European Hoops Wrap-Up: Euroleague thrillers and FIBA’s kick-off

Week two of European intercontinental play is in the books, and it was eventful. With the FIBA Champions League kicking off, the action is now in full swing, and that competition gave us our first look at some 2017 NBA Draft prospects playing against quality competition. In Eurocup, there were some fabulous individual performances, headlined by the debut of Amar’e Stoudemire. While Euroleague action was thin on big prospect performances, it was full of quality, close contests.

This Euroleague week was bananas

On Thursday, we saw two very close, entertaining games. Brose Bamberg had to overcome a third quarter explosion by Keith Langford to beat Unics Kazan 89-86. Meanwhile in Milan, a late Mantas Kalnietis three helped Olimpia Milano beat Darussafaka 81-80. The result pushed Milano to a surprising 2-0 start.

Then on Friday, things went fully off the rails. A week after obliterating Galatasaray, CSKA Moscow got a scare from Panathinaikos, needing Andrey Vorontsevich and James Augustine to carry them home to a tight 81-77 win. The fact that Panathinaikos was playing with an interim coach after the resignation of Argyris Pedoulakis earlier in the week makes that result all the more curious. Crvena Zvezda, meanwhile, forced a timely turnover and transition basket by Stefan Jovic to escape with an 85-83 win over Galatasaray:

The tight finishes did not stop there. Zalgiris used a second half comeback to edge Baskonia 78-73, despite Adam Hanga’s 18 points, four assists and three steals. And Fenerbahce continued their cardiac start to the competition, beating Barcelona 73-72 by holding off a late Barca charge. Fenerbahce won by holding the ball for the final seven seconds of the game, somehow avoiding a Barca foul.

Through two weeks, half of the Euroleague teams are 1-1. Next week should provide some clarity, but it’s been a very entertaining opening to the competition, to say the least.

Prospect of the Week: Alpha Kaba, Mega Leks

Mega Leks didn’t get off to the best start in the Basketball Champions League, falling at home to Sidigas Avellino 84-70. They’re now 1-5 overall on the season between the CL and the Adriatic League. But they still proved to be the team to watch on Tuesday, as Alpha Kaba went off for 18 points, nine rebounds, and three steals in the loss.

Kaba, a 20-year-old center prospect from France, has enjoyed a good start to the season, averaging 10.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in Adriatic League play. He’s currently the 55th-rated prospect in DraftExpress’ top 100, and with more impressive performances, could climb into first round consideration. Kaba went 5-of-8 from the field and earned 11 free throw attempts to finish with 18 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. Single-game plus-minus is a flawed stat, even in Europe, but it’s worth noting that Kaba led Mega Leks at +9 in a game they lost by double digits.

Kaba’s offensive rebounding effort was superb in this game, as he came down with seven missed shots and was able to generate many of his scoring opportunities on putbacks. Kaba grabbed 30.3 percent of available offensive rebounds, which would be a great rate for an entire team. Kaba does well on the offensive glass because he’s quicker and longer than most bigs he’s going to face, and he can slide from the high elbow into rebounding position after a pick-and-roll due to his mobility. He had an easy time getting around Maarty Leunen and former Utah Jazz big Kyrylo Fesenko for rebounds, and did a nice job of finishing through a lot of contact after he grabbed those boards.

Kaba also flashed an exciting new development — a corner three that he’s developed over the summer. He’s always been a decent midrange shooter, but he’s extended his range out to the three-point line, burying 6-of-11 so far this year, many of which have come from the corner. It’s still early, so this may just be a hot streak. But his mechanics are there, and a solid baseline jumper would make him a very effective weapon at the NBA level.

After missing most of last season with a knee injury, Kaba decided not to enter the 2016 NBA Draft. He instead refined his game to an extent over the summer, adding range to his jumper and putting on muscle to bulk up his previously frail 6-foot-10 frame. So far, those additions have worked, and he looks like a legitimate NBA prospect, who could even approach the first round.

Amar’e Stoudemire’s debut went as expected

Last week, we discussed the continental debut of Andrea Bargnani, who found a lot of success in Baskonia’s win over Efes. In Eurocup action Wednesday, the other big NBA name debuted. Amar’e Stoudemire played 25 minutes in Hapoel Jerusalem’s win over Valencia, posting 10 points and 10 rebounds. He brought out all of the old Amar’e tricks. The quick slide into space to receive a dump-off and dunk. Trying to ram the ball through the rim on a putback. A well-executed pick-and-roll dive and fleet-of-foot spinning hook shot.

However, there was also plenty of what we’ve come to expect from Amar’e on the defensive end. Stoudemire got pushed around on the block by Timberwolves’ stash prospect Bojan Dubljevic, who had another strong contest with 15 points and five rebounds. Stoudemire was particularly lax in the pick-and-roll, seeming to be more interested in securing rebounding position than keeping a hand on Dubljevic barreling towards the basket or corralling the slithery Rafa Martinez. Amar’e was a defensive liability, but he also warped Valencia’s defense to free things up for teammates, most notably Jerome Dyson, who had 17 points.

While Bargnani debuted with what looked like the best possible version of himself, Amar’e was pretty much the Amar’e we’ve come to expect over his last few years with the Knicks, Mavericks, and Heat. In Europe, that’s still a pretty effective player, and hopefully we get to see more from him as the competition goes along.

Cedi Osman is Efes’s lone bright spot

Things are not going well for Anadolu Efes in Euroleague this year. So far they’ve lost a one-point contest against Baskonia, and got blown out on Thursday by Olympiacos, 90-66. Efes never had a chance in this one, as Olympiacos got out to an early lead thanks to 14 first quarter points from Georgios Printezis. They were also able to use their incredible frontcourt depth to expose Efes’ lack of quality big men. However, Efes did have one bright spot — Cleveland Cavaliers’ stash forward Cedi Osman, who led all scorers with 22 points and six rebounds off the bench.

At the beginning of the year, I wondered how Osman and 76ers’ prospect Furkan Korkmaz would help account for the loss of Dario Saric. So far, it’s been Osman who’s filled the gap, averaging 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this year. Osman’s taken a clear step forward as a scorer, a promising sign for his NBA prospects. The most notable improvement came in his finishing, where his touch has gotten much better around the rim. Osman’s always been good as a slasher, but he has struggled to connect around contact. Here he is attacking Spurs prospect Nikola Milutinov, showing a nice floater that he’d struggled with previously:

Osman is also proving that last season’s three-point outburst wasn’t a blip. After shooting 31.5 percent from three from 2012-2015, Osman shot 39.6 percent last season on 227 attempts. So far this year he’s having the same consistency, hitting 6-of-15 threes for a 40 percent clip. His mechanics again look improved, and he has appeared more comfortable shooting under pressure this year.

Osman was drafted for his potential as a defensive player, and he’s continued to have success defending Europe’s best wing scorers. But Thursday showed that you have to respect Osman on offense, as well. He’s a willing passer, can get to the rim off the dribble and now appears to be a weapon from beyond the arc as well. He is by far Efes’ most exciting player, and should definitely be on the Cavs’ radar in the summer of 2017.

The Week of Campazzo

UCAM Murcia lost twice this week, falling in ACB action 93-86, and then pulling off an ultimately futile comeback against Bayern Munich in a 92-84 Eurocup loss. However, Murcia’s play was plenty noteworthy, thanks to Argentinian point guard Facundo Campazzo. Campazzo had 14 assists in the loss to Madrid, and then turned around and dished out another 12 against Bayern. He probably could have had even more, but Murcia shot just 35.5 percent from the field on Wednesday.

Campazzo has breathtaking command of the Murcia offense. The 5-foot-9 waterbug runs a lot of pick-and-roll with fellow Argentinian Marcos Delia and the massive Ovie Soko. He is excellent at picking apart a defense with both his movement and his passing, able to hit wrap-around passes or dump-offs to the roll man. He’s also a solid outside shooter off the bounce, and creates space for himself with the threat of threading the needle to teammates. That’s how Campazzo also added 20 points in this contest. He’s probably not on the NBA’s radar (It’s hard to crack the NBA at his size these days), but if Murcia is going to hang in this competition, Campazzo will be the reason why.

5 Final Quick-Hitters

• Cedevita looked like a dark horse tournament favorite for the Eurocup title, but so far they’ve struggled, getting blown out by Gran Canaria and losing a close contest to Lietkabelis. They’ve lacked perimeter scoring so far, and David Stockton doesn’t look quite ready to handle starting duty at point guard.
• Crvena Zvezda should get a boost with their signing of Nate Wolters. Wolters will add some much-needed depth to their roster, and he should operate well as a combo guard off the bench.
• RIP Gustavo Ayon
• Former Thunder stash prospect Tomislav Zubcic had a nice Champions League debut, posting 19 points and nine rebounds as Avtodor Saratov beat Khimik 80-77. Former D-Leaguer Nick Minnerath pitched in 18 points.
• Cedi Osman wasn’t the only prospect to watch in Efes vs Olympiacos. Milutinov looked strong defensively, collecting seven rebounds, two steals and a block to go with eight points. And Khem Birch was a game-changer as a starter, collecting three blocks and displaying his excellent defensive potential.