Atlanta Hawks Have A Steal In Dennis Schroeder

Over the last 10+ days I've been watching a lot of NBA summer league and have seen many of the leagues new fresh young talent. Few of them though have caught my eye as much as the 17^th overall in this years NBA draft Dennis Schroeder. The young German Point guard has displayed tremendous poise and at 19 years old already knows how to run an offense. His priority is defense first and when he is defending whoever he uses that 6'7 wingspan and doesn’t give his opponents that much space to get comfortable. With Jeff Teague potentially going to the Milwaukee Bucks it is possible that the 19 year old out of Germany might be the starting point guard for the Atlanta Hawks. If you aren't familiar with the German born point guard then let me get you familiar with him before the word gets out.

Schroeder played 2 years of pro basketball in Germany and also had some stints with the German U-18 and U-20. He caught the attention of many scouts at the annual Nike hoop summit held in Portland where the best high school talent in the world competes against each other. In a sea of top tier talent like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker,Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon Schroeder managed to shine among them with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 112-98 win for the World team over the USA.

I kept hearing good things about him among basketball fans I follow on Twitter so when I finally had the chance to watch him play I liked what I saw from immediately. Patience, poise and Intensity are a few words I would use to describe his game. All game long against the Kings he was matched up with Ray Mcallum and made his life a living hell giving very little room to maneuver. He gets low in that stance and uses all 6'7 of his wingspan to get his hands on the ball and force the opponent to make a bad decision with the ball. On offense he plays with a tremendous amount of patience for some one his age. In the pick&roll he makes quick decisions and takes what the defense gives him. If they go under the screen he shots the jumper or if they pack the paint then he just swings the ball and gets his team into the offensive set immediately.

I think the Hawks got a steal at #17 with Dennis Schroeder any young point guard who can run an offense patiently and makes defense his top priority makes any team better. Might be one of the top value picks in the 2013 Draft. If you are unfamiliar with Schroeder and his game check out the video below.