Draft suggestion: Damir Markota

[SlovenianGuy]

Damir Markota
Birthdate: 12/26/85
NBA Position: SF/PF
Ht: 6-10
Wt: 225
Hometown: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Team: (Karlovac) Cibona

Strengths: Above average athlete. His offensive game is extremely developed. An amazing three point touch. He can shoot from anywhere, with any kind of move. Has good vision and passes well out of the double team when in the post. Also a strong rebounder.

Weaknesses: Must work on his mid-range game. His defensive intensity needs a lot of work. He must work some on his ballhandling and his in-between game. But the biggest thing he needs to work on is his attitude. Has a reputation of not interacting well with teammates.

Notes: The best Croatian prospect in some time. He is a late 1985 guy but is already making big noise in Croatian Upper division averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game.

-Aran Smith
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Strengths: Very athletic and intelligent with the ball. Has extremely long arms and good leaping ability making him an effective shot blocker. Has a nice set of low post moves, including a very proficient baby hook. Shooting is where he separates himself from the rest of the pack. Can shoot the lights out from anywhere on the floor. Has wonderful touch...Not afraid to take the ball to the hole...a talent!

Weaknesses: Relies on athleticism way too much. Defense has to get better, he finds himself out of position on defense and is known to pick up bad fouls. Clearly a liability on D…Passing and rebounding should both improve with time and coaching...increased strength would do him very well. Notes: Has an edge to him, could turn out to be a very good player. Potential is huge.

-Savneet Singh

[exstatic]

Damir Markota
Birthdate: 12/26/85
NBA Position: SF/PF
Ht: 6-10
Wt: 225
Hometown: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Team: (Karlovac) Cibona

Strengths: Above average athlete. His offensive game is extremely developed. An amazing three point touch. He can shoot from anywhere, with any kind of move. Has good vision and passes well out of the double team when in the post. Also a strong rebounder.

Weaknesses: Must work on his mid-range game. His defensive intensity needs a lot of work. He must work some on his ballhandling and his in-between game. But the biggest thing he needs to work on is his attitude. Has a reputation of not interacting well with teammates.

Notes: The best Croatian prospect in some time. He is a late 1985 guy but is already making big noise in Croatian Upper division averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game.

-Aran Smith
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Strengths: Very athletic and intelligent with the ball. Has extremely long arms and good leaping ability making him an effective shot blocker. Has a nice set of low post moves, including a very proficient baby hook. Shooting is where he separates himself from the rest of the pack. Can shoot the lights out from anywhere on the floor. Has wonderful touch...Not afraid to take the ball to the hole...a talent!

Weaknesses: Relies on athleticism way too much. Defense has to get better, he finds himself out of position on defense and is known to pick up bad fouls. Clearly a liability on D…Passing and rebounding should both improve with time and coaching...increased strength would do him very well. Notes: Has an edge to him, could turn out to be a very good player. Potential is huge.

-Savneet Singh

To me, the two bolded areas are red flags. If you're taking a flier, which the Spurs 50 something pick will be, you don't need to add attitude problems to the mix.

Is he even an early entry candidate for this year?

[SlovenianGuy]

nbadraft.net has him at #52. That's all I know.

According to what I've seen and read, it's hard to find such a great talent with pick number 50 or more.

[exstatic]

Well, if he's still there at 59 or whatever, then maybe they take a flier on him. I do think the Spurs do psychological testing, though, to find out if the guys are team guys. Sounds like he'd flunk that part.

[kobyz]

i saw him play couple of times this year and i think he has great potential, he has very goot three point touch and he can put the ball on the floor, but he is still has a lot of things to work on.

[Bruno]

The good thing with a 59th pick is that 90% of the players drafted in that area are busts : you can only have a good surprise.

[Spurologist]

Someone has this guy being drafted by the Spurs

Lior Eliahu
Birthdate: 9/9/85
NBA Position: PF/SF
Ht: 6-9
Wt: 225
Hometown: Elyon, Israel
Current Team: Hapoel Galil Elyon

http://nbadraft.net/profiles/headshots/lior-eliyahu-hd.jpg

Strengths: Great length, has a huge wingspan … Athletic, runs the floor like a guard … Good leaping ability with his long arms and big hands, a very good dunker … Finishes well around the rim, has good hands and a soft touch on his a fade away and turn around jump shot … A good passer for a forward with above average court vision… Has excellent awareness of where he is all the time, always looks calm, never panics, a mature player ... Active, always moving, you won't see him just standing on the court…. Has a good attitude, always trying to improve his game…

Weaknesses: Too skinny especially for the post position, needs about 15-20 pounds of muscle … Has a very ugly shot, due to a broken elbow he suffered a couple of years ago, almost no arc in his shot ... Limited on his man to man defense, lack of outside shooting has him playing PF, despite having a SF's style of play and a SG's body weight ... Gets fatigued. Sometimes disappears on the 2nd half, had too many game of 18-20 points in the 1st half and 2-4 more in the 2nd half ... Despite his good scoring ability he hasn't yet developed a go to mentality, although he's shown improvement in it as time goes by… Has nearly no left hand game at all…. Can't guard stronger guys in the post … Has nice blocking ability, but he's not going to be a shot blocker in the NBA ... Streaky, can score 30 in 80% and 10 in 30% the next game… Decision making is not at the highest level ... A quiet guy, not very vocal. Still hasn't shown mush heart or leadership ...

Notes: Took part in two European U-20 championships (silver in 2004 and 4th in 2005), was in the Euro-Cup's All Star game, scoring 10 points. Was very impressive at the world U-22 Championship in Argentina, averaging 18.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG. Was a contender for FIBA's young player of the year in 2005.

-Samy Zelikson 4/13/06

[ShoogarBear]

WTF, don't they feed people in Europe? Every guy over there is too skinny. :lol

[ShoogarBear]

Oh, and if a dude is 6'10" and can really, really shoot and is mobile, it'd be hard to pass him up in the 50s.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

Nemanja Aleksandrov
http://nbadraft.net/profiles/nemanjaaleksandrov.asp

another poster in the Scola to Chicago thread turned me on to this kid, sounds better than anyone else available in the second round.



Comparison: Toni Kukoc

Strengths: Alekasandrov is excellent outside shooter with great offensive skills ...
Extremely talented young player who can play both inside and outside ...
He has the size of a big man but can play like a guard …
Very difficult to guard because he shoots 3's very well and can dribble the ball ...
Has great hands, coordination, speed and long arms; decent court vision .... Has potential to be a very good SF in the NBA. ...
He uses his hands very well around the basket and grabs many rebounds because of his huge wing-span ...
He runs the court and moves well around the basket for the big guy ...
Uses pump fakes, dribble drives, and the turn around jumper extremely well ... He can also pass well if he is double teamed in the post ...
He can also lead a fast break…
He is also a solid shoot-blocker…

-Weaknesses: The most talented young prospect out of Serbia so far, but he often appears to lack great passion for the game ...
Very skinny, needs to get much stronger in order to play at the NBA level … He does not like contact in the post and he is very weak physically ...
Will run away from contact… Must put another 20 pounds to gain the necessary strength …
Defensively he needs a lot of work to become solid NBA defender ...
Lacks experience ...
Has been injured most of last year.....
Struggles to make shots over bigger and stronger defenders ...
Added strength will allow him to become more aggressive and tougher in the post …

* Alexandrov has not played a single game in 2005-2006 season due to injury.

-Stevan Petrovic 5/4/06

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Strengths: Player with immense physical gifts, incredible outside shooter, extremely fluid running the floor, good quickness and leaping ability. The sky's the limit ...
He has incredible hands, and has size and coordination, speed, long arms, great ball handler. He has all the physical attributes be a star ...
Perfect size and skills for the SF position ...
The game comes so easily to him, he often seems not to be trying hard ...

Weaknesses: He's the most talented prospect in Europe, but his passion for the game is a source of constant criticism ...
Still has not proven himself on the senior level ...
The NBA will be reluctant to get burned again by the "workout wonder" ...
He must become a lot more aggressive. He still is very weak physically, and avoids contact because of it ...
Some feel he lacks the fire to be great ...
Has been injury prone, so he must prove he can stay healthy for close to a full season.

-Aran Smith 11/22/05

[HIP HOOPERS]

Sasa Zagorac...

http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_f43ulKJBGLcVnbH-aqLVu2.teamID_2154.compID_8aYeHlfuGF-mF5IqO8aFH1.season_2002.roundID_3424.playerID_3959 3.html


http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2005/05_mu21_boxes/05_mu21_stats_slovenia.html#team.ind


This guy had no luck in his career so far with clubs and playing time, but just look at the stats he has put up in junior competitions... Absolutely killed Markota and others that are mentioned here for this years draft head to head.
A big guy with an axcelent 3 point shot. His game is all about using "head" more that body (if you know what i mean, don't know how to explain it...)