FanPost

BB Gun Report: Bogdan Bogdanovic doing great things!


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First of all i wish everyone at BSOTS a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

There wasn't much reported in previous BB Gun reports. Mostly because uploaded highlight videos are hard to find.. But i think i found enough content to make another one :)

Quick recap so far: Bogdan Bogdanovic was given a tough task right at the beginning of his Fenerbahce career. He is entrusted for a very responsible role in Fenerbahce rotation. Straight away, he was a starter that is one of three go-to guys, and he contributed well, although everybody, and himself - consider that Bogdan did better in Partizan and can be a much better player than he is now. I'll give you some quotes that i read in local media interview with Bogdan:

The period of adaptation has passed by now. However, this is my first foreign club, and adapting into a completely new surrounding, culture, and way of functioning is hard to nearly all foreign players. I've had luck that my team was there for me, coach Zeljko and Bjelica the most, but all other teammates as well, since they understand basic Serbian, thanks to our close ties in basketball. They warned me that it will be hard for me in the very beginning, and that i should never lose my confidence - just continue working hard and everything will come into it's place. I think we are getting better as a team as time passes by. Personally, i still think i can do a lot better, and i want to be a lot better and measure up with best of the best. My idol is Thierry Henry. He plays different sport, but he plays with emotion. That's why i respect him.

I don't do much shopping.. I go sometimes with my girlfriend but i let her pick my clothes. To be honest, before i came to Turkey, all i had were a lot of sweatpants and one pair of jeans. I bought a suit for my graduation eve, but i missed it because i had a game the same night. So actually i wore my first suit on NBA Draft Night... It was a great feeling for me, being there and being drafted. It was funny as well, as i am still learning proper English and there was also a mistake in the announcement video that showed my predecessor in Fener, Bojan Bogdanovic from Croatia. We were joking about it when we played a friendly match in preps for FIBA WC.

Now, the formalities :)

Bogdan has been good in Euroleague group phase. He has had his share of excellent performances, hit a lot of important shots, was a top contributor multiple times, but at times he would struggle to find his offensive rhythm, because he had to adapt to his new team. Remember - all of Euroleague is about elimination, and the competition is tough from the very start, since all teams have to win enough games right at the beginning, in order to have a chance to win anything. In Group phase, he averaged following: 28 MPG | 10.4 PPG | 2.1 RPG | 3.4 APG | 0.9 SPG | 1.4 TOV in 10 games, on 50% for 2P and only 14/43 that is good for 33% for 3P. The big reason for this is the fact that he is team's go to guy for shots late in the clock, and for desperate shots after poorly executed team offense. The second reason is that he has gained a lot of respect on the perimeter from the opponents, and all teams tend to pressure him even in deep 3 territory. I guess that's just the one obstacle that i need to see him cross to prove me that he is NBA-ready. They got destroyed by Efes the other day in Turkish domestic league, but it was due to fatigue and hard schedule.

Euroleague TOP16 is here!

And BB Gun has impressed again when it mattered.. kind of. Fenerbahce lost it's first Top 16 phase match against CSKA Moscow, but Bogdan shot 4/7 for 3 (16pts). Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to win fired-up powerhouse from Moscow, and Fener lost 81-84. The game could have went the other way, but that's why basketball is special. There has to be a damn winner (looking at you, Spurs! Ha!) at the end of the game. Bogi will step up and make his move in his next few games. Until then, enjoy these videos:

Fenerbahce - CSKA Moscow (Teodosic and Hines were key for CSKA in the game. Just look at them)

Fenerbahce - Bayern Munich (Savanovic is one of the best European 3 point shooting stretch 4's, after Nowitzki and Erceg)

Softy I'm Okay dunk

vs Galata

vs Bayern

IN REPLY@JavierPastore

Bjelica is a complete player, it's all about his state of mind. At both 3 and 4, combination of size and skill that he possesses present a problem on both positions for opponents in its own way. He outhandles a vast majority of PF's in the world, and definitely one of the top passers for such a size. He can have a brainfart now and then, have 1-6 (for three) nights, but he consistantly provides. Underrated three point shooter, because he accepts the challenge of taking hard shots, for good, and for the bad sometimes. But he is steadily progressing upwards, and is currently a better player than Bogdan in my books. These two guys are very very talented. Bjelica would handle himself well on both positions in the NBA, but you don't want to match him against guys like Randolph and other bruising power forwards. Don't get me wrong, he'd kill them with his swiss knife, but they'd kick the sh*t out of him and he wouldn't be as effective as he would be if you just put him on 3.