Jean Montero shows the madness of modern basketball
Jean Montero is the star for Valencia ahead of the club’s first ever appearance in the Euroleague Final Four. Yet the discussions of his future, be they a big money move in Europe, a jump to the NCAA, or finding an NBA opportunity, dominate the conversation around him. Emmet Ryan on how Montero just being himself is refreshing in a basketball world gone mad.
Jean Montero is the story within the story of the Euroleague season. At just 22 years of age, he was the key piece as Valencia reached the Euroleague Final Four for the first time in their history.
The Dominican guard has courted lots of interest after winning the Euroleague Rising Star award and being named to the All-Euroleague first team. Yet while the normal route is to either a bigger club in Europe or a NBA move, there is talk that a contender for Euroleague MVP might go down the college route.
That the rumours can reach this level of a sport show how NIL has changed the way we talk about basketball as a whole. It’s wild but, to his credit, Montero seems to just be rolling with it.
This isn’t normal
Guards, indeed players, at Jean Montero’s age simply don’t get opportunities like this anymore. One of the big concerns amongst fans of top tier basketball in Europe in recent years was the lack of young guys making an impact. Even before the NIL, plenty were opting to go to the NBA early beyond the super prospects.
The Euroleague as we know it today isn’t designed for young guards still on an upward trajectory. That is particularly true for contenders. Yet here is Montero, not just getting those minutes but as the unquestioned star of a Valencia side in the Euroleague Final Four.
The Dominican has bucked the trend and left no doubt that he belongs in his first season in the Euroleague. Montero leads Valencia in scoring, assists, and PIR (the main efficiency metric). He is that guy at just 22 when few players under 25 get these kinds of looks.
BallinEurope is ramping up its YouTube game this season. Subscribe to our channel now for player exclusives, analysis videos, and much more.
The Euroleague Final Four is the showcase
We’ve already seen plenty of what Jean Montero can do this season but now he gets a shot on the biggest stage outside of North America. Valencia reached a first ever Euroleague Final Four this season and Montero has a chance to shape the narrative about how he is viewed going forward.
This is the stage where his weaknesses will be assessed the most. With a guard like Montero, the obvious question is size and strength. The latter is already visibly improving and will come with age. The former is about showing he can play up against longer men.
Should Montero shine, and there’s every reason to believe he will, then his stock will rise considerably. The demand for him, including internally from Valencia to re-sign, is huge. A great couple of games in Athens will take that to another level entirely.
BallinEurope has a book, a real life actual book called I Like it Loud, and you can buy it on Amazon now. It’s here as a book and here in Kindle form.
Yet we live in absurd times
Somehow, some way, there remain rumours that Jean Montero will leave Valencia come season’s end to go back to school. The numbers being floated about, upwards of $4 million and they’d want to be higher, are huge.
Yet there’s no question this would be a step back. In Euroleague, Montero gets to play in the second best league in the world. Within that, he’s playing in Spain which is the best domestic league going (outside the NBA). Playing college ball would be a step back simply because of the effective age & experience ceiling on most of the guys playing.
It’s just absurd that a player that belonged in the conversation for Euroleague MVP this season is even being discussed as a college prospect. Obviously the profile he would get Stateside with the right school would be huge. So too would be the pay. Yet it’s hard to think that a guy who went the club route in Europe after playing high school ball in the US really wants this.
He’s already NBA ready
There’s an interview Alex Caruso did about guys in the G League not getting what NBA teams want when they look there. In terms of Euroleague, the analogy isn’t quite the same but Jean Montero covers all the bases.
With an All-Euroleague guard, they obviously expect passing and scoring. What they’re also getting is a guy who can do the less glamorous stuff very well. In the series clinching Game 5 win over Panathinaikos, Montero showed he could dig in and do the grunt work on the boards and elsewhere defensively. He didn’t need a star look in the box score to give a star performance.
That’s the kind of relevant competitor an NBA team desires. Getting guards who will be able to keep things going, coming off the bench and being a real impact. The scoring and passing is nice but Montero is so much more than that. He doesn’t need to go to school, he’s ready for that look now. Or rather, he will be once he gets this job done with Valencia first.
The post Jean Montero shows the madness of modern basketball appeared first on BallinEurope.
