Il Mago.

By Migs

I love Euro players. Most of them are so fun to watch because of their high basketball IQ. They rely on finesse rather than brute force, and no matter what position a Euro cager plays, he is expected to be outstanding in every facet of the game.

Look at players like Dirk Nowitzki, Toni Kukoc, Arvydas Sabonis, and Sarunas Marciulonis. Boom. No misses there.

Back in 2006, Bryan Colangelo of the Toronto Raptors took a chance on a youngster from Italy named Andrea Bargnani. The former Euroleague Rising Star for the 2005-2006 season posted 11.6 points per game in his inaugural NBA campaign, and his skill set conjured up visions of him becoming the next Dirk Nowitzki. Many have dubbed Bargnani to be a bust because of his "subpar" stats for his number 1 pick status, but for the 2010-2011 season, he is a budding all-star. Yes, Toronto sans Chris Bosh is a team in flux, and while there are many spots that need to be filled across the Raptors landscape, Bargnani has the NBA's only Canadian franchise going in the right direction.

21.0 ppg has come to be expected of Andrea, but then, 5.6 rebounds and 0.7 blocks? That is inexcusable for a 7,0" who aims to become his team's leader. Dirk Nowitzki's averaged 8.5 boards and 1.0 blocks for his career, and so, it is possible to be aggressive despite being a perimeter maven. Bargs has tons of talent, however, he does tend to play passively at times. It is obvious that Bryan Colangelo is trying to build a team with international flavor (the presumption being that taking a group of international players would make for a more well-rounded squad), and as currently constituted, Linas Kleiza, Leandro Barbosa, and Sonny Weems won't cut it as upper eschelon players. The aforementioned cagers are followers, support pillars, at best.

No one baptizes players as stars unless they earn their keep. Not even Kwame Brown was "christened" as a star when he was drafted number one overall by, err, Michael Jordan. We all know what's become of Kwame, consequently.

Andrea Bargnani's got the potential to be a major star, and a few years in, he's got to knuckle up and realize that he's got to get his hands dirty to shine.

Otherwise he's just going to be another tall white guy who can shoot. Lord knows how many of those the NBA has seen.

-MC-