April 12, 2013
Introducing Some International Draft Prospects
By Willard Smith
Florian Ruf (23, PG/SG, 6’3” 170 lbs, Germany)The German plays for Real Madrid alongside Santos (see below) and the two of them make a killer combination. Madrid won Euroleague this season and the starting backcourt was the main reason for their success. Ruf is a team player (averaging 7.2 apg) with a dependable jump shot (scoring 14.3 ppg) and solid man to man defense. He has waited a while before announcing the jump to the NBA because of concerns that he is not strong enough to play in the States. Flo is by far the top international prospect (if you don’t count compatriot Christian Oliver as an international prospect) due to his experience, maturity and the opportunity to match Ricky Rubio as one of the only pass-first point men in the NBA.
Lucius Santos (22, SG/SF, 6’6” 210 lbs, Brazil)Santos is the best Brazilian scorer since Oscar Schmidt and he knows it. Don’t be fooled though, the young swingman is an all-around talent. His shooting is deadly and he finds ways to really leave an impact on the game whether it is hitting the glass, playing solid help defense, surprising people with his athletic ability or passing up the shot for a pass to create a better one. However, with all that said, Santos is a scorer at heart and that’s why he leads Real Madrid with 18.7 ppg.
Olekandr Kolomak (23, C, 7’1” 280 lbs, Ukraine)Kolomak is one big dude but his skills just aren’t there yet. Playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 7 footer is averaging 8.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg only because he is tall. NBA scouts know that this guy is a project and hopefully the GMs understand that. He’s being projected as a first round pick but picking him in the lottery would be a huge mistake. He’s refused to work out for any teams in the lead up to the Draft so it will be interesting to see whether that will make him drop out of the first round.
Dee Gilmore (19, SG/PG, 6’5” 200 lbs, Lithuania)Coach K tried to get Gilmore to Duke but got rejected because ‘he wasn’t the college type.’ Instead, Gilmore joined BC Zalgiris and was glued to the pine. So what exactly is Gilmore being drafted for? Firstly, the kid has incredible hops. He has a number of mixtapes on Youtube that contain dunks that would win the next 10 dunk contests. And that’s really about it. There’s no second or third reason for all of the hype. It’s sad that this draft is so weak that the Lithuanian James White is being considered a first round pick.
Klemen Pipic (19, SF/SG, 6’5” 220 lbs, Slovenia)At age 18 he was signed by Union Olimpia and there Pipic built up a reputation as one of the best shooters in Europe. It’s unfortunate that that’s all he can do. Pipic is an interesting proposition. At 6’5”, he often plays at the center position for Olimpia. This guy is no Chuck Hayes; this kid is a stick. That’s not going to translate to the NBA. It will be interesting if anyone takes a shot on him. A great great shooter who doesn’t really have the handles to play out on the wing.
Luka Mandich (21, PG, 6’0” 175 lbs, Croatia)Growing up as a Rockets fan, Mandich emulated Stevie Franchise’s game. The Croatian plays for Cibona Zagreb and is good friends with Toni Kukoc. Mandich was a trouble maker in high school so his dreams of playing D1 ball were derailed. As the leading scorer for his club side with 14.3 ppg, Mandich has gone through a downward spiral over the past 2 years. He has battled alcohol and drug addictions and is now looking to restart his life in America, pending his selection in the NBA Draft.