Dragan Bender 6'11'' PF 1997

Dragan BenderFor the first time in the more than 2 years that I have been tracking him, I saw Bender completely dominate a game, and he did it playing against older opponents. He had always shown his skills and potential in the past, and it was easy to see the immense talent but he always lacked aggressiveness, or the will to win, something always seemed to be missing in his performances. Everything came together against Lithuania as he was facing Sabonis and Birutis, two of the best bigs of the tournament. Bender was a beast. He started the game attacking the basket, making shots, attacking the close out to finish at the basket, grabbing every rebound. For him playing aggressive is a must. He can't just live outside the paint because I don't think he is that good of a shooter. He runs and moves a little like Pau Gasol, though Bender is much more comfortable in running with the ball. When he rebounds the ball he immediately looks up the court, and if he can't find somebody, he pushes the ball himself. He doesn't have Porzingis' length, athleticism and impact in defense, where he is long but not a great shot blocker from the weak side. Bender on the other hand is very skilled, very comfortable playing outside the paint and reading the defense. His post game isn't bad at all, but the problem is that he never posts up; when he does he uses his quick feet to go left or right. He has good control of his body, also in traffic, but his hands aren't that great at catching the ball. His best skill is passing, as he makes great decisions to find the open man. His shooting is very streaky, as he doesn't always do a good job of setting his feet, making for a lack of consistency in his form. He obviously is a very good shooter for his height, but needs the space and time to set up for his shot. Around the rim he has the potential to finish above it, but right now lacks the strength to do it consistently. A prospect with possible lottery chances, has a 4+3 years agreement with Maccabi with a Million dollar NBA buy out in the last year. He wont be eligible until 2016, but has emerged as one of Europe's bright young hopes.