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Everything Valanciunas
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octothorp
Sat Feb 18, 2012, 10:45 PM
thead wrote: View Post
If he were a guard I think a case could be made that summer league would be more beneficial. He would learn how to run the offense, spacing on the wings etc.. before he joined the Raptors. Since he is a big, I see more upside to him staying there and playing with and competing against full grown men. I could be wrong but getting hammered around and still producing seems like a more necessary skill set for him at the moment....
I'm in favour of him playing on the national team as well, as high-level, high-pressure experience is invaluable. But at the same time if we were to draft a PG (let's say Kabongo), it would be awesome to get them out on the court over the summer and get started on developing some pick-and-roll chemistry. But working with Davis, Alibi, lottery-pick wing player, second-round pick, and a bunch of NBDL scrubs isn't really helpful to him.
mcHAPPY
Stephen Brotherston, HoopsWorld.com: JV - 2013 R.O.Y?
Stephen Brotherston at HoopsWorld.com has a very good write up on JV.
After the draft in June, among the very excited Raptors management group, there wasn't a more enthusiastic member than Gherardini when describing Valanciunas to the media as a young Tyson Chandler with good feet. Apparently, after watching Valanciunas develop over this season, that description still stands, and then some.
"That would still stand, but we are talking about a guy who is developing daily, so we still don't know a lot of things about him. We'll find out together how and when he will reach his potential. There could be a comparison, but I think Jonas talent is very intriguing, and when taken to his full potential, he is going to develop into more of a complete package. Jonas has the talent to become a high quality all-around big man."
The European basketball season is not structured like US college or the NBA and the results being reported need to taken in the context of where they were played and at what level.
"Eurocup is a higher level of competition than US college, there is no doubt about that, but it is not easy to make comparisons as you are talking about a different age of competitors. Jonas is fighting with guys who are pros and have been pros for many years, it is more like a veteran players game."
In the Eurocup this season, Valanciunas has played 10 games averaging 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, and in the Last 16 (playoffs), he was ranked first in blocks and rebounds. From a North American perspective however, we need to see how this young prospect deals former NBA centers to project what this all means.
When Lietuvos Rytas faced Lokomotiv Kuba and their former NBA center Primoz Brezec in a Last 16 game, Valanciunas had eight points and 13 rebounds in 22.5 minutes. Few US college players are ready to compete against a 32-year-old NBA veteran center in a meaningful game. (Note: Brezec is not Lokomotiv's best center.)
The VTB league also has some top European clubs including powerhouse CSKA Moscow.
"I watched him live when they played CSKA Moscow which is probably the very top team in Europe these days. They lost, but they were in it until the end, and Valanciunas played pretty well against the bigs of Moscow. In the game against CSKA, he was going against Krstic, Khryapa, and Kirilenko, that's different than going to a normal college game."
In 12 VTB league games, Valanciunas is averaging 10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, but in two games against Nenad Krstic and Andrey Kirilenko of Moscow, he averaged 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds to further cement the fact he can play effectively against NBA big men now.
The Lithuanian league does not feature the same level of competition as the VTB, but it is still a pro league with a number of good teams. Over 12 games, Valanciunas is averaging 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks.
Valanciunas' development this season is heavily dependent on the efforts of Lietuvos Rytas management and their head coach Aleksandar Dzikic. The Raptors have made every effort to foster a strong relationship with the team and are benefiting from an unexpected ace-in-the-hole. It was Casey who invited Dzikic to coach in the NBA.
"Keep in mind the Dzikic spent two years in Minnesota where he worked with Coach Casey from 2005 to 2007. He knows what the NBA will demand from a young player, he understands what you have to get ready for, and I think that helps the transition from one kind of scenario to the one that is lying ahead of Jonas. Some of the concepts between (Casey and Dzikic) are fairly similar. There is an open line of communication between him and Casey, they have been friends through the years, and there is a very good relationship. It's a great coincidence, but Jonas is going to benefit from that and we are going to benefit from that."
"Overall we are satisfied with the way Jonas is growing, developing and maturing. Let's not forget that he is not 20-years-old yet."
The most important question is how will Valanciunas' talent translate to the NBA, and how quickly?
"He is a talented player with a lot of enthusiasm who wants to succeed as a NBA player. He has aggressiveness in how he plays the game, aggressiveness in a good way. He wants to learn the game and he knows he needs to work at it. He has the qualities to make the adjustment period as short as possible.
"Because he is an athlete, because he runs and has a good basketball I.Q., he has everything to translate to the NBA game."
The Toronto Raptors are understandably cautious in projecting how well Valanciunas will perform after he arrives next season and how long it will take to adapt to the NBA game, but with the efforts of Gherardini, Dzikic, fellow countryman and Raptor Linas Kleiza, and Valanciunas himself, this is one young European who should adapt very quickly. The 2010 under-18 and 2011 under-19 FIBA world champion and MVP continues to develop along a path that, despite some stiff competition, should make him an early favorite in next year's rookie-of-the-year race.
I left a lot of stuff out. It is worth the click to read. This is probably the best article I've read from Brotherston - if you are out there, great job!
Matt52 wrote: View Post
Another solid day at the office for Jonas. Hopefully this helps people weather the Bobcat hangover.
L. Rytas wins 96-70.
JV stat line in 25:13 of floor time:
5/7 fg
8/8 ft
10 rebs
2 ast
2 stl
1 blk
3 to
3 pf
Video from this game:
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 09:30 AM
This was a great bit of news I was unaware of.
"He is working on his shot three to four meters away from the basket (10 to 13 feet) which is something that you need to have in your game. He is working on his fakes and power moves and I can see every game a new move or a new fake. He is trying to add different dimensions to his game so it is not just pick-and-roll or stuff very close to the basket. He wants to make his man worry a little more about all of the different things he can do away from the basket. He is a good free throw shooter and he has a good touch, so he just needs to work on his shot to have more of an all-around offensive game.
"He is definitely progressing. I have seen him at different stages over the past six to eight months and notwithstanding the fact that he going through a very busy year, physically speaking he is getting stronger."
Nice bit from the above article.
Vykis
Tue Feb 21, 2012, 03:34 PM
Valanciunas 17pts (5/6fg 7/8ft) 10rbs(2 ofensive) 2to 3asists 3blocks in 28minutes of action in a close loss to lokomotiv-kuban, eurocup
Vykis wrote: View Post
Further to the above, here is a write up from the EuroCup site. Next week will have a lot of implications for playoffs:
The race for the quarterfinals in Group L of the Last 16 will come down to a final week between an upstart and two time-honored names in European basketball after Lokomotiv Kuban of Russia stormed from behind to beat host Lietuvos Rytas 78-82 in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday. Both teams are now tied with 3-2 records with one game left in the round, with Lokomotiv having now defeated Rytas twice. The fate of both teams will wait until Week 6 however, since Benetton Treviso (3-1 before playing Tuesday), is the opponent of Rytas next week and has beaten Lokomotiv twice. Several scenarios could solve the race, including all three teams could end up tied with 4-2 records, 2-2 against each other, in which case point-based tiebreakers could decide the outcome. In any case, the group won't be resolved until next week. Lokomotiv made sure of that by using an 11-19 third quarter run to tak over the scoreboard after having trailed Rytas by as much as 47-40. After seizing a 58-61 lead at the end of the third quarter, however, Lokomotiv surged ahead by as much as 10 points in the fourth quarter to hold off the hosts. Ali Traore was the big gun for the visitors with 18 points, while Sergey Bykov added 15 and Kelvin Rivers 12. Jeremiah Massey added a double-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds. Jonas Valanciunis had 17 points for Rytas and Ronny Seibutis 12, but none in the game's final 15 minutes. More than anything, Lokomotiv won by taking care of the ball, with just 6 turnovers to the 14 it forced on Rytas.
Seibutis took a pass from Valanciunas and got to the basket for a three-point play to open the scoring, though Massey scored Lokomotiv's first points on the ensuing possession. After an Aleksandar Rasic triple for the hosts, Maxin Sheleketo evened the score from the line. Valanciunas put Rytas up by 4 before back-to-back threes by Vlado Ilievski and Sheleketo lifted the visitors to 12-14. The teams traded baskets for several minutes as the scoreboard flashed four ties before an Arturas Jomantas layup and Grigory Shukhovtsov free throws ended the first quarter at 21-20.Tyrese Rice's first basket and Valanciunas's points from the line lifted Rytas ahead 27-22, but a pair of quick baskets by Bykov had Lokomotiv back within 1 in a jiffy. After Sheleketo's second three-pointer of the game evened things at 29-29, the Rytas defense went to work and denied Lokomotiv points for more than 3 minutes during which Rasic and Mindaugas Katelynas led an 11-0 surge to put the hosts in control. K.C. Rivers scored 6 points until halftime to give Lokomotiv hope at the break, although trailing 42-36.
A three-pointer by Seibutis and a basket by Valanciunas gave Rytas its biggest lead yet, 47-40, to open the second half, but Rivers and Rodney Blakney dialled up three-pointers to bring Lokomotiv back. By the time Rivers hit his next shot from the arc, the visitors had taken over the scoreboard, 51-53. The lead changed again on a triple by Lawrence Roberts, but there were three ties and another lead change before Traore dropped his fifth basket to keep Lokomotiv in front, 58-61, after 30 minutes. Traore's next pair of shots kept Lokomotiv a step ahead until Bykov blasted a triple to give the visitors better breathing room, 64-68. Traore and Massey ruled inside for 3 more baskets to open a gaping, double-digit lead of 64-74 before Valanciunis cut Lokomotiv's 0-9 run with his own three-point play. Massey matched his dunk, however, to make it 67-76, after which Lokmotiv's defense locked in. Rytas got only 2 points over 4 minutes until Steponas Babrauskas made it 71-78 with 1:20 to play. Katelynas stepped up then with a huge three-point play to bring Rytas within 74-78 with 53 seconds left, forcing a Lokomotiv timeout. Blakney's steal denied Rytas a scoring chance before Bykov put the finishing touches from the foul line on a huge road win by Eurocup newcomer Lokomotiv Kuban.
This was a EuroCup match up. The same teams meet again on February 25 in the VTB league.
Fanchie
Wed Feb 22, 2012, 07:21 AM
Man, if I was a defense focused big in the NBA, I'd retire now : much better than having to face our Bargs/Val combo in the upcoming years. How on earth do you defend a couple of 7 footers who are both extremely quick, also have a mid (Val) to long (Bargs) range shoot and who will kill you on the free throw line ?
Video from the EuroCup game on February 21.
Quote Vykis wrote:
Track him from 0:32.
Waits for a rebound that falls in his teammate's hands, sprints to place a screen, then immediately races into the key where he offers an interior solution for the passer. Left elbow, right elbow : key is cleared, bucket.
This is nice.
Bouncepass
Looked like a physical game. JV had 2-3 very nice passes in that clip.
Bouncepass wrote: View Post
All of these European games look physical. In another thread some place a poster mentions that European (international) games are more physical than NCAA, therefore better preparation for the NBA.
There are highlights of almost every game he has played this year throughout the thread. That is something I've noticed this year. For all the talk about the need to bulk up, the NBA is not near as physical as what he has endured this year. I'm not worried about his size or strength next year - my concern will be the speed at which the game is played in the NBA.
Thu Feb 23, 2012, 08:36 PM
http://www.nba.com/raptors/video/jon...anciunas-story
Preview of Raptors JV special which was filmed last week with Gherardini and McKechnie visiting him in Lithuania.
Fri Feb 24, 2012, 02:46 AM
Great interview with Dwayne Casey right after. I love listening to Dwayne Casey. Pass the Kool Aid.