Ben Saraf has taken the FIBA U18 European Championships by storm. The young Israeli PG led Israel to a huge win over Spain Wednesday night with 40 points, 8 rebounds and a 40 efficiency rating. Israel now prepares for France in the quarterfinals of the tournament and Ben Saraf is directly under the spotlight for the blue-and-white ahead of the big clash Thursday night. Check out what a number of European basketball connoisseurs said about the 18-year-old.
Ben Saraf – Photo credit: FIBA
Giuseppe Invernizzi: “I think Ben Saraf is a player capable of breaking up matches. Thanks to his physique, which is very remarkable for a point guard, he is able to create advantages for himself and his teammates. Nowadays basketball is based on individual advantages.
“What struck me about him is his desire to win, he is always able to make an offensive and/or defensive play to change the game and to charge the team. I think he made a very wise choice to sign with Ulm. He will take the place of Juan Nunez and will immediately have great responsibilities within the team. Playing in the Eurocup will guarantee him great visibility. I can’t wait to see him in action.
“Also, because based on what we have seen with Ulm they have always made draft picks in recent years so his choice is a clear statement. He is trying to be a Draft pick within the next two years, love it!”
Ben Saraf – Photo Credit: FIBA
Ata Toprak Kosal: “Israel’s Ben Saraf is one of the most promising players of his generation as he displays in the FIBA tournaments every summer. He is a dominant offensive player with his quickness, creativity and explosiveness which makes him one of the most dangerous players in the offensive end. Besides, now he stands out with the way he controls the tempo of the game, operates his team and his maturity on the court. So, there is no reason he could not play at the highest levels of basketball in the near future”.
Ben Saraf – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
David Hein: “Saraf definitely is someone I wish I could watch more. I saw him play live with the ANGT selection team for two seasons and really liked his scorer’s mentality. Having played the whole season with Kiryat Ata was certainly an important step for him and his development. A player of that quality and at that age needs to play at a high level and a lot of minutes and that’s what the club offered him.
“Looking at his numbers – because I didn’t see him play at all and didn’t see any highlights really – you can see that definitely had the ball in his hands a lot. The 3.6 assist to 1.9 turnover ratio is not that bad for someone getting his first taste of that level on an extended basis. Of course, you would like to see him shoot better from long range, but he didn’t overdo it shooting-wise, averaging 9.6 shots per game in 23 minutes.
“He attempted 3.2 free throws per game, five times shooting at least 8 foul shots. That number will probably go up as he grows and gets stronger and can take more contact to get to the basket. Defensively he won’t be making many All-Defensive teams but he seems quick, strong, mobile and smart enough to be adequate.
Ben Saraf – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
“The move to Ulm will be great as they will give him a lot of different chances to develop his game. And the club has a good track record of giving players more weapons – look at Noa Essengue when he arrived and how he was after just one season in Ulm. The only slight question mark is if that strategy will change at all with the club with the head coaching change, but Ty Harrelson played Johann Grünloh the entire last season at Rasta Vechta.
“What about his draft chances? It seems NBA people know he can score in bunches with a real strong scoring instinct. What he really needs is to show that he can play the point as well. That he can really take over a team and lead them in every facet. He has good size and probably plays enough defense that NBA teams can make it work. But can he also play the point over longer stretches. Ulm has developed some strong point guards over the years and Saraf is definitely in a good place to take the next step”.
Ben Saraf – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
Nick Kalinowski: “General thoughts: I like that he’s a taller initiator, which is what pro teams, especially NBA ones, are looking for these days. He’s active at directing the offense and operating as a pick and roll ball handler, quick to get out in transition, and adept at finishing at the rim with his left hand. For negatives, I still haven’t seen him do much with his weak hand, so its very tough to gauge how he is there. Likewise, the jump shot still seems rather inconsistent, although he hit several impressive contested mid range jumpers. Defense grades out as average to slightly below average.
“I knew very little about him coming in, other than he was the top prospect on my list for the Israeli team, and that he recently signed for Ulm. He wasn’t on my radar for notable prospects to study for this tournament, but he quickly caught my attention after his impressive debut.
As of right now, the jumper will definitely have to become more consistent over time if he wants to start popping up on NBA radars. Otherwise, if he continues to see his playmaking and finishing shine at Ulm, I could also see NBA teams taking a chance on his relatively unique combination of size and skillset for the position. Juan Nuñez got drafted last year from Ulm despite not having the most consistent jumper by doing similar things”.
Ben Saraf – Photo Credit: FIBA
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