Worst 12th man contest

[Darrell Armstrong]

Once the tournament is finished we will have an MVP, an all-tournament starting five, and all kind of individual accolades and accomplishments. But no one will be giving love to the end-of-the-bench guys, the roster fillers, the lucky 12th men who have been awarded the best seats in the house for free.

So, let's have a little contest before the real games begin now that most of the squads have been cut down to the final 12 players. I'll start by proposing a few candidates for the most hapless and cringe-inducing selections:

- Quino Colom from Spain. Throughout the preparation he has averaged 3 points and 2 assists shooting 26% from the field. Unable to guard a chair. Projects as the third PG behind Rubio (stud) and Llull (semi-stud). My best guess is he's been rewarded for leading Spain in the classification stage. Will have no impact and possibly never see the floor after the first round.
- Paul Lacombe from France. An undersized shooting guard who somehow has failed to hit a single three-pointer in any of the preparation games. Not a good defender, either. Has scored less than 3 points per game. Is buried behind Fournier (stud) and De Colo (stud). Can't name a single reason for him to be on the final roster.
- Ariel Filloy from Italy. Surprisingly similar numbers to Colom: less than 3 points and 2 assists shooting 24% from the field. Not really great defence, neither, and Italy already has a lockdown defender in that position in Luca Vitale. Looks like the 4th PG behind Hackett (starter), Della Valle (younger and more versatile) and Vitale (defensive specialist, veteran).

I'm pretty sure almost every country has a worthy contestant for the title of worst 12th man, but these three are the ones I know more about. Your turn.

[okanial]

We still have 13 but Assuming Berkan is the one getting eliminated Ege Arar is totally useless 12th man. We will most likely start the games with Semih Erden and have Sertaç Şanlı as a back up center who can shoot a little and most likely to play Ersan at 5 a lot so Ege is serving no purpose. If he gets cut all 12 can have a decent role on the team so I wouldnt single out anyone as unnecessary and Im pretty sure none would be worse than end of the bench guys of African or Asian teams.

[Mindozas]

I don't see such in Lithuania. All guys deserved their spots, couldn't call anyone as "lucky" or "completely doesn't deserve a spot" case. Sure, some will have little roles, but no lucky tourists this time

Other teams... maybe from our group David Barlow could be called as lucky to travel to WC. I mean he wasn't even in preliminary roster, but some players from his position withdrew, some got injured and here you go - veteran got a call up. Don't expect much from him, deep bench most likely scenario

Russia - Andrey Sopin. I know Russia bball not that bad, but raised the eyebrow with the question - who the hell is he, when saw him for the first time? Only google helped he: A guy from second division and even there not a difference maker. He was named to Russian reserve squad in the beginning of the summer, a future reserve, but when massive injury wave hit the squad at the backline, he was called up to NT and now he is in final roster. Crazy. Just cause simply there were no other options. His countrymen Motovilov is similar case, but at least he looked better in preps, so might get bigger minutes.

[Darrell Armstrong]

... Im pretty sure none would be worse than end of the bench guys of African or Asian teams.

Well, sure, even Paul Lacombe could start for some teams. But that's not the point. I mean, it's not about the worst player in the tournament, but the one who brings so little to the table compared to the other people on the team that he has no chance at all to play, and if he did he would clearly hurt the team. For some low-level squads you can freely swap any sub and nobody would notice. There should be a noticeable difference between the other non-starters and the 12th player to qualify.

So, maybe the worst player for Korea is, in reality, a more useful player (because he's at the same level as the other subs and could serve a role if given minutes) than Mason Plumlee: Team USA has a better rebounder and rim protector in Myles Turner and a better shooter in Brook Lopez, so by putting Plumlee on the floor they will have worst chances to win.

[Darrell Armstrong]

Russia - Andrey Sopin. I know Russia bball not that bad, but raised the eyebrow with the question - who the hell is he, when saw him for the first time? Only google helped he: A guy from second division and even there not a difference maker. He was named to Russian reserve squad in the beginning of the summer, a future reserve, but when massive injury wave hit the squad at the backline, he was called up to NT and now he is in final roster. Crazy. Just cause simply there were no other options. His countrymen Motovilov is similar case, but at least he looked better in preps, so might get bigger minutes.

Is he the 3rd PG? I'm seeing a pattern here...

[Mindozas]

Is he the 3rd PG? I'm seeing a pattern here...

"On paper" he might be 2nd, cause that Motovilov, whom I also didn't know much, is clearly more of a SG. Then in whole roster only M.Kulagin is a PG. But without him on the floor, it's surely more likely that some veteran like Fridzon will take over the offense, maybe even Baburin, but not Sopin

[Katastroika]

Bircevic for Serbia without any doubt. I don't know what kind of criminal evidences he has against Djordjevic in his pocket to get more medals than many legends of Serbian Basketball.

Fun Fact: If Serbia achieves a medal in China he'll have more than Teodosic.

[Italian Pride]

Luca Vitali great defender?are you kidding me man?

I think filloy is the worst 12th by far

[Darrell Armstrong]

Luca Vitali great defender?are you kidding me man?

I think filloy is the worst 12th by far

Some years ago Vitali played for Gran Canaria and he was sold as a good defender, able to play (and defend) from 1 to 3. Didn't watch him much, to be honest.

[xenoloxy]

Well philippines doesn’t really have a cringe pick but the worse one I can find is Mark Barroca.
-5’9
-Pesky defender
- Decent shooter
I would have prefered a 6’4 guard in bobby ray parks (begged off due to personal reasons), 6’4 shooter in Matthew Wright (injured) or another big in 6’8 Erram (injured also)...or Jordan Clarkson (ineligible). We could’ve had taller guards in the roster but Barroca isn’t that bad tbh.

[Toxicity]

Some years ago Vitali played for Gran Canaria and he was sold as a good defender, able to play (and defend) from 1 to 3. Didn't watch him much, to be honest.

He has size to defend from 1 to 3 spot but at the end of the day he's slow as hell and can't defend anyone properly... he's a decent ball-handler and playmaker but that's all. I think he should have not made the final roster...

[Toxicity]

I think filloy is the worst 12th by far

I don't think so... maybe you mean he's not in shape at all (because he's old, etc)??

Meanwhile this year he posted decend numbers (9 ppg, 4.5 apg and 4.0 rpg) in Italy's Lega A division while 2 years ago was the 3rd scorer of Italian team at Eurobasket with more than 10 ppg so he's not that garbage... i think some players from other weak teams (Iran, Ivory Coast, etc) should be worse...

[CoachZ]

It has to be Raduljica, not Bircevic for Serbia

Braduljica is useless in this team, pure mascot/talisman category. The Serbian Koksal...

[Lyonswim]

It has to be Raduljica, not Bircevic for Serbia

Braduljica is useless in this team, pure mascot/talisman category. The Serbian Koksal...

Maybe he deserves a spot as your new avatar. :d

[Nemanja]

Serbia has two players which could included on this list,Simonovic and Bircevic .