I know, right? I think I'm getting jaded. If a player isn't flourishing where they're at I'm going to give them much of chance to ever make in the toughest league.
I think the point is that he is not likely to be NBA ready, but he may be like a rookie Dwight Howard in the sense that with the right coaching and appropriate minutes, he could develop into a serviceable (at worst) player. At least he's not being hyped as the next cornerstone of the franchise.
I guess I'm less optimistic than you. If this guy really is going to be an NBA center and he can't fall into more than two rebounds in an international game I'm not even keeping my fingers crossed. This all feels very Dalibor Bagaric to me.
As soon as I post the magical words "Dalibor Bagaric," Asic begins to play like Jesus Christ with a mid-range game. These are the type of consistent numbers you would hope for from a player who is ready to make an impact his rookie year. Color me slightly optimistic. Against Iran: 14 pts, 9 rebs, 1 steal, 2 to's, 3 blocks. 4/9 fg and 6/13 ft, disarmament treaty in 20 minutes Against New Zealand: 7 pts, 6 rebs, 1 a on 3/4 FG and 1/2 FT in only 12 minutes. Against Germany: 13 Points in 20 Minutes Against Croatia: 17 points in 23 Minutes Against Lebanon: 20 pts 7 rebounds(3 off. 4 def.) 1 cooked falafel. 0 assist 1 steal 1 turnover 2 blocks 3 fouls. 8/9 fg and 4/5 ft. In 19:39. Against Canada: 14 Pts 6 Rebounds 5/9 Fg 4/8 Ft 1 To 1 Foul in 17:50 Minutes Against Argentina (Scoal, Oberto): 11pts (2s: 4/5, SA: 3/6) 9 rb, 1 as, 1 steal, 2 blk.
Another decent game for Asik against Cote d'Ivoire: 8pts (3/10 fg, 2/8 ft); 12 reb (7o, 5d) ; 1a; 1bs; 1 to. He certainly needs to work on his free throw shooting but you have to like the rebounding consistency he has been showing.
Another solid game for Asik in a low scoring game verse a well coached Russian team: 10 p (5/7 shooting, 0/1 ft), 7b, 1to, 2bs in 20 minutes. Even better than that, today Team USA went up against Asik's backup on his Turkish club team, a 6'11 Slovenian center named Gasper Vidmar. The guy looked solid and I'm sure he will be drafted somewhere in the late first round next year. Vidmar is the prototypical new European big man, mobile, great help defense, good reactions off the board, sad post moves, and a narrow skill set. It's funny how we used to associate European big men with have a broad range of open court skills and now they are more like grind it out USA big men, without the post moves. Regardless, I would want Vidmar as a second or third string center, which makes me even more hopeful about Asik.
