NBA Draft Combine 2013: Dennis Schroeder only European prospect in attendance

There will be 60 prospects on hand for the 2013 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, a four-day event which begins on Wednesday, May 15.

However, Germany’s Dennis Schroeder will be the only one of those 60 not from the United States, even though this year’s draft has a relatively strong group of international prospects.

The pre-draft process is more important for foreign players than for American ones, since it’s much easier for NBA teams to extensively scout players in the NCAA than overseas.

As a result, franchises that aren’t already familiar with the international prospects will be at a significant disadvantage, especially due to how young many of them are.

All six of the foreign players getting the most first-round buzz -- Schroeder, Rudy Gobert (France), Sergey Karasev (Russia), Dario Saric (Croatia), Giannis Adetokunbo (Greece) and Lucas Nogueira (Brazil) -- are under the age of 21.

Schroeder, who emerged as a first-round prospect after a dominant performance at the Nike Hoop Summit in April, could benefit from being the only international player measured, tested and interviewed at Chicago.

An extremely athletic 6’1, 180-pound point guard, Schroeder displayed a good feel for running the point at the Hoop Summit, as well as an impressive all-around game.

In contrast, NBA teams will have far less information on a player like Adetokunbo, an 18-year-old on a second-division team in Greece who has never played in the United States.

So while Schroeder and Adetokunbo are both extremely intriguing prospects, Adetokunbo will be far more of a shot in the dark come draft time.

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