European Stock WatchBy: Stefanos Makris

Who’s Hot

Guerschon Yabusele (95’, 6-8, PF, France, Rouen)

His team is struggling, but Yabusele is the last one to blame for that. Rouen is at the 17th place between 18 teams with a record of 5 wins and 25 loses, but this hasn’t stopped the French power forward, who has exploded over the past month. Yabusele took a step forward in April, scoring a lot more, without losing in efficiency and he continued to rebound at a high level. He is a bit undersized for a power forward, but everything he lacks in height he makes up for it with his length, energy, athleticism and passion, things that everybody wants to see from an energy forward. It remains to be seen where all these will lead him on draft night, but we have been high on him all year and still consider him a first rounder, as he was pegged last summer in Treviso.

Petr Cornelie (95′, 6-11, PF, France, Le Mans)

Cornelie is still raw and he has a lot of ups-and-downs. With that said, Petr Cornelie has managed to get in the picture for this year’s draft the last couple of months. Playing for a contender, the French Power Forward attracted the attention of many scouts with his size, length, versatility and ability to stretch the floor, while holding his ground defensively. Cornelie is far from ready to contribute as an NBA player, but it’s not difficult to view him as a modern stretch four in the future and that’s why his stock keeps rising.

Ante Zizic (97’, 6-11, C, Croatia, Cibona)

The Croatian Center has been almost unstoppable in April! Ante Zizic had some amazing nights and even posted a 26 points-24 rebound game against Sibenik on April 6th. It’s almost certain that many people will be cautious with him, since the level of competition of the Croatian Pro A League is low, but this doesn’t change the fact that Zizic has made strides in his development as a player this year. His offensive repertoire still needs some polishing and he definitely must improve almost every aspect of his game. At the same time though, he is a high energy guy who always gives 100%, a constant double-double threat and a hard worker.

Rade Zagorac (95’, 6-9, SF, Serbia, Mega Lecs)

An injury at the beginning of the season slowed down the Serbian forward, but since his return he has been constantly improving and his performances against Buducnost in the Semifinals of the Adriatic League can be considered his highlight of the season thus far. Zagorac looked like he was everywhere in those two games, scoring 27 and 14 points respectively. He mostly played at the wing, but he also spent some time as the ball handler and he finished the second game at the power forward position! Zagorac can be used in ISO situations and can also be considered a threat in Catch-And-Shoot situations, which is a pretty rare skillset combination for someone his size. He still lacks elite athleticism and an in-between game and has to add some muscle so that he can exploit mismatches.

Timothe Luwawu (95’, 6-7, SG, France, Mega Lecs)

The French guard didn’t have many chances to show his skills this past month, since Mega Lecs only had two games in the Adriatic League. Having that in mind, Luwawu still managed to show what he is capable of. Playing in the Semifinals of the Adriatic League, the French guard scored 17 points with four 3-pointers, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the decisive second game against Buducnost and he made some clutch plays on both ends of the floor. Luwawu is viewed by many as 3-and-D player and the fact that he was able to demonstrate his talent in a game with a lot at stake it’s almost certain that helped his stock. At this point he is viewed as a bubble first rounder by European scouts, with solid upside but a ways to go as a sure fire contributor.

Marko Arapovic (96’, 6-10, PF, Croatia, KK Cedevita)

He lacks ideal size, length and athletic ability to play at the next level. Still, Arapovic has managed  to improve drastically this year with his smooth transition from Center to Power Forward, thanks to his feel for the game and high motor. The Croatian prospect had some amazing games in Euroleague with KK Cedevita against some of the best teams in Europe, holding his ground on both ends of the floor. It’s difficult to see him as anything more than a role player in the NBA, but in the past years we’ve seen far worse/more limited players than him playing at that level.

Who’s Cold

Furkan Korkmaz (97’, 6-7, SG, Turkey, Anadolu Efes)

Things don’t look good for the guard from Turkey. Korkmaz is a player with a lot of fans among NBA scouts, who have fallen in love with his shooting stroke combined with a prototypical size for a modern shooting guard, an uncanny ability to score and a strong personality. The problem is that nobody actually had the chance to watch all these skills this year and especially in the past month. The talented guard fallen completely out of the rotation of Anadolu Efes and Serbian Legend coach Dusan Ivkovic stopped giving him playing time in BSL (Turkish ProA League) in the past month. Korkmaz is still considered a first round pick – and for some others is being even viewed as a lottery pick – but his stock probably was never lower, although Ivkovic’s firing might end up changing his situation.

Juan Hernangomez (95’, 6-9, SF, Spain, Estudiantes)

The playing time is there, but that’s about it. Hernandgomez is included in the rotation of Estudiantes once again and although this has helped his team win its last two games and escape from the relegation zone, it hasn’t really helped the Spaniard’s stock, whose last game in double figures in scoring took place on the 13th March, when he scored 13 points in a win against Bilbao. This fact didn’t prevent him from declaring for the 2016 NBA Draft, which might mean that Hernangomez thinks that his talent and upside are enough to convince a team to pick him this summer, probably as a draft-and-stash prospect.

Paul Zipser (94’, 6-8, SF, Germany, Bayern Munich)

After a promising start at the beginning of 2016, the German prospect has watched his stock sink. Having to compete with more experienced players, Zipser has seen his playing time decrease, despite the fact that he occasionally is a member of the Starting five for Bayern Munuch. If nothing changes dramatically in the near future, it’s difficult to imagine him get selected even in the second round, although maybe some teams would like to pick him somewhere in the 50’s and take a “wait-and-see” approach.

Isaia Cordinier (96’, 6-4, SG, France, Demain – ProB)

April wasn’t nice for Isaia Cordidier. The French Shooting guard struggled with his team in Pro B, but the main problem for him (and more importantly his draft stock) was that he failed to impress a huge contingent of NBA scouts at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland. Cordinier looked like he had problems against some of the elite athletes of his class in both ends of the floor and at times he gave the impression that he wasn’t able to create his own shot, mainly because of his average (for the time being at least) ball handling. Despite his inconsistences at the Hoop Summit, he is still considered by scouts as a player to keep an eye on because of his upside.

Aleksandar Vezenkov (95’, 6-9, PF, FC Barcelona)

In 2015 Aleksandar Vezenkov watched his stock skyrocket because of his amazing season with Aris. One year, a team change and many ups and downs later, the Bulgarian prospect has watched his stock take a nose dive. Vezenkov has struggled to find his role in FC Barcelona, with his athletic and defensive limitations being the two major problems. To make things worse, he hasn’t been able to demonstrate his offensive talent because his playing time is inconsistent and he can’t find his rhythm.

Neutral

Dragan Bender (97’, 7-0, PF, Croatia, Maccabi)

It’s a good thing that Bender has a lot of fans amongst scouts, because this year he didn’t have the chance to demonstrate his talent. And the last couple of months have been no different. The Croatian Power Forward has seen his playing time and role change from game to game. He had just two games with more than 20 minutes of playing time in the last 2 months, there was a game when he wasn’t part of the rotation and even a game that although he started he just played for 11 minutes. His talent and upside still make him an intriguing prospect though and it seems that it will be a surprise if he ends up out of the Top-5 on draft night.

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

He hasn’t played a single game for Le Mans this year, because the French Powerhouse has chosen to send him to the U21 team of the club, where Jonathan Jeanne averages 13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game and had four double-doubles in the past month. It’s safe to say that he is not ready to play in the NBA right away. Actually, he is the definition of a “draft-and-stash” pick, with many people suggesting that there are enough teams which are willing to pick him late in the first round, with the hope that in a few years Jeanne will be able to become a game-changer on the defensive end of the floor.

Nik Slavica (97’, 6-8, SG/SF, Croatia, Cibona)

He had a lot of ups and downs this month. Actually he has a lot of ups and downs all year., but that’s to be expected since he is only 19 years old and a starter for contender in Croatia. Slavica is someone to keep an eye on. Having the prototypical size for a wing, the Croatian prospect has turned a lot of heads with his ability to fill the stat sheet. He rebounds extremely well for a wing, but he can also score, shoot, pass and defend. He still is a work in progress of course, but his upside makes him a really interesting prospect.