Mario Hezonja role was minimized in Europe; Life begins now
Mario Hezonja failed to receive major minutes for FC Barcelona, with international scouts decrying the relegation of his immense talent to that of a role player.
FC Barcelona coach Xavi Pascual is actually so reviled he has a parody twitter account (beware: it is laced with Spanish profanity). Pascual minimized Magic draft pick Mario Hezonja as an infrequently used role player—and he is about to receive a much bigger role in the world’s best league.
Even after scoring 18 points in 25 minutes during Game One of the ACB Finals, Hezonja played in just 25 minutes in the final two games combined.
Ideally, some of that lack of playing time would be attributed to his age. Younger guys can often get a very unfair shake when it comes to minute distribution in Euro leagues.
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But the problem was different for Hezonja, and the general consensus is he was subjected to being a role player despite many brilliant plays which revealed his immense talent and several big games for the Barcelona team.
Hezonja has been playing at a high level professionally since age 16, much in the same manner Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio did before joining the NBA and as is common among many of the elite players in Europe.
However, Hezonja remained more than just confident — he is cited as cocky. But that has always been more of a positive attribute for the players that reign it in. In some senses, it is vital to believe you are better than your opponents on the court.
Anything less festers a mentally defeated attitude, and Hezonja’s play showed anything but. He is aggressive offensively, and his footwork is something to marvel at, both coming off screens and making moves with the ball in his hands.
But for as good as Hezonja is, his playing time didn’t really reflect it in Spain.
Wesley Share of SB Nation’s Liberty Ballers summed up the situation well in a scouting report of Mario:
"Hezonja is already a low-usage spot-up sniper and a secondary creator with tight handles and good vision who can defend his position. Hezonja has talent — it’s just a question of unlocking it and seeing more of it. Thus far, the questions that surround his ability to succeed at the next level stem from a lack of playing time given to him by his team’s head coach, Xavi Pascual."
On Day 1 of the Orlando Summer League, Hezonja played nearly timid for his first five or so minutes on the court. But after loosening up, he began to make some plays, not the least of which was his game-sealing triple in overtime to help the Orlando Blue team defeat the Clippers by a point in OT.
There are few questions Hezonja has the range to knock down the three from NBA range and far beyond. He is very adept at getting his shot off and even when forced to alter his stroke due to tight defense, it still looks fluid and unimpeded. There is never a hitch.
Unlike other swingmen, what separates Hezonja is his great ability to create his own shot. Teams respect it so much, it eases his ability to make big time passes.
Hezonja is a true triple threat with the ball in his hands: he can put it on the floor, pass like a point guard and tee it up much like his NBA comparison of Drazen Petrovic.
The thing is, even as good as Petrovic was, Hezonja could be better. He is a better athlete than Petrovic was and he knows how to use his speed and leaping ability to create offense.
While it is far too early to say he will make an All-NBA third team as Petrovic did with the Nets, the chance is certainly there. As Hezonja gets more experience and develops a feel for NBA ball, he will begin to unravel his potential like a golden scroll.
Perhaps the best part of Hezonja’s game will not be seen until he is playing with Orlando’s actual roster.
He is great in the pick and roll and makes quick decisions coming off the pick. Notice in this clip how Hezonja notices the hole in the interior of the defense and exploits it for an easy stuff:
Hezonja has a long way to go, but he has a lot of experience for a player who is just 20 years old. That is a product of being a prodigy, and Magic players have reportedly been very impressed with his game thus far.
The scary thing is that we have seen just glimpses of what Mario really has to offer. He has not had a chance to show what he really is, even in Europe.
It is strange to think Mario will have more opportunity in a tougher league, but he was relegated to being a role player in Spain. He averaged only 14.7 minutes per game scoring 4.6 points per game in that limited opportunity. If it were not for the flashes he showed so often, it would be far tougher to gauge his prospects.
However, he is about to get minutes as an NBA rookie and after going No. 5 overall ahead of NCAA-proven talents like Justise Winslow and Stanley Johnson (selected No. 10 and No. 8 overall, respectively), it is clear Magic general manager Rob Hennigan sees the value in Hezonja’s immense upside.
The NBA will be his first chance to really show what he has, as odd as that sounds.