Post by jhb on May 12, 2021 6:52:00 GMT -5
Nikola Vucevic
C
6'11"
260
21
USC
Scouts rave about Vucci Mane's size at almost 7' tall and a 7'4" wingspan with a well-developed body that is ready for the rigors of the interior in TMBSL. He's already a very skilled offensive player and has made tremendous strides in each of his college seasons to expand his game. With 3 seasons under his belt and a league-ready physique, Vucevic is one of the interior players in this draft that is most TMBSL-ready.
Offensively, Vucevic is a very technical and well-rounded player. He's got a variety of post moves he showed in his last season at Southern Cal, utilizing some baby hooks, drop steps, pump fakes and counter moves, and he deploys them all after using his size and strength to create excellent position to receive the entry pass to the low post. He's not afraid to establish strong position and call his own number. When he's not doing that, he's an excellent threat as a pick and pop option with a fantastic jump shot where he's incredibly comfortable out to 20 feet. He's also started to show the ability to step back out and work in the catch and shoot game and convert from 3, which could create an interesting element to a TMBSL offense by having a center that requires his man come all the way out of the lane to defend him. He's not as efficient as some would like since he does spend so much of his time away from the low post shooting lower percentage jumpers and 3's, but most coaches will take the decreased efficiency with the way he stresses opponent bigs as defenders. When he isn't playing as passively, Vucevic is a pretty solid offensive rebounder, the issue is just positioning since he spends a fair amount of time playing away from the paint.
The main issue with Vucevic is that he's a below average athlete and that limits his upside, especially defensively. While he can work around that and deploy his technical skills on offense, it will come back to haunt him on the other end as he doesn't run the floor well and he's a below average leaper, which limits his ability to use his length to block shots. His lateral quickness is fairly poor and he definitely plays below the rim. While he will be able to hold up strength-wise as a low post man defender, he will be a bit more of a liability defending the pick and roll and dribble drive. He'll need an elite help-side defender playing along-side him at the 4 to help cover for some of his weaknesses. Fortunately, he does make up for some of his weakness as a defender by being a very good rebounder of the basketball on the defensive end, helping to end possessions when they don't convert on their initial opportunities.