Artem Zabelin

Zabelin is coming off a tough season, being less than a year removed from tearing his ACL in last summer’s U-20 European Championship. He looked very rusty to start off, struggling badly trying to finish around the basket, step out and guard the perimeter, alter shots around the rim or go after rebounds—which is all to be expected considering his physical condition. Still, he managed to show some of the things that make him such an intriguing prospect, particularly his terrific touch from the perimeter, his ability to put the ball on the deck with his long strides, and his solid instincts offensively. Zabelin’s body looked a bit better than it did last season, but his athleticism has taken a major hit. It will be very important for him to get playing time next season, as he’s already 21 years old.

-CSKA’s other draft prospect, super-skilled and skinny 7-footer Artem Zabelin, is still recovering from injury, after tearing his ACL in the U-20 European Championship this summer, and was nowhere to be found here.

The Russian forward kept drawing some serious intrigue in the final day of the camp (20 points with 8/13 FG and 3/6 P, and 7 rebounds in the first game of the journey), especially thanks to his superb shooting stroke. He showed great consistency from deep positions, with excellent mechanics and, considering he’s a seven footer, remarkable ability to gain balance in the air when releasing the ball off motion. Showing great activity as usual, taking advantage of his length at both ends of the court, still he was eventually outmuscled and sometimes struggled making plays. Anyway, his skinny body and, particularly, his very narrow frame remain a huge concern, which likely severely damages his NBA potential.

In terms of potential, Zabelin emerges as one of the top players in the Camp. However, this seems to be the never-ending story for him, as he’s already 20 years-old and still gets physically abused, but he has certainly made some serious strides in the last years. Very long (his wingspan is nothing to write home, about but his standing reach was the second best in the Camp, only behind the freakishly tall Sergei Ilin), quite athletic and reactive, very coordinated, he’s a very active player with a very intriguing skill repertoire that still needs to be polished. He showcased a very promising jumper, excellent footwork attacking the basket, some improvable ball-handling skills and some ability to finish around the rim. He particularly shined in the morning drills, showcasing impressive athleticism for a 7-2 big man, but when the evening game came (9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4/10FG, 31 minutes), he was regularly outmuscled down low and struggled playing off the dribble. However, he did a fine job on the defensive end, using his physical gifts and showing excellent activity, even collecting a number of blocks, where he showed pretty nice timing coming from the weak side.

Zabelin put together a pretty nice game for himself, showing the tools he has at his disposal while also dropping glimpses of a very high skill level as well. He knocked down shots from mid-range and beyond the arc, put the ball on the floor a little bit, looked aggressive trying to take the ball to the basket, made some nice pivot moves in the paint, and showcased very nice athleticism for a player standing 7-2, particularly with some very strong finishes. His frame remains poor and he will likely be unable to translate what he shows against players this age to a higher level until he gains considerable strength, but there is definitely a lot to like about him regarding the future as a long-term prospect.

Zabelin was probably the rawest player in a very talented Russian team, but he’s arguably the one who enjoys the most potential as well. He was pretty much a non-factor for his team, but managed to play consistent minutes all along the tournament. At least, unlike the pattern showed by many of his teammates, he did seem to deliver effort and seriously tried on the court.

What’s so intriguing about Zabelin then? Well, he’s a seven footer with very good athleticism and coordination. Still his body is very raw, showing a skinny frame that will cause him problems if he eventually decides to fill it out to play center.

It’s a bit of the same story skill-wise. You can see he could develop some intriguing abilities, but they are at a very preliminary stage at this point. His shooting has looked extremely inconsistent, regularly trying 18-20 footers with little success. His ball handling is below average, getting poor results whenever he decided to attack his rival. In the low post, his moves are very unpolished, while he gets regularly outmuscled, although at least he doesn’t back off from contact. However, he seems to understand the game and could be the kind of guy who learns fast.

The outcome is a very intriguing player, with excellent potential, but still a ways away from contributing anything in the near future. For the moment, he faces a positional problem, as he’s very far from being skilled enough to play on the perimeter, but just isn’t strong enough to play in the paint. We’ll have to wait and see how he develops.

Artem Zabelin has jumped early onto some people's 2008 mock drafts, but he has hardly backed up that consideration. Of course, the Russian is a guy who enjoys some unique physical characteristics, basically the fact that he has superb size at 7-1 and with a nice wingspan, while he certainly displays some athleticism and good coordination. Still, he is extremely skinny, while his frame doesn’t show promise for the future; let’s just say that his body looks one of a power forward at best. Besides, his skill set is rather limited, being awfully erratic with his jumper, and not showing any particular ability to put the ball on the floor. On the other hand, we have to say that he doesn’t seem to back off from contact, although his poor strength obviously limits his ability to operate in the paint.