Five games into the Euroleague season, things are getting all cleared up for us observers of the greatest basketball competition in Europe. Teams are being shaped in one way or another and I am moving out of that zone, where I hear “SMALL SAMPLE SIZE!” echoing in my head loudly whenever I give a shot at judging players based on their performances thus far. 200 minutes of basketball for every single team might be a small sample size for the NBA, but for Euroleague, I believe it is ideal for evaluating purposes as it is the half point mark of the regular season. Every single player gave a lot more than a glimpse of what they will be up to throughout the season.
Unlucky for us, Euroleague doesn’t have a “Most Improved Player” award which is a great tool to fuel discussions on individual player performances. Lucky for you though, we have got you covered.
So, who has made his 2011-12 self look like a clown up to this point in the 2012-13 campaign? Here are our top 3 candidates:
1. Curtis Jerrells
What to say, really? As a player who was lost in Neven Spahija’s labyrinth shaped rotation, I was kind of expecting a jump from Curtis Jerrells in a Besiktas jersey, but definitely not to this extent. While my expectancy was headed more towards a Yao Ming type of jump, we are talking about “Vince Carter in his prime” levels here. Not only he improved as a basketball player, but Jerrells could be rightfully considered as a legitimate candidate for Euroleague’s “Regular Season MVP” award now.
Jerrells’ Besiktas has won all the games they were supposed to win in order to compete for the Top 16 and the American guard has a huge role in his team’s success, averaging 18.6 index rating (almost twice as many as the closest player on Besiktas, who is Markota at 10.6) and doing it with an effective field goal percentage of 57.5, which is not bad at all.
NAME 11-12 RKG 12-13 RKG RKG MARGIN
JERRELLS, CURTIS 9.00 18.60 +9.60
More important than his stat line and what is also more impressive is the improvement in Jerrells’ decision making ability. He makes better choices on isolations and PnRs and I mean way better. And even though he still makes some bad calls on both ends of the floor, consequences are not as fatal as last season thanks to coach Erman Kunter’s well-designed infrastructure. While Jerrells is helping his coach with his scoring ability and drive&kick game, Kunter is also assisting him with probably the best environment to provide. And it is working given that Jerrells has doubled his scoring and index rating numbers from 2011-12 five games into the season, while lowering his turnover rate from 15% to 9%, which is even more astounding above all.
2. Vladimir Lucic
Vladimir Lucic has been one of the rare bright points for the winless youth project of Partizan this season. After 2011-12 where he showed flashes of brilliance against powerhouses like Maccabi Electra and Real Madrid but didn’t do much else, Lucic has been delivering what he is asked this year, on a team where he is basically one of the veteran leaders as a 23 year old but also as the 4th oldest player on the roster.
NAME 11-12 RKG 12-13 RKG RKG MARGIN
LUCIC, VLADIMIR 3.00 15.60 +12.60
Although Lucic’s improvement comes mostly from the increase he’s seen in his playing time, it should to be noted that he has responded to the instantaneous jump in his responsibilities in a mature way as a 23-year old. Despite increasing amount of usage, he is turning the ball over at a lower rate -just like Curtis Jerrells- and shooting with a better percentage from all over the floor. For a player like him nearing his breakout time, it would have been a notable accomplishment even if he managed to sustain his lower but tolerable efficiency from last year, yet Lucic has been able to build upon that as far as the first five games of the season tell.
Partizan is not going to start winning anytime soon, but Lucic’s development is certainly worth watching.
3. Deon Thompson
For the fans of the NCAA game out there, it always felt like Deon Thompson has been a mid-range connoisseur under any circumstances. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case during his rookie campaign in Euroleague last season. Thompson played for a 1-9 and equally disastrous Olimpija team while posting up a decent-but-not-good 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
NAME 11-12 RKG 12-13 RKG RKG MARGIN
THOMPSON, DEON 6.00 17.60 +11.60
In his 2nd season in Euroleague, however, Deon Thompson is living up to his reputation. Shooting an insane 54.5% in mid-range situations this year, Thompson has already doubled the number of wins (salute to Olimpija, once again) thanks to being a member of a competitive team, looking way more determinant and way more skilled out there in the process, scoring 1.14 points per possession where he ranks as the 9th best player among who have played more than 25 minutes per game.
In-The-Game‘s great Simon Jatsch, a close follower of Thompson’s developmental curve, has more on former Tar Heel’s adventure in Berlin:“Thompson, having played 73.6 percent of his minutes on power forward so far this season, is one of roughly half a dozen inside-oriented fours left in the Euroleague, a dying species in modern basketball. Often having a physical edge over his power forward matchup, Thompson makes use of his limited but efficient lowpost arsenal and crashes the offensive glass with authority, ranking top five in offensive rebound percentage among Euroleague power forwards so far. Thompson is showing equally impressive offensive numbers in German Bundesliga play, but has drawn the wrath of his demanding coach Sasa Obradovic for his poor defensive and box-out work more than once.”
Kraj sjaji sjajem novog pocetka.
19.04.2015.
Bol je privremen,ponos je vecan.
OBRADOVIC ZELJKO 22.06.2023.
