An Early Look At the Top Prospects of the ABA League
Scouting Reports on Nikola Jovic, Roko Prkacin, Malcolm Cazalon, and Aleksander Balcerowski.
Over the past decade, the Adriatic Basketball Association has produced several talents who have gone on to have impactful NBA careers. From reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, to high-end starters like Bogdan Bogdanovich and Jusuf Nurkic, to specialists like Davis Bertans, the ABA League has proven to be worth monitoring when it comes to international talent. This season, another *"I Think You Should Leave" voice* CROP of ABA players have found themselves on the NBA Draft radar, and we’ll be taking a closer look at them in this column.
Nikola Jovic, 6-10, Mega Basket.
Yes, there is now a Nikola JOVIC. Similar to Nikola Jokic, Jovic boasts a perimeter skillset that is uncommon in players his height, though Jovic is far thinner and not as powerful, profiling as a wing/forward. He’s most polished as a distributor, where he uses his length to create adventageous passing angles. His passing bag is deep, and he has the ability to sling the rock out of a live dribble or make a calculated post-entry that helps his big man get better position.
Jovic’s shot has not been falling this season; he’s at 39% from the field and 29.4% from three. While I have some reservations, I think much of this boils down to the small sample of play so far (5 games). Jovic has shown the ability to get into his shot quickly both off the catch and off the bounce, though his 3-point percentages have been rough over the course of his career. I’m a beliver in the mechanics, and think he will sort that out in time, eventually reaching at least average from deep.
My cocern with his scoring is rooted in the looks he is able to generate for himself. Jovic likes to has the ball in his hands, and he is a creative thinker when it comes to finding his teammates. However, he’s not as difficult to figure out when he’s trying to get his own bucket. His first step is average, and while he has height, he’s still not fully developed physically to the point that he can bully smaller players. Right now, he lacks dribble counters in his game, and if he doesn’t get to his spot when met with initial resistence, the defender is in the clear. Jovic has shown that he can think the game at a high level as a passer, he just needs to bring that attention to his own attacking game. He’s flashed change-of-pace moves as pick-and-roll dribbler, but it isn’t a consistent, reliable tool for him yet.
Another frustrating component of Jovic’s game is that his height doesn’t bring much else to the game beyond his passing angles at this stage. His rebounding numbers have been pedestrian, and he doesn’t interupt plays defensively with blocks or steals. While big playmakers are in vogue, the reason for that is because it gives you someone who does things like rebound and provide defensive impact while running your offense. If he isn’t giving you those additional features, the size becomes less important.
There was a palpable buzz around Jovic as a lottery pick prior to the start of the season, and while five games isn’t a whopping amount, it may be time to consider adjusting expectations. If Jovic isn’t finding ways to score with the ball, he becomes a much less interesting prospect. Still, I’m enamoured with his touch, and I think he’s really close to putting it all together. I’d like to see him add to his dribbling game and work in some fake passes on drives to get himself easier looks around the cup. Though it’s harder to see Jovic cracking the top five come draft night, he’s still an intriguing prospect with a modern skillset.
Roko Prkacin, 6-9, Cibona.
Roko Prkacin was draft eligible in 2021 but elected to stay overseas, though I would have taken him in the first round. I recently did a twitter thread on Prkacin’s offense (@BaumBoards), so I’ll be breif on that end of his game here. Prkacin has a potent first step, and he has strong lift off the floor without the need to take a lot of time loading up before leaping. This is accuentated by his mental quickness. You’ll occasionally hear NBA front office personel and coaches refer to “.5s,” which is one of my favorite concepts to consider when evaluating prospects. At the NBA level, in order to keep the ball moving and prevent the defense from being able to recover, you want players to be able to make a decision within .5 seconds of receiving the ball. Prkacin has this down pat; he’s decisive, and his athleticism is enhanced by that decisiveness. If he has a path to the basket, he’s going to take it, and his tools allow him to convert once he’s there.
Today, I want to focus on Prkacin’s defense. He’s a nice lateral mover which should allow him to handle switching schemes and prevent quicker players from getting straight to the rim. On top of that, Prkacin has an awesome sense for verticality, the act of staying big to force a difficult look without fouling. His size makes it tough for bigs to bully him, also, and his savvy allows him to make pesky plays like the poke-away in the video below. He has a sense for where screens are coming from off the ball and does a wonderful job of avoiding them, hindering his man’s ability to get open.
There are still some question marks with Prkacin. For one, his jumper features a lot of extremity flailing at the moment and needs to be smoothed out. As a result, defenses don’t respect him much on the perimeter, often giving him a ton of space. He’s at 35.3% from deep so far this year, but many of those come with ample room. Prkacin has also struggled from the line his entire career, which is a source of frustration. Still, if he can hover in that three point percentage range or take a small step forward, his defensive prowess and ball skills give him a chance to hear his name called in the lottery.
Malcolm Cazalon, 6-6, Mega Basket.
Folks, I am ALL ABOARD the Malcolm Cazalon Train. Similar to Prkacin, Cazalon had the chance to enter the draft this past season but elected not to, though I thought of him more as a second round/undrafted free agent type of prospect. Now, I’m much higher on Cazalon. At 6’6”, Cazalon has started to grow into the combo guard billing he was given last season. He went from averaging 2 assists vs. 1.6 turnovers last year to 3.6 assists vs. 2.0 turnovers this year. Cazalon has looked tremendous with increased responsibility, generating offense for himself and others when he gets aggressive. His first step is outstanding, and now that his ability to read the floor has improved, he’s a dangerous proposition when flying toward the basket.
Cazalon’s burst has always been a positive, but everything feels more coherent now, as if the pieces have been glued together. He’s making fewer mistakes, his passes are more accurate, and his handle is under a greater degree of control. On top of the on-ball advancements, Cazalon’s shot looks fantastic as well. He’s done a tremendous job of working himself away from the defense in the corners, where he’s automatic. His three point percentage is up to 39.1% on increased volume, taking a respectable 4.6 per game.
Cazalon isn’t perfect or anything; his shot off the bounce is still inconsistent. Sometimes it’s flat, othertimes a moon-ball. There are still moments where he plays too fasts and makes unforced errors. Defensively, he’s engaged and incites havoc, but he’ll also get too antsy at times and get himself in trouble. Ultimately, I’m betting on Cazalon because he’s shown the ability to improve upon his weaknesses, and at 6’6”, players who can dribble, pass, and shoot are worth a mint. If his improvements hold, I can easily imagine him going in the first round.
Aleksander Balcerowski, 7-1, Mega Basket.
I don’t have a ton on Balcerowski, but I think there may be an NBA player here. At 7’1”, size certainly won’t be a concern. He’s a respectable mover and gets off the floor well when he needs to jump. He’ll protect the rim defensively, and he has a baby-soft touch around the basket. There is an old school finesse to how he operates in the post that you don’t see too often any more, but it doesn’t feel antiquated because it’s functional. Balcerowski has also made a few impressive passing reads, and I feel that big man passing is becoming increasingly valuable in the NBA. With the league being so pick-and-roll heavy, if your dribbler is getting blitzed by defenders, the big man who is setting screens needs to be able to find teammates when they get the ball in those 4-on-3 situations. Balcerowksi has his limitations; he’s been an iffy free throw shooter and never hit threes consistently, and he will need to play exclusively in drop coverage on defense. Though he moves well on offense, he has a hard time guarding in space on defense right now and can look like a giraffe on roller skates at times. Still, the post game and passing are lovely, and he knows how to be a presence around the rim.
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