I read about him on NBADRAFT.com, and they have him going early 2nd/late 1st round, does have any insight into his ability?
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Sgt. Kirk Hartwell, who arrested Kwame Brown for going 120 mph in a 60 mph construction zone: "He just kept saying 'Michael Jordan is going to kill me.'"
Statistically, the 6 assists and 1 turnover were the most important numbers for Koponen, but his impact on the court went far beyond the numbers. The young point guard ran the pick and roll like a veteran, making many great reads and showing the awareness to find the open cutter nearly every time. On the pick and roll, Koponen had picked up the instinctual tendencies of his teammates on the offensive end after only a week of practices. During one possession, he was running a pick and roll with his back facing the right sideline when the man guarding Nicolas Batum ran over from the blindside to steal the ball. Showing great awareness, Koponen spun and threw the ball simultaneously right before the help defender arrived, hitting Batum who took the ball to the hoop for an easy two points.
The young point guard rarely looked for his own offense in the game, choosing to play the distributor role instead. Early on in the game, Koponen received an outlet pass and took the ball all the way in transition for an easy two points. This basket ended up being his sole points inside the paint during the entire game. From behind the three point line, he only made one of his three attempts throughout the game, despite the fact that he can usually knock the three down at a better rate. The three he did make came on a high pick and roll, where Koponen found the bottom of the net from a couple feet behind the NBA three point line. On his other two attempts, one was forced up quickly at the end of the shot clock, and the other nearly went in from NBA range.
The athleticism of Team USA didn’t seem to bother Koponen at all, and he looked pretty quick himself throughout the game. Against the press, Koponen took it coast to coast twice, finishing inside the first time and drawing a foul the second. In the half court, he only made on ill-advised drive in the lane, choosing to be patient working within the offense throughout the rest of the game.
I wouldnt be surprised if Memphis gives him a promise, if they can come up with a late 1st. Probably one of the two or three best pg's not in the NBA.
¿?
Yeah, that's why he is playing in Finland. Please, it's just a single game...
__________________ Robinson isn't a great player for his height. Robinson is simply one of the best guards in college basketball. End of sentence. End of story. No ifs, ands or buts needed.
Yeah, that's why he is playing in Finland. Please, it's just a single game...
Why are you commenting things you dont know **** about?
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Why are you commenting things you dont know **** about?
You sure do know every ****ing worldwide point guard not playing in the NBA to backup what he said. Don't ya?
__________________ Robinson isn't a great player for his height. Robinson is simply one of the best guards in college basketball. End of sentence. End of story. No ifs, ands or buts needed.
__________________
R.I.P Pistol Pete, you will always be my hero.
"She may be worth a million bucks to you, but to me, shes worthless." - Classic
Sgt. Kirk Hartwell, who arrested Kwame Brown for going 120 mph in a 60 mph construction zone: "He just kept saying 'Michael Jordan is going to kill me.'"
Probably one of the two or three best pg's not in the NBA.
well well. I'm not quite sure what you are saying here, but saying koponen is top 3 point guard outside of the nba is pretty bold statement, if based only on the current level of play. he is fantastic for his age, and an excellent prospect. but as it is, he is not even finland's best point guard at this exact moment.
I'd take teemu rannikko of olimpija ljubljana over koponen, if I had to win now. that's not actually a knock on koponen, since rannikko is one of the bests on his position in europe (maccabi tel aviv wants to sign him..).
koponen has his 19th birthday today, so obviously he has a lot of room to improve still. if all goes well, he'll pass rannikko in the future.. and his playing style is probably more suited to NBA than teemu's is. but still, as of now, rannikko is our number 1 point guard.
now if you are saying koponen is a top 3 prospect on the point guard spot, then you can forget about what I said.
Yeah, that's why he is playing in Finland. Please, it's just a single game...
he plays in finland because he is a finn and still in high school. after graduating this spring he will go to a tougher league. according to chad ford, koponen has officially declared for the 2007 draft:
Quote:
IN THE DRAFT
Players who have officially declared for the 2007 NBA draft:
Arron Afflalo, SG, UCLA
Corey Brewer, SG, Florida
Roy Bright, G, Delaware State*
Chris Daniels, C, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi*
Glen Davis, F, LSU
Kevin Durant, F, Texas
Taurean Green, PG, Florida
DeVon Hardin, C, California*
Spencer Hawes, C, Washington*
Al Horford, PF, Florida Petteri Koponen, PG, Finland
Dominic McGuire, F, Fresno State*
Josh McRoberts, F, Duke
Joakim Noah, F/C, Florida
Jason Smith, PF, Colorado State*
Marcus Williams, SF, Arizona
Julian Wright, F, Kansas
well well. I'm not quite sure what you are saying here, but saying koponen is top 3 point guard outside of the nba is pretty bold statement, if based only on the current level of play. he is fantastic for his age, and an excellent prospect. but as it is, he is not even finland's best point guard at this exact moment.
I'd take teemu rannikko of olimpija ljubljana over koponen, if I had to win now. that's not actually a knock on koponen, since rannikko is one of the bests on his position in europe (maccabi tel aviv wants to sign him..).
koponen has his 19th birthday today, so obviously he has a lot of room to improve still. if all goes well, he'll pass rannikko in the future.. and his playing style is probably more suited to NBA than teemu's is. but still, as of now, rannikko is our number 1 point guard.
now if you are saying koponen is a top 3 prospect on the point guard spot, then you can forget about what I said.
Absolutely in the context of being a prospect, should have specified that, sort of in a quandry i would think, he says he's declaring i guess and could pull out, teams picking in the 20's like Philly, Houston, Knicks, Heat(Memphis if they can obtain a pick in that range)would probably jump at this guy, on the other hand another big year overseas he could be a lottery pick next year. My guess is he'll take a promise in the 20's and stay in the draft.
koponen and his team honka espoo held a press conference today.
it was confirmed he has declared for the draft, and hired mark cornstein as his agent. koponen's goal is to get drafted in the first round, and if that seems unlikely before the draft, he'll pull his name out of the draft.
that would mean he will play next season in a bigger european league..
Petteri Koponen
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