Tiago shows most of the physical gifts you should ask for in a big man, as he has an excellent long frame, that's ready to put some weight on, a nice vertical leap, good quickness and great mobility that allow him to excel at running up and down the court. He's pretty athletic for a guy his size.
The Brazilian is a very dangerous weapon in the paint. He enjoys a very effective post-up game that's really hard to stop; which is completely logical considering we're talking about a guy with good footwork, nice footspeed, 6-11 size, long arms, the ability to finish with both hands, a soft touch and no fear of contact, sometimes even looking for it to perform his movements.
Another of his favourite situations on the offensive end is the pick and roll. He sets good picks and perfectly rolls towards the basket, trying then to take advantage of his size and soft touch, or dishing to a teammate whenever he sees a better option than his. Indeed, he sees the floor quite well, especially facing the basket, and makes good decisions, never panicking when double-teamed, although he could improve his passing execution. While not a superb handler, he can reliably put the ball on the floor if needed, and even penetrate, usually against centers, beating them with his quickness, being able to drive both left or right.
Defensively, Tiago is very solid, and quite intense. He's rarely banged in the low post despite usually being lighter than his rivals, and he enjoys accurate lateral quickness to stop his matchups and even to contain (to a certain degree) smaller rivals after defensive changes. He never forgets team defense, and generally shows very good positioning. He's a decent shot blocker, but he rarely risks his defensive position to get the block, so in the end he's not very prolific.
By now you'll have realized that Splitter has quite a high basketball IQ. He's a smart kid, and knows what the game is about. He's also a hard worker and a kid who shows good attitude on the court. Everything seems in place in his head.
Right now, what could be missing most from Splitter's game is a reliable mid-range shot. He can make it, but not on a regular basis. He only uses it as a last resource, not feeling really confident about it, and even provoking some bad decisions when he forces another option despite having an open look.
Although important, I don't think it's a such a serious problem. Tiago has had better years in this department, he even used to shoot treys from time to time, and his mechanics aren't particularly bad. Since the 2003-2004 season, when he finally joined Tau Vitoria's roster after being previously loaned to another team playing in lower categories, he suffered a double process of being forced to play closer to the basket and enjoying less scoring options. And while it showed great results with his paint game, I think it might have temporally hurt his shot.
As with the majority of international big men on their way to the NBA, Tiago is still rather skinny. And while he makes up for it by being pretty intense, he suffers in certain areas of his game, especially rebounding. But he's progressed lately in this department, and will surely continue in the future, as he has a good frame to add some weight.
Tiago Splitter grew up with Ipiranga-Badesc youth teams in Brazil. Tau Vitoria brought him to Spain at the age of 15 in the year 2000. The club organized a team in EBA category (fourth division in Spain) to give him playing time, scoring 16.9 points and grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game. In the 2001-2002 season, he was loaned to Bilbao Basket in LEB-2 (third division), averaging 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while getting the promotion to LEB (second division) for the following year. At 17 years old, he was the youngest player ever to take part in LEB as a foreigner and finished the season with 13.3 points and 7.1 rebounds.
After finally joining Tau's roster for the 2003-2004 campaign, Tiago could only play in the Euroleague for the first half of the season, since each team in the ACB league is only allowed two foreigners and Arvydas Macijauskas and Kornel David had already filled those spots as Tau's non-EU players. In January he finally got his Spanish citizenship, and was cleared to play ACB too. Joining such a strong team and playing few minutes in such a high level of competition, his averages suffered: 2.8 points and 2 rebounds in the ACB League, and 4 points and 2.4 rebounds in the Euroleague.
He started the 2004-2005 season in spectacular fashion, averaging 17.6 points in the preseason, taking advantage of the numerous injuries that plagued Tau's roster. He also suffered one in November that slowed down his statistical production. Right now, right at the middle point of the ACB's regular season, he's averaging 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds. In the Euroleague, his current numbers are 9.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
With the Brazilian National Team, Splitter played in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis at the stunning age of 17. The following year, he faced a collection of true NBA stars in the last Tournament of the Americas, getting 6 points and 3 rebounds in that game.
After pulling out last year at the last minute, Splitter is a lock to declare for the next draft. He's currently a no-brainer for the lottery. And given the lack of top prospects that next June's draft features, we can't rule out anything about how high the Brazilian could go. He's under contract until 2008, and his buyout is rather expensive, but affordable taking into account where he will likely be selected.
Tiago Splitter is one of the surest things in the next draft, especially among big men. He has the body, the athleticism, the skills, the attitude and the brain to become a very good player in the NBA. Perhaps he doesn't enjoy out-of-this-world potential, but he will become a solid contributor wherever he goes.
Tiago is of German descent, and his father, Cassio, was also a basketball player, but was forced to retire prematurely due to injuries. Splitter speaks four languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English and German. He is an ex volleyball player, which most likely helped him improve his coordination and agility.
