Euro Final Four: Junior Tournament
By Aran_Smith
Fri, 05/06/2011 - 1:57pm
The U18 Nike International Junior Tournament began on Thursday
at the Palau Sant Jordi. Here are notes from days one and two from
the event.
The Croatian team KK Zagreb has the top two NBA prospects in the event in Dario Saric and Mario Hezonja.
Dario SaricDario Saric
helped ZaGREB build a big first half lead on Day 1 against INSEP
with a number of impressive plays. He loves to isolate at the top of
the key and show off his handle using a crossover to get by opponents.
Frequently takes guys off dribble. Made a nice spin move on athletic
French forward Libio and followed that up by knocking down top of key
3 in game one. Great feel for the game. An excellent passer. Makes
the game look easy. Incredible handle. Huge hands. Aggressive posting
up. Missed a few shots late allowing INSEP to creep back in late.
Hit an impressive runner in the closing seconds to ice the game.
Mario Hezonja
Wearing bright green "lizard" shoes, Hezonja has made a big impact.
Looks different than a few weeks ago in Charlotte with a short
haircut. Very impressive Extremely quick and a tremendous athlete.
Zagreb made short work of INSEP and Hezonja was a big reason why. Got
out for a breakaway dunk showing his speed and explosiveness. Looks
very comfortable playing against kids 1-2 years older. Good
aggressiveness, toughness. Intense player. Solid strength. Ended the
game with a reverse dunk. Considering he's 1995, he might have more
upside than any player in this event, Saric included. Has a fiery
personality. Appears to be a surefire NBA SG talent. So far, his talent
has stood out in the same way his bright green shoes have.
[uredio ZG188-545 - 07. svibnja 2011. u 04:51]