Davis Bertans & Bogan Bogdanovic - 2011 International Draft Prospect Scouting Reports

We'll end our series of international draft prospect scouting reports by focusing on two possible late 1st/early 2nd round prospects, Latvia's Davis Bertans and Croatia's Bojan Bogdanovic.

Davis Bertans
6-9 SF/PF
Union Olimpija (Slovenia)
18 Years Old

Right now Bertans is projected as a late 1st Round/early 2nd Round selection. Spurs are supposedly interested and maybe see Bertans as a younger version of Matt Bonner.

Davis played most of year with Union Olimpija, a Slovenian team that made the Top 16 round of Euroleague play. Though, Davis did not log any minutes of Euroleague action. Bertans only saw 10 minutes per game in both Adriatic League games and Slovenian League games. Averaged 4 ppg in his 22 games with Union, and shot nearly 50% behind the arc.

This kid's jumper is pure. Beautiful stroke with no excess motion that he gets off pretty quickly. Does a good job getting legs into shot; gets solid elevation.

Basically all Union asked Bertans to do was catch-and-shoot. Which he did rather effectively, but the only offensive plays of substance Bertans was placed in were either spot-ups or shots off screens. Hard to tell if can do anything else from his limited playing time with Union.

Seen some tape of Davis playing in Latvia and he did appear to have a solid handle, but could not glean too much else. Not sure if he's better suited to play the SF or PF in the NBA. Moves fairly well, to the point where you could hope he wouldn't get totally abused on the defensive end as a combo forward. He did seem to be foul prone in his limited minutes in Slovenia.

Not sure he brings much else to the NBA besides his catch-and-shoot ability. Though anytime you're 6'9 and can shoot like Bertans, you should be able to carve out a niche in the NBA.


Bojan Bogdanovic
Cibona (Croatia)
6-7 SF
22 Years Old


Bojan is the best available automatic-eligible international prospect (born in 1989), who led the first round of Euroleague play in scoring (18 ppg). His all-round offensive skill package could peek the interest of NBA teams selecting in the early-to-mid 2nd round.

Bojan was Cibona's main option, who can hurt the defense in a variety of ways: running pick/roll, isos, post-ups, shooting off screens, spot-shooting and driving to the rim.

Often he will begin his post-ups on the perimeter. Then likes to methodically back his defender down usually looking to turn over his left shoulder for a reliable turnaround jumper. Sometimes will shoot a half-hook in place of a jumper. Much smoother going over his left shoulder. Needs to work on some countermoves.

His 3pt. numbers were not great this year--30% in EL--but has proven in the past he is a steady shooter. Is not too bad pulling-up off the bounce either. Can drive the ball effectively going either left or right and can finish in traffic. Showed an ability to knock down shots running off screens, which could come in handy in the NBA.

What hurts Bojan's NBA profile is he does not possess the requisite athleticism to play on the wings in the U.S. Part of his effectiveness with Cibona is due to him being a solid athlete in Europe, maybe even could be considered slightly above-average athlete. But when/if he comes over to the States, he becomes a subpar athlete for his position.

Should definitely struggle guarding wings in the NBA since he was no great shakes guarding European wings. Particularly got torched in iso situations this season. Wasn't much better in other defensive situations either. Doesn't rebound well for a player his size.

I waver back-and-forth on Bojan's NBA prospects. Can his varied skill set somewhat offset his average physical attributes? For what it's worth, he did play well vs. Team USA last summer and has proven his worth at the top level of Euro ball.

Other possible 2nd Round Int'l prospects (all players are automatic eligible 1989-born): Giorgi Shermadini (7-0, center, Union Olimpija): Mindaugas Kuzminskas (6-9, SF, Zalgiris): Robin Benzing (6-10, SF, Ratiopharm Ulm): Xavi Rabeseda (6-5, SG, Fuenlabrada)