NBA comparison: Manu Ginobili/Brandon Roy

Strengths: Very smooth and crafty wing player … Used his sophomore season to add new dimensions to his game, and he proved to be a steady and consistent scoring threat … One of the most mature and NBA ready players of his class … He has great feel and understanding of the game, knows when he has to be a facilitator and when he has to take over the scoring load … As much as he brings in terms of scoring, his vision and playmaking ability may be his most impressive attributes … He makes great reads and is extremely unselfish … Has a developed body that is prepared to handle the rigors he will face in the league … In ISO situations he has a variety of deceptive and shifty moves that allow him to get by defenders … Out of the triple threat he is difficult to defend because his jab step is long and he sells his shot fake extremely well … Off the bounce he incorporates a nice crossover as well as in&out and behind the back dribbles to get into the lane … His jumper has shown great improvements, he has added range as well as consistency from the outside … His strength is a great asset because he is not afraid to use his body, either on drives or when playing with his back to the basket … Has good balance and body control when finishing around the basket … He has become a difficult matchup, because he looks to take advantage of mismatches, and enjoys playing with his back to the basket … Has a great feel for the ball, on the glass and in the passing lanes …

Weaknesses: Ended the season with two very poor performances in the NCAA Tournament, which has unfairly taken some luster off of a great season (he faced zone defenses on both occasions and it forced him to play out of his comfort zone)… Does not posses the great size that many have at his position … His leaping ability and quickness are only marginal, which forces him into tough and contested drives and makes it hard for him to get by people … Even though he has worked on his drives going right, he is still not nearly as comfortable and effective as he needs to be … Defenders have a much easier time cutting of his driving lanes when he does go right … His midrange game will need to become more polished, his ability to make shots off the dribble before the helpside D rotates will be key … He has become turnover prone at 3.4 per game, but this is mostly a result of being asked to do too much …

Borko Popic – 5/17/2009