One of the very few happy stories in the disappointing Israeli team, Mekel emerged as the team co-leader alongside Omri Casspi. Were basically talking about a scoring point guard here, even if the limited talent of his squad probably forced him to assume a bigger chunk of the offensive load than he would had enjoyed in other circumstances.
Mekel is gifted with a pretty nice physical profile. He has terrific size for his position, and already shows good strength in a well-built body. In terms of athleticism, he comfortably fills the bill, although he falls short any kind of outstanding category.
Where Mekel feels more comfortable is driving to the basket, whether to finish near the rim or to release a mid-range jumper off the dribble. Thats pretty much a pattern in his game. He enjoys good ball-handling skills, a nice first step, footwork and the strength to easily operate in these youth stages. His shooting mechanics look fluid and natural from the mid-range area, but tend to become a bit awkward as he gets further from the basket. His three-point shooting apparently lacks solid mechanics, as he sometimes relies too much on the impulse of his right arm.
He doesnt really stand out as a game distributor. You can see him delivering good passes, especially off the drive, but its not a consistent effort. Besides, he sometimes comes up with streaky decision making, particularly forcing his shot selection. All in all, Mekel hasnt been able to completely make up for the lack of smarts that the Israeli backcourt showed in the tournament.
Mekel is a player to keep under the radar. He has a nice combination of physical tools and skills that, properly developed, might result into something interesting.
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