VAN DEN SPIEGEL, Thomas
STRENGTHS: Very Athletic center. Rare footwork for a guy his size. He might be one of the best seven footers in Europe in terms of running the court and dynamic situations. Plays with energy, scores from extemporary situations, blowing past his defender, cutting on the Pick & Rolls. Good attitude, humble, he’s happy with what he gets on offense and he’s a presence on defense.
WEAKNESSES: He suffered a lot of physical problems and lost his rhythm, which is a shame for a player who lacks technique and instinct. He needs to be 100% fit to render. He struggles when he has responsibility. Has the mentality to be an excellent reserve player. Modest fundamentals, he lacks an offensive game. Weak in 1-on-1 situations, shooting range is almost non-existent and he’s sometimes too exuberant (makes fouls, naive).
CAREER: He started his career at Aalst before going to Oostende, where he suffered many injuries. In his first entire season (12.8ppg, 8.2rpg in 2000-01), he did extremely well and earned a call from Fortitudo Bologna. He first had ups and downs, then was excellent in 2003-04; He signed for Rome where he disappointed. He languished on the bench before joining CSKA, where he gave an immediate contribution, helping the team win the Euroleague. More injuries and a lot of travelling eventually brought him back to Italy in 2010-11 with Milan.
EVALUATION: He settled in perfectly at CSKA after a career full of ups and downs till then. Humoral, he needs to be in the right atmosphere in order to be productive. He neither has the talent nor the personality to be inventive, he needs to stick to what he can do. He lost his NBA ambitions because of injuries, he’s now a solid reserve.
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