Most everyone knows about Len now. He never picked up a basketball until the age of 13, but his previous love of soccer and gymnastics developed the type of footwork rare in 7-footers. Len is a legitimate 7-1 and 255 pounds and can use his agility to run the floor with ease. He has been compared to both Jonas Valanciunas and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, although Len’s ability to step out and make jumpers makes the comparisons to Ilgauskas seem more valid. “I watched [Ilgauskas] a lot growing up. He’s really famous overseas,” Len said. “I liked his style of play. With his size, he could step out and shoot, similar to my game. I would love to play like him.” Ilgauskas, of course, is a member of the Cavs’ front office and has been heavily involved in the college scouting process. He could serve as a mentor to Len, although the youngster seems more adjusted to American culture than Ilgauskas was as a rookie. Len’s freshman season at Maryland was sabotaged by a 10-game suspension due to eligibility issues stemming from his time in Ukraine. He was unable to practice with Maryland during the suspension and was still learning English, meaning he misunderstood coaches and teammates all the time and often botched play calls. He spent that first year in the U.S. learning the language and now speaks it fluently. Scouts believe Ilgauskas was a better player at this age than Len, who needs to get physically stronger to survive in the post. But basketball was never very popular in Ukraine. He might have never played the game if a basketball coach hadn’t walked by the window while Len was twirling around on a set of parallel bars in a gymnastics studio. He was the tallest and youngest kid in class, but he enjoyed the jumping and tumbling.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 21:40:22 +0000
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