2016 Eurocamp Scouting Report: Day 3

Coach Ryan Pannone is reporting for Basketball Insiders from Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy.

Here were the players who stood out to him on the third day of the event:

Martynas Sajus #61 – He is a raw big man who plays hard, but is not a great athlete. He pursues rebounds using his strength, effort and length to make up for what he is lacking in the athleticism department. He plays very fundamental in the post, using his opposite arm to fully extend to protect the ball on his hook shot. He finishes well around the rim. He runs very upright and plays a little robotic. He needs to learn to use his body and strength to his advantage on offense. Needs to look to anticipate reversals and create a sealing advantage when his defender has flooded the ball side box. When rolling off ball screens, he needs to read for seals. He missed several opportunities to create early contact with his defender when the opponent is recovering from defending the play maker off of the ball screen. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness to contain guards, so he does a good job of back peddling when they attack him so he can stay between them and the basket using his size and length to contest his shot. He doesn’t have the athleticism to be a multiple effort defender. I didn’t see him shoot any jumpers, but he displayed good shooting mechanics on his free throw attempts.

David Michineau #14 – He’s a high level on-the-ball defender who uses his speed and quickness to crawl up into opposing guards. He does a good job defensively of avoiding screens, on and off the ball. If he works on becoming an engaged help-side defender, he can really make a major impact as a complete defensive player. He is currently only engaged on defense when his man is involved in the action on or off the ball. He has a great burst of speed when using slow/stop and explodes. He can create for himself and others by using his speed to get into the paint and suck the defense in. He can get to the paint with ease and draws fouls around the rim, but he struggles to absorb contact and finish around the rim or finish over bigger defenders when they stay between him and the basket. He is a good ball screen guard; he changed speeds and plays at a pace off the pick, allowing him to read the defense.  He needs to develop his weak hand passing – he is not comfortable making a weak hand hook pass off of a ball screen to a big who pops or to the weak side 45 when his defender tags the roller.  He is a good shooter when his feet are set, but struggles to shoot consistently off of screens or the dribble. Mechanically, he tends to shoot out instead of up,  finishing with his shooting elbow high (above his eyebrows).

A.J. Oliver #5 – A.J. is a high-level shooter who got hot today against the Ukraine U20 national team. He is a triple-threat shooter, as he can shoot off the catch, off screens and off the dribble. His release point is a little bit low, as he gets it off six inches above his shoulder, but his release is quick and he has great arch on his shot. He is wiry strong and looks skinny, but does a good job creating contact with his defender on straight line drives. He is an explosive jumper who can make help-side blocks and trail blocks when defenders don’t see him coming. Explosive athlete who can block shots from a help side or trail position. He can handle the ball with speed in the open court, but he tends to take one extra dribble before making a play for a teammate. He can be a high-level defender when he buys into using his athleticism and length to create havoc on the ball and shoot gaps for deflections and steals from a help side position. He tends to get screened because he opens his chest to the screen, instead of getting skinny and avoiding the screen. He struggles with physical defenders in that half court that get into him and take away his space. He has to work on creating more separation from physical defenders on his retreat dribble so he can use his speed in the space created to beat his defender.

Oleksandr Kobets #21 – He is a hard-nosed player, consistently diving on the floor for loose balls. He is a high-level catch and  shoot player. He gets most of his shots created for him by teammates off of drive and kicks or defenders tagging rollers in pick-and-roll situations or off ball screens.  He reads defenders on off-ball screens on whether to tight curl, curl, fade or straight cut creating shot opportunities for himself. He isn’t comfortable bringing the ball up versus pressure or being the play maker off of pick and rolls. He is not a great passer off of dribble attacks, but sees the floor well when making passes off of the catch. He doesn’t create great separation off of his step back, and struggled to beat defenders off the bounce. Defensively and athletically, he is limited. He struggles to defend against a change of pace off of the dribble and against players who can change directions while handling the ball full speed. He sets hard, physical screens.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk #10 – He is a very crafty, smart offensive player. He really uses change of speeds in the open floor to create an advantage to beat his defender. He can use his craft to get into the paint and create for others, passing accurately with both hands. He is patient when using ball screens and off-ball screens, using set ups to put the defender in a disadvantage before taking advantage of the screen. He sets physical screens in “screen the screener” offensive actions, creating screen assists for his teammates or open shots for himself when his defender helps. He is a triple-threat three point shooter, shooting accurately off the catch, off of screens and off the dribble. He has a quick release so he doesn’t need much space to get his shot off and he shoots it with a high arch. He plays physical on box outs, screens and uses his forearm to steer offensive players. He is a good jumper, but not a great athlete. He will attack the rim and try to dunk on help-side defenders.

He can create his own shot off change of pace, triple-threat moves and jumping athleticism. He needs to use the back slot to protect his dribble when putting his back to smaller defenders so he doesn’t get picked (think Mark Jackson and Magic Johnson when they would back down smaller guards). He creates great separation on step-backs. He can make plays off the bounce, and in pick and rolls. He doesn’t have great length, which will hurt him as an NBA prospect. He’s not a good defender in space, but can contain in the half court with players in help on the nail and elbows. He throws weak-hand hook passes and wrap-around passes. He’s patient off pick and rolls, letting the play develop. He must use the same offensive basketball IQ on defense. He is late on help-side defensive rotations on drives, but should be able to anticipate defensive situations that would allow him to see defensive plays ahead of time. Not as effective off of the dribble in a half court situation – he’s better off of triple threat and off-ball screens.