Ben Saraf Impresses in Opening Games for Ratiopharm Ulm

Ben Saraf is asserting himself as a leader of Ratiopharm Ulm’s offense and with good reason. The 18-year-old is already proving himself to be a reliable creator for himself and others, leading Ulm to 1-0 starts in EuroCup and domestic league play. Here’s what we’ve seen from the Israeli point guard so far.

FIBA.com

Ratiopharm Ulm has done it again. For the third season in a row, they’ve found a point guard under the age of 20 capable of being their primary creator on offense. In Europe, we’ll rarely see the heliocentric offenses that we occasionally get in the NBA but Ulm gets close - leaning heavily on spread pick-and-roll sets that they’re capable of playing thanks to their scouts nearly batting a thousand on point guard prospects and floor spacing wings. 

After two seasons of Spanish point guard Juan Nunez, they’ve turned the keys over to newcomer Ben Saraf. The 6-foot-5 point guard did not start in Ulm’s domestic opener against Chemnitz but did in their EuroCup opener against Polish side Trefl Sopot. He’s averaging 19 points, six assists, and three steals on 47/38/86 shooting splits. The output and responsibility at such a young age are impressive for Saraf. Overall, he is doing what he’s best at. 

He’s running pick-and-roll and using his size and touch to finish at the rim, knocking down the occasional mid-range jumper after carving out just enough space for himself, and finding open teammates. His defense has been admirable as well.

Saraf uses his size well, a necessity given the fact that he doesn’t move the quickest in his defensive stance and gets straight up and out of position too easily. But the size and length help him recover against smaller and quicker guards and he’s been engaged on help too, showing active hands and generally making plays on the defensive end that can often lead to easy offense. Saraf doesn’t project to be a positive on defense, but he might be an easy hide with his size and activity. 

Back to the offense though, it’s been a mixed bag with Saraf. The numbers are good, but he’s had some rough stretches due to a few exploitable weaknesses. The first of which is that Saraf, a lefty, is very dependent on his left hand. His ball security drops significantly with the ball in his right hand. Saraf made six turnovers against Sopot and the vast majority came when he put the ball in his right hand. Sopot seemed to have this in the scouting report, reaching in on him more once the ball was out of his left hand. He also never goes right off a ball screen, meaning ICE coverage could take away a big part of his game easily. 

Sopot likes to apply pressure against opposing guards, they picked up full court for nearly the entire game, and while that rattled Saraf and forced some poor decision-making early he picked his spots brilliantly late in the game. Sopot tired and their pressure weakened, and with it, Saraf capitalized to the tune of 13 points and 3 assists to lead a seven-point turnaround in the final quarter that forced overtime. Saraf’s mid-range game in particular helped Ulm’s offense. 

A three-pointer from Warriors' stash Justinian Jessup gave Ulm the lead in the final seconds of overtime and eventually the victory. Saraf’s ability to take over the fourth quarter impressed and based on his first two games alone, Saraf looks like a sure-fire first-round pick. The NBA player he’s most comparable to is Charlotte Hornets point guard Vasilije Micic. That probably doesn’t make you jump out of your seat, but the similarity in playstyles is remarkable. 

Both players are solid pick-and-roll operators with an overall well-rounded skill set for the point guard position. Their offensive ceiling is entirely dependent on whether or not their three-pointer and specifically the stepback three is falling. Without the burst to consistently blow by opposing defenders, they need to create an advantage another way and that’s only possible with self-created threes. Micic is 30 now, though, and Saraf is only 19. If his three-point shot takes off and he becomes more confident with his right hand we could be looking at a ceiling like Goran Dragic or late-career James Harden. 

Regardless of where Saraf ends up five to ten years from now, he should be a first-round lock and is likely as safe a pick as there is in terms of being a serviceable NBA player for at least the next decade.

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