Bo McCalebb - The European Jeremy Lin

[HMMMHMM]

Well... he's Amercian actually and plays nothing like Jeremy Lin. He does play in Europe (Italy/Euroleague), as well as for the Macedonian national team. A Ty Lawson clone, if I've ever seen one.

He is one of the best, if not the best point guard in Europe. His game very much translates to the NBA.
He led Macedonia of all teams to the semi finals of the EuroBasket. Italian League MVP.
He been putting up numbers against the best teams in Europe year in and year out. He absolutely destroyed Rubio a season or two ago (there was a youtube video of it that sadly was taken down).
Everybody over here knows this kid would do well in the NBA. Givony is high on him. Fran Fraschilla is.

Why do I bring this up? Well, his contract expires next year. If Sergio Llull doesn't want to come over, it would be crazy not to check whether or not he'd want to come over.

Regardless of whether or not he'll actually end up here, I firmly believe he'll be in the NBA sooner or later.
So when your buddy will say "Have you seen this Bo McCalleb guy? He's crazy good. I can't believe nobody signed him earlier", you can tell him this cool guy on Clutchfans told you about him more than a year ago.

A couple of writeups:

The diminutive 6'0 lead guard managed to will his adopted Macedonian squad to a fourth place finish in the Eurobasket tournament, upsetting the likes of Greece and basketball powerhouse/host Lithuania in the process. This unlikely feat brought the tiny country of two million people into the streets, parading and openly displaying an unprecedented sense of national pride- a unity that is sorely needed in this bitterly divided country. [...] While other players contributed significantly to this fourth place finish, McCalebb was clearly the driving force behind Macedonia's surprising success. In order to upset Lithuania, McCalebb not only provided the necessary fourth quarter scoring, but he also assisted the final game-winning three point shot to Vlado Ilievski and was responsible for a key deflection late in the game. Against Spain and their battle-tested NBA frontline, Bo got to the rim virtually at will and kept Macedonia close. And, in his final contest with Russia, Bo deflected the ball countless times, creating four extra possessions for his team. Further, Bo was dynamic slashing to the basket, utilizing excellent upper body strength to finish through contact and his basketball IQ to switch hands in mid air in order to avoid shot blockers. Even though many had never heard of McCalebb coming into this tournament, his play in Lithuania was clearly not an aberration. After breaking his foot this previous season and returning in March, Bo played inspired basketball to lead his Siena club to the Euroleague Final Four, where they won the third place consolation game. This was Bo's second trip to the Final Four since he graduated college back in 2008; the first time he made it there, he played for Partizan. These performances shed light on what Bo brings to the table as a professional basketball player. While he sometimes plays off the ball, Bo generally functions as a point guard, initiating for his teammates at every opportunity. He boasts a much improved handle and regularly splits defenders in order to get to the basket. Additionally, Bo possesses a superb first step and an understanding of when to employ the change-of-pace dribble, making him arguably the most complete slasher outside the NBA. And while NBA teams once believed that Bo was a liability with the ball in his hands, he proved that this certainly is not the case. He finished with the top Turnover Rate in the entire tournament amongst point guards, beating out Tony Parker and many others. Bo's versatility as a slasher opens up the floor for his teammates. While he does collect many hockey assists by driving in and hitting cutters, he also plays within his team's offensive scheme and willingly moves the ball around the perimeter. As such, his assist statistics in this tournament were fairly understated because of how often Macedonia moved the ball on the perimeter once Bo made the initial kick out pass. In spite of all this, he still managed to post an Assist Rate of 28.6%- the fourteenth highest percentage amongst all participants. Aside from his obvious strength as a slasher, Bo has made some inroads as an outside jump shooter as well. He posted a 58.5% True Shooting Percentage and demonstrated that he can be deadly from the midrange if given enough space. Even though this is not his best asset on the offensive end, Bo shot a solid 43.8% from beyond the arc in Euroleague action with his Siena club. Also, Bo is fairly effective squaring his body to the basket on off balance, turnaround jumpers. Against Spain, for instance, he demonstrated a very quick release when hitting fadeaway jumpers over the length of Spain's big men. On the defensive end, Bo has extremely quick hands and regularly deflects the basketball, giving offensive players headaches and creating extra possessions for his team. Additionally, Bo possesses exceptional lateral quickness and this allows him to stay in front of virtually anyone. With that said, he has a tendency to cheat on screens and this sometimes causes him to lose his man. But, he generally puts a lot of effort into his defensive assignments. Moreover, while he was not an impressive rebounder from a statistical standpoint in these Eurobasket games, Bo is capable on the glass and occasionally snatched rebounds away from much bigger opponents. Also, in his first season in the Italian League, he finished with an 11.9% Total Rebounding Percentage. Overall, Bo McCalebb is an exceptionally quick and athletic point guard who has proven that he can finish over the length of quality NBA big men. This makes him an obvious candidate to transition to the NBA when his contract expires in a couple of years.

Bo McCalebb, a New Orleanian playing as a naturalized citizen of the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, has led his team to a 6-2 record in the tournament and a surprise berth in the quarterfinals, where they have the unenviable task of trying to knock off the host Lithuanians, coming up in just a little bit. The top six scorers at EuroBasket 2011 include prominent NBA names Gasol, Nowitzki, Parker, Deng, Bargnani... and McCalebb. Indeed, the speedy point guard has been a breakout star of EuroBasket 2011, possibly the best guard in the tournament other than Parker, and now his name is featured in a headline on this site for the third time in a week. I would say that McCalebb is a revelation, but he's actually far from that. Rather, he broke out as a pro in the 2009-10 season as a second team All-Euroleague player, leading Partizan Belgrade to a surprise appearance in the Euroleague Final Four (Jan Vesely was a teammate). On that big stage, McCalebb had 21 points, 4 assists and 4 steals in 40 minutes as Partizan nearly shocked powerful Olympiacos in the semifinals. In 2010-11, McCalebb made a return appearance to the Euroleague Final Four with Montepaschi Siena, though his season was hampered by a foot injury. Here are what McCalebb's Euroleague stats look like, translated into NBA per-36 minute numbers using John Hollinger's translations. (The first line are Bo's actual stats, second line are his translated NBA stats.): 2009-10 Partizan Belgrade MIN, PTS, REB, AST, FG%, PER 30.1, 13.4, 2.9, 3.4, 45.7, 17.7 NBA36, 12.0, 4.1, 5.4, 40.2, 12.4 2010-11 Montepaschi Siena MIN, PTS, REB, AST, FG%, PER 20.8, 11.5, 2.0, 2.1, 55.0, 28.3 NBA36, 14.9, 4.1, 4.7, 48.4, 19.8 A few notes for further context on the numbers: - The reason for the big difference in FG% in the two seasons was three-pointers. Bo shot only 23.2% in '09-10, up to 43.8% in '10-11. In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in between - Bo's 34.4% mark on threes at EuroBasket is probably a more accurate gauge of his outside shooting, which is definitely not a strength. But what's notable to me is that McCalebb's two-point shooting percentages are consistently strong - those are often a sign of athleticism which can translate to the NBA. Bo made 53% of his twos in '09-10, 57% in '10-11, plus a stunning 66% in the weaker comp of Italian League play, as well as 51% at EuroBasket so far. - Steals are often another marker of athleticism, and McCalebb always has strong numbers here, averaging 2.0 in 30 minutes in '09-10, and 1.8 in 21 minutes in '10-11. At EuroBasket, he's third in this category with 2.3 steals per game, behind only Andrei Kirilenko and Nic Batum. - McCalebb was off to a fantastic start in Euroleague play in 2010-11 before his injury. In the 10-game "regular season", Bo played 25.7 minutes per game, averaging 15.5 points on 58% FG, including 60% on twos and 47% on threes. Siena played pretty good competition during this time. In particular, Bo torched powerful FC Barcelona with 41 points in two games on 16-23 FG, and Siena split the two contests, winning by nine at home and losing by one in Barcelona. ********************************* At this point, I have no doubt that Bo McCalebb is an NBA-quality player. Not saying he's a star or even a starter, but I definitely think he could be a rotation player who could make an impact. Of course, as a role player, so much is dependent upon finding the right fit with a team which has a need for and an understanding of the player's skills. But if the fit is there... well, take a look at the NBA in 2010-11. As much as teams like the Heat and the Lakers dominated the conversation, there was actually a lot of parity on top - the difference among the top 8-10 teams proved to be quite small. Role players helped make key differences all over the league, including imports from European leagues who fit just right like Gary Neal in San Antonio and Omer Asik in Chicago.

Directly matched up with Llull:

[cooliobob]

I don't think the PG is a position of weakness for the Rockets...so it's tough to see the Rockets even considering him.

[cod]

Originally Posted by HMMMHMM Why do I bring this up? Well, his contract expires next year. If Sergio Llull doesn't want to come over, it would be crazy not to check whether or not he'd want to come over.

He's pretty much said himself that the NBA isn't an option because of the money he can get in Europe.

[HMMMHMM]

Originally Posted by cooliobob I don't think the PG is a position of weakness for the Rockets...so it's tough to see the Rockets even considering him.

It is right now. Lots of things can change between now and next off-season. I, for one, believe that one of Lowry and Dragic (Lowry) won't be on this team season.

Originally Posted by cod He's pretty much said himself that the NBA isn't an option because of the money he can get in Europe.

Got a link for me?

I know he told HoopsHype he's going to play in Europe next season (which I read as I'm under contract for next season, which he is).

He's currently making less than $1.5M after taxes.

[Carl Herrera]

The Jeremy Lin Before Jeremy Lin
The Once and Future Jeremy Lin




Jimmermy Lindette

[coachbadlee]

Here is the Chinese Jeremy Lin.

[haoafu]

Good find. We can definitely use a guy like him.

His translated PER is all star level, and his 3 point shooting may just improved like lowry did. Also he seems to have good defense. Wow.

[HMMMHMM]

Yeah. He's not what you would call a knock down shooter, but he's certainly capable. He doesn't attempt a whole lot of 3's (2.2 a game), but when he takes them, more often than not, he makes them (52.6% last season).

I don't know how to calculate PER (I know where to find the formula, but I'd rather not go through all those numbers), but those are his (translated) stats from this season:

MIN, PTS, REB, AST, FG%
27.7 16.2, 2.2, 2.2, 61.3
NBA36, 17.2, 4.6, 3.5, 53.9

[rocketier1]

but can he dunk like dragic?

[Carl Herrera]

Here the story on Bo Mac and how he became a Macedonian. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/sp...hips.html?_r=1

Stats profile including PER

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...ebb-525/stats/

His Macedonian passport helps him make a more in Europe. Not sure how much it would take to lure him to the NBA. Maybe almost full midlevel?

[HMMMHMM]

Originally Posted by rocketier1 but can he dunk like dragic?

Can Dragic dunk like McCalebb?

Originally Posted by Carl Herrera Stats profile including PER http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...ebb-525/stats/ His Macedonian passport helps him make a more in Europe. Not sure how much it would take to lure him to the NBA. Maybe almost full midlevel?

Thanks. So his 'translated' NBA PER for this season would be 19.7 FWIW.

As for how much money it would take, tough to say. It might take close to the mid level. It might not. I think it would take at least $3M/year, though.

I'm guessing he'll get offered somewhere between Diamantidis and Navarro money which would be between €2M-2.8M ($2.6-3.6M) after taxes.
(http://www.talkbasket.net/salaries.html)

[haoafu]

Originally Posted by Carl Herrera Here the story on Bo Mac and how he became a Macedonian. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/sp...hips.html?_r=1 Stats profile including PER http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...ebb-525/stats/ His Macedonian passport helps him make a more in Europe. Not sure how much it would take to lure him to the NBA. Maybe almost full midlevel?

Looks like his college efficiency is already top of the chart. I guess the GM's don't like his school, length and age then. It's similar to Jeremy Lin, and Orlando Johnson in this year's second round may turn out to be yet another example.

[coachbadlee]

I would rather move up a bit in the draft and get Lillard.

[jvu]

HMMMHMM talk about an obsession..

[Turpis]

Great player, loved the way he played for us in the Eurobasket last year. Love to see him play for the Rockets, but won't happen...

Anyway after the 4th place in Eurobasket he became kinda hero for our nation and this is graffiti in Macedonian town Kavadarci.



Oh and offtopic, our Center Pero Antikj just won Euroleague final with Olympiacos.

[HMMMHMM]

Originally Posted by jvu HMMMHMM talk about an obsession..

Haha. Not at all. I'm just a fan of his game and have always wondered how it can be that hasn't found a home in the NBA yet, when a number of scrubs somehow find a way to stay in the league and even worse get signed to some of these horrendous contracts.
You're right though. I probably over-did it with the youtube highlights and all.

Originally Posted by Turpis Oh and offtopic, our Center Pero Antikj just won Euroleague final with Olympiacos.

Haha. I got a thing for Antic, too. Don't get me started.
He's like the European Ivan Johnson (not really, but I can't think of a better comparison right now).

[HMMMHMM]

quote:

---

As per source, NBA teams showed interest in Bo McCalebb. He has no buyout in his contract and Siena wants to monetize at most his departure

Rumor is that Siena is asking around 2M of euro to sell Bo McCalebb. So his departure for the NBA is very unlikely this summer

---

http://twitter.com/SportandoBasket

The cost of a second rounder. McCalebb is a first round talent.

Do it Morey!

[Yung-T]

Originally Posted by HMMMHMM quote: As per source, NBA teams showed interest in Bo McCalebb. He has no buyout in his contract and Siena wants to monetize at most his departure Rumor is that Siena is asking around 2M of euro to sell Bo McCalebb. So his departure for the NBA is very unlikely this summer http://twitter.com/SportandoBasket The cost of a second rounder. McCalebb is a first round talent. Do it Morey!

Nah, I think they are trying to tank this season. He's a good player but doesn't fit in our plans.

[HMMMHMM]

"Hey guys, need a PG? Yeah, I'm that guy who outplayed Dragic at the EuroBasket last summer. And oh yeah, I'd be willing to come over for half of what Dragic will make. Gimme a call."

[Carl Herrera]

Why not?