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By Nikos Varlas / varlas@eurohoops.net
The season gets under way in a few days and the time has come for the top 100 Euroleague Rankings. A difficult concept, subjective, one that – by nature – creates differing opinions and disagreements!
Eurohoops begins the presentation from the bottom up and the main thing that has to be made clear is that our Rankings are not made based on those that are published about NBA players in the USA. It’s true that the individual element is very important, but we equally evaluate the team’s dynamics and potential.
You can surf on Eurohoops’ Trademark Section and check out all the previous choices of Top 100 list.
Criteria
1. PLAYER’S VALUE: The overall competitive evaluation of players. The characteristics of their game, their worth, their leadership skills, their quality as a unit independent of the team they play for.
2. PLAYER’S ROLE: The importance of a player for their team as we evaluate and predict it for the new season.
3. TEAM’S WORTH: The team the player we choose plays for, its apparent value in the league in the long term and the potential it has. How far the player’s team that is chosen for the new Euroleague season can go.
4. INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL: The individual potential of the player, exclusively. The extent to which they can grow and improve, how high they can go based on their value, talent and age.
5. THE NUMBERS: The statistics we speculate the player can tally on average, when their team’s run in the Euroleague is completed. This is definitely an important criterion but the last priority for our choices, since it depends directly on the quality of the team they play for and their role in the team.
These are the 5 criteria that we factor in in order to reach an overall assessment of every player individually and from that point to draw the Top 100 Ranks. If you consider that around 360 players are registered on the rosters of the Euroleague, you will comprehend how hard and tortuous it was to make these selections!
So many players of value that we respect infinitely for whom there was not enough space and, really, from a total of 150 players, the list of the 100 was drawn up with great difficulty. Especially in the bottom 20 slots, there could be any name from the 50 that were necessarily not included and we ask for your understanding for this in advance.
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[lptitle title=”40 Jason Granger “]
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#40 Jason Granger
1989 1μ.89 G
Efes Anadolu
Heurtel’s partner in Anadolu Efes. The main characteristics of his game are speed and explosiveness. He has an impressive first step and in his last couple of seasons in Malaga he improved noticeably in his reading of the game and in his facilitating. He’s good in defense but he can become even more effective and use his body more correctly. Strong in driving to the basket, he needs more work on his perimeter shooting. He’s still an unreliable and inconsistent three-point shooter with rather low percentages.
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[lptitle title=”39 Ekpe Udoh “]
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#39 Ekpe Udoh
1987 2m.08 C
Fenerbahce
Yet another investment from the NBA for Fenerbahce with a player who struggled but didn’t find a steady role and contract in the best championship in the world and so took the first step to Europe. He has speed and explosiveness and if he understands the demands of the center position in Europe and everything that Obradovic wants from him, he can establish himself. He’ll definitely tally some good numbers in rebounds and blocks, while he’s a player with good finishes close to the basket that can evolve into a great pick and roll finisher as well.
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[lptitle title=”38 Bobby Dixon “]
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#38 Bobby Dixon
1983 1μ.78 G
Fenerbahce
At 32 years of age he appears in the Euroleague again after 6 seasons and one appearance with Villeurbanne! The MVP of last year’s TBL with an amazing season and numbers in the championship as well as the Eurocup. An excellent scorer, he can threaten in every way, a good rebounder for his size and he proved beyond any doubt that he has improved his decision-making and his creative repertoire. A season – challenge for him, since he’ll have to unfold his talent for his team, Fenerbahce, and do it in harmony with the whole. He may need some time to adapt to the realities of the Euroleague.
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[lptitle title=”37 Derrick Brown “]
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#37 Derrick Brown
1987 2μ.01 F
Efes Anadolu
One of the most expensive signings of the summer. One of the most quality power forwards in the whole tournament. A charismatic scorer, he combines the threat from close to and far from the basket, with high percentages and his game facing – mostly – but also with his back against the basket. He has good athletic qualities, he collects rebounds, he knows how to see the court and pass the ball, while he has some remarkable numbers in steals. Never before has he expended so much energy in defense as he’ll be asked to do this year by coach Ivkovic in order to meet the demands of Efes’s system. His overall performance will be key and a barometer in this year’s quite ambitious – based on their roster – plan of the club.
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[lptitle title=”36 Gustavo Ayon “]
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#36 Gustavo Ayon
1985 2μ.08 C
Real Madrid
We’d made a much higher assessment of him last year. Despite the fact that the queen won all of the titles that she went after, in no way can we argue that the Mexican center made the difference. In a completely different role than the one we’ve been used to seeing him with his home country’s national team, he didn’t score a lot and in fact most of those points came in the first quarters. His appearances were on the same level in the Euroleague as well as the ACB. A quality big man in offense, in a complementary role in the way Real operates with the perimeter its absolute foundation. In defense, he has several visible weaknesses.
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[lptitle title=”35 Pero Antic “]
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#35 Pero Antic
1982 2μ.10 F/C
Fenerbahce
He returns to the Euroleague as a back2back champion in 2012 and 2013 and after a two-year presence in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. His most important quality is his intelligence, the way he perceives the game and the fact that he can contribute just as well in two positions: the ‘4’ as well as the ‘5’. Charismatic in defensive rebounding and a good defender in the post. In offense he can be a threat facing the basket, with range from outside the 6m.75 line, while at the same time he’s ideal for creating triangles and, in general, for collaborations and good circulation of the ball.
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[lptitle title=” 34 Pau Ribas “]
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#34 Pau Ribas
1987 1μ.96 G
Barcelona
A substantial addition for the Catalans. It looks like he’s entering the most productive years of his career. A purebred shooting guard who is going to have the role of the master key in Barcelona’s full of quality, talent and experience backcourt. A very good scorer, a reliable shooter, effective in transition as well as set play. He doesn’t neglect his defensive duties and he can also pressure effectively the rival ball handlers. Capable of running plays and facilitating for his teammates, although his game in this area is not top level.
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[lptitle title=”33 Aaron Jackson “]
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#33 Aaron Jackson
1986 1μ.93 G
CSKA Moscow
He deserves to be high on our list. Because every year he shows a lot of improvement and looks more complete. He now combines the speed and explosiveness that he always had with experience, his high perception of the game and the quality markers in anything he does as a member of a top team’s rotation. He places a big emphasis on everything that has to do with defense. He’s now much better as a creator because he can read the game in a European way and at the same time has worked on and improved his long-range shot. He now responds greatly as the game changer in CSKA’s game, behind or alongside Teodosic and de Colo, and this is why he stayed in Moscow with a new contract and higher wages.
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[lptitle title=”32 Patric Young “]
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#32 Patric Young
1992 2μ.08 C
Olympiacos
It took him half a season in Europe for him to reach the top level with his transfer to Olympiacos. He’s a super-athlete with supernatural powers for the standards of the Euroleague. Great energy, the ability to play a lot of minutes with the same intensity and definitely a player that, as time goes by, can make the difference in defense, rebounding and anything that has to do with the battle of possessions. In offense, it’s possible that he develops into a productive finisher following pick and roll situations, mostly because the Greek team has Spanoulis along with a multitude of guards that are good at facilitating. Little by little, he’s trying to introduce in his game some movements with his back against the basket. He needs to improve in all aspects that are related to his technique but also in the details. Which makes sense, since he’s only 23 years old and with a short service in European basketball.
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