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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=”30 Matt Lojeski “]
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#30 Matt Lojeski
1985 1m.98 G/F
Olympiacos
After two seasons at the top level he has proven his worth and is entering a season in which he’ll have to take on an even more important role in Olympiacos, because he’ll have to contribute some steady scoring, to change the flow of games and possibly to play in the ‘2’ position. A very capable swingman, he has a reliable shot from the perimeter with economy in his efforts, his 1v1 game is good, and he is excellent on the open court. Lately, he has been showing significant improvement in his defensive range and effectiveness as well.
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[lptitle title=”29 Carlos Arroyo “]
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#29 Carlos Arroyo
1979 1m.88 G
Barcelona
Not only did he return to Europe after his departure from Galatasaray and his return to Puerto Rico, he did it in the top level! He’ll make an excellent duo with Satoransky, being such a different player from the Czech. He has an excellent knowledge of the game, he’s an inspired organizer, a really good scorer with tons of experience that he’ll offer Barcelona. He’ll definitely contribute many quality minutes and good decisions in Pascual’s team. His age is not a problem and he proved that beyond any doubt last year when he got to the point of determining a game at the end, staying on the court for 50 minutes!
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[lptitle title=”28 Alexey Shved “]
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#28 Alexey Shved
1988 1m.95 G
Khimki
Few expected that he would return to Europe at this age and after the appearances he made with the Knicks. He signed the biggest contract in the Euroleague! Pure offensive talent and instinct. He can score in a thousand ways and on a good day he becomes a scoring machine. It’s anticipated that he’s going to tally good numbers, but Shved is not going to be judged only by his individual performances. The most important thing is to prove on the court that, alongside Rice and Khimki’s other talented players, he has the way of raising the level of a team and leading them to big things. At least to the playoffs.
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[lptitle title=”27 Thomas Heurtel “]
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#27 Thomas Heurtel
1989 1m.89 G
Anadolu Efes
An exciting player to watch and rather unpredictable. He’s a wonderful ball handler, a charismatic passer and a consistent threat from long-range, with the ability to execute after a dribble as well. We feel that he still hasn’t reached the peak of his maturation. He’s still missing stability and sometimes the decisions and plays that he makes at crucial points correspond to the overall quality that he has as a player. Next to Ivkovic, he’ll likely improve in this part that is of crucial importance.
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[lptitle title=”26 Alessandro Gentile “]
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#26 Alessandro Gentile
1992 1m.96 G/F
Armani Milano
A player of great talent and characteristics, but with great athletic skills too. In the leadership role that he has in Milano he will have some good numbers and a high average of points. He’ll have nights where he’ll flirt with 30 points or more. The major issue for Gentile is to alter his style of game and find ways of making the team and his teammates better. We haven’t seen this so far in any kind of length. With the style of game that he has he looks like a player that can perform better in an NBA team than a European one.
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[lptitle title=”25 Luigi Datome “]
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#25 Luigi Datome
1987 2m.03
F Fenerbahce
He returns to Europe to enjoy a key role in a team that is playing for titles. A lacy player with a rich and natural talent in offense. He’s a reliable and consistent scorer from mid- and long-distance, while he has some good moves with his back against the basket, utilizing his excellent shooting ability. He has a good perception of the game and he’s a team player despite being a scorer. He’s a very important addition for Fenerbahce. As it happens with the players on whom the top teams are betting on, he’ll be judged more from his contribution at crucial moments and the point his team reaches, than his individual numbers.
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[lptitle title=” 24 Kostas Sloukas “]
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#24 Kostas Sloukas
1990 1m.90 G
Fenerbahce
He made a very tough decision and left Olympiacos to sign with Fenerbahce. Until now he was the game changer for the Euroleague finalists, who always came off the bench and traditionally got a lot of playing time in crucial games, mostly in the ‘2’ position. In his new team he’s called upon to be the main playmaker with Obradovic having him earmarked for a key role along the perimeter. At 25 years of age he has the experience to meet the expectations (he already has 3 final four participations and 2 wins) and this is why he’s so high on the list. An excellent facilitator, a lot of speed with the ball in his hands and a very capable shooter. He can set up his own shots and execute successfully after a dribble, while he has improved a lot in the athletic part in which he was previously lacking.
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