Friday, November 12th, 2010 at 2:44 pm  |  12 responses

Remember Me?

What becomes of NBA draft picks who are shipped overseas?

by Jeff Fox

Remember the player your favorite team drafted in the second round? You know, that guy with the weird name with five z’s and no vowels in it? The guy that all of the ESPN talking heads covering the draft knew nothing about. Well he is actually a real-life basketball player, not some imaginary person your team’s GM picked to avoid going over the salary cap.Ricky Rubio

So what becomes of these players that don’t come and play in the NBA right after they are drafted? Most fade away, but some come across the ocean and make an impact in the NBA. Like Manu Ginobili or, more recently, Serge Ibaka. So let’s take a statistical look at some of the current NBA draft picks that are currently plying their trade outside of the NBA. While this may be short on words, it’s jam-packed with information.

Ricky Rubio – Minnesota (2009) – Regal FC Barcelona (Spain) – PG

Euroleague: 18.5 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 topg

Victor Claver – Portland (2009) – Power Electronics Valencia (Spain) – SF/PF

Euroleague: 23.5 mpg, 8.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5-11 3pts

Sergio Llull- Denver (2009) – Real Madrid (Spain) – PG

Euroleague: 28.8 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.8 rpg

Goran Suton – Utah (2009) – Angelico Biella (Italy) – PF/C

Italian League: 22.3 mpg, 8.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 13-19 FG

Jack McClinton – San Antonio (2009) – Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa (Israel) – PG/SG (note: the Spurs have waived his rights, so he’s a NBA free agent)

Euroleague: 32.0 mpg, 19.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 9-15 3pts

Ante Tomic – Utah (2008) – Real Madrid (Spain) - C

Euroleague: 23.3 mpg, 9.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg

Maarty Leunen – Houston (2008) – Bennet Cantu (Italy) – PF

Italian League: 31.5 mpg, 13.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 10-16 3pts

James Gist – San Antonio (2008) – BC Partizan MT:S Beograd (Serbia) – PF

Euroleague: 29.0 mpg, 12.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4-6 3pts

Stanko Barac – Miami (2007) – Caja Laboral Vitoria (Spain) – C

Euroleague: 23.3 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg

Sammy Mejia – Detroit (2007) – Cholet Basket (France) – PG/SG

Euroleague: 29.8 mpg, 12.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 apg

Erazem Lorbek – Indiana (2005) – Regal FC Barcelona (Spain) – PF/C

Euroleague: 20.5 ppg, 11.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3-6 3pts


Read more of Jeff Fox at The Hoops Manifesto and The MMA Manifesto.

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  • marc

    Didn’t Jack McClinton play for the university of miami?

  • Bruno

    hey that 1.5 bpg of Barac could help the Heat

  • http://www.pistonpowered.com/ Patrick Hayes

    I don’t think Goran Suton really counts. He was a four-year player at Michigan State and the best player on their Final Four team.

  • shu

    Suton’s numbers look nice but I don’t think he’s playing in Euroleague so they maybe inflated, although 10rpg is respectible regardless of level of competition. Not to mention they play less minutes and less FGA per game. Damn Ricky, wtf amigo?

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Wow, that 5 2 2 line by rubio looks amazing

  • Groves@UWA

    @bruno… thats exactly what i was thinking, Rubio is one of my favourite players, and his low numbers stem from sharing his playing time with 9 other euroleague superstars, the barcelona system and european basketball not crediting many assists that the NBA would. but 2.3 assist to 2.3 turnovers is bad, he should be getting 3.5-5 assists to 1-1.5 turnovers- at worst

  • LB

    Ummm, if Rubio is supposedly an NBA caliber player, shouldnt he be getting his minutes anyways? I mean, he might be sharing pt with 9 other Euroleague stars, but come on. These guys are Euroleague “stars” becaue they couldnt crack an NBA rotation. I think Rubio should be taking minutes from all these other guys who couldnt make the NBA if Rubio really is worthy of the League. But, then again, Brandon Jennings didnt really do anything noteworthy during his stay in Italy, but proved that he was ready for the League.

  • RedRum

    First of all in europe an assist only counts if the receiver has not taken a dribble. Even on a layup, if you pass the ball the receiver takes one dribble and then layups, it is not an assist. So the ration of NBA/Euro assists is 2/1. Rubio was injured I think early in the season, he is still getting himself up to pace. I personally don’t think he is NBA talent, as he cannot shoot, while he does not have the physical skills of Rondon. He is the new Papaloukas, a tall crafty playmaker, with good court awareness, but certainly not the superstar he was supposed to be…

  • Jose

    Why do not have Barac on this Heat team right now?! dude beats CB1 in 2 outta 3 categories, then again Euro game is different and stats don’t tell the whole story

  • The Big Cheese

    Very curious list. Incredibly low numbers from everyone involved. As mentioned, the minutes are low, but if these are NBA caliber players they should still be producing far more. Underwhelming!
    And, yes McClinton did play at “The U” in Miami, from which he was drafted. I don’t see how he or James Gist fit on the list. They’re both from Maryland, definitely not European by birth, speak Southeastern Slang, and neither name features excessive Z’s.

  • http://www.acb.com A l a n

    Statistics here should be taken with caution. As RedRum said, they should be counted 1 to 2 IN THE BEST SCENARIO. I personally would go as far as 1 to 3, or at least 1 to 2.5. (NBA gives assits just for being on court imo…lol)
    PLUS take in consideration there has been just 4 euroleagues games thus far this season. So 1 bad game lows a lot the overall statistic.
    And about Ricky, he’s not the go-to guy in the European champion, so his ppg should be low. He was shooting 45% last year (40% in 3 p, 77% free throws) and also was giving 4.4 assists per and 1.97 steals per. (also 1.82 TO) (All in Spanish league, best in the world after NBA, they say… Plus it’s the one I follow, not very interested on Euroleague altough Caja Laboral and Barcelona usually do great)
    Being 19 yo and yet starter for the European Champion, I’d like you to give me a name of a player capable of playing half the total minutes in, let’s say, the Lakers, Celtics or contender for the title (as Barcelona is) also being 19 yo, let alone be a starter. But you can’t give any name because there isn’t any. Rubio is a really special player, and once he goes to the NBA he’ll shut many mouths (as Jennings has done, altough Rubio is not such a scoring machine)
    … or maybe I’ll just have to shut mine…
    As for the rest players Sergio Llull, Victor Claver and specially Stanko Barac are also great players, worth to have a chance in the NBA.
    BTW I love the first paragraph… “some imaginary person your team’s GM picked to avoid going over the salary cap” hahaha

  • JuicyM

    Greetings from Spain. I can just tell you that I see Ricky play in person, and his numbers do not reflect the caliber player he is. Like the article mentions, look at Brandon Jennings. I have seen Ricky play several times live, and I can tell you that he is surprisingly a very solid defender, and as we all know, amazing court vision. The shooting always comes last, look at Jason Kidd. I can’t wait until Ricky comes to the U.S and shows everybody what he can really do.

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