Ricards Aizpurs

Ricards is a strong 2008-born small forward or guard who plays for Stella Azzurra Rome, last summer has played for Latvia in the U16 European Championship and last January he has played in the Adidas Euroleague Next Gen with Team Munich.He is a prolific scorer who bases his game mostly on his drive ability and his strength.
His first step is not the fastest but he still is really good to get past his defender and to maintain that
advantage with his body. His finishing ability when contested should improve but it is already high level.
As said before he uses a lot his body, especially while playing against peers, thanks to his much more developed structure, but he rarely abuses of this advantage.
His dribble ability is solid, but should improve the be valid as the main ball-handler.
His playmaking ability is good but not always precise and sometimes leads to unnecessary turnovers.
Controverse, for what I’ve seen, is his shooting, the technique is excellent and fluid, he is a great spot-up shooter but this ability doesn’t translate to pull-up shots and often free-throws.
This last two elements are really evident while playing for his club, where he plays as the main offensive threat and manages most of the posses; He is much more precise when playing not as the ball-handler and with a
more marginal role.
His defence is average, he rarely excels on this side of the court but sometimes show some flashes like steals or interceptions on the passing line or in blocking. His body helps him in rebounding and switches.
Surely a great prospect to keep an eye on!