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  • Estonian prospects

    Estonia has a prospect in Kerr Krissa. He's lighting in up in AGNST Kaunas, 16pts, 6as in just 26minutes.
    LTU NT will snatch Eurobasket 2029 title with this roster:

    Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Laurencikas
    Indrusaitis, Brazdeikis, Rubstavicius
    Buzelis, Lelevicius
    Murauskas, Sirvydis
    Tubelis, Krivas

  • #2
    Originally posted by Straight forward View Post
    Estonia has a prospect in Kerr Krissa. He's lighting in up in AGNST Kaunas, 16pts, 6as in just 26minutes.
    We actually have pretty exciting generation coming through.

    As pointed out, Kerr Kriisa joined Žalgiris and so far it seems that the two match pretty well.

    Henri Drell (204, SG/SF, born 00) and Kristian Kullamäe (190cm, PG/SG, born 99) are part of Bamberg’s youth system and both of them are currently splitting their time between Bamberg’s main team and their youth team Baunach in ProA. Both of them have NBA/Euroleague potential according to scouts. Jonathan Givony, for example, has claimed that if Drell signed up for the NBA draft this year, he would be a definite second round pick. Or a probable first round pick in 2020.

    Sander Raieste (205, SF, born 99) is another prospect that have been dubbed to have NBA potential. Similarly to Drell, Raieste also featured in Givony’s 2020 NBA mock draft list. He is currently plying his trade at Baskonia, mostly featuring for their farm team and in some rare occasions also making the bench for the main team (hasn’t currently debuted in an official match though). In my opinion he needs to get away from Baskonia as soon as possible as they don’t seem to be a best place for youngsters looking to progress their career.

    Matthias Tass (208, PF/C, born 99), is also considered as a notable prospect in Estonia. He apparently had some offers from clubs around Europe (including Žalgiris), but decided to go to NCAA instead and committed to Saint Mary's. He is quite skilled for a big man and has a nice shooting touch. In my opinion he is more suited to European basketball though, so hopefully he doesn’t waste his years in the USA.

    And then we have other talents abroad, mainly in Italy, like Kaspar Treier (204, SF/PF, born 99, Montegranaro XL), Mikk Jurkatamm (196, SG, born 00, Ravenna Orasi, previously has played youth ANGT Euroleague with Bologna Virtus averaging 19 PPG) and Kaspar Kitsing (195, SG/SF, born 01, Dolomiti Energia Trento).

    We are currently in a transition phase with our men’s national team with the aim of integrating younger players. It is a painful process but seems to slowly give its first fruits. For example, yesterday the Estonian NT beat Serbian NT 71-68 and Kullamäe (18 points, 27 min), Drell (4 pts, 8 min) and Raieste (3 pts, 32 min) were all considerable part of it.

    The 99-01 generation is rather strong for Estonia. And some younger guys are also catching attention from European powerhouses, for example Gerrit Lehe (193, 2005) recently visited Real Madrid.

    Comment


    • #3
      Good post Recp. Welcome to interbasket. We'll see how Estonia will round in upcoming decade, might be interesting team. Nice to see Kullamäe among yougsters
      LTU NT will snatch Eurobasket 2029 title with this roster:

      Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Laurencikas
      Indrusaitis, Brazdeikis, Rubstavicius
      Buzelis, Lelevicius
      Murauskas, Sirvydis
      Tubelis, Krivas

      Comment


      • #4
        Henri Drell announced he has declared for NBA draft this year. There is at least one NBA team showing great interest in him.

        Comment


        • #5
          Good generation coming. Drell would be first Estonian drafted since Martin Muursepp 1996.
          LTU NT will snatch Eurobasket 2029 title with this roster:

          Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Laurencikas
          Indrusaitis, Brazdeikis, Rubstavicius
          Buzelis, Lelevicius
          Murauskas, Sirvydis
          Tubelis, Krivas

          Comment


          • #6
            Yep. The local media claims that there is one team especially interested in Drell and would like to draft him this year in the second round but they are afraid that Drell might be picked earlier by someone else.

            It is also quite possible that Drell simply announced his draft participation to show his skill-set on full display for NBA teams during the pre-draft process and would afterwards withdraw his name. Should he aim for next year's draft, then it is likely that he would get drafted in the first round. ESPN published their 2020 NBA Mock Draft list few days ago and Drell currently sits at 27 in their estimates.

            Sander Raieste also announced his NBA Draft participation, but in his case it is more likely that he would only use the chance to introduce himself to the NBA teams and aim for next year's draft. Last few years in Baskonia haven't had good effect on his NBA chances and he has kinda flown under the radar. Basically, he is in similar situation like Sedekerskis (Baskonia really isn't a good place for youngsters).

            Some NBA scouts have inquired Raieste's agent about him, but currently the interest is moderate. There is a slight-slight chance that he could be a late second round pick this year, but everything points that it would be more logical to try his luck next year. Even his agent admitted that they will probably withdraw his name after training camps, depending on the feedback they receive. What is more, his agent has also already announced that Raieste will either join Baskonia's main roster next year or would move away to other ACB or VTB club.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Recp View Post
              Yep. The local media claims that there is one team especially interested in Drell and would like to draft him this year in the second round but they are afraid that Drell might be picked earlier by someone else.

              It is also quite possible that Drell simply announced his draft participation to show his skill-set on full display for NBA teams during the pre-draft process and would afterwards withdraw his name. Should he aim for next year's draft, then it is likely that he would get drafted in the first round. ESPN published their 2020 NBA Mock Draft list few days ago and Drell currently sits at 27 in their estimates.

              Sander Raieste also announced his NBA Draft participation, but in his case it is more likely that he would only use the chance to introduce himself to the NBA teams and aim for next year's draft. Last few years in Baskonia haven't had good effect on his NBA chances and he has kinda flown under the radar. Basically, he is in similar situation like Sedekerskis (Baskonia really isn't a good place for youngsters).

              Some NBA scouts have inquired Raieste's agent about him, but currently the interest is moderate. There is a slight-slight chance that he could be a late second round pick this year, but everything points that it would be more logical to try his luck next year. Even his agent admitted that they will probably withdraw his name after training camps, depending on the feedback they receive. What is more, his agent has also already announced that Raieste will either join Baskonia's main roster next year or would move away to other ACB or VTB club.
              I never watched the guys you mentioned, but drafted by NBA and afterwards stay on EL level for 2 years is the best thing for a European U20 player. Saric is the best example for that.
              It is not Baskonia, imo it is Perasovic who doesn't rely on young players. He had done the same to Furkan Korkmaz. 2014-15, 2015-16 he played total 38 games in Euroleague with Dusan Ivkovic, 2016-17 at he was on the roster for 13 games and DNP for 11 games. He had total 14 mins on 2 games. After that he requested to go on loan and he went to Banvit. Following season he was drafted and went to NBA. Perasovic doesn't like young players unfortunately...
              Go Efes Pilsen - Go Turkey

              Comment


              • #8
                Both Drell and Raieste withdrew their names from this years draft list.

                Drell said that there were some teams with serious interest in him, but in the end they couldn't come to terms and get the conditions that he and his agent wanted and thus they decided to withdrew his name (apparently if he had stayed he would have been picked at the end of the first round or at the beginning of the second round). In total, there were 15 NBA teams that his agent talked to. As for his future next year, he will either continue with Bamberg's main team or try his luck elsewhere in Europe (apparently he is talking to several clubs right now).

                Raieste's agent said that currently it is most likely that Raieste will form part of Baskonia's main team next season. Not sure it would good option for him though, given the recent example of Sederskis.

                Also there have been some whispers that Zalgiris is keeping their eye on Gerrit Lehe (born 2005).

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Recp View Post
                  Both Drell and Raieste withdrew their names from this years draft list.

                  Drell said that there were some teams with serious interest in him, but in the end they couldn't come to terms and get the conditions that he and his agent wanted and thus they decided to withdrew his name (apparently if he had stayed he would have been picked at the end of the first round or at the beginning of the second round). In total, there were 15 NBA teams that his agent talked to. As for his future next year, he will either continue with Bamberg's main team or try his luck elsewhere in Europe (apparently he is talking to several clubs right now).

                  Raieste's agent said that currently it is most likely that Raieste will form part of Baskonia's main team next season. Not sure it would good option for him though, given the recent example of Sederskis.

                  Also there have been some whispers that Zalgiris is keeping their eye on Gerrit Lehe (born 2005).
                  Henri Drell will most likely continue with Brose Bamberg as a (thanks to the old rules) homegrown Player. It seems that our cooperation with our "kind of" second team Baunach falls apart and besides that, Henri would never ever play in the third division next season. He will be part of the first team and get a fix roll in next seasons rotations with a solid number of minutes. Kullamäe leaves us, even though he ended the season very strong in Baunach, but as a foreigner he is not good enough yet. Very excited about his next destination and his further development; he is such a nice, humble, but super ambitious person and basketball talent, I still see him knocking on the door of the Euroleague some day.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Loving this new generation of players and yesterday's win over Lithuania was a huge confidence boost for the guys. Very excited for whats ahead and really liking the youngish, aggressive playing style with a lot of freedom.


                    The NT seems well balanced and there's a nice mix of more experienced players and the new up and coming generation. I don't think we've ever had so many talented players available fighting for the NT places. Even yesterday there was a notable amount of players missing (Matthias Tass, Kaspar Treier, Kristian Kullamäe, Maik Kotsar), who all could be considered as potential key players either already now or in a few years' perspective.


                    And the positive thing is that the influx of talented players is not just some random freak accident, but also extends to other younger generations as well (Henri Veesaar, Kaspar Kuusmaa, Joonas Riismaa, Johannes Kirsipuu etc). So perhaps all the hard work is finally paying off.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Yup, really interesting Estonian basketball generation. Is there any solid young back-ups for Kriisa?
                      LTU NT will snatch Eurobasket 2029 title with this roster:

                      Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Laurencikas
                      Indrusaitis, Brazdeikis, Rubstavicius
                      Buzelis, Lelevicius
                      Murauskas, Sirvydis
                      Tubelis, Krivas

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Well, Kristian Kullamäe (194, 1999) should actually be seen as a number one choice at the PG position, at least currently. I think he and Kriisa will share their minutes at the PG and Kullamäe will also spend some minutes as a SG. Kullamäe has had some stellar performances with the NT, his best performances were probably against North Macedonia (#77 - 31 pts, 5 ass) and Italy (17 pts, 6 ass):




                        Behind them, there are Kaspar Kuusmaa (Stella Azzura, ITA, 2004) and Johannes Kirsipuu (Scotland Campus Sports, USA, 2002) coming up for the PG position, although they may need few years to man up.

                        This year we will also have three players in the NBA draft: Henri Drell (Pesaro, SG/SF, 204), Sander Raieste (Baskonia, SF, 204) and Maik Kotsar (C, 211).

                        Henri Drell was previously projected as a first round pick, but he had awful year in Italy and it remains to be seen if he will be a late second round pick or if he will withdraw his name before the draft. Raieste will most likely form part of Baskonia's roster next year. I think Kotsar may have the best shot in the NBA next year due to his great senior season in NCAA and his specific qualities, but it probably won't be via NBA draft. If he will be at NBA next year, it will be rather via training camps etc (although COVID-19 may hamper these plans) - and if he won't make it, he will sign definitely get a decent contract in Europe (its rumoured he already has some offers from Bundesliga).

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Here's Kriisa's performance against Lithuania:

                          Kerr Kriisa Highlights - Estonia - Arizona CommitArizona Commit Kerr Kriisa with a really great performance with Estonian national team. The 19 years old PG ...
                          LTU NT will snatch Eurobasket 2029 title with this roster:

                          Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Laurencikas
                          Indrusaitis, Brazdeikis, Rubstavicius
                          Buzelis, Lelevicius
                          Murauskas, Sirvydis
                          Tubelis, Krivas

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Straight forward View Post
                            Here's Kriisa's performance against Lithuania:

                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCOiSr_O_SQ
                            La performance était incroyable
                            framed

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              How about Estonia as a growing BB power? OK, currently they still lack depth and one true star player, if they could borrow their neighbours Markkannen, they would have pretty much a powerhouse team or close in 2 years.

                              So they have center Kotsar, they will soon have another solid or even good big Henri Veesaar. They have a SF Henri Drell. IDK how fast other SG prospects develop, but I know that Kristian Kullam?e is pretty good at 2. And they have one of the top young Euro PGs and their potential star player Kerr Kriisa. All these are ballers. Off course, Estonia is still away from top 10 Euro NT's quite a bit, specially in terms of depth. But if few more interesting players panning out within 2-3 years, they will as Finland or even Czeck Rep used to be in FIBA recent 5-7 years.

                              Veesaar playing together with Kriisa in Wildcats. That's the good core for their future. But, again, one higher profile versatile scorer would make put them on the map truly. Unfortunately no such prospect in horizon yet, but I like how Estonia became another country mad about basketball.
                              LTU NT will snatch Eurobasket 2029 title with this roster:

                              Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Laurencikas
                              Indrusaitis, Brazdeikis, Rubstavicius
                              Buzelis, Lelevicius
                              Murauskas, Sirvydis
                              Tubelis, Krivas

                              Comment

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