Novica Velickovic: Just What the Doctor Ordered for Toronto

Fresh off of being named the recipient of the 2009 Euroleague Rising Star award, which current Raptor Andrea Bargnani swept up in 2006 prior to being picked first in the NBA draft by the Raptors, Novica Velickovic is turning heads in Europe this year.

At just 22 years old, he's the heart and soul of his club, Partizan Belgrade, and the gritty forward is quickly turning into a very well-rounded player.

While at 6'9", some may say he's a tweener as an NBA prospect, and a sub-par athlete, you can't teach the kind of skills Velickovic possesses.

He's the glue that holds a team together. He does everything well enough to help a team win. He can defend, rebound, pass, shoot, score, and most importantly, he's a leader.

When Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo talks about how much he misses Garbajosa, one has to wonder if he even realizes that a player who's every bit like a young Jorge Garbajosa is currently mopping the floor with the competition in the Balkans. 

One has to wonder why a player like Jason Kapono is currently making nearly $6 million  a year, while someone like Velickovic ended up undrafted this past June. If we're comparing athletic ability, Velickovic is actually superior.

He's the better passer, defender, creator, finisher, and scorer, and five years younger to boot. He's great off the ball, smart in crucial moments, and like Jorge Garbajosa, he enhances the performance of everyone around him.

He's a facilitator, and as tough as nails. His nickname "Ubica" literally translates to "killer". If he went undrafted because he was one inch too short to play as a big, and a step slow to play as a wing, there is something seriously wrong with NBA scouting.

If the Raptors are looking at former draft pick George Printezis as a guy who can help them in the toughness department, a player like Velickovic would likely have a greater immediate impact in the same role because he's as NBA ready as any 22-year-old in the world.

The Euroleague is not kind to players as young as Novica, and for him to emerge as the leader of one of the top seven or eight teams in Europe shows that he's got the maturity of a vet, and at his age, that's truly rare.

While he may not get many offers from the NBA this summer, Novica Velickovic is in the hearts of the Partizan faithful, and I'm sure they'll be happy to cheer him on for the next decade while Jason Kapono sits at the end of the Raptor bench collecting enough money to feed a small country.

Has the NBA learned nothing from players like Nikola Vujcic, Luis Scola, and Jorge Garbajosa? Athletic ability doesn't mean you can play basketball. Just ask Gerald Green how many minutes his vertical leap is getting him this year.