Is Ukic the Next Calderon?

We often hear parallels and comparisons between Toronto's two international point guards, Jose Calderon, a 4 year vet of the league, and Roko Ukic, a rookie. Today we're going to evaluate Roko Ukic's rookie stats thus far, and compare them to Jose's rookie stats to see if "Hot Cocoa" Roko is a "Jose-in-Training".

Of course, Calderon and Ukic did not receive identical playing time in their first year; so we averaged their stats out in the unit of stat per 20 minutes - solid playing time for a backup guard.

Raw Statistics:
Ukic: 4.7 points per game, 2.1 assists per game, 1.0 rebounds per game, 1.1 turnovers per game, 0.4 steals per game, 40.7 shooting percentage, 13:05 minutes per game

Calderon: 5.5 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, 1.6 turnovers per game, 0.7 steals per game, 42.3 shooting percentage, 23:11 minutes per game.

Points:
Ukic: 0.36 P/min = 7.2 points per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.24 P/min = 4.8 points per 20 minutes
Advantage: Ukic

Assists:
Ukic: 0.16 ast/min = 3.2 assists per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.2 ast/min = 4.0 assists per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon

Rebounds:
Ukic: 0.08 reb/min = 1.6 rebounds per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.1 reb/min = 2.0 rebounds per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon

Turnovers:
Ukic: 0.084 TO/min = 1.68 turnovers per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.069 TO/min = 1.38 turnovers per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon

Steals:
Ukic: 0.036 stl/min = 0.72 steals per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.0302 stl/min = 0.6 steals per 20 minutes
Advantage: Ukic

Field Goal Percentage:
Ukic: .406 FG%
Calderon: .423 FG%
Advantage: Calderon

Verdict:
While there are very close numbers being put up in assists, steals, and rebounds, it appears Jose was a more polished player in his rookie year. He shot the ball better than Ukic has while committing fewer turnovers. Ukic, however, does carry a substantial edge in scoring - he may be a little trigger-happy at times, but it's undeniable that he has the ability to score and create. After all, when you are a 6'5" point guard, why not drive and look to score or dish? While Calderon had the advantage in most categories, the margins were quite small.

There are definite similarities when looking at Roko and Jose's numbers. Jose had his breakout year last season, averaging over 11 points and 8 assists. Roko may need more time to develop his game (especially his long-range shot), but Raptor fans may very well be lucky enough to be watching a Jose-in-Training.