# Beno Udrih's Upside/Potential



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

It's an interesting topic, because we don't get that many youngsters like this, so it's rare to talk about something like potential with Spurs players. Right now, there's probably about 5 teams that Beno could start for, which isn't saying much, but that's pretty good for a late-first round pick where project players get drafted annually. I think the best quality about Beno is his basketball IQ. I'm very impressed with how well he understands the game, and how well he understands the Spurs' offensive system. Without the ball, he moves around the floor for the open jumper, and with the ball, he's conservative and doesn't try to do too much. Defensively he has some issues, but I still think that's mostly due to his athleticism. He has problems keeping the quicker guards in front of him, but he's not a horrific defender. Right now he is a soild backup PG for a really good team, and possibly a decent starter for a bad team. In his future, he's going to be good enough to be a starter, but I don't think that will happen here. I'm still trying to figure out if he's a pass-first PG or a score-first PG, but either way, I see him being a good player in he future. Not great, but good. I don't want to try and guess his stats, but for the topic's sake, I'll say he could be a 14-15 PPG 6-7 APG guard playing good minutes for a mediocre team. Maybe it's too early, maybe we haven't seen the best of him yet, but it's exciting when a rookie comes in and plays good ball for a championship level team. It will be interesting to see how he progresses through the season, and see if my thoughts on the guy will change.



Thoughts? How good do you think he will become? Do you think he'd want to stay here in SA as a career backup PG? Will he surpass Parker in the future? Thoughts?


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## arcade_rida (Jun 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>KokoTheMonkey</b>!
> It's an interesting topic, because we don't get that many youngsters like this, so it's rare to talk about something like potential with Spurs players. Right now, there's probably about 5 teams that Beno could start for, which isn't saying much, but that's pretty good for a late-first round pick where project players get drafted annually. I think the best quality about Beno is his basketball IQ. I'm very impressed with how well he understands the game, and how well he understands the Spurs' offensive system. Without the ball, he moves around the floor for the open jumper, and with the ball, he's conservative and doesn't try to do too much. Defensively he has some issues, but I still think that's mostly due to his athleticism. He has problems keeping the quicker guards in front of him, but he's not a horrific defender. Right now he is a soild backup PG for a really good team, and possibly a decent starter for a bad team. In his future, he's going to be good enough to be a starter, but I don't think that will happen here. I'm still trying to figure out if he's a pass-first PG or a score-first PG, but either way, I see him being a good player in he future. Not great, but good. I don't want to try and guess his stats, but for the topic's sake, I'll say he could be a 14-15 PPG 6-7 APG guard playing good minutes for a mediocre team. Maybe it's too early, maybe we haven't seen the best of him yet, but it's exciting when a rookie comes in and plays good ball for a championship level team. It will be interesting to see how he progresses through the season, and see if my thoughts on the guy will change.
> 
> 
> ...


Well when Beno came to Toronto I was impressed with his ball handling skills and how he was able to run the team. Really I believe he will be a backup point guard at worst and the sky is the limit for this guy. The only problem I see from him is unable to knock down the jumper consistently. I believe he is going to be a good player in this league and wouldnt be surpised if next year if the Spurs decided to make him there 6th man. Tony Parker better watch out because this guy could be really good next year.


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## Luiz_Rodrigo (Dec 2, 2003)

I just saw two games with Udrih getting good minutes, so it´s tough to say anything so soon. I really believe that this guy can be a starter, but not in San Antonio.

I´m really impressed with him, he´s palying at a good level and showed us that he´s a solid backup for Parker.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I think Beno could be a starting point guard for a contender in the prime of his career. His shooting, passing, decision making, etc., I have been impressed with it all so far. His defense seems to be his only noticeble weakness at this point. I think he could very well surpass TP as a player, because he has a better shot, is better at running a team and isn't as inconsistent. He doesn't have the speed of Parker, and that combined with his skill set is what really gives Parker superstar potential. I don't think Beno has the potential that Parker does, but we all know potential doesn't always work out. I see Beno as a 16-7-4 kinda guy on a good team(2nd or 3rd option), if he ever gets the chance to start.


The only way I see him staying in SA, is if no one else offers him big dollars. The Spurs find so many players that can fill the role, that they probably won't want to dish out the relatively semi-big bucks other teams will unless he really breaks out and has an awesome year in his 3rd or 4th year. He would be a great sixth man, but I wouldn't blame him to go to another team so he could start.


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## JGKoblenz (Jul 19, 2002)

Manu, Paker and Beno.

Yeah, I can see a logic here.


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## Matiz (Jun 5, 2003)

> The only problem I see from him is unable to knock down the jumper consistently.


That's what nbadraft,tk was talking about him last year  , looking him for 4 years now, I'd say the exact opposite...


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## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

I like this guy a lot, I think he will be s solid player in the league for years to come.


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## ballstorm (Nov 30, 2003)

Beno has amazed me so far . I did not doubt that he was a talented player , but his level of play/confidence is still blazing. Now we should keep in mind that the most difficult part is to _confirm_ after a first good season . The opponent know your game and since you have been playing well the first season , expectations are higher . But Beno should be able to overcome this issues . His game already so complete for a young player.


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## MagnusPinus (Aug 27, 2003)

Listen to me... he is perfect for the Spurs system... he can pass and shoot very well...that's because he is playing brilliantly in the Spurs... In a system based on the pick and roll he would not be this player... Anyway the Spurs scouts are amazing.. they can find the right players for their system, no matter if they lack athletism or other aspects of the game... 
Anyway I wanna see the guy in the playoffs...will the ball go in like now? Will he be effective under pressure? We'll see...In any case another nice pick for the Spurs


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## mr hoopster (Dec 24, 2004)

Beno is a solid player, great upside, great courtvision. Hoefully he stays in the Spurs organization for years to come. Parker and Beno would be a great combo.


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## Moe The Bartender (May 7, 2004)

Beno has good upside allright, but please don't say he will become a better player than Parker...ain't going to happen! He is a role player for the Spurs, but every team needs those guys to be successful.


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## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Moe The Bartender</b>!
> Beno has good upside allright, but please don't say he will become a better player than Parker...ain't going to happen! He is a role player for the Spurs, but every team needs those guys to be successful.


I think that he could be a better point guard than Parker. He seems to be a better shooter and has better court vision than Tony.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Just curious, but I posed this question in my first post, and I would like to know what you guys think about it: Will Beno become a pass-first or shoot-first PG? Plus, just for fun, what kind of specific players can we compare him to?


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

Koko, to answer your question, I think that Beno becomes a pass first PG who takes open shots when given to him. He can knock down 3's at a 50 percent rate, and occasionally create his own shot, but he really has a high Basketball IQ(one of his best qualities as a player), and knows what passes to make, and when to make them. I could see him averaging 7 or 8 assists per game if he ever becomes a starter, as well as 10-14 points per game, as a third option.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

First career dub-dub for Beno, so I thought I'd add it on to this thread. Just for fun, I took Beno's stats and multiplied them by 2.5 to get a 35-minute projection of his stats. It doesn't mean too much, but it's neat to see his numbers projected into starter's minutes:



Beno Udrih: 34.8 MPG - 14.8 PPG - 5.3 APG - 2.3 RPG - 1.8 STL




This projection fits in with what I guessed he'd be at in his prime with 14-15 PPG and 5-6 APG. Of course, remember that projections shouldn't be taken too seriously. Danny Fortson would be one of the best players in the league if projected stats meant a lot.


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

i don't get to watch too many spurs games but was really impressed by him last night. i can see why brent barry isn't getting many minutes because Udrih is pretty much a younger faster version of brent barry. it's hard to believe he's only a rook because he just understands the spurs system so well.


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## Johnny Mac (May 6, 2003)

I didn't realize he was only 22, wow. For some reason I assumed he was 24-25 just because Ginobili was when he came over. I don't think Udrih will ever take Parkers job, but he will definitely give the team a different point guard to throw at teams if Parker isn't getting it done. Spurs have done a great job after losing Speedy Claxton, to grab Udrih and Barry who both can play backup point. It seems like they're prepared for a Parker collapse, god forbid that it happen again. 

As far as his potential, he seems like he is only going to polish the talent he has. He seems like a guy who is just barely cracking his shell, and is just itching to break out of it. Spurs will continue to give him the right atmosphere to become a true impact player by making him earn his minutes, and therefore pushing him to keep working hard in games and practice.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

An interesting read, here's his draft profile from NBADraft.net:


Beno's draft profile 




Pretty damn good profile, huh? It says he hits 3's with regularity, good distributor of the ball in the open floor, and he's relatively young with a lot of experience.....that's basically all right on the money. Props to the site for having a great scouting report on him. It says he is (was) one of the top guard prospects in Europe, which causes me to pose this question: Why did so many teams pass on him? I don't know the answer, but I'm glad it worked out.


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## Matiz (Jun 5, 2003)

> Pretty damn good profile, huh? It says he hits 3's with regularity, good distributor of the ball in the open floor, and he's relatively young with a lot of experience.....that's basically all right on the money. Props to the site for having a great scouting report on him. It says he is (was) one of the top guard prospects in Europe, which causes me to pose this question: Why did so many teams pass on him? I don't know the answer, but I'm glad it worked out.


he has a history of ankle and knee problems... and a lot of times (especially in Maccabi Tel aviv) he constantly played with minor injuries that's why he couldn't always show what he can.
With those injuries and having practicaly no media exposure during his playing in Russia most people didn't consider him as a serious potential anymore... neither did I... he is a surprise to me, eventhough I am watching him since he was 18 years old...

regarding scouting report: Uros Velkavrh from Nbadraft.net obviously knows his stuff- he is the same guy that predicted Skita to be nothing special from the very begining...


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## Andrejos (Nov 11, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Matiz</b>!
> 
> 
> With those injuries and having practicaly no media exposure during his playing in Russia most people didn't consider him as a serious potential anymore... neither did I... he is a surprise to me, eventhough I am watching him since he was 18 years old...


Same here. When he was playing for Maccabi his game was at a lower rate than in Olimpija. And when he went in Russia, i thought that his path for brilliant career was over. When he applied for draft, i was very sceptical if he is able to play in the league. In one interview few months ago he said that he would be first substitution for Parker. With friends we used to laugh at that, because nobody believed that he would play. 

But he proved us wrong. And i'm glad about that. 

Without injuries, he could better than Parker, no doubt!


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