Nemanja Bjelica is a steal in upcoming NBA Draft
Born on May 9, 1988 in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia, the 6-foot-10 Serbian Nemanja Bjelica has made some impressive strides to convince NBA teams to select him in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Bjelica played for the Red Star Belgrade, a professional basketball club in Serbia, has exhibited a unique skill set and as he can play four different positions. He can play the point guard, center, and forward position. He’s a tremendous package having an athletic built coupled with his style and well coordinated game.
Nemanja Bjelica, as a young guy played with the Partizan’s club team before moving to Austria. In 2007-08 he played in Austria’s Bundesliga for Arkadia Traiskirchen. He was signed up by Red Star Belgrade in 2008 and has been playing for the last two years for the club. He suited up for the Serbian National Team that competed in the 2009 EuroBasket. In that tournament, they were defeated by the Pau Gasol – led Spanish National Team in the Finals to finish as the silver medalists.
Because of his excellent showing in the 2009 EuroBasket and in the professional league that he competed in, this young guy earned the reputation of being one of the prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Bjelica’s confidence on the court is one of his main assets. He is perfect when it comes to ball-handling and has been making significant contributions in creating shot-opportunities for the team. While on the court, he has great court vision, with excellent court mapping skills which prove beneficial when he needs to locate his team mates for passing the ball. He is a strong passer and has swift ball handling ability. He is a strong wing player and has exhibited significant game at point guard.
Owing to his leadership skills, he can be very aggressive which creates a lot of pressure on the defense and can eventually make the team miss out on some of the opportunities. Though he is excellent with the ball and knows his game well, there are certain aspects of his game that make him a little less than a proficient player.
Even though his mechanics in taking shots are flawless, his choice of a shot can sometimes be wrong and will therefore not always result in a basket. He is sometimes careless with his passes in traffic and can sometimes get caught with his fancy techniques. Considering the competition he is likely to face if he joins the NBA, he is not as explosive and can have trouble converting shots into baskets in traffic.
To be able to give a tough competition to the opponents, Nimanja Bjelica will have to work on strengthening his body and work on his game to be an effective defender. His height coupled with his passing skills can be an asset for his team. He has a good size and is good at handling the ball.
Bjelica, as a total combination, can be an excellent national player in the years to come. He has the skills required to be a future NBA player but still has a lot to work on to perfect every bit of it considering that he is still young and has played only two seasons so far. He can be selected in the second round of draft for sure for he has a rare combination of skills that can be beneficial for the team in the long run.
He can be considered for a team who needs some fresh blood to replace some aging veterans. Teams like the Spurs could use a few young players to train for a future championship.
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