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.

How appropriate: courtesy of 2nd Round Reach.

Highlights of new Toronto Raptor Pops Mensah-Bonsu remind me of Jamario Moon, while his name brings to mind former Raptor Pape Sow. But is that all there is to Pops? I go as far as Spain to give you this Ultimate Scouting Report.

The basics:

• Full name: Nana Papa Yaw Dwene Mensah-Bonsu [translation: King (Nana) Father (Papa) Thursday Born (Yaw) Three (Mensah) Whale (Bonsu)]
• Position: Forward
• Measurements: 6′10″ (some say 6′9″), 240 lbs.
• Born: September 7, 1983

(Note: Key statements below are bolded.)

First, let’s look at the path Pops took after he injured his knee and came back too soon for the 2006 NCAA tournament:

• 2006 - goes undrafted, but gets a contract with the Dallas Mavericks, which left him in the D-League (Fort Worth Flyers) for the most part
• 2007 - signs with Maurizio Gherardini’s old team, Benetton Treviso
• 2008 – signs with DKV Joventut, which released him in December due to a shoulder injury
• 2009 (Feb.) – plays for the San Antonio Spurs’ farm team, the Austin Toros
• Feb. 25 – signs a 10-day contract with the Spurs (no, not this one)
• March 4 – is released by the Spurs
• March 6 – gets a guaranteed contract from the Raptors to finish the season

Boy, Pops’ head must still be spinning.

On to the scouting reports. Let’s go back to the beginning, Mike Fisher (DallasBasketball.com). What’s your take on Pops?

He’s long been intriguing to the Mavs because of his raw athleticism — and because he’s a quality person with good relationships with people inside the organization. But Pops has still never quite mastered any aspect of the game at the offensive end of the floor, and that’s the big thing that keeps him from getting into anybody’s rotation.

He doesn’t have handles … and probably never will; dribbling is something he simply did not grow up doing.

He has no perimeter game. … and again, looks very unnatural when even trying to develop one, as he certainly did try to do in Dallas, under the supervision of former NBA shooters like Brad Davis and Ro Blackman.

He ought to have an interior game, but he doesn’t … though someday, that could come.

At 6-9, he lacks a natural position.

[...] He kills every time he plays in the summer league (and I think he was a D-League MVP). The challenge for him is to transfer the limited skills that allow him to succeed against lesser competition — raw athleticism can be enough in D-League or in Spain, but of course not in the NBA — to a higher level.

There’s our cue to go to Spain and Pete Marasmitch’s favourite European correspondent, Raul Jimenez (RJM Basketball). What did you think of Pops, Raul?

Pops played two Euroleague games, and also five ACB league games before his injury this season. Last season he also played in ACB, he was signed by Granada for the last regular season game. Granada needed to win in order to avoid relegation and he was kind of a surprise signing. He played a GREAT game and they won, 22 points and 9 rebounds in his first and only game with that team!!! 

He’s had problems with Joventut due to different points of view about his injury, the way it should be treated (where, how…). It all ended badly between the club and the player, and I can’t tell you the truth of the issue…

Anyway, I have watched him play a lot, and I can tell you that in Europe, he’s a very important player for an average team or even for a better than average team as Joventut is.

He and Ricky [Rubio] made me jump from my seat quite often. He’s not big but, man, he can jump!!! 

He’s fast and sharp when going towards the rim. He runs the break really fast, and he can finish in traffic. Nice dunker. His mid-range shot is good, but not great. He played the “5″ spot in Europe, although he was able to play together with a pure “5″. As I told you, he’s small to play the “5″ in the NBA, here he can do it because he’s strong, quick and because he jumps like a grasshopper, but I don’t see him playing against NBA big men… He’s a “4″ in the NBA. Playing together with Bargs? That means defensive problems, but with Bosh? Yes, they can play together. I’ve seen he’s said to be 6′10” but I think he’s smaller.

I suppose you’ve already seen this, but anyway… 

I don’t know if he is a player I would sign to take a step forward in the NBA but I would sign him to enjoy his game.

Ah, Raul. I can always count on you for YouTube magic.

But back to North America and back to the NBA. Michael De Leon (Project Spurs), what popped out to you about Pops?

Here’s my take on Pops from seeing him in a total of about three games and one Toros game before he signed with the Spurs.

Everyone knows he has a ton of athleticism and energy. Because of those gifts, he always seems to be everywhere. One game I was watching him any time the ball came off the rim, he was there to grab the board even when other players had better position.

He’s also got a ton of potential. For a guy with his size and tools, I would not be surprised to see him become a good player in the NBA. Boards and blocks are not a problem and if he works on his back-to-the-basket game a bit and has someone to show him the way, he may have an advantage against other centers and forwards. Some go-to moves in the pain combined with his speed could prove to be hard to stop.

The problem with this all is that it’s all just potential right now. How many players have we seen in his mold that do not succeed in the NBA? I had high hopes for Francisco Elson when he was in San Antonio because he was the most athletic and probably fastest center we had that could finish at the rim, block shots and rebound since David Robinson. Unfortunately as you see even now with him playing for the Bucks, he hasn’t developed at all and he’s all potential.

Right now Pops’ biggest challenge is himself. One of the things I noticed is that he struggles on one-on-one defense and he has the tendency to get a little lazy on his assignments. He’ll have to work on his work ethic as well, because this isn’t the D-League. As Scott from Ridiculous Upside said, he won’t be able to score 30 and 12 with a few blocked shots without giving much of an effort.

The other thing though is that Pops really needs to stick on a team. Ten-day contracts aren’t enough. He needs to have a chance to learn the offensive and defensive schemes for the team he’s playing for, in this case Toronto, and I think playing under Chris Bosh could really help him.

And here in Toronto we were well impressed with Pops’ debut. Here’s what the man himself said to Doug Smith (The Toronto Star) about his own scouting report:

Coming out of college, it was always, “great athlete, aggressive defender but …” I hated that, I hated being looked at as raw because people already had their preconceived notion of me before I even got a chance to prove.

I’m coming into work and they’re like, “Well, he’s not really a great shooter so if he makes a jump shot, oh, well, he got lucky.” Now I feel like I can shoot. I think playing in the D-League helped me, helped me get my confidence up and playing for those guys down there helped me show what I can do. I became more of a consistent jump shooter [...]

It made me more of a skilled player because over there, those big men have to learn how to shoot. You can’t get by on athleticism as much over there, I think it made me more of a skilled player and I’m getting closer to being that finished product.

I think from 17 feet I can hit a wide-open jump shot and help the team out. That’s where I think I’ve become more of a threat, they won’t just look at me as an athlete. People look at their scouting report, it won’t just say “athlete”; it’ll say “can hit the 17-foot jump shot.”

It’s good to see Pops wants to be a more complete player. What do you think will be the “finished product,” Mike Fisher?

His upside now? Maybe Travis Outlaw, at best. … Outlaw has found a way to make room for himself by serving as an athletic shot-blocker on one end and as a dunker on the other end.

His realistic goal? Maybe James Singleton of the Mavs, who has developed an outside shot to go along with his hops and his hustle. Pops is about the same size as Singleton, so he might just need to be in the right place at the right time with the right instructor.

Here’s the other Singleton comparison: James was in the NBA as a younger player, getting some time with the Clips. But then it became very profitable for him to go overseas. Pops has that same problem/solution: He can make a lucrative living overseas without ever having to improve his game.

[...] So, he dreams of being Outlaw. He really could be a Singleton. But the guy he ends up reminding me of in a Dallas uni is Donnell Harvey, who was here I think a decade ago. He probably could’ve been an Olympic track guy, he had boundless energy, he dominated in loosey-goosey 3-on-3 work. … but got exposed as a non-basketball player any time the situation was cranked up.

That might be Pops’ future, too.

Summing up…

Pros:

• has physical tools – athletic, nice hops, fast, 6′9″
• can dunk and finish in traffic
• shows effort and energy for rebounding and blocking
• is developing a mid-range game
• is a quality guy
• best-case scenario – Travis Outlaw

Cons:

• is a 6′9″ tweener
• can’t handle the ball
• needs to improve offensively, both inside and outside
• struggles one-on-one (shades of Jamario?)
• could improve focus

Analysis: A keeper, if the price is right; everybody will be looking for a bargain with potential like Pops’.

Thanks to Luis in Doug Smith’s comment section.

UPDATE: Some thoughts from Raul Jimenez -

It’s a McDonald’s campaign. I watched it on ACB.com and they have also created a Youtube channel. Ricky is 18 years old now and he’s starting to appear in commercials (he didn’t do it before, except for an ACB sponsor’s commercial). His parents and his club, Joventut, took care to keep him off that world while he was younger (in Spain, 18 is the age to be considered an adult). This advertisement reminds me of the classic one with Larry Bird and M. Jordan in the eighties [Pete's note: It's the early nineties].

It’s not that I have something against this, although I don’t think McDonald’s is the best brand to represent. I mean, it’s not the healthiest food to eat as we all know, and with everybody from governments talking about fatter kids, about not abusing fast food … but, you know, that’s the way life is. Anyway, I think that many brands will fight for him now, and I suppose that he’ll get good money with advertisements which is fine (his contract with Joventut isn’t really high).

UPDATE 2: More Rubio videos at RickyLaCuela.com (”Ricky The School puts it in”).

I hope that Jeff is usual with a more or less regularly. The truth is that it is a real pleasure to have a point of view from North America.

(Sung to the tune of Candle In The Wind)

I really like some of the offensive situations from the champions, the Boston Celtics. This one is a special offense for the end of the quarter. They clear out for the point guard, and place their center and power forward on the opposite side. What they want using this offensive set is to assure that Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett’s defenders will help when the PG, Rajon Rondo, drives to the basket. As we can see, the defenders are ready to make that help. Then, Davis sets a back pick and Garnett goes to the corner to receive the pass for an open shot.

It could have been an easier shot had the PG gone harder towards the rim, but anyway, Garnett has time and space to make his shot, although this time he misses.

Pete: Everybody is talking about Ricky Rubio. Is he as good as people think he is? What makes him so special?

Raul: Yes he is. He played for the first time in ACB league against professional players when he was 14 years old. Now he’s 18 and has a silver medal and some Spanish and European titles. He has played in Euroleague [since he was] 16 years old.

He’s a very intelligent player. He knows the game as if he was 30 years old. A hard worker, his coaches love him, his teammates love him. He’s a great defender, and is getting better every day. Not only he can steal the ball, he can make good helps, force offensive fouls, grab rebounds, block shots. His [wingspan] is 6′7″ and his hands are really quick. He can pass, he can drive, he can shoot (he’s improving his mid and long range shooting).

The thing I like most is that he can play a final with a smile on his face. He enjoys the game. And his mind is clear: He’s staying in Europe for some years, he knows he has time before going to America and he will not force that trip. So you’ll have to wait a little bit my friends…

Pete: Who else in Spain should NBA fans be excited about?

Raul: There already are NBA scouts watching Victor Claver, a forward from Pamesa Valencia [Pete's note: Check out the Antawn Jamison/Jorge Garbajosa comparison on NBADraft.net]. He will probably be on the National Team next summer. He’s a good 3PT shooter and has a great ability to play in open court. For his size – 6′9″ – he should be a force in the low post against forwards, but he still has to develop this area of his game (he has the skills, but he needs the strength and, more important, the will). In Spain he can also play power forward without problems but in USA he would be a “3″. He’s got great potential, but a long way to be an NBA player.

Rudy Fernandez has an important role for a rookie of the Portland Trail Blazers (currently 6-5, seventh in the Western Conference). Playing beside Brandon Roy, who makes a lot of shots and is the go-to guy in critical situations, we can say that Rudy is finding his place.

Some days ago, against Utah, Rudy showed some of the skills that allowed him to reach the NBA. Portland ran a diamond set for him, and he finished in three different ways, showing that it’s a hard task to stop him. He can go hard to the rim, he can give the extra pass, he can make his shots… a lot of options! He has the skills and the will. It’s not strange that Portland fans are already impressed by Rudy.

In the video we watch the three situations, the first two in consecutive plays. In the first one, he receives and drives to get fouled. In the second one, he curls and assists on LaMarcus Aldridge’s dunk. In the third one, he comes off the screen and hits the three (breaking a 0-9 run against Portland).