Another European player has announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft … the 2011 NBA Draft, that is.
Team Germany/Brose Baskets Bamberg big man Tibor Pleiss, the 2009-10 Bundesliga Rookie of the Year, recently informed German press that he’d like to play one more year in Europe before seeking to fulfill his dream in the NBA.
Said Pleiss to German-language Sport1 (translation courtesy Germany-based heinnews), “The NBA of course is a dream and I would definitely like to achieve this goal. […] everything I have wanted to happen has happened. I will certainly stay in Bamberg one more year and prepare for the future. I still want to continue to improve to reach an NBA level.”
And about that NBA Draft, Pleiss said: “My first real draft year is 2011. I want to show myself in the Euroleague. A couple of clubs will observe me there for sure. And then I hope that I can be in the first round of the draft next year.”
Pleiss made his debut with the top German national team in last year’s Eurobasket 2009 tournament, but played just four minutes in Team Deutschland’s three games. In 2009’s FIBA U20 European Championship, Pleiss started at center for Germany to average 7.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 17 minutes per game.
For Brose Baskets in his Rookie of the Year campaign, 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.25 blocked shots per game in all 40 games this season; Pleiss also managed to score Bamberg’s second-highest player efficiency rating.
In the 2009-10 Eurocup competition, Brose Baskets made the Top 16 round, going 6-6 cumulative in the tournament. At this level, Pleiss managed a line of 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds over the 12 games.
Brose Baskets Bamberg plays for the BBL title against Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Skyliners. The series starts tomorrow night at 7.25 CET (1.25 EST). Germany’s league champion receives automatic entry into Euroleague play for 2010-11, thereby theoretically bringing Pleiss one step closer to America with a Bamberg triumph.
