Back before the NBA Draft in June, Jordi Fernandez made it known in scouting meetings that he liked the Israeli point guard Ben Saraf. The Nets head coach, an admirer of European basketball and knowledgeable about FIBA talent \u2014 having been the head coach of Team Canada, was a strong advocate of the 6\u20197\u201d (in shoes) combo guard. So when the 26th pick arrived, Sean Marks & co. selected Saraf. When the season opened in October and Egor Demin was still recovering from a torn plantar faschia, Fernandez chose Saraf as his starting PG. Things didn\u2019t work out that well then, but the head coach didn\u2019t lose faith in the 19-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was composed the whole game,\u201d said . Obviously, he scored 40 points, but he looked like an NBA player out there,\u201d Fernandez said after the Nets win over Philly. \u201cWe watched the game and how confident he was, how he shot the ball, how he shot the three, and his just finishes around the rim. If he would have finished a few more at the rim, he could have scored 50.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd those are the challenges. He\u2019s really hard on himself. And that\u2019s why Ben is so great, and he will be a great NBA player. But I was happy that he helped the team compete and get a win. That\u2019s got to be the main purpose, whether you play here with the Nets or in Long Island, is you want to help the team compete and then come out with a win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strong praise but the eighth youngest player in the NBA this season was all that Fernandez described. Saraf finished this game connecting on 14 of his 26 shot attempts, including going six-of-10 from beyond the arc. All of these numbers marked career-highs. He also registered six rebounds and four assists.<\/p>\n
Fernandez certainly would have knowledge of his potential from Saraf\u2019s FIBA exploits.<\/p>\n
A little more than a year ago, he averaged 28.1 points for Israel in the FIBA Europe\u2019s U19 tournament, winning MVP honors. Two years earlier, he averaged 24.3 for the Israeli junior national team in FIBA Europe\u2019s U16 tournament.<\/p>\n