Hidden in the roster of North Macedonia, Spain’s rival this afternoon (7:30 pm) in the first qualifying game for the 2023 World Cup, we find Teodor Simic. At 17 years old, this pivot, still unknown, signs very good numbers in the EBA team of Barça. He was hunted by Juan Llaneza for the Barça club, who saw in him conditions that were beginning to develop. Simic arrived at the Barça club in his first year as a cadet with 2.08 meters and he is already 2.14.
Those who know him say that he is not an athlete, but that he has something very necessary to play basketball: talent and intelligence. And good hand. In his second year as a cadet, Lubos Barton, a former Barça and Joventut player among others and who had Simic at his command, invited him to try the throw of three. He saw that, in addition to good movements in the low post, he knew how to throw.
In EBA, a category that does not go at all well to players of that stature because there is not that range of players so high, Simic averages 10.7 points per game, with 63% accuracy in shots of two, and a high percentage in shots of three (41.78%). Since he’s not physical, he’s not a great rebounder. He has an average of 2.6 defensive and 1.7 offensive sacks, although it is true that in defense, without blocking, he is able to change shots due to his size.
At the moment, and unlike other players such as Michael Caicedo or Agustín Ubal, he has not appeared for the first team. Juan Carlos Navarro, new head of the section, and Mario Bruno Fernández, his right hand in the sports area, explore the qualities of James Nnaji, Nigerian who is also from the class of 2004. Simic was brought by Llaneza and, at times, that weighs down. Maybe this Friday afternoon in Skopje will be a good opportunity to see Simic in the first person. Of course, until next February 4 he will not be of legal age. Its evolution should be monitored.