By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
“A basket makes one man happy while an assist makes two men happy.”
While the origin of the above quote seems to be a mystery (for obvious reasons, we like to think that Toni Kukoc was the first to say it), its point is quite clear. Ball movement that creates baskets as the product of teamwork and assists is highly praised by coaches, and not only them. It is the core of every well-structured offense. It can make underdogs defeat favorites. If done right, it can break the foundations of even the toughest defenses. And in these situations, passing centers in particular can affect the game in ways that are still being discovered in the ever-evolving world basketball. Their opponents must not only keep them from scoring, but also fear the moment when these centers decide to pass the ball. In the role of assist-maker, they are extra dangerous, highly effective and often game-changing.
Eurohoops.net loves passing centers…a lot! So we decided to present our choices for the Top 5, plus one, passing centers in Turkish Airlines Euroleague history, five big men who are distinguished by their rich passing skills and their notorious ability to provide assists.
NIKOLA PRKACIN (CIBONA ZAGREB, EFES PILSEN, PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS)
Who would have thought that a man whose physicality and game approach were reminiscent of a battering ram could also be so skilled and delicate when it came to his passing? Perhaps that is what impresses us most about the curious case of Nikola Prkacin. The Croatian center could use brute force in order to make quick work of his opponents, but when he decided to distribute the ball and give his teammates the chance to score, his moves combined quick thinking with great finesse.
Prkacin could easily monitor the moves of everyone on the court, both friend and foe, in order to find the right coordinates to dish his assists. He first made his passing skills quite obvious in the 2002-03 Euroleague season with Cibona Zagreb, when he averaged more than 2 assists for a total of 48. While he came close to that number only once again, in 2005-06 with Efes Pilsen, when he had 41 assists in 22 games,many of his passes had a “wow factor”.
His career high in assists came during one of his best Euroleague game, with Cibona on January 16, 2002 against Ural Great. Prkacin dished 7 assists that night despite while also attempting 15 (!) two-point shots, a prime example of how the Croatian center could neatly balance scoring with passing. He tied this number versus AEK Athens three weeks later.
IOANNIS BOUROUSIS (AEK, OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS, EA7 EMPORIO ARMANI MILAN, REAL
MADRID, LABORAL KUTXA VITORIA GASTEIZ)
Those who have followed the Greek center throughout his career will not be surprised by this selection. Despite being a pivot, Bourousis always liked to play away from the basket. And apart from his affinity for shooting the ball, he also loved to pass to his teammates, either from the low post or from beyond the arc. But it is only very recently that we have truly seen his passing abilities fully unfold.
Why? The reason is simple. It’s a big part of the role he plays in his new team’s offense. As one of the leaders of Laboral, Bourousis has found the perfect ground in which to plant the seeds of the game he wants to develop. The freedom and trust that head coach Velimir Perasovic has given to him, along with the style of basketball that Laboral plays, allow Bourousis’s passing game to blossom like never before. The numbers do not lie.
In this season’s first 15 games, Bourousis has dished 8 more assists (33) than his current full-season Euroleague highs: 25 with Real Madrid in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. Moreover, Bourousis does not simply set up teammates with opportunities to score, but often tricks opponents with unpredictable moves and skilled passing. He is becoming better and better, but also more spectacular, in his role as a low-post playmaker and it will be interesting to see what he can do next in that that area of the game.