Monday, January 31, 2005
Weekend Roundup: Fran Vázquez again
By Luis Fernández

All the talk about his future doesn’t seem to be affecting Fran Vázquez. This weekend he delivered another monster game in the Spanish ACB League, this time against Bilbao, becoming a nightmare in the paint for the rival team and leading Unicaja to victory with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Fran is playing some of his best games of the season lately, getting more and more consistent. He’s probably the European prospect with the biggest short-term potential to produce right away, and the greatest capability to improve his stock till June.

Friday, January 28, 2005
European Roundup: a stellar Fran Vázquez
By Luis Fernández

Fran Vázquez greatly helped Unicaja Málaga's chances to keep their options open regarding their potential advancement to the top-16 stage of the Euroleague.

Taking advantage of the lack of size of Opel Slyliners, Vázquez was comfortable in the paint, while hitting some of his typical mid-rangers to finish the game with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Euroleague: Youngsters Fighting for a Place Under the Sun

Luis Fernández - Deputy Director of Scouting
Sadik Iliman - Staff Reporter
Dimitris Ritsonis
Matiz Tratar Printer Friendly Page
February 18, 2005

Fran Vázquez
(PF/C; 1983; 6-10; Unicaja Málaga; 19 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg)





The opportune (for him) injury that Zan Tabak suffered during the first part of the season allowed Fran Vázquez to become a starter for Unicaja Málaga. And while his team certainly suffered under those circumstances, losing depth in the inside rotation, and ultimately not qualifying for the top-16 stage, Vázquez took advantage to showcase his game at the premier European level. And you can bet he hasn’t disappointed.

Vázquez has provided his team with size, athleticism, intimidation, rebounding and scoring. He has played center full-time, teaming with the more perimeter oriented (and leader of the team) Jorge Garbajosa at power forward. Fran’s main duty on the offensive end has been to take advantage of the spaces created from his teammates attacking the basket (his dunks have become a routine) or deliver mid-range jumpers. Indeed, his mid-range shot is probably his most improved skill since last season. Nobody will deny that he played his part after scoring 70% of his 2-point shots (second in the Euroleague).

Not everything has been a secondary role for him. Fran has eventually showed his potential to become a good scorer as well. His game against CSKA Moscow, the strongest team in this regular season, deserves to be mentioned especially. Vázquez had 17 points here while taking his team on his shoulders offensively during some stretches of the game, playing one-on-one ball effectively in the low post and scoring on contested shots.

Also, a guy with his wingspan and athleticism has to be a presence on defense, and being ranked in second place among all Euroleague players in blocked shots isn’t a coincidence. But besides this glamorous detail, he remains a pretty raw defensive player who still makes youthful mistakes. Things like not knowing to when and where to concede space to his matchup, getting fooled when a rival player fakes a shot, not properly boxing out his defender for the rebound, and so on.

However, the bright spots outshine his flaws, many of which he has time to work on. Being one of the youngsters who benefited most from this competition, he might have worked his way into the lottery for next June.

Monday, March 21, 2005
Weekend Roundup: A slew of excellent performances
By Luis Fernández


In the Spanish ACB League, Mickaël Gelabale looks better every day while asking for a place in the next draft’s first round. He had 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks for Real Madrid in the victory against Lleida. Fran Vázquez shined too with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks, and teaming with Garbajosa, they dominated Manresa’s inside players to get an easy win for Unicaja.

Posted by fishmike:

I'm going to curb my enthusiasm for anyone playing behindZan Tabak