Vrenz Bleijenbergh
Profile:
Position: Small Forward
Role: Point Forward
Age: 20
Nation: Belgium
League: BSL/Eurocup
Team: Antwerp Giants
Height: 6’11
Wingspan: 7’2
Weight: 205 lbs
Stats:
Positives:
- Excellent physical profile. His height at 6’10 would be tremendous for a wing player, let alone someone who plays like a guard. He also has a self-reported 7’2 wingspan, giving him fantastic length.
- Good ball-handler. He glides around the court with superb fluidity for a player of his size. He can get to the rim well, especially off of pick and rolls. He is a capable dribbler with his left hand, which allows him to comfortably drive to either side.
- Fantastic playmaker. He has good awareness and his height allows him to see over his defender to make reads. He is a talented passer capable of threading the ball through defenses. He can hit passes on the fly and is good at making deep skip passes to hit open shooters. He is also an excellent lobber.
- Great shooter. He has incredibly smooth form on his jump shot and an incredibly fast release. He has a bit of a rhythm dip off the catch and a bit of a sideways turn on his landing, but his mechanics are consistent. He is best at stationary spot-up shooting but is also capable of hitting shots off of movement. He also has upside hitting shots off the dribble.
- Solid defender. His lateral quickness is fairly average but he more than compensates for it with his length. He is a high-effort defender and capable of containing drives and contesting shots on the inside.
Negatives:
- Lacks strength. He is very much on the skinnier side and will need to add on muscles in order to handle the physicality of the NBA. Doing so will allow him to guard larger 3s and 4s in the NBA, which helps his defensive versatility. Having more strength will also help him become a better finisher who can deal with contact and get to the free-throw line more.
- Shooting consistency. He shot better during his Eurocup games but only shot 33.5% from deep for his full season. His ability to consistently hit on his catch-and-shoot 3s will be essential for his offensive utility.
- Free throw shooting. He is a poor free-throw shooter who shot at a much lower clip than his shooting ability should warrant. He doesn’t get to the line very often, which limits the sample size, but nonetheless, a sub-70% free throw percentage is never a good thing.
Upside:
- Kyle Anderson
- Joe Ingles
- Aleksej Pokusevski
Notes:
Vrenz Bleijenbergh is certainly one of the more unique prospects in this draft in the sense that he has the skill set of a combo guard but the height and length of a power forward. Bleijenbergh is a skilled ball handler who can run the pick and roll and create opportunities for others. He is a solid shooter from deep, albeit somewhat inconsistent. He is also a capable defender on the wing.
Critical to his success in the NBA will be whether or not he can hit his 3s, as he has been fairly inconsistent from deep for his career despite having good mechanics. He could also stand to add some muscle to better handle the more physical NBA. He’s more of a raw prospect at the moment, but as a 6’10 player with guard skills, he is just oozing with potential.
