon Maker was one of the guys that everyone wanted to watch, since they didn’t have the chance to do that all season long. The truth is that Maker didn’t impress, but he had some flashes that showed why he is considered an NBA prospect. He is long, athletic and his shooting mechanics look good. He is still kind of raw though in almost every aspect of his game and must work on his body. With all that said, he is still a player to have an eye on in the furure.
Honorable Mention
Yuta Watanabe (6-8, SF, Japan, 1994) from George Washington University had some really good moments, impressing with his shooting and energy on Defense.
Etienne Ca (6-10, PF, France, 1997) had some good moments thanks to his length and athletic ability.
Louis Olinde (6-9, SF, Germany, 1998) was more active than one year ago, but he still has a long road ahead of him.
Melvyn Govindy (6-11, C, France, 1997) didn’t manage to impress, but his body, athleticism and smooth shooting are reasons to keep an eye on him.
The Youngsters
NBA Academy, International Select and Center of Excellence where the other teams that participated in Global Camp and were made up of players born mostly in 2000 and 2001. It was a good chance for the scouts to watch closely some players that will be on the NBA radar in the near future.
Theo Maledon (6-5, PG, France, 2001) and Arturs Zagars (6-2, PG, Latvia, 2000) were the ones that made the greatest impression with their skillset and approach of the game.
Killian Hayes (6-5, PG, France, 2001) looked tired but he had flashes of brilliance thanks to his athleticism, ability to create his own shot and court vision.
Josh Green (6-5, SG/SF, Australia, 2000) was one of the best athletes of his group and made some great plays.
Pavel Zakharov (6-10, PF/C, Russia, 2001), Samson Froling (6-11, PF, Australia, 2000), Biram Faye (6-10, PF, Senegal, 2000), Amar Sylla (6-10, PF, Senegal, 2001), Kai Jones (6-10, PF, Bahamas, 2001) had some really good moments playing as bigs.
Malcolm Cazalon (6-6, SG, France, 2001), Nikos Rogkavopoulos (6-7, SG/SF, Greece, 2001) and Henri Drell (6-9, SG/SF, Estonia, 2000) looked nervous but had some really good moments.
Tamuri Wigness (5-11, PG, Australia, 2002) and Kyle Bowen (6-8, PF, Australia, 2000) are undersized but played with a lot of energy and made some nice hustle plays.
Idou Dianko Badji (7-1, C, Senegal, 2002) was raw, but his body, length and mobility also turned a lot of heads on his direction.
NBA Global Camp Roster
Berke Atar Bandirma Kirmizi (Turkey)
Trae Bell-Haynes Vermont (Canada)
Etienne Ca Chalon (France)
*Emanuel Cate Prat (Spain)
*Vasileios Charalampopoulos PAOK (Greece)
*Cyrille Eliezer-Vanerot Paris Levallois (France)
Diego Flaccadori Aquila Basket Trento (Italy)
*Gabriel Galvanini Bauru (Brazil)
*Marc Garcia FC Barcelona 2 (Spain)
*Stephane Gombauld Lille Metropole (France)
Melvyn Govindy Cholet (France)
Aleksa Ilic KK Buducnost (Montenegro)
Karim Jallow Bayern Munich (Germany)
Matas Jogela Zalgiris II (Lithuania)
Kenan Karahodzic Oviedo CB (Spain)
*Leon Kratzer Wuerzburg (Germany)
*Arnoldas Kulboka Capo d’Orlando (Italy)
*Aleksandar Lazic KK Mega Bemax (Serbia)
*Xabier Lopez Arostegui Joventut Badalona (Spain)
*Matur Maker CIBA (Canada)
*Vanja Marinkovic Partizan (Serbia)
*William McDowell-White Baunach (Germany)
MiKyle McIntosh Oregon (Canada)
*Blaz Mesicek Brindisi (Italy)
Adam Mokoka Gravelines (France)
*Shekinah Munanga Monaco (France)
Dzanan Musa Cedevita (Croatia)
*Zoran Nikolic KK Buducnost (Montenegro)
Andreas Obst Gotha (Germany)
Viny Okouo Unicaja (Spain)
Louis Olinde Brose Baskets (Germany)
Erxhan Osmani Bandirma Kirmizi (Turkey)
Jean-Marc Pansa Nanterre (France)
Darel Poirier Charleville (France)
*Marcel Ponitka Asseco (Poland)
*Dusan Ristic Arizona (Serbia)
Issuf Sanon Olimpija (Slovenia)
Leonardo Tote Verona (Italy)
*Michael Uchendu Bauru (Brazil)
Yuta Watanabe George Washington (Japan)
