For those who worry that Roko Ukic isn’t getting enough minutes in games: he’s getting plenty of time at practice, and plenty of attention from the Raptors staff.

In Doug Smith’s latest article:

The continuing education of rookie point guard Roko Ukic, who at times has shown promise and at times struggled this season, goes on unabated because he’s one of the few young players whose game needs developing in the remaining 15 games.

So the post-practice drill unfolds almost daily.

One day, Ukic was dribbling around a chair at the top of the key, cutting close to make sure he would use a screen correctly in a game.

The next he’s working on his jump shot, painstakingly firing up one-hander after one-hander, working on making sure his off-hand doesn’t guide the ball too much, as it did early in the season.

What are some of the subjects of this “continuing education”?

The Raptors want Ukic to come around the screen and make a quick decision, whereas his tendency has been to take one too many dribbles and find himself lost amid the giants in the paint.

They want Ukic to be more adept at coming off the screen and taking a pull-up jump shot because, not convinced of his shooting abilities at all, defences drop off him just as they did against Jose Calderon in his rookie season.

Why such special attention on Our Roko?

Ukic’s game is so promising, but equally raw.

And,

Given the roster and the changes that could come, Ukic is the priority right now. The only other young player with a guarantee for next year is Nathan Jawai and he’s toiling in the D-League getting valuable playing experience.

Ryan McNeill of Hoops Addict chimes in:

While his numbers may not pop out, it’s clear that Ukic is becoming a big part of the Raptors future. Between his willingness to learn and his natural talents, it looks like he’ll be a big part of the teams playing rotation for years to come.

That’s good to hear.

But Roko’s been a pro since 2000. Why is he still so raw, and his shooting form so poor? Isn’t there more practice time and more teaching in European basketball leagues? What do you think?

UPDATE: Raul Jimenez offers his thoughts on Roko’s lack of development -

I’m sure you remember this.
 
I think it’s something like that, he wasn’t the player European coaches (those from top teams) were looking for to start in their teams. Maybe he knew he had the NBA so close and he didn’t put all his effort into improving his defense to be a key player in Europe. And his offensive skills were enough for him (or he thought so) to play at the highest level in Europe. Sometimes players think that the problem belongs to others (the coach won’t start me, that’s his problem, because I’m better than the other guy and I don’t need to improve, and I’m going to the NBA…)
 
And of course, it is said that you have more practice time in Europe, but don’t forget that top European teams play their domestic leagues (weekends) but also European competitions like Euroleague, ULEB, Euro Challenge (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday) so it’s two games a week, plus trips… maybe not 82 games but an Euroleague Spanish team might play 34 (ACB Regular Season – and you should add the playoffs, make it another 11) + 3 (Copa del Rey) + 22 (Euroleague + another 2 if you reach the Final Four) So you have almost 70 games… Not so much more time to practice…
 
And remember that many Top European teams have their focus on the present, instead of thinking in the next two or three years (as some NBA teams do).
 
Maybe these are some reasons for Roko to be under-developed nowadays. Maybe.