Sports Poets Society

di SIMONE BASSO, Il Giornale del Popolo   Sabato 13 giugno partirà il Giro di Svizzera, 79esima edizione di quella che fu, nei Cinquanta e per uno scorcio di Sessanta, la terza corsa a tappe del mondo. Prologo in quel di Rotkreuz, sul lago di Zugo, per una competizione che, malgrado la concorrenza - ASO, ovvero la società del Tour de France - del Criterium del Delfinato, concomitante, vanta un gran parterre de roi. Il Tour de Suisse, da eoni, vive come gara raccordo tra il Giro e la Grande Boucle ; raccogliendo i reduci (...) della corsa italiana e chi, la maggioranza, sta preparandosi per la cosiddetta "Festa di luglio". Avremo così, per la classifica o le tappe più impegnative, i vari Pinot, Majka, Pozzovivo, l'iridato Kwiatkowski, Dumoulin (il nostro vero favorito per la maglia oro...), Barguil, Izagirre, Van Den Broeck, Fuglsang, Thomas, Henao, Gesink, Spilak eccetera. Addirittura DOC il gruppo dei classicomani, cominciando dai velocisti resistenti (Degenkolb, Kr...

8. Christian Wood Rumours: BROOKLYN Power Forward / 6-11 / UNLV / Sophomore 15.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg. 1.3 apg Wood has a tantalizing combination of length, athleticism and fluidity. He shows flashes with the ability to put the ball on the deck and get to the basket. He also has nice touch and a solid offensive skill level and even some shot blocking ability. He still needs to add more focus, toughness and overall consistency. He had some big performances this season. He strikes some as a player that may be drafted on potential, but always remain a tease. He lacks a real fiery personality, so gaining strength and aggressiveness will be key, but there's no denying his talent. Twitter: @Chriswood_5 Comparison: Anthony Randolph Global Ranking: 29th Salary: $950,200* 8. Christian Wood BRO Latest Rumors Power Forward / 6-11 / UNLV / Sophomore 15.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg. 1.3 apg Wood has a tantalizing combination of length, athleticism and fluidity. He shows flashes with the...

Birthday: 12/9/92 NBA Position: Power Forward Class: Senior Ht: 6-9 Wt: 245 Hometown: San Antonio, TX High School: Antonian College Prep Notes: 6'8.5 (in shoes) 254 lbs, with a 6'10 wingspan at the 2014 Nike Big Man Skills Academy

Birthday: 1/20/94 NBA Position: Small Forward Class: Junior Ht: 6-5 Wt: 205 Hometown: Shreveport, LA High School: Huntington NBA Comparison: Joey Graham Strengths:  Explosive leaper with great length for the wing position … Has improved a great deal in his three years at Arkansas, went from getting by on raw athleticism to becoming a legitimate wing prospect … Got to the FT stripe at a really nice rate, plus increased his percentage from 68% to 77.5% … Good lateral quickness and long arms give him a great deal of defensive potential on the perimeter … Nice elevation on his jump shot, became an increasing threat from outside as his time in college progressed … Great in the open floor, his hang time makes him a really tough cover in transition … Made a relatively small number of mistakes for how often he was used … While he only shot 43.6% FG, that number went up after every season … Big threat to finish on the offensive rebound, something he does a lot more fr...

Birthday: 4/8/95 NBA Position: Small Forward Class: International Ht: 6-8 Wt: 215 Team: Anadolu Efes Hometown: Ohrid, Macedonia NBA Comparison: Walt Williams/Jiri Welsch Strengths:  As a 6-8 versatile swingman, he has solid size and body to play the position, combining a remarkable wingspan and above average athleticism by European standards ... His athleticism and leaping abilities make him effective in the open court, both in offensive and defensive situations ... He uses screens and fakes to perfection to create space for shots or penetration to the basket, where he’s able to finish with either hand ... He’s an excellent spot up shooter, with both feet on the ground, showing excellent range ... His maturity and basketball IQ are really impressive, often playing as a point forward thanks to his handle, passing skills and court vision ... He can be considered a versatile offensive presence, as he excels in drive and dish, creating shots for his teammates ......

Birthday: 11/27/94 NBA Position: Center Class: International Ht: 6-11 Wt: 250 Team: Nanterre Hometown: Pantin, France NBA Comparison: Duane Causwell Nick: "Mam" Strengths:  Young player with a sculpted frame, great size and length ... Shows nice touch when close to the basket ... Lots of willingness to bang down low and an awareness of his role ... Very broad shoulders which help him gain space in the post ... High release on his shot and seems to know to keep the ball high ... Solid offensive rebounder with skill at boxing out ... Will hustle for loose balls ... 7-4 wingspan is put to good use as a disruption in defending the post ... Strength to be a good rebounder at either end of the court ... Not a complete liability at the foul stripe during his play in the French Pro B level, shooting 81-118 (68.6%) Weaknesses:  Lacks lateral quickness and very little lift ... Below the rim player will have difficulty defending quicker , more athletic big...

Birthday: 6/27/92 NBA Position: PG/SG  Class: Senior Ht: 6-2 Wt: 185 Hometown: Houston, TX High School: Yates NBA Comparison: Daniel Gibson/Dana Barros Strengths:  One of the NCAA’s top scorers over the past few seasons, has many ways to create offense … Great jump shooter, was highly effective from all three levels … Dangerous with and without the ball … Ran the pick-and-roll well, while also doing great things as a spot-up shooter … Sneaky athleticism, does not necessarily have blow by speed, but nice change of direction … Did a lot more work at the point this year, doubled his assist total while posting a 1.58:1 assist-to-turnover ratio … Made good decisions in transition, scored a lot of his points and often made the right play … His efficiency closer to the rim improved as a senior … Showed more aggression as a rebounder, which is a positive sign for his intensity on the floor … Defended both guard positions, shows toughness and a good idea of wher...

Birthday: 8/6/95 NBA Position: SF/PF Class: International Ht: 6-9 Wt: 225 Team: Aris Hometown: Lefkosia, Cyprus Notes: Holds both Bulgarian and Greek citizenship Aleksandar "Aleks" Vezenkov (Greek: Αλέξανδρος "Αλέξης" Βεζένκοφ, Aleksandros "Alexis" Vezenkov, Bulgarian: Александър "Алекс" Везенков; born 6 August 1995 in Nicosia, Cyprus), commonly known as Sasha Vezenkov (Greek: Σάσα Βεζένκοφ), is a Cypriot-Bulgarian professional basketball player. He is a 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall 102 kg (225 lb.) power forward. Vezenkov has filed documentation to obtain Greek citizenship. Vezenkov has regularly chosen to represent the Bulgarian national team, on both the junior and senior levels, even though he has never lived there. Early career Always considered to be one of the best players in his age group in Europe, Vezenkov began playing youth club basketball in Cyprus in 2005 with APOEL Nicosia's youth teams. In 2009, he moved to Gree...

Birthday: 12/1/91 NBA Position: PF/C Class: Senior Ht: 6-9 Wt: 245 Hometown: Bryn Athyn, PA High School: Academy of the New Church NBA Comparison: Hilton Armstrong / Cedric Simmons di Andrea Conti, SpazioNBA.it Atletismo straripante, sta vivendo la sua miglior stagione collegiale e sembra destinato alla NBA STATURA E PESO: 2.06 x 113 kg UNIVERSITÀ: Syracuse CLASSE: Senior ETÀ: 23 (1 dicembre 1991) RUOLO: Ala grande/ centro GIOCATORE NBA SIMILE: poor man’s Serge Ibaka STORIA: Rakeem nasce a Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania ma all’età di due anni si trasferisce con la madre e il fratello Dionte a Saint Croix, isola caraibica delle piccole Antille che ha dato i natali a Tim Duncan. Poco dopo il trasferimento però la mamma di Rakeem scompare tragicamente a causa di un’insufficienza renale, nonostante ciò Rakeem rimane a St. Croix con il fratello maggiore e viene cresciuto dalla nonna; all’età di tredici anni si trasferisce poi a Philadelphia dalla zia Amira Ham...

6. Jarell Martin Latest Rumors: LAKERS Power Forward / 6-10 / Louisiana State / Sophomore 16.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.8 apg Martin is a versatile athlete who some believe can play either forward position, though we see as a finesse 4. He's a long, fluid athlete who's very good in the open floor with terrific speed and athleticism. He has some ability to play with his back to the basket, but excels facing up and scoring utilizing his quickness and length. He stands a good shot of grabbing a spot in the late first round area.  Twitter:  NBA Comparison: Charlie Villanueva Global Ranking: 27th Salary: $963,000* Birthday: 5/24/94 NBA Position: Power Forward Class: Sophomore Ht: 6-9 Wt: 240 Hometown: Baton Rouge, LA High School: Madison Prep Academy Notes: 6'9 (in shoes) 224 lbs, with a 6'9 wingspan at the 2012 LeBron James Skills Academy ... 6'10 (in shoes) 242 lbs, with a 6'7.5 wingspan at the 2014 Nike Big Man Skills Academy

Birthday: 9/22/95 NBA Position: Center Class: Sophomore Ht: 7-0 Wt: 260 Hometown: Brooklyn, NY High School: Montverde Academy NBA Comparison: Aaron Gray Notes: 6'11 (in shoes) 263 lbs, with a 7'0 wingspan at the 2011 LeBron James Skills Academy di Lorenzo Olivieri, SpazioNBA.it ETA’: 19 (22.09.1995) STATURA E PESO: 2.13 x 116 kg UNIVERSITA’: Kentucky CLASSE: Sophomore RUOLO: Centro PARAGONE NBA: Roy Hibbert CARATTERISTICHE: Dakari Johnson fa parte di uno dei pacchetti lunghi più imponenti e profondi del college basket, insieme agli altri due Wildcats Karl-Anthony Towns e Willie Cauley-Stain, entrambi, fra l’altro, più quotati di lui in ottica draft agli occhi di tutti gli addetti ai lavori. Per questo il nativo di Brooklyn trova a volte poco spazio nelle rotazioni di coach Calipari, nonostante abbia mostrato dei miglioramenti rispetto alla sua stagione da freshman. Johnson è un ragazzone grande e grosso, con una grande forza fisica nella par...

H: 6' 9" x W: 220 lbs Bday: 09/10/1992 (22 Years Old) Current: PF NBA:   PF Possible: PF Rank 14 in NCAA Seniors Rank 51 in Top 100 Prospects Rank 16 in 2015 Power Forwards Agent: Chris Emens High School: Strongsville Hometown: Strongsville, OH Notes: 6'9 (in shoes) 222 lbs, with a 6'9.5 wingspan at the 2014 Kevin Durant Skills Academy Aaron White Updated NBA Draft Scouting Report June 5, 2015 Matt Kamalsky A player we've evaluated a number of times over the last few seasons, Aaron White's collegiate career came to an end at the hands of the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Emerging as an immediate contributor as a freshman, White saved his best for last, turning in his most productive and efficient season en route to being named to the Big 10 All-Conference 1st Team. A productive scorer each of the seasons at the college level , White had a breakout campaign by his standards offensively. Sco...

Birthday: 7/9/94 NBA Position: Power Forward Class: Sophomore Ht: 6-8 Wt: 240 Hometown: Arlington, TX High School: Prime Prep Team Site Profile NBA Comparison: Andre Roberson Strengths: Productive player showing scoring, rebounding and shot blocking abilities ... Mickey is an elite shot blocker at the college level having averaged over 3 blocks per game for his career ... He's extremely athletic and has great timing when blocking opponents shots in the paint ... He's an improving offensive player with a great face up game ... He has added range to his jumper this season and has become a better post player as well ... He's aggressive when attacking the basket on both ends of the floor and has become one of the better rebounders in the college game after struggling with that during his freshman season ... He's got great length (7'2 wingspan) that helps make up for his lack of true PF (6'7.5) height ... He's an elite help defender and has acti...

Birthday: 30.12.1994  Town: Novi Sad (Serbia)  Country: Serbia  Height & Weight: 7'0" (2.13) x 220 Team: KK Partizan (Serbia)  POSITION: C Profile: By Vedran Modric (August 2014) BODY/ATHLETICISM Milutinov stands at about 2.13 cm (7-0) and has huge wingspan (around 7-3 but there was no official measurement).  Although he lacks explosiveness, his footwork is incredible and has great mobility. He runs the court faster than most centers in Aba league and Euroleague.  He is still skinny but not how he used to look because he bulked up a little. But of course there is a lot of room for adding more weight. SHOOTING Due to his height and wingspan he can shoot over any opponent . His shooting form is balanced although he has slow release. Uses both hands and he is equally good with both hands shooting hook shots. Milutinov has big hands and has no problem catching the ball with one hand and then throwing a pass or shooting hook sho...