Some hardcore fantasy basketball players may remember the emergence of Marko Jaric as a steals monster early in the 2004 season . He climbed onto the radar with big assist-steals night in Los Angeles and remained a viable fantasy option until hurting his knee and back couple times and going down for most of the 2nd half.

Well, Marko’s back. The 25 year-old point guard from Belgrade is now starting for the Minnesota Timberwolves. At 6′7″ he’s got excellent size for the position. And his 17 point, 5 rebound, 5 assist, 2 steal average on the young season may have drawn your interest.

What do you get when you pick up Jaric? Well, he’s no Brevin Knight. Jaric is a good ball-handler, but he’s not the swiftest guy up and down the court. He’s a good passer in the European mold, but he’s not a circus-freak like Ginobili. All that means is that he won’t post big assist totals as often as you’d like from a guard. The Wolves play a static offense and Jaric is the perfect guy to run that game. But he doesn’t have Cassell’s imagination and he’s not that kind of player.

The bonus is a guard who’s going to get you good rebound totals. But Jaric has never played more than 66 games in a season and he’s almost guaranteed to be lost for a stretch at some point in the year. He’s definitely not someone you want to start at a primary position, but he’s a viable option at Utility. Oh, and his FG % is awful. His career average is 40% from the field, which is strange considering he doesn’t take many 3s (3/game).

So pick up Marko for the steals/assists/rebounds and hope he keeps hitting at 57 %. He’s a better option than Ridnour or Dickau. I’d say the ceiling is 15 points/game, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Marko Jaric Career Statistics