Jonas V vs Kosta Koufos?

While I have been talking about Jonas V, an "ally" told me that Kosta Koufos, who played in the U18 World Cup had similar numbers to Jonas and also won the MVP in the final round, winning the championship for Greece. Also beating Serbia. He averaged about 26 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks during the World Cup in 2007. He was drafted by Utah and he was drafted 23rd overall in the 2008 draft. He started the season with the Jazz and now ended up in Denver, being what he was always good at. A bench warmer. Today, I will be comparing Koufos to Jonas and see if Jonas will be a draft bust.

Strengths:

Jonas: What I noticed about Jonas in the World Cup U19 and U18(watched a video on him) is that he runs like a maniac for a guy that's 7 foot. Jonas also has long arms which could easily help him block shots. Again, he is 7 foot and he has a 7"6 wingspan. In the videos, I observed him carefully on how fast can he roll off of a pick. When I saw him set a screen, he quickly and lightly pushed off of the defender to have an effective roll which gave him a open lane. If Jose and him worked out the pick and role situation, it should definitely work. With Jose's awesome passing and Jonas's great finishing skills, they should be a great 1 & 5 combo. There is another reason, he is a really good finisher around the rim, he has that light touch when it comes to making hooks and putting the ball back in the net. We all should know Jonas is a good rebounder and blocker. No need to talk about that :D.

Kosta Koufos: Koufos a well grown man weighing about 265 lbs. He is strong post player who likes to attack the rim. Koufos is also a 7 footer with a 7"6 wingspan so he is pretty long as well. If you watch Kosta carefully in his U18 World Cup, he would like to take the mid range jumper. What I like about his jumper is that he can make that jumper consistently in front of player's faces. He could just spot up and make that shot. He also has a good dribbling ability that would allow him to create his own inside shot. Kosta is also a really good offensive rebounder too.

Negatives:


Jonas V: There are a couple of things that Jonas needs to work on during the off season. First, he needs to work on his english because he is going to Canadian country where they speak english quite a bit. Now, he needs to work on getting stronger and bigger. He is pretty skinny and he weighs only 215 Ibs for a 7 footer. He is going to get dominated by those stronger big men in Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, etc etc etc. Jonas also needs to work on some of his posts moves. Jonas has that same post up move. Posting up ans spinning to get him some space for a layup or a dunk. He also needs to work on his mid range shot. He started taking those shots during the U19 World Cup and he actually made some of them. Jonas also needs to learn how to dribble and driving from outside to finish inside which would help him bring his game up to the next level.


Kosta Koufus: Koufos is not a pick and roll guy. He plants his feet in the paint or in a mid range spot. He needs to work on setting picks and rolling off to take him game to the next level. He also needs to work on running, getting in better shape. He doesn't look like he can run the floor like Jonas can. Alot of big men can run the floor, Amare STUD, Andrea Bargs, Nene, Al Horford, Josh Smith and more. Then again, he does weigh 265 lbs. He can still work on running up and down the floor though. He also needs to know how to finish at the rim while taking contact. When there are defenders around him near the rim, he should either pass is out or take a dribble and take the layup or dunk. He is 7 foot, he is strong and big. He needs to know how to use his strength.


Comparisons:

These are some small things that could really add up to their game. One, Jonas is a good free throw shooter. In the U19 World Cup, he averaged about 89% at the free throw line in nine games and Kosta averaged 63% from the line in 50 games this season.  Jonas is also a better hustler. I noticed that he grabs some loose balls in the videos I saw. Kosta is probably better at getting offensive rebounds, but he doesn't hustle. Jonas is also much more athletic than Kosta. With his running ability/athleticism,  he could be a dominant player in the NBA. Both of them have excellent spacing around the court which will help players get a open lane.  Jonas is also shot efficient shooting probably 85% or 90%  of those shots as hooks, layups or dunks. He gets them in though. He shot almost 60% in U19 World Cup. Kosta averaged 48%. However, Kosta is in the NBA and the competition is more hard than it is in Europe. I am just pointing those things out though. Jonas is going to be a much better player overall in the NBA in my opinion.

Continue to have a good summer :)