Mr. Flambo’s last post on the enigmatic Dan Gadzuric is incomplete without some video highlights…

Gadzuric showing his stuff

Flambo

As the days count down towards the draft for countless fantasy hoops owners, many are confronted again with that annual conundrum-  what to do about Dan Gadzuric?  Opinions vary greatly about the Flying Dutchman.  Some owners view Gadzuric as a sure-fire first round draft pick, even a top-5 talent.  Others see him as a potential “value-pick” in the 6th or 7th round.  And some owners believe he is not worthy of being drafted at all.

One thing is undeniable, however:  Gadzuric has tremendous upside, probably more so than any player in the league.  Just ask any fantasy owner who has been titillated by watching clips of Gadzuric banging in off the glass, with authority, a turnaround jumper from 10 feet out.  Or an owner who has watched him streak down the court, outrunning the opposition’s point guard to the basket, receiving a perfectly delivered lob from Charlie Bell, and slamming the ball home with the kind of authority that shakes the Bradley center to its core, causing hundreds of delirious Bucks fans to spill their Pabst Blue Ribbon.  Or ask any opponent who has tried to take the Dutchman inside, only to be thwarted by Gadzuric’s exquisite timing, long arms, and freakish leaping ability, and found his shot swatted into the fifth row.

It’s been a long journey for the former 2nd round pick out of UCLA.  He barely made the squad his first year, but showed enough signs of his massive talent that the Bucks eventually ponied up a multi-year deal worth over $30 million.  His limitless fantasy potential received a setback when the Bucks selected the pedestrian Andrew Bogut #1 overall in 2005, sending Gadzuric to the bench and causing his minutes to nosedive.  Now Francisco Elson has arrived on the scene, presenting yet another obstacle that the Flying Dutchman must overcome.

Yet Gadzuric has always risen to the challenge.  Up to this point in his career, he has only really put up explosive fantasy numbers in extremely short bursts.  But any discerning fantasy owner can see the latent talent in his game, and recognize it bubbling just below the surface.  Watching Gadzuric play, it is manifestly obvious that he could become a 22p, 15r, 3b fantasy center.  Which is why so many fantasy owners like myself will again experience the annual urge to take the plunge, and snatch up the Flying Dutchman in the first round or two of this year’s draft.