Player Spotlight: Ognjen Radosic, Serbia's preeminent bucket-getter

SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - For many youngsters, the FIBA U16 European Championship is their first opportunity to shine on an international stage. The 2022 edition of the competition undoubtedly includes countless players who'll go on to have successful careers in professional basketball.

Serbia's Ognjen Radosic is one of the best prospects in the competition and a prime candidate to eventually make it in the professional ranks. The 16-year-old was the tournament's standout scorer throughout the Group Stage, so it's time for FIBA contributor Marius Flachenecker to take a closer look at his game. 

A SKILLED WING SCORER 

Ognjen Radosic lives at the rim like no one else in this tournament. In transition, the athletic wing loves to leak out early or push the pace himself. In the half court, he also consistently gets to the basket with his quickness and aggressive play style. Through 64 minutes of play during the Group Stage, he generated 37 two-point attempts as well as 26 free-throws. Given how easy it is for the 16-year-old to create good shots, it’s no wonder he leads the competition in scoring after the Group Stage, averaging 21.7 points in just 21.4 minutes a game.

He’s not only excellent at getting to the cup, however, he’s also one of the most skilled finishers you’ll see in this age group. When confronted with a forest of defenders, he can glide through the defense with a rangy Eurostep. When he only has to worry about his own defender, he’s tremendous at initiating contact with his shoulder to create space and consistently uses a slow last step to catch defenders off-guard and create a shot window.

As a finisher, he displays very good touch with his strong left hand, and he’s brilliant at using the glass to finish, even from tough angles. Flashes of right-hand finishing are rare for now, but if he can ever become equally comfortable with either hand, it would add another layer to his driving game that’s already tough to defend. He’s not only skilled either, he’s also athletic. In the game against Denmark, the Serbian coaching staff drew up a beautiful backdoor cut play for him, with an exciting outcome ...

Radosic also shows flashes of an outside jumper. While it’s not consistent yet by any means - he’s so far converted 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) of his three-point attempts -, some of the shots he’s made have been promising. His jump shot is very hard to contest due to his high release point, and he’s easily gotten the shot off while defenders were closing out to him and when creating shots off the dribble.

The fact he’s converted 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) free-throws and currently boasts the eighth-best percentage of all players with at least 10 attempts from the charity stripe, also lends hope that he’ll become a consistently solid outside shooter long-term, which could turn him into an exceptional scorer on the wing.

Defensively, he possesses intriguing potential as well. He’s not the most explosive lateral athlete, but he has long arms and knows how to use them to great effect. On the ball, he's consistently been able to poke at his matchup's dribble and create extra possessions. After the Group Stage, he ranks among the tournament leaders in steals with three a game so far.

Off the ball, he can not only be effective as a help defender on the perimeter, but he also has potential as a rim help given his combination of vertical and length, which allows him to play above the rim. His true upside will be hard to determine, until we see how he progresses physically, but there's certainly potential for him to become an effective two-way player.

OUTLOOK

Ognjen Radosic has proven to be an outstanding scorer so far in Skopje, scoring more than one point per minute, especially due to his unstoppable driving game. The 16-year-old has certainly made his case for being Europe's best slasher in his age group, and he's shown potential as a shooter and defender as well. While it's borderline impossible to accurately determine the long-term potential of players this young, Radosic has certainly ensured that he'll be on everyone's radar for the foreseeable future as one of the most talented 2006-born players in Europe.

FIBA