Thomas Jones (@JonesSport2 on Twitter) will be providing some insight on some potential second round picks who are playing Internationally. His first look is at 21 year old Slovakian center Michael Fusek. Fusek is 7’4, 220 pounds, and plays for Belgian club Spirou Charleroi, which plays in Belgium’s top league, as well as Eurocup.
Here is a quick breakdown on Fusek, as well as his answers to a few questions from Jones:
Offense
Fusek is obviously going to have success as a cutter and rim finisher. He is 7’4 which gives him an advantage of scoring even if he isn’t the strongest player. He has good footwork underneath the basket, and he can use his reach to contest rebounds and hit tapbacks on the offensive end. Fusek needs to get stronger to survive NBA basketball. Despite his muscle gains of 30lbs in a special program in the US, Fusek is still relatively skinny and his upper body is not strong enough and struggles in contacts.
He has had problems gaining weight, but he has made progress, leading to huge improvements. Fusek runs the floor well with big strides and he excels moving in half court with amazing ease. His jumping ability is also remarkable, he is able to jump 30 inches, and his maximum vertical reach must be one of the highest, of basketball players of his size. Fusek is very well coordinated in all his movements.
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Defense
Fusek has height, wingspan, and mobility mean he has all the makings of being a game-changing defender in the NBA. Fusek is a master of blocking. He is good at keeping the ball in bounds on his blocks, too, making them useful turnovers instead of flashy spikes. Fusek is great at getting his long arms in the way of both passing and shooting lanes. He has the potential to be an absolute havoc-creator at the next level.
Fusek is a rim protector and he could become a great defender if he gains weight to contain heavier players. His attitude is good and grabs some rebounds thanks to his size but struggles due his lighter weight. He spent a few months in Maryland working his body and he gained 30lbs working with Blair O’Donovan at Healthy Ballers.
Overall
Michael Fusek is a very raw player with great tools to become an interesting late bloomer and reach the highest level thanks to his size, mobility and attitude. Fusek started to play late and he is improving in a low level league without pressure from the pro leagues.
Fusek in his own words:
- What do you think about your NBA draft chances?
“It’s important for me to have chance to train with other guys in USA. I’m now playing in practices against players, who will be drafted this or next year to NBA. Concretely now with one Chinese. He has similar basketball skills and is tall like me. I’m not sure if I will be drafted this year. If not, I will go back to Belgium to spend more minutes on the curt and show that I got it. Next season in Belgium will be mine, I hope.”
- What are your goals?
“Number one for me is now my weight. I moved from Belgium to Washington to continue with program, which I started last year with one goal – to put on weight. I was +12 kilograms last year. It’s not so fast this year, because I focus to basketball skills more.”
- About program with Blair O’Donovan
“We played basketball all day in Belgium and had three practices per day. I could to go to weight-room and eat to much, but I burn to much calories, I couldn’t to put on wight. We reduced basketball during first year with Blair and focused to fitness. I have to eat about 6 000 calories and carbohydrate shakes. I played basketball maximally once or twice per week. I focused more to basketball this year, so weight gain is not so fast.”
- Do you feel changes?
“I feel the progress and it’s really big. I’m playing against still stronger players, but I can fight with them and win sometimes. I’m used to tough training, my body is ready for it. Problem for me is to eat so much calories. It’s about six big meals per day. I can imagine it without eating so much, but it wouldn’t be so good for my weight.”