Updates: Viktor Sanikidze

[Bruno]

Sanikidze stats have been significantly better for a couple of months.

[timvp]

Sanikidze stats have been significantly better for a couple of month.

Any numbers you'd like to share? :)

Glad that he's finally producing for fraggle rock.

[TDMVPDPOY]

looks like his injurys are over, as compared to a certain someone on our fkn cheering bench

[Bruno]

Any numbers you'd like to share? :)


For the baltic league (the official website is down for the moment) :
http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=EST&PlayerID=54579

For the Estonian league :
http://www.basket.ee/index.php?mid=13

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

I have hear that AEK Athens will secure him soon. So once he makes this move up to a much bigger club then I think Spurs need to keep closer eye on him.

[objective]

does he ever look the same twice?

Last time I saw him he looked like a balding meth jesus.

[j2nes123]

when he joined with Tartu last year, then he didnt get much time to play because for some reason headcoach didnt trust him. that coach got fired and now we have new coach who definately sees a big talent in Sanikidze. and he has proved it 100% as he has become one of the greatest player during Tartu Rock history. probably this season will be his last here.

[Ocotillo]

Any serious chance this guy will get a summer league invite?

[Gino2882]

Any serious chance this guy will get a summer league invite?

I would say certainly a chance. If I remember right he has played for their summer league once before.

[Marcus Bryant]

I want to believe, but he has teammates named "Gert" and "Silver."

-MB

[Marcus Bryant]

http://www.tysk.ee/rock/index.php?sisu=tekst&mid=1&lang=est

[Manufan909]

So him and The Gist could possibly end Finleys reign as the SF with the most minutes for too long(even ten games of that is too long)? Who am I kidding, The Gist could do that himself.:lol

[VI_Massive]

So him and The Gist could possibly end Finleys reign as the SF with the most minutes for too long(even ten games of that is too long)? Who am I kidding, The Gist could do that himself.:lol

I've read and heard that Gist is more of a Carl Landry-type undersized 4 rather than a 3. Not sure he solves our problem there.

[Marcus Bryant]

Maybe the guys who get kicked off the Handball court play in the Estonian League...?

[Manufan909]

I've read and heard that Gist is more of a Carl Landry-type undersized 4 rather than a 3. Not sure he solves our problem there.

IIRC, he is planned for filling the 3 spot here. I think he is playing 3 in Italy, to hone his perimeter game. Can anyone with a better memory confirm or deny that?

[Biggems]

he is only 23? did we draft him before he hit puberty? it seems like we have owned his rights forever

[VI_Massive]

IIRC, he is planned for filling the 3 spot here. I think he is playing 3 in Italy, to hone his perimeter game. Can anyone with a better memory confirm or deny that?

I don't think it matters where he's planned for. I don't think he has the handles or perimeter game to play the 3.

[Manufan909]

he is only 23? did we draft him before he hit puberty? it seems like we have owned his rights forever

Damn, he get drafted at 19? shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

[Biggems]

bring him over this summer if financially possible.

[The Truth #6]

I don't think it matters where he's planned for. I don't think he has the handles or perimeter game to play the 3.

He was already shooting 3 pointers in Summer League, before we sent him to Europe. He's not short and stout like Landry. He's lanky. I don't see why he couldn't adjust to the 3. It's not like Pop has faith in anyone to play the 3, except for his irrational love for Finley. He's a better option that our other options that don't yet exist.

[VI_Massive]

He was already shooting 3 pointers in Summer League, before we sent him to Europe. He's not short and stout like Landry. He's lanky. I don't see why he couldn't adjust to the 3. It's not like Pop has faith in anyone to play the 3, except for his irrational love for Finley. He's a better option that our other options that don't yet exist.

Summer League stats and performance mean little. And for the record he only took 6 threes in the SL so I don't know what we can tell from that.

I like his game and I think he could be something for us, but not an SF.

[ducks]

Summer League stats and performance mean little. And for the record he only took 6 threes in the SL so I don't know what we can tell from that.

I like his game and I think he could be something for us, but not an SF.

he has the range for the three

if he did not he would not have shot 6

[VI_Massive]

he has the range for the three

if he did not he would not have shot 6

Its SUMMER LEAGUE. He played FOUR games.

If guys only shot 3s if they had the range well........Zach Randolph

[Longley]

He is energy guy. Leading scorer in Estonian league now, over 16 pts a game. Led his team to the baltic league final 4. 10-7-1 guy in Baltic league. Lithuainian team Rytas won Eurocup week ago, so Baltic league is quite OK. He has to improve FT shooting, its. His FG % is bit better. Lol. He got himself going beginning of the year, after former head coach got fired.

http://www.bbl.net/index.php/b19sYW5nPWVuJm9fc2Vhcz0yMSZvX2xlYWc9OCZmdXNlYWN0aW 9uPXBsYXllcnMubWFpbiZwPTExMTE=


Look yourself and ask something if you want about him, seen alot.

[Summers]

he is energy guy. Leading scorer in estonian league now, over 16 pts a game. Led his team to the baltic league final 4. 10-7-1 guy in baltic league. Lithuainian team rytas won eurocup week ago, so baltic league is quite ok. He has to improve ft shooting, its. His fg % is bit better. Lol. He got himself going beginning of the year, after former head coach got fired.

http://www.bbl.net/index.php/b19syw5npwvujm9fc2vhcz0ymszvx2xlywc9oczmdxnlywn0aw 9upxbsyxllcnmubwfpbizwptexmte=


look yourself and ask something if you want about him, seen alot.

kbp?

[benefactor]

kbp?
Indeed.

[Spursmania]

kbp?

hhmmm...

[Biggems]

I say bring him over.....we need youth and athleticism and he has it at only 23.

[Longley]

And I wouldnt rate D-League much higher than average league in Europe. In D-League there are some guys who Playing(ed) in Estonia. David Bailey was just an average in Rock, now he is pretty good in D-League. Scooter M(a)cFagdon played in Estoniain side Kalev and was an average, same Marlon Parmer. Scooter was a beast in D-League after he went back to the States during the season. Maybe is the style of playing so much different dont know...

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

And I wouldnt rate D-League much higher than average league in Europe. In D-League there are some guys who Playing(ed) in Estonia. David Bailey was just an average in Rock, now he is pretty good in D-League. Scooter M(a)cFagdon played in Estoniain side Kalev and was an average, same Marlon Parmer. Scooter was a beast in D-League after he went back to the States during the season. Maybe is the style of playing so much different dont know...

D-League is crap. Baltic league is much stronger than D-League. Baltic League is quite one of the stronger leagues in Europe. It is MUCH better than POS French league which fans here seem to think is good.

I don't know if he will come to AEK or not but last I here they still want to bring him this summer to the club. I would guess he would get a big raise because AEK is one richest clubs in Europe.

[Bruno]

Before this year, Sanikidze hadn't basically played for 3 years.

In 05-06, he missed the whole year because of knees' surgery.
In 06-07, he signed with a Spanish team. He missed the start of the season because of Visa troubles, had an appendix surgery and spend the year in the doghouse.
In 07-08, he struggles to find a team because of contracts troubles. When he finally find one in Germany, he blows his knee during the work out. He end up the season in a crappy Georgian league.

The natural reaction towards Sanikdize would be "he is still 23 years old, has done nothing and is just a bust". IMO, it's too soon to say that given all the years he has missed. Next step for him would be to have a good season in Europe in a stronger team than Rock. Even if Sanikdize will likely never end up in NBA, I haven't fully given up on him.

[Longley]

AEK isnt very strong club at the moment, 8th or something in Greece. They wanter Sanikidze this season, its true, but he decided to come Rock, because his best friend is playing there and he missed a lot of seasons due injury. He can defenetly get contract form AEK, one Estonian playing there right now and he isnt better than Sanikidze.

And I agree, he need one good season in Europe with good team, Rock isnt that. Im not sure he can play such high level as NBA, but defenetly he has to try to give his best.

[nick23]

Viktor Win Slam Dunk in Estonia
http://www.ohtuleht.ee/324401

[objective]

Well that seals his fate. When Pop sees that, Sanikidze will never be a Spur.

But his look has changed once again. At the end of the video he kind of looked like Manu Ginobili.

[Bruno]

When does Rock Tartu season end ?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

When does Rock Tartu season end ?

Baltic league is late April I do not know for Estonia league but it should be after Baltic league though.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Viktor Win Slam Dunk in Estonia
http://www.ohtuleht.ee/324401

He won dunk contest in Georgia last year also.

[timvp]

Viktor Win Slam Dunk in Estonia
http://www.ohtuleht.ee/324401

Thanks for the link. Hopefully the Spurs invite him to summer league.

[tp2021]

Is there any reason why they wouldn't invite him to SL?

[Bruno]

Is there any reason why they wouldn't invite him to SL?

Georgia NT.

Their first official game is on August 15th. I don't know when their training camp will start but it's possible that he won't be available for the SL.

[tp2021]

gotdam national teams

[Buddy Holly]

I'm I wrong in saying he has a similar build to Tayshaun Prince?

[mattyc]

Thanks for the link. Hopefully the Spurs invite him to summer league.
Seconded. Can't hurt.

[Longley]

I'm I wrong in saying he has a similar build to Tayshaun Prince?


Quite similar yes. Soon will be baltic league final 4 and in may estonian finals. Rock won Estonian league regular season, Viktor is the best scorer in league. Hopefully he will be in SL this summer.

[Longley]

http://www.basket.ee/index.php?mid=12&section=player&id=7840

Regular season statistics


2Pv-FGA
2Pt-FGM
3Pv-Att
3Pt-made
VVv-FTA
VVt-FTM
KL-DREB
RL-OREB
LP-TotalREB
RS-Assists
V-Fouls
VM-Fouls Against
VL-Steals
BL-Blks
PK-TO
PNK-PTS

[AA2120]

slamma lamma bing bong

[BackHome]

Before this year, Sanikidze hadn't basically played for 3 years.

In 05-06, he missed the whole year because of knees' surgery.
In 06-07, he signed with a Spanish team. He missed the start of the season because of Visa troubles, had an appendix surgery and spend the year in the doghouse.
In 07-08, he struggles to find a team because of contracts troubles. When he finally find one in Germany, he blows his knee during the work out. He end up the season in a crappy Georgian league.

The natural reaction towards Sanikdize would be "he is still 23 years old, has done nothing and is just a bust". IMO, it's too soon to say that given all the years he has missed. Next step for him would be to have a good season in Europe in a stronger team than Rock. Even if Sanikdize will likely never end up in NBA, I haven't fully given up on him.


Are we talking about Saikidze or Ian? I am confused?

[Longley]

Now is going on Estonian league finals. 4 games played, he is key guy in his team.
http://www.basket.ee/index.php?mid=6&section=boxscore&gid=2009001218

Last game boxscore.

[Longley]

One video aswell, starts vith sanikidze block and you can see him more.
http://www.ohtuleht.ee/330858

[yavozerb]

That other team looked pathetic...But, its good to see victor hitting those jump shots and I like the fact he is showing some emotion during the game..

[benefactor]

Is he still planning to come over for the summer league?

[Buddy Holly]

One video aswell, starts vith sanikidze block and you can see him more.
http://www.ohtuleht.ee/330858

If he joins the team, he and Manu will have much to discuss. :lol

[Ditty]

trade his rights and someone else for a second round pick

[benefactor]

trade his rights and someone else for a second round pick
Yeah...this is the perfect draft for that.

[BWS-1994]

Now is going on Estonian league finals. 4 games played, he is key guy in his team.
http://www.basket.ee/index.php?mid=6&section=boxscore&gid=2009001218

Last game boxscore.

According to the box score, he plays "4"? All this time, I was hoping he'd crack the rotation as a SF.

[kobyz]

enough with the Sanikidze talk, he will never be NBA level, move on!

[Longley]

enough with the Sanikidze talk, he will never be NBA level, move on!


Agree. Right now hes not ready. He have to make good season in Europe in some good league. Russia/Greece/Spain etc. Then we can talk, but now he is not ready for the NBA.

[Kobayagi]

in some good league. Russia/Greece/Spain etc.


Russian league isn't good. You've got one great team, two good teams and all the rest is crap.

[Longley]

Russian league isn't good. You've got one great team, two good teams and all the rest is crap.


Its all the same in other leagues in Europe. Top teams and crappy clubs. Greece isnt good too, two great teams and all the others are bunch of crap. I think you got it what I mean. If you play against great clubs, then you can show yourself. Russian League is one of the strongest in Europe by the way.

[raspsa]

He looks awful skinny.

[objective]

Crossposted with the ThinkTank thread.

Sanikidze's team lost in the Estonian league finals to BC Kalev/Cramo over a week ago at least losing 3-2. He's not a lock to return to Rock Tartu as the last news item from Estonia I read merely said in translation that he and the other Georgian's contracts (Tsintsadze) were being considered for continuation.

A new Sanikidze highlight clip.

TaG1D7PH_AA

After having watched several games worth of both SEB and BBL ball, and realizing how poorly that reflects on how I spend my time, I can still say that I want the Spurs to sign him this summer no matter what.

Could he get better with time next year with a euro-league level team? Sure. But why wait? After all, as a second round pick he counts about half towards the luxury tax. And the worst that could happen is he could play so poorly the Spurs get routed in the first round by the Mavs.

First, constant use of airhorns in Tartu and elsewhere is beyond nauseating.

Back to Sanikidze. This guy can play in the NBA. He's a legit long 3, long arms and all. I'm not saying he's the savior, I'm not saying he'll be a star, but I firmly believe he could be a bench player in the league. He might be missing some things in his game, especially an inbetween game. But he moves great without the ball cutting to the basket which would fit in well with the Spurs, finishes well for the most part, and does play with some intelligence (at least in the games I saw I didn't notice any seriously dumb plays).

He's solid with the ball driving and passing off to big men for easy baskets, something not really evident in the video due to poor camera angles and other issues. His handle was respectable in the games I saw.

He definately has shotblocking skills, and though once compared to Kirilenko potentially with his length and aptitude he's probably closer to Tayshaun Prince with regards to blocks.

Usually I saw him matched up against much heavier players when he was on the court playing 4, which was most of the time. He competed hard for rebounds but his lack of strength I think would hurt him in the NBA. He wouldn't be a bad rebounder, but his stats might lead people to think he'd be a great rebounding SF but I'm skeptical. Defensively, I'm at a loss to explain what to expect from him on the perimeter against a 1-on-1 player. He rarely had to cover someone on the perimeter with the ball to my memory so I don't know. His lenght and shotblocking help, and I'm confident he'd be no worse in the Spurs system on defense than a Finley or a Mason.

His 3-point shot is still kind of funky to look at, he's no deadeye. Servicable maybe, but he'd be a candidate for shot re-build with Chip.

He can definately finish in the open court and get up for alley-oops. There was one play where the ball was passed impossibly high so maybe only a Dwight Howard or Lebron could have gotten it and finished, but Sanikidze was able to grab it, but unable to finish. It was something I found impressive even in it's failure. No current Spur would have even been able to catch the ball at all except maybe a healthy Ian.

One thing that exists regardless of level of basketball, is that he's a player full of passion. That's something the Spurs need. I don't just mean hustle or energy. Hell, Kurt Thomas hustles. Ime Udoka hustles. I mean passion, even a little overboard sometimes as you can see in the video. Plenty more instances of immense enthusiasm following plays happened that weren't included. He was damn into those games, even if it was just some run of the mill SEB game in an airhorn filled gym. The Spurs need players to inject new enthusiasm and vitality into their game. Maybe even reigned in just a little, because I saw two instances of him running up the score on teams when the amount of time remaining was less than the shot clock and the game was settled.

Other notes. Gert Kullamae looks old enough to be Indrek Visanpuu's father. And Sanikidze looks like he might be old enough to be Kullamae's father.

In at least 1 game Sanikidze had what appeared to be a heavily wrapped hand, I don't know if it was a serious issue or not. There were games where good things were happening when Sanikidze was playing which is in line with my summer league memories, but then the coach would stick him on the bench for long stretches of time.

So to sum up, I believe Sanikidze can play in the NBA and I want the Spurs to sign him. Just my opinion. I may be just another dumb fan, but I was also dumb enough to think Scola could play in the NBA among other things. If only other people had been so dumb. :toast

[nick23]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blbGqez1_84

[eisfeld]

I saw Viktor play last year in Austria. He sometimes shows flashes of what he could have been. His main problem is his body. He is just too skinny and weak to match up with bigger and stronger players. He's a diamond in the rough, but if he does not break out this or next season I feel he's going to be a wasted draft pick.

[Russo]

Even though Georgian NT played in Division B his stats still look remarkable: http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.pageID_TPN6UdELJPkAxYd5 G1AGF1.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.h tml

[biziofromdowntown]

Viktor will play in Italian Serie A this year.

[BackHome]

Everyone said that Prince from Detroit was to skinny and wouldn't make it in the NBA......??????????

[chekura]

1) http://youtu.be/XvXJzV6JSYk
2) http://youtu.be/mxDZMiASwkw
3) http://youtu.be/2Q6Wd93bsZc
4) http://youtu.be/rqinEx-aSqo
5) http://youtu.be/lVF7hKBZAmE

EuroBasket 2011 Profile: http://bit.ly/oaPwHM

There are talks that European grand Real Madrid is trying to get him, besides Turkish Besiktas too.

Do you still think he's not ready? :)

[Bruno]

Do you still think he's not ready? :)

Yes, I do. Sanikidze just isn't good enough to play in the NBA.

BTW, welcome on ST.

[will_spurs]

Yes, I do. Sanikidze just isn't good enough to play in the NBA.

He needs "to spend more time in the weights room" (the soft way to say "pills and injections") to get a lot more muscular mass, and hopefully the strength that goes with it.

[ulosturedge]

I'm not convinced. Too slow to play small forward too weak to play power forward. He would get chewed up on defense.

[ace3g]

https://twitter.com/ChristosLazarou/status/1165185763211980801