Future of Serbian NT

[Serbian_Layup]

https://x.com/EuroBasket/status/1826549436534624680

I'm way more higher on Drezgic now than I was before U18 tournament. He lacks some athletic and physical attributes but the skill is there and what is becoming more obvious is that he is playing in his own pace and still dominating. Players with tremendous feel for the game and talent have this ability to play in their own pace without flashing explosiveness or athleticism.

We have a big depth at guard positions when it comes to young talent - Topic, Drezgic, Djurisic, Kostic, Bjelic, Danilovic...Some of these kids will pan out as elite players and pillars of NT. Judging only by talent, they all have bright future at pro level.

[Straight forward]

To me he's too bulky and not lengthy enough, his body is a bit rigid. I lack a degree of smoothness in him. Yet he's posed and fundamentally sound. Looks like a good option for a back up for elite NT. Topic is way way higher upside PG it's not even competition. Way more special. Drezgic has nice looking jimmy though and that's always dangerous. Good, but not special player. In my opinion, Topic has the most chances to match the impact of Bogi.

[Serbian_Layup]

Topic and Drezgic are different profiles, their game is different. Drezgic can shoot off the dribble, Topic not so much, Topic is maestro in p&r, Drezgic not so much and so on...However, Drezgic dominated U18 tournament and was the best guard along with Saraf and Anderson. When a player is dominating without using physical attributes I call that smoothness. Size and lack of athleticism could be problem for pro level, but the reason to be encouraged is his skill set and confidence to play the game in his own pace. As far as I'm concerned he might turn out to be a special player. Anyway, you can't ask more than having such prospects like Topic and Drezgic at PG. Time will tell the rest.

[Toruko]

Topic and Drezgic are different profiles, their game is different. Drezgic can shoot off the dribble, Topic not so much, Topic is maestro in p&r, Drezgic not so much and so on...However, Drezgic dominated U18 tournament and was the best guard along with Saraf and Anderson. When a player is dominating without using physical attributes I call that smoothness. Size and lack of athleticism could be problem for pro level, but the reason to be encouraged is his skill set and confidence to play the game in his own pace. As far as I'm concerned he might turn out to be a special player. Anyway, you can't ask more than having such prospects like Topic and Drezgic at PG. Time will tell the rest.

Not true, Jakucionis was the best by far.

[Serbian_Layup]

Not true, Jakucionis was the best by far.

Well, he has the tools to be dominant at this level, but something was missing.

[Toruko]

Well, he has the tools to be dominant at this level, but something was missing.

I had the same feeling tbh.

[Straight forward]

Topic and Drezgic are different profiles, their game is different. Drezgic can shoot off the dribble, Topic not so much, Topic is maestro in p&r, Drezgic not so much and so on...However, Drezgic dominated U18 tournament and was the best guard along with Saraf and Anderson. When a player is dominating without using physical attributes I call that smoothness. Size and lack of athleticism could be problem for pro level, but the reason to be encouraged is his skill set and confidence to play the game in his own pace. As far as I'm concerned he might turn out to be a special player. Anyway, you can't ask more than having such prospects like Topic and Drezgic at PG. Time will tell the rest.

That's exactly my point and both can compliment each other. Yet I still believe Topic can dominate the game more and will have NBA career, while I have no idea if Drezgic with such profile has a chance to be legitimate NBA player. Nevertheless, as you said, Serbia has rare luxury at position 1.

[Serbian_Layup]

That's exactly my point and both can compliment each other. Yet I still believe Topic can dominate the game more and will have NBA career, while I have no idea if Drezgic with such profile has a chance to be legitimate NBA player. Nevertheless, as you said, Serbia has rare luxury at position 1.

Topic has the highest ceiling among our guards and the biggest shot to make an impact in NBA, but Serbian basketball has a long list of players who didn't play in the NBA but had been game changers in FIBA ball. In that sense, Drezgic doesn't have to make it in NBA to be an impactful player for us. Especially when it comes to FIBA ball. We have a ton of evidence to support this argument. The deciding factor for Drezgic won't be his NBA readiness.

[Straight forward]

Topic has the highest ceiling among our guards and the biggest shot to make an impact in NBA, but Serbian basketball has a long list of players who didn't play in the NBA but had been game changers in FIBA ball. In that sense, Drezgic doesn't have to make it in NBA to be an impactful player for us. Especially when it comes to FIBA ball. We have a ton of evidence to support this argument. The deciding factor for Drezgic won't be his NBA readiness.

Absolutely. I'm a big believer in fundamentals. I take fundamentals instead of athleticism/explosiveness. BB shifted towards athleticism quite a bit recently and if you have Schroder or SGA or Doncic who has an athletic or strength advantage on you, you're in trouble to a certain degree, but only to a certain, and I think people a bit over emphasize this moment that look now only real NBA talent can be game changing material. It's more of than now, but not entirely. One our coach said that if we had today Siskauskas, Jasikevicius we still wouldn't be where we want cause there all these NBA monsters out there, but I disagree. Was Manu, T. Parker, Dirk, Pau bad in 00s? Nope. NBA talent always was there. Now it's even more of that, I agree, but when you have high IQ fundamentally sound players as Teo, Jasikevicius, Siska and all these guys who know how to exploit the space, how to make spot on reads and manipulate the D, you are in great situation. So I find this trivial and simplified outlook that "oh, now you absolutely need NBA talent to win" a bit off hand.

On other hand, it will be super hard to beat France's defense will all their scary wings, mobile bigs and lengthy swingmen. France will have special generation in upcoming 15 years. Even their upcoming 5 years of NBA drafts will also be loaded. Against them though, you might need something special when they will be at their peak with prime Wemby. There's a good chance they will be better than USA A team at some point.

[Serbian_Layup]

Absolutely. I'm a big believer in fundamentals. I take fundamentals instead of athleticism/explosiveness. BB shifted towards athleticism quite a bit recently and if you have Schroder or SGA or Doncic who has an athletic or strength advantage on you, you're in trouble to a certain degree, but only to a certain, and I think people a bit over emphasize this moment that look now only real NBA talent can be game changing material. It's more of than now, but not entirely. One our coach said that if we had today Siskauskas, Jasikevicius we still wouldn't be where we want cause there all these NBA monsters out there, but I disagree. Was Manu, T. Parker, Dirk, Pau bad in 00s? Nope. NBA talent always was there. Now it's even more of that, I agree, but when you have high IQ fundamentally sound players as Teo, Jasikevicius, Siska and all these guys who know how to exploit the space, how to make spot on reads and manipulate the D, you are in great situation. So I find this trivial and simplified outlook that "oh, now you absolutely need NBA talent to win" a bit off hand.

On other hand, it will be super hard to beat France's defense will all their scary wings, mobile bigs and lengthy swingmen. France will have special generation in upcoming 15 years. Even their upcoming 5 years of NBA drafts will also be loaded. Against them though, you might need something special when they will be at their peak with prime Wemby. There's a good chance they will be better than USA A team at some point.

France has zero on ball creation. Traore might change that, but they seem to produce the same type of players who lack fundementals and imagination. Serbia with Jokic for example is a nightmare matchup for France. Everything they are good at defensively is pretty much neutralized with the way Serbian offense operates with Jokic. And on the other hand their offense is predictable and somewhat easy to defend. I mean, they are good, will be among contenders, but I wouldn't say anything special, at least not yet.

As for Wemby, in that prep game vs Serbia he was basically baby food for Jokic. He is super talented, but has long, long ways to go before we can say he is a game changer. A player that tall shouldn't be taking that many contested jumpers and off the dribble shots with so little presence in the post. He is not ready yet for tough, physical basketball.

[Toruko]

France has zero on ball creation. Traore might change that, but they seem to produce the same type of players who lack fundementals and imagination. Serbia with Jokic for example is a nightmare matchup for France. Everything they are good at defensively is pretty much neutralized with the way Serbian offense operates with Jokic. And on the other hand their offense is predictable and somewhat easy to defend. I mean, they are good, will be among contenders, but I wouldn't say anything special, at least not yet.

As for Wemby, in that prep game vs Serbia he was basically baby food for Jokic. He is super talented, but has long, long ways to go before we can say he is a game changer. A player that tall shouldn't be taking that many contested jumpers and off the dribble shots with so little presence in the post. He is not ready yet for tough, physical basketball.

Wembanyama has a long way to go on the offensive end, thats true but he is even rn one of the best defenders in the NBA and he will most probably be the best defender of all time (if he can stay healthy). Everything else I totally agree.

[Serbian_Layup]

Wembanyama has a long way to go on the offensive end, thats true but he is even rn one of the best defenders in the NBA and he will most probably be the best defender of all time (if he can stay healthy). Everything else I totally agree.

Bad defender in the post. Easy to push around. And he is the center. You will see how that goes in the playoffs. And bottom line is playoff is only what matters in NBA. That alone excludes him from the conversation of being the best defender in the league, let alone of all time. But narratives create awards big time, so he will probably get that for being well coordinated and mobile for his height. A center that gets pushed around so easily is not DPOY in my book. Check stats from last season and see how many points top 10 NBA centers scored against him last season.

[Toruko]

Bad defender in the post. Easy to push around. And he is the center. You will see how that goes in the playoffs. And bottom line is playoff is only what matters in NBA. That alone excludes him from the conversation of being the best defender in the league, let alone of all time. But narratives create awards big time, so he will probably get that for being well coordinated and mobile for his height. A center that gets pushed around so easily is not DPOY in my book. Check stats from last season and see how many points top 10 NBA centers scored against him last season.

He is not bad in the post. He still has the reach to make shots tough but yeah he is thin but this is a natural thing. Nobody expects him to be DPOY right now. He will need one or two more seasons but he has enough impact to call him one of the best defenders in the league.

[Serbian_Layup]

He is not bad in the post. He still has the reach to make shots tough but yeah he is thin but this is a natural thing. Nobody expects him to be DPOY right now. He will need one or two more seasons but he has enough impact to call him one of the best defenders in the league.

He has the potential to be one of the best defenders. For that to happen he will have to toughen up quite a bit. NBA regular season is nothing compared to NBA playoffs. Wemby has to go through a process that is going to be delicate and uncertin when it comes to his full development. If he makes it, he will be special player, if he doesn't, he will be highlight sensation without real impact.

[Shawshank]

Wemby at 20 is better than Jokic was at 22 in 2016 olympics better than anybody i can remember at 20. His ridiculous fast improvements is scary.


That kid is more than special even know at 20 when he is dummy player.God save his opponnets when he will get some experience and smarter desicion to his game


Only injuries can stop him from become top 10 worlds players very soon. After Olympic final no if or buts about his tallent remains to me only health questions.

Thats not nornal for 20 kid looking so good playing vs Lebrons,Durant,Embiids,Davis of the world in must win game for americans