OKC Thunder must keep an eye on 16-year old big man Ruben Prey

OKC Thunder executive vice president, Sam Presti has been busy accumulating draft picks as part of the franchise rebuild.  With 35 potential picks in hand over the next seven years Presti and his front office staff will be active in tracking the best young prospects.

With that in mind, Intentions will keep our eyes peeled for youngsters coming down the pipeline. Today we dive into a potential future OKC Thunder draft prospect from Portugal – center Ruben Prey.

OKC Thunder future prospect: Ruben Prey

Even in brief glimpses of the 6’10” center, there is reason for the OKC Thunder to get excited about the potential of this young man. Clearly, he’s still growing so ignore the slight frame as he’ll continue to add muscle and very likely shoot up in height as well.  He turned 16 in February and will be draft-eligible for a few more seasons.

Viewing film, immediately this young makes an impression. Offensively his skill set is developed with the typical fully developed skillset so many European prospects display.

Even though his height helps it’s impossible to ignore the rebounding instincts in terms of how he positions himself in the paint. Prey averaged 18.3 rebounds in the four games in Sofia Bulgaria when the Under 16 teams played. In the four games, he averaged 7.5 offensive boards and hauled down 23 rebounds in the semi-finals versus Hungary.

His activity on the offensive glass led to many of those rebounds. The clip below offers an example of how quickly the youngster gets off his feet, positions himself, his patience, and nose for the ball.

With a variety of tap-ins, put-back dunks, navigating the paint to move around his competitors for an up or and under basket or clearing space for a lay-in are all tools at his disposal.  His rebound positioning and ability to score on the offensive glass highlights Prey’s high I.Q.

At the FIBA Under 16 four-game tournament, Prey averaged 17 points, (those 18.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, two steals, and 5.3 blocks all accomplished in 32.2 minutes on the court.

Prey shows versatility in his offensive game already displaying range in his shot, with quick hands, soft touch, and advanced agility for his size.

Unlike most 16-year olds Prey doesn’t telegraph his moves reaching into an already impressive offensive toolbox and can use either hand to score.

Defensively, the young Portuguese big man was a beast capitalizing on his huge hands and impeccable timing to swat away shots at the rim.  Rebounding and rim protection aren’t his only defensive pluses as his timing and agility project for the young man to offer solid two-way potential.

Another sign of his intelligence and ability was the big man got a meager one free throw attempt through the two group phase but increased his trips to the line to 12 and 11 attempts in the closing rounds.

The Joventut big man put on a show in the semi-final game scoring a massive double-double of 21 points and 23 rebounds.  Prey followed up that effort in his final game of the tournament nearly netting a triple-double of 19 points, 17 rebounds, and eight blocks.

Top draft analyst Mike Schmitz was super high on Prey calling him the best big man he evaluated this summer. Prey will continue to develop in Spain playing with Joventut Badalona where he’ll be given ample minutes along with the opportunity to play through mistakes and apply the lessons learned.

At 16, Prey will have plenty to develop as he works toward a time when he’ll be NBA Draft eligible. Intentions will keep our eyes on him during this process as he could very well be an integral piece of the OKC Thunder roster of the future.