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OVERVIEW

There was quite a bit of outrage coming from Partizan fans this past April, when Danilo Gallinari of Armani Jeans was awarded the Euroleague's Rising Star Award over Pekovic. Anyone who saw the center's dominance in the Adriatic League this season can vouch for many experts' assessments that he has the best all-around skills of any big man on the European circuit.

The Adriatic League Most Valuable Player and NLB All-Star Game MVP ranked sixth in the league in scoring (426 points), second in field goal percentage (68.44 percent), third in offensive rebounds (2.57 rpg) and fifth in blocked shots (0.89 bpg) during the2007-08 season.

Pekovic began playing organized basketball with the Budu?nost (Serbia & Montenegro) junior squad. He competed for several years on the Serbia & Montenegro Junior National Team. He was a member of the U-20 national team, playing in the 2005 U-20 European Championship in Russia, winning the bronze medal. He also played at the 2006 U-20 European Championship in Turkey, as that team captured the gold medal.

During his last three seasons, Pekovic played center for Partizan Igokea. In 2005-06, he appeared in 27 games, mostly coming off the bench, as the team won the Serbia & Montenegro National Championship. He averaged 7.3 points per game, shooting 61.5 percent from the floor while grabbing 96 rebounds (3.6 rpg) and blocking 17 shots.

In 2006-07, Pekovic led Partizan to the Serbian national championship. He appeared in 31 games, piling up 279 points (9.0 ppg) while making 98 of 137 field goals (71.5 percent). He pulled down 85 rebounds and again blocked 17 shots.

In addition to being named Adriatic League MVP, Pekovic was the recipient of the NLB Trophy. He had a banner season, despite missing several games with a minor injury. He led the team in scoring (15.2 ppg), field goal shooting percentage (.684), field goals (154), blocked shots (25) and finished second in rebounds (154), leading the squad in offensive boards (72).

ANALYSIS

Positives: Does not have the size to play center in the NBA, but is an athletic four-spot type with developing strength to go with good foot quickness, adequate wingspan and very good balance and body control playing with his back to the basket ... Has good moves and a strong base setting on screens ... Very good at using his arms and getting wide in his stance while using his upper body strength to establish position ... Has very good stamina and consistently plays at a high intensity level ... Despite giving up some size and bulk to bigger centers, you will never see him get backed off or physically handled ... Keeps his elbows flying to clear space for himself in the paint without getting caught by the refs ... Despite his obvious pedigree, he plays like a blue collar worker, as he is alert to getting good position in rotations and will dive for loose balls rather than let a teammate do the dirty work ... Likes contact and the physicality of playing under the boards ... More of an old school type of player, as he likes to punish his opponent in the paint and prefers to play with his back to the basket ... Shows good second jump ability, exploding to the offensive glass for put-backs ... Not really a great passer, but as a ball handler, he doers a good job of protecting the ball and can put it on the floor for a dribble or two ... Shows nimble feet moving around the low post and has big, soft hands to secure the pass, turn and feather the ball into the net ... Lacks long range ability, but can put up a good jumper from 10-12 feet away ... Has great leg drive to the basket once he secures the pass underneath ... Uses his power base well to box out the opponent consistently and is very dominating playing off the low block ... Always seems to be in the right position to make the rebound on either side of the court, as he has that strong base that opponents struggle trying to move him out of the paint ... Has good turning motion and reach, taking the pass in the low post and driving hard to the basket, drawing contact to get to the line, where he shows a high release point and improved elbow angling to have good success from the free throw line ... Gets the defender to commit too early with textbook pump fakes ... Coming off the pick-and-roll, he is usually in the right position to flip the ball in the basket ... Has the lateral agility and length to move out of the box and face up to perimeter shooters, impeding the penetration progress of the opponent with the way he keeps shuffling his feet to stay in front of his man ... Not the type who can create his shot coming off the dribble, but is very effective getting good position under the basket, where he can execute the one-hand dunk or drop back to deliver his mini jump hook ... Constantly draws double-team attention, which creates room for an open teammate to score ... Even though his assist figures indicate otherwise, he is capable of beating double teams by pushing the ball out to a perimeter shooter and has good quickness moving the ball around the court.

Negatives: Not that creative with the ball in his hands and is the type who can make a nice living under the basket, but has no range from the perimeter and his accuracy suffers attempting his shot from more than 10 feet from the basket ... Lacks the length and long wingspan you see from most centers, but is good at establishing position due to his natural strength ... Could be a first-round pick, but recently signed a three-year contract with a team in Greece, forcing NBA teams to lower his grade to a second-round target ... Because he lacks foot speed, he will be a liability in a full court, up-tempo attack ... More of a "what you see is what you get" type, as there are doubts that he can further develop his average offensive skills ... Sometimes gets lost in help defense and does not have great vision passing the ball out (slow to find the open man, but will get the ball there, once he is able to locate) ... Most of his scoring comes from around the basket, but while he shows good second jump effort, he lacks great elevation to rise tall above the rim ... Can dominate in the paint, but will get too aggressive and reckless tossing his elbows around, leading to foul issues ... Can handle bigger shooters on the outside, but lacks the quickness to stay with the more athletic slashers ... If he puts the ball on the floor for more than a bounce or two, a savvy defender is sure to steal it (has a high, loose dribble that he keeps away from his body, but is not going to fool anyone) ... Has good hands to catch the pass, but lacks a good touch, as he takes too much time to get his shot off at times ... Struggles to get off the floor due to poor vertical leaping ability ... Does not really explode above the rim much, evident by his poor shot blocking figures.

Compares to: NAZR MOHAMMED-Charlotte ... While Pekovic is more suited to play power forward in the NBA, the team that drafts him will have to wait a few years for his arrival. Despite being told by several scouts that he had first-round potential, word filtering back to the States is that he signed a three-year contract (worth $6.5 million per) with Panathinaikos in the Greek League. He is more of an old school type who is best with his back to the basket, dunking the ball or going for put-backs. He lacks any other sort of an offensive game and does not have the explosive leaping ability to get to a ton of rebounds or block shots. Still, he is a physical guy who can be effective in the paint, but there are doubts if his offensive game will ever progress to the point that he would be one his team feeds the ball to.

CAREER NOTES

Played in 86 games for Partizan Igokea the past three seasons, scoring 901 points (10.5 ppg), as he made 67.7 percent of his field goals (319-of-471) and 77.6 percent of his free throws (263-of-339) ... Grabbed 335 rebounds (3.9 rpg), taking down 164 from the offensive glass ... Doled out 30 assists while collecting 62 steals and blocking 59 shots (0.7 bpg).

2007-08 SEASON

Adriatic League Most Valuable Player and NLB League All-Star Game MVP ... Runner-up for the Euroleague's Rising Star Award ... Played in 28 of 31 games, missing three midseason contests with a leg contusion ... Led the team and ranked sixth in the league in scoring with 426 points (15.2 ppg) ... Ranked second in the league while leading the squad with a field goal percentage of .684 ... Led the team with 154-of-225 field goals, as he also shot 79.7 percent from the foul line (118-of-148) ... Tallied 21 assists (0.8 apg) and had 25 steals (0.9 spg) ... Led the squad and ranked fifth in the league with 25 blocked shots (0.9 bpg) ... Charged with 87 personal fouls and had 41 turnovers ... Ranked third in the league in offensive rebounds (72) and had a team-high total of 154 overall boards (5.5 rpg) ... Scored in double figures in 24 contests and had three double-double performances.

2007-08 GAME ANALYSIS

Began the season with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, adding eight boards vs. Vojvodina ... Poured in 20 points, making 8-of-9 free throws, as he also had five rebounds and two blocked shots at FMP ... Snatched 10 rebounds, including six from the offensive glass, as he tallied 23 points on 8-of-9 field goals, as he also blocked three shots vs. Zvezda ... Had 15 points and six rebounds vs. Cibona and 16 points with seven boards at Olimpija ... Collected 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and dished out an assist vs. Siroki ... Followed with a season-high 33 points on 15-of-19 field goals, as he totaled 11 rebounds, including eight from the offensive side, adding two assists vs. Split ... Hit on 6-of-7 field goals, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds in a second meeting vs. Olimpija ... Made 8-of-11 shots from the field for 19 points and brought down seven boards while blocking two shots vs. Cibona ... Followed with 22 points, completing 10-of-11 free throws, as he also had eight rebounds in a back-to-back matchup vs. Cibona ... Put in 31 points (11-of-15 field goals, 9-of-11 free throws) and grabbed five boards vs. Olimpija ... Closed out the year with his fourth 20-point performance in his final five games, tallying 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, as he also snared seven rebounds vs. Hemofarm in the Adriatic League Finals.

2006-07 SEASON

Played in 31 games for Partizan, making 98-of-137 field goals (71.5 percent) and 83-of-110 free throws (75.5 percent) for 279 points (9.0 rpg) ... Pulled down 85 rebounds (2.7 rpg), including 44 from the offensive glass ... Blocked 17 shots, had 19 steals and added four assists ... Also had 34 turnovers and 97 personal fouls.

2005-06 SEASON

Played in 27 games, sitting out vs. Lasko and Zagreb with an ankle sprain ... Totaled 196 points (7.3 ppg) on 67-of-109 field goals (61.5 percent) and 62-of-81 free throws (76.5 percent) ... Pulled down 96 rebounds (3.6 rpg), with 48 coming from the offensive glass ... Managed just five assists, but had 18 steals and 17 blocked shots ... Turned the ball over 33 times and had 88 personal fouls.

INJURY REPORT

Missed the fifth game of the season vs. Lasko with an ankle injury that he re-injured later in the season, missing the 19th game vs. Zagreb.

2007-08 SEASON

Did not play in the team's 25th and 26th games (vs. Siroki and Split) with a leg contusion.

PERSONAL

Born 1/03/86 ... Resides in Bjelo Polje, Montenegro.