While Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings continue their petty little pre-draft spat there are plenty of other players in Europe that are of  interest to NBA scouts as the big night looms on the horizon just a couple of weeks away.

Among the more intriguing prospects this season is Sweden’s Jonas Jerebko (discuss), who has been playing in the Italian League for Angelico Biella, tough losers in the play-offs earlier this month.

That failure has caused Jerebko some problems, though, since he refused to try out for scouts early at the Reebok Eurocamp last week after telling ESPN draft guru Chad Ford that he was just too tired to play any more.

But those scouts who stayed on for the Monday sessions in Treviso would not have been disappointed when Jerebko finally arrived on court and put up an impressive performance that could well have sent his stock back into the first round.

Until then, the disappointment of some of his inconsistent play had seen him drop to a second round ranking, which led some to think Jerebko could even refuse to take a deal to move to the United States, but salary cap needs of some teams picking late in the first may well have changed that.

Interbasket suggests that a number of teams are likely to be in the market for a European prospect who they can keep stashed away (and off their salary list) for a couple of seasons, and Jerebko looks to be the player at the top of that list.

Jerebko can play either forward spot, and in his 28 minute outing in his only game at the Eurocamp, missed just one of his seven shots, adding five steals and four rebounds in a performance that had scouts forgetting his earlier apathy towards participating in said tournament.

While he may already be NBA-ready, more so than the likes of Vladimir Dasic (who is withdrawing from the draft anyway) and Patrick Beverley for example, one or two more seasons improving his offensive game could mean a team at the end of the first round getting a real steal this season.

My basketball bet? Jerebko will go to Chicago at #26 to draft and stash, or to Oklahoma City (#25) or Minnesota (#28) as the first Swede to be drafted in the NBA’s first round.  Many of these teams that are interested plan to add Jerebko to a young roster with hope that he is ready right now.

Links and Resources: Sweden: Jonas Jerebko, Jon Stefansson Thread (Interbasket), Brandon Jennings not sold on Ricky Rubio (Interbasket), Swedish Basketball Forum (Interbasket), Andy Charles of basketball betting regularly contributes to Interbasket  (BettingFair)