the next dirk??

[wunderkind03]

alright, since nellie and the mavs struck gold with this german kid a few years back scouts have been surveying all around europe for the next dirk. finding a player at par with dirk's versatility and height is obviously no easy task. you got darko who's been a bust so far and even tskitishvili who's done nothing except warming benches. this year some kid named Andrea Bargani has scouts claiming that he fits the nowtizki mold. his stock's gone pretty high and yahoo has him being drafted at 5th.

here's bargani's player profile from http://nbadraft.net/profiles/andreabargnani.asp

NBA Comparison: Dirk Nowitzki

Good foot work, soft hands even if he's not particularly strong ... A fast player with very quick feet and first step for such a big guy, runs well in the fast break ... Shoots it quickly, with solid release and is also a great catch and shoot player ... Good one on one player who prefers to face the basket ... Bouncy, and will get up multiple times off two feet ... Good shot blocker ... Played an average of 12 minutes per game this season (2004-05) ... Generally impacts game tempo in a positive way when he's on the floor ... Makes plays.

Weaknesses: Needs to develop more body strength for the NBA, as he can be moved off the block. His strength has really gotten better in the past year, but he still has aways to go... Still very new to the game having played at the professional level for only two seasons ... Missed parts of the 2004-05 season due to illnesses ... Excellent shot mechanics, but could use more arc on his shot ... Favors his right hand, and needs to be a better back to basket offensive player ... Indecisive passer at times, but employs proper tecnique ... With no Italian players in the NBA, it could hurt him slightly in scouts minds ... Emotional player, he needs more experience in order to gain more confidence.

-Stefano Cioppi 7/8/05

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Strengths: The only young 6-10 Italian prospect that can play as pure small forward and not only under the basket as power forward or center... He has a well built body with excellent athletic skills. On the offensive side he prefers going one-on-one and can score in many ways: shooting from outside, finishing a fast-break or on low-post moves. He's even adept at beating his defender off the dribble due to his great ball-handling skills including dribbling through his legs and behind the back. He runs the court very well with good speed and quickness despite his size. Has soft hands to shoot from three or from the mid range, that's his best quality. Free throw shooting is another strength. Under the basket he is not so tough, but has nice moves. On the defensive side, he has good fundamentals and likes to block shots and has excellent timing. He's also a hard worker and coachable.

Weaknesses: Like many European kids he needs to increase his body strength and add some muscles. Has to improve his rebounding skills and defense on small forwards at times. Mentally he still needs to progress. Has a tendency to rely on his jumper too much and not take the ball to basket as often as a 6-10 player should. Born in 1985, so he's still learning the game and has very little experience at a ahigh level, but Benetton Treviso is the right team for Andrea to become a great player.
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and here's a video of bargani from google video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...ani&pr=goog-sl

thoughts?