PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - During the Afrobasket in Tunisia which will soon move into the knockout phase, everyone knows that when Senegal need a basket, they are going to look inside to Minnesota Timberwolves big man Gorgui Dieng who is the leading scorer and rebounder of the competition.

The same thing can be said about the upcoming EuroBasket when Spain will look inside to Pau Gasol when truly needed, when Germany will set up Dirk Nowitzki in the money time or when Italy will look to one of its four NBA representatives to save the day. 

I witnessed this phenomenon in person on Saturday in Saint Quentin, France, a basketball hotbed for 40 years which gave wonderful support and encouragement to the French selection.

France were being manhandled in the first half by a very aggressive Belgian team which produced some wonderful "small ball" while making 9 of 16 three point shots! As against Finland, this is the style of play that gives the defending EuroBasket champs the most headaches.

So, who swooped in to wake up France in the second half? Their leader and go-to player, Tony Parker, who scored 18 of his 24 points in the second period while making all the big baskets to turn the score around and squeak out a very difficult victory by two points. Don't underestimate Belgium because they already beat Greece and lost by only three in Spain during the preparation games.

As for Parker, he had been cruising along alternating between zero points and no shots attempted one day against Ukraine and 19 points against the same opponent two days later.

After his scintillating performance against Belgium, Tony said: "They pushed us around in the first half and my competitive spirit took over in the second half because I didn't want us to lose a third game during our preparation. We have four days of rest coming up so I knew I could dig deep down. It was important for us to have a difficult test like this after several easy wins."

This was by far Parker's best individual performance in eight preparation games of which France have won six. The "boss" is physically and mentally ready for the REAL competition to begin!

Along with Parker, other "go-to guys" have emerged during these games leading up to the EuroBasket starting with New Jersey Nets swingman Bojan Bogdanovic, who is Croatia's leading scorer and money time decision-maker. He is surrounded by Ante Tomic and Dario Saric to form an elite trio on a team that I feel can finish on the podium. Bogdanovic was MVP in Kaunas where Croatia beat Lithuania by 13 to stay undefeated in preparation games. Croatia sent a message to all their future opponents in that game.

Other confirmed stars like Milos Teodosic from Serbia or the two Sergios, Rodriguez and Lull, from Spain will have their decisive moments at EuroBasket 2015. I expect Rodriguez to have a much bigger role this summer compared to last summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup. Nikola Mirotic may be a rookie with Spain but he will hit some big shots and quickly blend in with his former teammates from Real Madrid.

Who might be some other, less expected, go-to players at the EuroBasket? How about Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder who is Germany's leading scorer during the preparation games with his brillant all-around play. He scored 22 points in a victory over Latvia and seems like a likely European successor to Parker in the role of scorer-playmaker with a lightning first step to the hoop. These two have similar qualities like being unstoppable off the dribble and Dennis would be smart to follow Tony's example and work endlessly on improving his outside shot.

If Georgia want to make it out of the first round, a lot will depend on Dallas Mavericks big man Zaza Pachulia scoring big inside.

How about three freshly naturalized players with "go-to" potential?

Poland's A.J. Slaughter won't be afraid to take big shots after a good season with Panathinaikos. Bobby Dixon - aka Ali Muhammed - has become a big star in the strong Turkish league and like Slaughter, he packs a big offensive punch despite being a pint-size point guard! He'll help Turkey's chances of making it out of the mega-tough Group B. An experienced veteran like Blake Schilb should fit in nicely with Jan Vesely and the other players from the Czech Republic.

On the other hand, a team like Slovenia will sorely miss Goran Dragic, their most famous go-to player and Russia will miss Victor Khryapa.

All these players mentioned above - and many others - will probably have their moments but we will also likely see some surprising performances from unexpected players that opposing defenses will let run free while they concentrate more on the well-known stars.

Who will step up? That is the question.

George Eddy

FIBA

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