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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=”20 Kyle Hines “]
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#20 Kyle Hines
1986 1m.98 C
CSKA Moscow
The player who, for two consecutive seasons as Olympiacos’s key center, won two titles and redefined some of the requirements of the ‘5’ position, introducing the fad of the undersized player to the Euroleague! His role last year in CSKA didn’t allow him to dominate or have a productive season. The way the “bear” was set up is different this year, without Kaun and with Freeland his counterpart in ‘5’, Hines will have a similar role with the one he had in Olympiacos and we’re sure he’s going to have a great season. He’ll get his scoring average up, he’ll fight and win numerous battles in defense. CSKA’s planning makes us believe that this year he’s going to be the MVP of the team’s frontline.
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[lptitle title=”19 Miroslav Raduljica “]
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#19 Miroslav Raduljica
1988 2m.13 C
Panathinaikos
The main center in Sasa Djordjevic’s Panathinaikos, the two know each other very well from the national team of Serbia. Charismatic in finishing plays close to the basket, a big man who can score consistently and, in addition, he has a high percentage in free throws. Excellent offensively in his positioning, very strong and at the same time quite an effective rebounder. A very smart player, one of those big men that are now rare in the Euroleague. His weaknesses are located mostly in defense as he’s not so explosive and because he doesn’t have the required speed in his legs to match up fast and dangerous in offense guards.
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[lptitle title=”18 Jordan Farmar “]
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#18 Jordan Farmar
1986 1m.88 G
Maccabi Tel Aviv
As was the case in his first term with Maccabi, the prediction is once again that Farmar is going to play the best basketball of his career in Europe for “the people’s team.” He feels comfortable in Israel and the club’s basketball philosophy fits perfectly with his athletic profile and his own characteristics. A very fast guard, he’s an effective threat along the perimeter as well driving to the basket, while he’s also an excellent passer. We think it’s a given that he’s going to have a productive season that corresponds to his individual class, but he’ll be judged overall by how far Maccabi goes in the league this year.
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[lptitle title=”17 Ante Tomic “]
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#17 Ante Tomic
1987 2m.17 C
Barcelona
Everyone knows his gifts and weaknesses. Amazing technique for his size, he uses both hands very well in offense, has an excellent perception of the game and can easily function as a playmaker from the paint when he faces defenses that double-team him. In defense he often runs into trouble, either in battles in the post or when he’s called to cope with an opponent guard. The major issue in the Croat’s case is that in his career so far he has never managed to make the difference in confrontations that determine the title. His quality is undeniable but he hasn’t proven that he can be dominant.
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[lptitle title=”16 Felipe Reyes “]
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#16 Felipe Reyes
1980 2m.04 F/C
Real Madrid
You can understand that his appraisal in the Top 20 is a consequence of the mythical season that he had last year on an individual level, which he enjoyed on a collective level as well, raising all the trophies as the team captain! An amazing offensive rebounder, a tough and very smart player, he’s almost always in the right place at the right time. Last year he was impressively productive in scoring in proportion to the minutes he played, he never underperformed in defense and, most importantly, he was the key in dozens of the queen’s victories. Can he repeat such an… epic season this year? We’ll see when springtime comes!
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