<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Wearing No. 11 for Italy's Benetton Treviso, he's driving the baseline. Fast as a whippet, he finishes the play with a reverse dunk. Now he's hitting a three-pointer, nothing but net. Next thing you know, he flies high to swat down an opponent's shot. Then he's cutting through the lane, catching a pass and dunking the ball. He finishes by driving the lane and laying the ball in, even as he's being hacked by the other team. His name is Andrea Bargnani, and he sure looks great on a highlight reel, such as the one that can be viewed online courtesy of Google video. Few fans in the United States have seen him play, but NBA scouts have been flocking to Italy for months to watch him. "We have been inundated,'' said Benetton coach Dave Blatt, a Massachusetts native who has been working overseas, first as a player and then as a coach, since graduating from Princeton in 1981. "We have had literally every single team from the NBA spending time at our facility and at our games over the course of the year. And many of them, who I don't want to mention, have been here three, four or five times.'' Maybe they just can't believe their eyes. Bargnani is a 7-foot, 225-pound forward who can shoot, rebound, block shots and -- who knows -- maybe even fly. As soon as the lottery Ping-Pong balls settled, Toronto Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo sent coach Sam Mitchell and adviser Wayne Embry to Italy to scout Bargnani, whose team is playing in the semifinals of the Italian League playoffs. Bargnani has declared for the draft, and it has been widely speculated that the Raptors, winners of the lottery, want Bargnani. But Blatt, who claimed no inside knowledge, doesn't believe Bargnani is a lock for Toronto. "The Raptors are not the only ones [we've seen a lot of],'' he said. "I've seen the Bulls [more than once]. I think Andrea is a great choice for the Bulls. Andrea would do well there. I know Johnny Paxson, and he's terrific. And [Scott] Skiles is a great coach. I know offensively Andrea could help the Bulls a great deal, and I know that coach Skiles could help him a lot with the continued development of his defense.'' Even though Benetton GM Maurizio Gherardini is expected to be hired by the Raptors as an assistant GM, the Raptors won't necessarily select Bargnani. Gherardini has been instrumental in "opening the pipeline between the NBA and Europe,'' Blatt said. As the NBA grows more global, it makes sense that an organization would view Gherardini's international experience as an asset, regardless of Bargnani. "Nobody knows for sure who the first pick is going to be,'' Blatt said. "I would say at this point it's not for sure the first pick is even going to go to the Raptors, except on paper. They may be looking to deal since there's no LeBron James in the draft this year. A lot of things could happen. That's why I'm saying Chicago is looking pretty good, too. If that's their inclination. I don't know if that's what they want to do." As has become his habit, Bulls GM John Paxson is keeping his draft thoughts pretty much to himself. Paxson has said he won't hesitate to go young, big or small. He hasn't ruled out trading the pick in exchange for an established NBA player, either. But in characterizing the Bulls' biggest need as "size, athleticism and length,'' Paxson could have been describing Bargnani, who frequently has been compared to German forward Dirk Nowitzki, a 7-foot European who has blossomed into superstardom with the Dallas Mavericks. "I really like [Bargnani],'' said ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford, who has seen Bargnani play in person. "He is the closest thing I've seen from a European to [Nowitzki]. He's a 7-foot, perimeter-oriented player. He has an excellent shot, he's athletic and he's an aggressive scorer. He puts the ball on the floor and attacks the basket. He's very skilled, and he's having a lot of success in the best league in Europe while playing for one of the top five teams in Europe.'' According to Blatt, many observers believe Bargnani is better at this point in his career than Nowitzki was at the same stage. "I say that carefully because between that and where Dirk is right now there's an awfully, awfully, awfully long way to go,'' Blatt said. "Dirk is unique and extremely special.'' Not everyone is high on Bargnani. "They compare him to Dirk because he's 7 feet tall and can shoot the ball,'' said Ryan Blake of Marty Blake and Associates. "But it's hard to gauge how good he'll be because he's playing [in Europe].'' In other words, instead of becoming a Dirk clone, Bargnani could become a Darko reincarnation. Darko Milicic, the Serbia-Montenegro native who was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the second pick in 2003, already has been traded to the Orlando Magic and labeled a bust. Bargnani, 20, has had only one season of significant play at Europe's highest level. Will he continue to develop when he reaches the NBA? Whoever drafts him will be taking a risk. But it will be a calculated risk -- the Google highlight reel is for real. "There's no lie there,'' Blatt said. "He can do some amazing things, there's no doubt about that. But there certainly are holes in his game that he needs to fill. And he will because he has a good work ethic. He's not a guy that's at all satisfied with where he's at. As a matter of fact, he's young enough that he recognizes the need to really improve on a daily basis. He wants to get better.'' There are other intangibles to consider, as well. Blatt describes Bargnani, who can speak English, as "a terrific kid'' who is "quiet and unassuming'' and is respectful of his veteran teammates. "He plays with passion,'' Blatt said, "but he's not a whooper and a hollerer.'' Even in a short highlight reel, his offensive skills are apparent. "His strength is his perimeter skills as a 7-footer,'' Blatt said. "Without a doubt, that's what makes him so attractive. Particularly the way the NBA game is changing. It's going more and more toward the European style, and there's an advantage to having a big man who can shoot the ball.'' And what about his defense? "He's very long, and he's very, very quick for a 7-footer,'' Blatt said. "He has a great first step. He has a pretty good ability as a 7-footer to switch and stay in front of guards, at least in front of European guards. It remains to be seen whether he can do that at the NBA level. But he's got the length and understanding to at least try to accomplish some of that. "He needs to improve his game with his back to the basket, but remember it took Nowitzki an awful long time to do that. Nowitzki is still not a power back-to-the-basket player. [Nowitzki] developed a good turnaround jump shot, and he knows a little better how to use his size in the post. But it took him a while to learn that.''</div> Source
