<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The amount of raised eyebrows and note taking by the 30 or so NBA scouts watching the Nike Hoop Summit World Team practice on Tuesday was proportionate to the times France's Nicolas Batum touched the ball. Because almost every time he had the ball in his hands, something good happened, like roaring down the middle of the lane as the trailer on a fast break, getting a pass, cocking the ball behind his head and dunking with gusto. "This is a good opportunity for me to make an impression for 2008," said Batum, a 6-7 3/4 swingman who's just 18 years old and in no hurry to get to the NBA. "It (the NBA) is a dream for me." If Batum keeps improving, the NBA will be a reality. He showed during an intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday at the Nike Gym that his game isn't too far away. f Batum keeps improving, the NBA will be a reality. He showed during an intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday at the Nike Gym that his game isn't too far away. "He's quite special, he's like an American player," World Team coach Rob Beveridge said of Batum. "To me, he's a guy that we can give the ball when everything turns bad. He can get to the rim. He can stop on the dime, jump up and shoot it." While several other players on the World Team have tried to make an impression on Beveridge by forcing the issue and trying to create offense -- "There's too much dribbling, and when somebody's open we've got to pass the ball," he said -- Batum has taken the opposite tack. He seems perfectly comfortable letting the game come to him. Most of his offense comes in the flow, and he's almost too unselfish. Batum said that he needs to improve his intensity. Beveridge said that in the next couple of days leading into Saturday's 3 p.m. showdown with the USA Junior National Team at FedExForum, he's going to find ways to get the ball in Batum's hands more often. Last summer, Batum won Most Valuable Player honors in the Under 18 European Championships, averaging 14.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists. In a 79-72 victory over Lithuania in the finals, he had 11 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots. This past season in the Euroleague, he came off the bench. There's such a smoothness to Batum's game that it seems he doesn't demand the ball enough. Perhaps that comes from the fact that his biggest basketball influence is former Bulls' star Scottie Pippen, one of the NBA's all-time 50 greatest players who often deferred to teammate Michael Jordan in helping the Bulls win six NBA championships. "I liked Scottie Pippen because he could do so many things," Batum said. "He could defend. He could face up and shoot. He could drive and dunk. I thought I could improve my abilities and become more of a Scottie Pippen-type player than a player like Jordan." The Tuesday morning intrasquad scrimmage was an eye-opener for Beveridge. </div> Source --> Memphis CA
