And here is a little something about those "no good Slovenians", coming from NBA scouts. I think they know basketball a little better then so called experts on this board.
Link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/...ScoutingReport
They are chief scout Tony Ronzone of the Detroit Pistons and his assistants, Bill Branch of the Seattle Supersonics and Todd Quinter of the Phoenix Suns.
ESPN.com asked six questions of each of them. Here is what they had to say:
4. What player has jumped up on your radar during this tournament?
(Note: All three scouts are employed by NBA teams, and thus are not allowed to comment on draft-eligible players. So none of them would mention by name Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic, who is expected to be in the 2008 draft.)
Ronzone: I can't say his name, but the young kid from Slovenia I love. But I've also always liked Savrasenko from Russia -- I think he's a rotation guy [in the NBA].
The kid Kristof Lavrinovic, he's got some issues. [Ronzone was referring to a rape charge that was lodged against Lavrinovic several years ago, then withdrawn, though not before he and his identical twin brother, Darius, spent more than a year in prison awaiting trial. Darius later married the accuser.] But he's a guy that can be in a rotation in our league -- the guy shoots 3s, he's got a good stroke, a big body, and I think his brother could play in our league also.
And [Slovenian power forward] Matjaz Smodis, I've always loved. People have been talking about him for seven years, but he has not come over. If he was 23 years old, he'd probably be coming over now.
Quinter: [Lithuanian shooting guard] Siskauskas. He had an unbelievable game the other night, though tonight he was more average, and that tempers me a little. I'll have to watch a little more.
The [Slovenian] kid is very, very good, and he's young. He's a nice player, as well.
Branch: We can't mention the names of the young guys, but Tony and I have had a three-day, going-back-and-forth lovefest about a particular point guard.
5. Who is the best non-NBA player here?
Ronzone:
Probably Smodis. I basically think Smodis is off the chart. I like Savrasenko, [Dimitrios] Diamantidis to me -- everyone talks about [Theo] Papaloukas, but why not Diamantidis? I think he's phenomenal. In the pick-and-roll, you can't stop him, he can post up, shoot the 3, he's unselfish and he's won defensive player of the year three of the past four years. He's got Ginobili action because he's north-south, east-west.
You don't have to be the quickest guy, but because they're so good at going left-right and up and back, they find ways to get to the basket, and they use those big bodies to find their way to the rim on pick-and-rolls.
Quinter: Well, Papaloukas and Diamantidis both, in my mind, should be in our league. I think they are exceptional point guards.
Branch: Papaloukas. He loves coming off the bench, he really gets his team going. I'm surprised how crafty and clever he is with the ball, how he can get in the paint. You can tell he's a wily old veteran.
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