African prospects ranking | 2002 to 2004, top 20

Well… Here we go. First of all, I want to say that I am not an expert. I’m just trying to do something for scouting, and yes, that’s my biggest dream. There may be grammar mistakes, I am open to any kind of feedback. :)

I’m Kuzey, 19. I’ve been writing about basketball since I was 9. I have been working in Eurosport Turkey for the last 1,5 years. I have written on various sites and magazines before. I’ve been working as a freelance scout for three years. I worked as a consultant. I have interviewed dozens of prospects such as Theo Maledon, Deni Avdija, Henri Drell, Aleksej Pokusevski, Arturs Kurucs, Yves Pons, and dozens of notable basketball people such as Luis Scola, Xavi Pascual, Jonathan Givony, Dimitris Itoudis, Sasa Obradovic, Joan Plaza, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Derrick Williams. I write an article every day. I live in Turkey, I go to all the Euroleague and Youth League games. My main areas are all of age group in Africa and from U12 to U20 European and NCAA. MY BIGGEST GOAL IS SCOUTING! Anyway, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and feel free to DM!

The reports are below. Here is my ranking and some videos from Twitter.

1. Yannick Nzosa

2. Marouf Moumine

3. Thierno Sylla

4. Ousmane Ndiaye

5. Joshua Ojianwuna

6. Kiir Kiir Chol Deng

7. Ibou Badji

8. Emmanuel Adeola

9. Eli John Ndiaye

10. Dick Rutatika Sano

11. Samuel Ariyibi

12. Oumar Ballo

13. James Okemirie

14. Abdoulaye Donzo

15. Khalifa Diop

16. Ugonna Onyenso

17. Victor Ezeh

18. Grace Aluma

19. Youssouf Singare

20. Assemian Moulare

1. Yannick Nzosa

Born: 30 November 2003

Nationality: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Height: 7–1

Wingspan: plus 3

Position: C

(First of all, I’m sorry, as the report on Nzosa is briefer to others, but I’m going to publish the original report with his background on October 3rd.) Standing 7-foot-1 with a good wingspan and a skinny 180-pound frame, Yannick Nzosa has great size and length for a 17-year-old basketball player in my opinion. Wide and strong shoulders, long arms. An explosive and a smooth athlete who is more comfortable moving bodies inside than sliding on the perimeter, Yannick Nzosa’s athlectisim package based on his balanced vertical pop. YN does a pretty nice job to use his energy consistently in my opinion. He can play above the rim. Offensively, he does the majority of his scoring creating one-on-one in the post, playing pick-and-roll, showing his motor as an off the ball scorer, but also showed his scoring ability around the mid-range, contributed with his effort level changing ends and crashing the glass. He is not a consistent shooter, has a lot of room to improve on that in my opinion. Pretty coordinated with the ball for a center, Nzosa has not killer-scorer instincts but his fearlessness, explosiveness and vertical pop make him an aggressive and primary scorer. Not a great passer or handler but reliable in my opinion. Active catch and finish target and productive offensive rebounder. It’s no secret that Yannick Nzosa is an excellent defender and his rim protection threat has increased his draft stock too much. Nzosa can protect the rim against any player in any situation. YN has an excellent gravity effect. But more importantly, Nzosa demonstrates that he is a switch (Example, ANGT Valencia, his defensive possessions against Jean Montero) fit on the defense. He does rotate well in the perimeter, can slide with long strides and does not make a timing mistake while doing these things. He makes the right moves on off the ball motions. Nzosa reads the pick-and-roll offense well and reacts well too. In the preseason games he played with Malaga so far, he showed that he can protect the rim and basket even against the pros and switch when necessary. But his lack of experience and elite power sometimes hurt him.

2. Marouf Moumine

Born: 4 December 2004

Nationality: Cameroon

Height: 6–6

Wingspan: 6–9

Position: SF

NBA Africa has raised star names that can play in PF and C positions. So far they have not been able to grow a good PG, SG or SF. Because the physical tools of these players who played in this position were very low. However, Marouf Moumine, can be the first superstar of this academy who can play as a PG, SG, and SF. He started playing basketball at 9. After playing in Garoua, they moved to Yaoundé after his dad was transferred. His father took MM along and tried to put him in some clubs in Yaoundé. His motivation is his father and his family. His father used to play competitive basketball as well as competitive soccer. He told him that he thought MM could make it as a basketball player. Marouf wants to make him proud. I spoke to four people at the NBA Academy, and all four said positive things about Marouf’s off-court life. Marouf is calm off the court, but besides this coolness, he is also very cheerful. His English is almost perfect. He is disciplined and likes training, especially working on dribbling and shooting. His biggest dream is to be like Pascal Siakam.

Physical

Marouf Moumine (6–6 height) is not physically perfect, but remember that he only will be 16 years old in December. I think for a 15-year-old, he has a good base. MM’s arms are long, shoulders are wide, legs are long, core muscles and wrists look strong. He needs to gain weight and build muscle in general. As I said, I don’t expect a 15-year-old player to look very strong. I think Moumine is a tough player. He can play in multiple positions both offense and defense. He usually plays like a point forward. In doing so, Marouf shows a tough resistance to his opponents. His lower body is fast and the footwork is effective in terms of quickness. He has hip mobility and has shown a lot of hip mobility in three games. Especially, Moumine can do it around the baseline well and create spacing for himself.

Offense

Marouf Moumine has a wide arsenal. Marouf did much of his scoring as a primary handler. Point forward is a crafty handler who can create his dribble channel using screen and/or hesitation moves. I think MM control the game tempo very well. He knows when and where to drive very well. He uses his team’s shot clock perfectly. While dribbling against PG, SG, SF and PF, he can use his body and finish around the basket with a soft touch and smooth athleticism. Also, thanks to his average vertical pop and his strong first step, Moumine can change direction both in the air and on the ground. He has the ability to score off the dribble. Despite showed very promising things, Moumine has room to get more consistent from the 3-point range, but the ability and mechanics are there. I mean, he can shot from 3-point range with smooth mechanics but has to get more consistent. He can create his shot using screens. Also, he showed some flashes on crossover, stepbacks, and deep range (both CnS and movement). He is not a pick and roll maestro but knows to operate roller with wide court vision and crafty handle package. He has not an explosive athlectisim but as I said, his athleticism is smooth. He needs to add strength and gain some weight in order to compete better as an off-ball offense player. I mean, he is not a player who can plays backdoor with using his body or can runs drag screen.

Defense

Marouf Moumine makes up for his lack of elite athlectisim with high BBIQ. I mean, he really knows very well how and when his opponent moves. In on-ball defense, Moumine uses his own footwork against his opponent and makes him an intense defense. He lowers the dribble rhythm of his opponent. Not good in PnR defense. He is heading towards his opponent’s channel after the screen, but his shortcomings physically reduce his efficiency. He makes a timing mistake while struggling with the screen. He cannot protect the rim because of his lack of vertical pop but he gives his opponent bad angle on floaters thanks to his BBIQ, eye-hand coordination, and long arms. He does pretty nice job contesting on ball paint shots. In my opinion, Marouf is a high IQ team defender. He leads the defense to protect his team’s shell around the perimeter and baseline. He directs his friends, talks to them, and makes rotate timing perfect. Despite not has elite athlectisim tools, Moumine can defend PG, SG, SF, and sometimes PF with his overall size, high BBIQ, and energy. It is my favorite thing about him, versatility. He’s not someone I want him to follow in the off-ball defense around the screens. Because he’s not good at timing. Sometimes he does unnecessary help defense. I think he is a very good rebounder for his position and age. In the rebound zone, he cannot give a good position of his opponents and he takes the ball.

Summary

I think MM is the best player of the NBA Academy. He has positional skills on both offense and defense. He is only 15 years old but showed good things about leadership. He is now at a good level and has at least five years to develop. I think we will see him as an elite player in the NBA for these reasons.

3. Thierno Mamadou Sylla

Born: 31 Aug 2003

Nationality: Guinea

Height: 6–10

Wingspan: 7–2

Physical

Thierno is tall like many notable prospects in Africa. But TMS is lacking in power. I think he has an ideal width all over body, but there is a lack of muscle in the arms, chest, and lower body. His shoulder muscles are good for his age. He knows how to use his long arms in passing lines, lob, long layup, and alley-oop. Lateral movement is bad. Vertical pop is very good. Hip turns are pretty nice and fast. His lower body is far from ideal but he knows how to transfer energy. I think his first step is soft. He uses this soft step to change direction in the second step. Although 16 years old prospect is 6–10, I think he has an impressive step ability, ability to change direction both in the air and on the ground, and reverse.

Offense

I think TMS is a good finisher around the rim. He can finish above the rim with lobs, either hand, has a soft touch, and through contact a bit. Even though Sylla is lack of power in the paint, he can finish very effectively thanks to his game IQ. I think he really does a nice job keeping the ball away from the defense. In my opinion, he is an average post-up player. He shows a mix of basic moves with basic footwork faceup spins, reverses, etc. He does a good job getting a position but after that, there is a problem of consistency in keeping his position and go to the basket. He likes to reverse spin and go to the basket with his long arms but is not consistent on this subject due to a lack of power. Impressive PnR player with the skills catch lobs, turns well with soft hands and quick reaction time. What is different from post up here is that he is fluid in the motion game. He has a fluent and explosive athleticism. In other words, while Mamoudou is in the action, can overcome his lack of power with speed, acceleration/burst, and game IQ and find score with more comfortable. And the most important elephant room is the shot. Thierno Mamoudou Sylla is not as strong as Khalifa Diop, Ibou Dianko Badji, Amar Sylla, Oumar Ballo, Yannick Nzosa, and Babacar Mbaye. He is not as strong as Pascal Siakam and Joel Embiid. He is not as skilled as Siakam and Jo Jo. But Sylla is a better shooter than all the names here. I mean, as far as I researched, Siakam and Embiid were shooting very badly at the age of 16–17. They didn’t even try to shoot. But TMS does not hesitate to try triples. He uses mid-range jumper after the gives short roll fakes. His shooting mechanism is not perfect, but I think he is very good for a 6–10 16 years old African prospect. He has shot mentality and shooting IQ. He just needs to learn to use it better. If he can, he can be an excellent NBA player with his pure skills.

Defense

This kid is the best rebounder I have ever seen among players born in 2003. He did not play much at “hard, challenging, competitive” levels like Yannick Nzosa and Adam Bona, but I think he knows exactly where and when to take rebounds. Double machine… Thierno is not a defensive playmaker, but pretty sound positionally and technique-wise. He is not a player who really directs the defense from the back/talks that much, from what I’ve seen but he knows the defensive rules. In my opinion, he does impressive things paying attention to the on-ball action when defending off-ball motions. He knows passing lines. Lack of strength hurts his rim protection. I mean, he is not a player who can protect the rim with a huge block or gravity thread. However, he reads and reacts quickly to what he sees. So he can cover grounds good but it is not valid for air and around the rim. He knows the timing of sliding and jumping. Even though TMS is not strong, he can defend post zones effectively. He shows some flashes the ability to keep his position against bigs with quick hands, good body balance, eye-hand coordination, and reaction time. He always battles. Btw, his motor is always active both offense and defense. When defending faceup he does not a good job sliding his feet because of lack of lateral movement. He needs some work on the PnR defense. When the big rolls, TMS is not particularly quick recovering downhill or going to the basket. He is a player who I want chasing movement shooters off screens. What is different from PnR here is the speed of action. As I said, TYS is effective where the action is fast. There are two different options during PnR, such as handler or roller. But what he has to do on off-ball screen defense is to follow. He can follow his opponent well, read the position well (thanks to his game IQ and quick hands), and thus does not allow the painted area to stay open. He is not a switch defender. Cannot defend guard at high-levels. Average ISO defender. He knows how to use his body to close the angles, passing lines, and dribble channels. However, he sometimes fails because of lack of power and early reacts.

Summary

This kid knows the ball. He has skills that are pure and impressive. He can shot. He can finish around the basket. He is a very good rebounder. Can defend post, off-screen and ISOs. Yes, the lack of power, the fact that he does not play at the high levels, not do some classic things on offense and defense, poses big question marks but I think Thierno Sylla can ideal modern era big in the work environment of the NBA or NCAA.

4. Ousmane Ndiaye

Born: March 19, 2004

Height: 6-foot-10

Wingspan: 7-foot-2

Nationality: Senegal

Physical

Ousmane Ndiaye stands 6-foot-10 and possesses very good size while boasting a 7-foot-2 wingspan, wide shoulders, stiff core muscles, long and average strong arms, quick hips, rotate legs, and average footwork. His long arms that allow him to contest shots and good finishing skills around the basket. Lack of elite footwork hurt his back-to-the-basket scoring sometimes, also, lack of elite wrist and arms strength hurt his short hooks, 3-pointers shoots, and through to contact scoring. But the end of the day, Ndiaye’s great length, offensive arsenal, and awarenesses make up on here. Light on his feet, has a good one and two feet jumping, runs the floor hard, also, runs the floor with the ball. Not a great smooth or explosive athlete yet. Has both things but not well in my opinion. As an explosive athlete, Ndiaye does that highlight dunks with self-creation which is very important for modern-era basketball. Also, showed some things as a lob target and catch-and-finish scorer. As a smooth athlete, lack of elite footwork hurt him here but his quick hips, nice decision-making mechanism, and court vision increase his efficiency here in my opinion. I think that Ousmane Ndiaye can finish above the rim well. Does a pretty nice job draws the foul. Overall, has room on his own body but his wide base and average strength are very notable things in my opinion. As an athlete, Ndiayehas to learn that how to use his body more efficiently around the basket in my opinion.

Offense

Shortly, Ousmane Ndiaye has the ability to stretch the floor, hitting threes off the catch, create his own shots both around the mid-range and behind the 3-pointers line, primarily off pick and pop actions. I think that the Senegalese prospect has the potential to become a constant pick-and-roll threat at the next level thanks to his length, solid shooting form (good shot pocket, has a pretty nice release, timing, and mentality but sometimes using unnecessary and lazy shots which are bad, also, he has room on his own stroke and footwork in my opinion), mobility, good sense of setting screens, and BBIQ. But I think his self-creation potential as a shooter is more important than his pick-and-pop threat. I mean, okay, p-p is a good thing for all 6-foot-10 and 16-year old bigs but Ndiaye is more of than that. He showed a lot of time that creating his shots. Sometimes even showed that one-dribble or freeze jumpers but not consistent naturally. I have a huge trust in his shots because Dieng has a shooting mentality. I mean, most of you big prospects have a problem using deep threes but Ndiaye has not. Sometimes he even uses unnecessary, extra threes. As an interior scorer, he is more of a crash the board types. He showed some flashes as an explosive, dominating athlete but usually, he using his ability to giving pump fakes, soft-touch around the rim, great vertical pop, court vision to giving pass others, and fluidity. I think his real offensive weapons are those things. He has a lot of room to get more consistent in the post, in the pick-and-roll situations, and back-to-the-basket games. My biggest question marks on his offensive arsenal are his dribble, passing, and transition offense for the higher levels. I mean, Ndiaye showed his self-creating as a driver in his age group. Also, running full-court quickly, doing things with advanced ballhandling in half-court. ON also gave the team momentum by running the transition very fast. As a passer, he using his floor spacer role. Advanced passes, extra passes, and some good game reading skills. But I wonder if he can do these at higher levels. Because Ndiaye generally plays as the net leader in his team harmony. It is perfect if he gives the ball to the main handler at higher levels and makes his motor and hotting ability consistently on off the ball motions, but otherwise, things can go very badly.

Defense

I think that Ousmane Ndiaye using his size well as a one-and-one defender but also shows significant things to improve on the perimeter and off the ball motions follow. I think Ousmane’s best job on the defensive end is his team awareness. I don’t think Ousmane is sleeping or low-level motor defender, active hands, sees things early and reacts, has a good body balance, eye-hand coordination, lateral movement, vertical pop, and deflections. He showed some great flashes on his rotating on the perimeter, sliding, switching to quick guards, etc. On these positions he really showed good things in terms of staying balanced, making move but not consistent yet. Has a lot of room to learn move against pump fakes, pressure on the shooters, etc. As a rim protector and shot blocker, he recorded several impressive blocks rotating aggressively over from the weakside and showing a quick second jump. Runs transition well on the defensive end too, showed some chasedown blocks, also, besides blocking, he showed that his ability to protect the rim with his length, mobility, and active stance. I would like to see him more aggressive as a post-up defender. But my biggest concern about his defensive performance is his projection. Ousmane defended against an attacker with whom he could be matched precisely, except for a few PF-Cs like Izan Almansa. I mean, he may not be aware of his significant physical shortcomings on the defensive end. Sometimes he was very weak against moving, physical, stretch PF-Cs. I think he needs to gain muscle as soon as before he playing at the high-level. Showed instincts as an area rebounder, also after grabs, he runs the open floor well and leading to the score.

Summary

Ousmane Ndiaye has a huge potential on the offensive end with his catch-and-shoot and movement shooting ability, interior scoring. On the defensive end, he has a lot of room to get better. Also, he needs to gain weight.

5. Joshua Ojianwuna

Born: September 13, 2003

Nationality: Nigeria

Height: 6–10

Wingspan: 7–1

Position: PF-C

Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna was born and raised in Asaba. His father went to the United States at certain times of the year because of his profession. When he returned to his family, he brought NBA tapes with him. Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna met basketball by watching these tapes. He played basketball at local clubs in Nigeria until he was 14 years old. In the spring of 2018, NBA Academy invited Ojianwuna and JCO has been playing at NBA Academy ever since. His English is very good, he is a bit timid in off-court life, but he is one of the most friendly names among his teammates.

Physical Tools

Many bigs born in Europe in 2003 stand out with their physical features. Yannick Nzosa, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Adam Bona are some of these names but I think Joshua Ojianwuna is the best name among international players born in 2003 in terms of both width and power. His upper body is impressively strong. JCO’s arms are long and strong. His wrists are not too strong. Shoulder and chest muscles are wide, also, stiff. Joshua has not core muscles very much, but he transfers energy from the lower body to the upper body, reaching an excellent athletic level. Nigerian prospect’s lower body is generally not fast. His footwork is slow, he doesn’t have hip mobility, but his lower body is strong just like his upper body.

Offense

My favorite thing about his offense is athlectisim. Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna has an explosive athlectisim like other African (Badji, Diop, Ballo, etc.) prospects. However, his explosiveness is different. You know, most of center plays with high energy and good vertical pop in the painted area. I think Joshua has these skills but he also plays with IQ. I mean, he is not an explosive athlete who can dunk with high domination. Joshua checks around very quickly before dunking. When he gets the ball, he uses his body as a shield and dunk with perfect vertical pop. JO’s second jump is very good. Nigerian C uses rim perfectly in positions where difficult to dunk the painted area. He knows where to send the ball in the rim. I think he is a good handler in the painted area for his physical tools. For example, he sees the opponent defense rotation and prepares himself according to this rotation, using his handling in doing so. He doesn’t dunk just to be impressive. Yes, that’s what he enjoys doing (she told me) but Joshua uses his intelligence with his body while doing it. You can see the best examples of what I said in NBA Academy matches with Djurgarden Basket and Nyiregyhaza. Ojianwuna is a good post up and PnR player. After the screen, he can roll with good timing from both the left and right channels. After taking the ball, he knows how to use his body as a shield and goes to the pot fluently. He can finish in traffic and also can finish both hands. In post up games, Ojianwuna is not awesome, but he showed good reverse-spin combination in some matches around (Spanish Basketball Academy) baseline. However, the end of the day, he needs to improve on this issue because his arsenal should more dangerous. He is a fast player in transition but not an elite finisher. While in transition, he usually takes a role in the passing organization. He is not a good passer, but wide court vision, game IQ and finger sensitivity make him worthwhile about it. There is nothing else he can do on offense. Cannot make three, does not use mid-range too much and FTs are bad. His dribbling is good but not consistent. Sometimes doing simple ball losses while dribbling. He needs to fix his shooting mechanics completely. In cut sets, he can take role of a good screener. He does it well, but I think he has to be a bit more active on the off-ball motions.

Defense

Based on what I have seen so far from JO, I really think that his defense has more promising his offense. I’ve seen him play excellent defense when he’s totally focused and his motor is running high. Lacks the consistency to have his motor going at all times, but when he’s committed and focused I’m really sold on his ability to impact the game on the defensive end. Has great physical tools to be able to have a meaningful impact as a defender. He is doing a lot of defense. He can move around screens in off-ball. The most fascinating part is he can defend all positions. JO showed that he was able to defend both fast guards and elite centers during the matches he played in EYBL. In doing so, he positions his body well. He bends his hips, gets strength from his feet and uses hand-eye coordination. He knows how and where to move. Including the rim protection, he can do everything on defense, but he is inconsistent. I had mentioned on offense that he should be more active in off-ball. This problem is bigger on defense. Sometimes he can be the worst defender among 24 players. Joshua should definitely improve on it. Joshua Ojianwuna is one of the top five rebounders among international prospects born in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. This applies to both offense and defense. It is very difficult for this child to not get rebounds. If he is in the rebound area, he grabs nine out of every 10 balls like a magnet. He can do these thanks to his body coordination, second jump and game reading.

Summary

I think Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna could be a good NBA player. Here are my reasons for that. He is active not only with his body but also with his mind in the painted area. An intelligent and explosive center. He has shown great things on defense so far, but yes, he has to be consistent. He cannot shoot but must not forget that he is 17 years old. In the NBA environment, JCO can be an excellent modern era center.

6. Kiir Kiir Chol Deng

Born: 14 Feb 2004

Nationality: South Sudan

Height: 6–8

Wingspan: 6–foot-11

Position: F

NBA Academy

Physical

Standing 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and well-developer frame, the lefty, Kiir Kiir Chol Deng has room to get stronger but very promising on this in my opinion. Because Kiir Kiir was physically much worse when he came to the NBA Academy from South Sudan in 2019, but he made significant progress in this regard in a short time, especially at the NBA Academy camp in Brooklyn. Wide, very wide and already stiff shoulders, long arms, quick hips, and footwork. KKCD needs strength in every part of his body, he has to gain weight, so, he must both add weight and gain muscles. From the athleticism perspective, Kiir Kiir has an interesting versatility. The South Sudan prospect can go around the basket fluently, move fluently around the post after taking the ball, but can also play above the rim with good two-foot jump, vertical pop, second jump timing if he needs, and solid first step. However, due to lack of elite strength and experience, he can’t play through to contact, can’t finish in traffic. Also, he can’t create a shield around the ball, so has a good potential to be a versatility athlete but needs time and has room to get stronger.

Offense

A huge BBIQ player, Kiir Kiir Chol Deng is doing a bit of everything on the offensive end. He makes his best contributions offensively as a slasher. After take the ball as a secondary handler or scorer, he can dribble well from the wings (better right than left), can change direction both on the ground and in the air, can finish positions well with soft touch, good timing, good kneecap angle (I mean, he can drop his left leg, load his right leg to spacing), and has an inside hand finishing skill-set. Kiir Kiir lacks a degree of consistency but shows potential as a self-creator, jump shooter, catch-and-shooter, he ability to create separation off the dribble, and drive-and-dish player. I think 3-pointers shots are the most important things in his future. Because Kiir Kiir already showed good things as a slasher and off the ball motions player with great cut tricks (spins, burst fakes, lateral moves) but if he can shots from the 3-point line consistently, works changes seriously. I mean, he has the potential to be next Kevin Durant but shooting (yup, early to say that but one day, another KD will come to the NBA, why not?) is my biggest question mark on him besides size&frame. Kiir Kiir showed some things as a spot-up shooter and self-creator, has good release, timing, and mentality knows when and how to shot. But lack of strength and more importantly, his right-hand angle hurt him here. I mean, Kiir Kiir is left-handed, but his right-hand doesn’t at the ideal angle when shooting, causing a loss of momentum in the shot pocket. I think KKCD should improve in this regard. He is a really good pick-and-roll player in my opinion. Deng is 6-foot-9 but his quick hips, mobility, lateral moves, and screen angle (not just flare or stagger screener, knows to do one-and-one stiff screen) make him a good screener and roller in my opinion. As a post-up player, has a lot of room. Also, has to improve on his dribble, passing, and handling package. As I said, he showed good things as a drive-and-dish role but not consistent. From the dribbling and handling package, ha a lot of room to get better. Has to learn how to play balanced, calm, and be reliable. Also, if he adds catch-and-finish scoring ability to his offensive arsenal, it will be good because he is a really good off the ball motions player and slashes. So, sometimes can find spacing around the baseline. And in these positions at the high-level, he will need more things than using to rim in my opinion. Especially, against the physical defenders. So yes, he also has to learn advanced or defensive dribble pack.

Defense

As I mentioned two times, Kiir Kiir Chol Deng needs experience but he already showed good things on the offensive end. However, works change on the defensive end. I mean, Kiir Kiir is just a good shot blocker and promising rim protector. He did a great job to rotate his body for domination blocks, so, he can create a fear effects against his opponents. As a rim protector, he showed good things on sliding, changing speed-body, and timing. However, that’s it. Of course, his length and predictable frame may make him a versatile defender but needs a lot of things. Has to learn using his footwork and mobility in the pick-and-roll situations, needs awarenesses as an off the ball motions defender, showed somethings being a factor in the passing lanes but not consistent, has to learn covering cutters, not a pesky or even average intense things on shooter, can’t switch for now. So yes, Kiir Kiir Chol Deng is a very promising all-round defender but at the end of the day, I think he needs time to label him as a worthy defender. A decent rebounding wing with quick lateral footwork, impressive second jump, and good hands.

Summary

I think Kiir Kiir Chol Deng has the potential to be the next Kevin Durant. Because he is a great slasher, can take responsibility, promising shooter, promising versatility defender. However, he has to improve on his frame, shooting (average), fundamental basketball things, and defensive consistency. If he can improve all these things, well, he is a clearly top-three pick in my opinion.

7. Ibou Badji

Born: 13 October 2002

Nationality: Senegal

Height: 7–1

Wingspan: 7–8

Position: C

On November 27, 2018, he signed a contract with Barcelona. As a result of Barcelona’s interest in countries such as Latin America and Africa, Badji came to the Catalan team. He spent much of the season playing for FC Barcelona B, the club’s reserve team, in the third-tier LEB Plata. Also, he played at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup where IDB averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks while shooting 45.5% from the court.

In December 2019, he played for U18 FC Barcelona at ANGT Valencia, where he averaged eight points, 8.8 rebounds and five blocks per game.

By the way, he reported a height of 7’1, 7’8 wingspan and 9’10 standing reach at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup.

Physical Tools

Badji is physically perfect. His shoulders are wide and muscular. Chest muscles are stiff. Core muscles are strong. His arms are long, fast and muscular. Hip mobility in the lower body is not very good, but Badji has enough to speed up his footwork. I think his weight is ideal for his height. I think that having these things physically at the age of 18 makes him special. But if we look at the NBA window, IDB physically creates two important question marks. Bigs in small ball lineups in the NBA should have lateral mobility and good full-court running. Badji does not have a good technique laterally. Also, he’s not good at running the court fast, a bit slow. So here are two questions that arise in my mind: Will Badji physically gain speed in the NBA? Will Badji consistently (in the sense of effort) be able to use his unique physical features in the crazy tempo in the NBA? On the athletic side of the issue, he has almost everything. Vertical pop is excellent. The first step is not very hard, but when doing half reverse and going to the basket, the step hardness and softness help him. As I said, hip mobility is not very good, but I think it can do good about it in the development environment in the NBA.

Offense

Great finisher for his age. Badji does a pretty nice job his length to get close to the basket when his momentum is bringing him there. He finishes well in traffic, can finish against double teams and can finish through contact with either hand. His basket touch is soft. In my opinion, Badji has a good body coordination (he may lack a degree of eye-foot coordination because at the World Cup and some league matches, he missed a handful of dunks) and balance with solid first step, game IQ and stepping around defenses. He is very active around the offensive glass with a nice second jump and putbacks. Can finish with huge explosiveness. However, again, I have doubts about this issue from the window in the NBA. Badji is a hard finisher around the basket but can enter “Shaqtin ‘A Fool” when using his explosive against smart defenders in the NBA like Jonathan Isaac, Draymond Green, etc. So I think he should use his athleticism in a controlled and smarter way. He needs to learn fluency. I think Badji is fit post player for the NBA. He does a good job getting position and moving away from incoming double teams, though. In my opinion, Dianko has a good jabstep jumper after the defender bites. He has shown pretty nice footwork overall in the post with long layups. He can dunk after some post moves thanks to his size and strong frame. One of the biggest reasons I like Senegalese player’s post games is that the court vision is good. Badji is not a good passer or ball-handler, but when he moves to the post zone, he can throw passes to cutter/catch & shooter/spot up shooter / free ISOr teammates. So he can create the team’s spacing. The most important thing for his future in the NBA is the shot. Badji does not use a three-point shooting. However, this does not mean that he did not use any shots at all. When Badji takes the ball on baseline or on the roll area after pick & roll, he can use mid-range jumper while he is a few steps away from the basket. But the percentages of both these shots and free throws are low. What I’m wondering here is he will be 19 when Badji enters the 2021 NBA Draft (if he enters). I think it wouldn’t be a big loss to wait a year or two for his to develop. In this development process, I think he can be one of the elite elders of the NBA if he can an average threat in his shooting. I think IDB can be a glue guy with his other features if he cannot show this improvement. He has a mechanical handle. IDB is not someone who has the handle, creativity. In my opinion, this kid knows very well how should he use his physical tools for PnR situations with explosiveness, game reading, roll timing, half reverse and average footwork.

​Defense

IDB is not as good rim protector as Yannick Nzosa (2003), but he will probably be one of the top three rim protectors in the 2021 NBA Draft pool. Badji has good timing when contesting shots in the paint. I think, he knows how to use his length and winspan for protect the rim. He can sometimes swipe down on block attempts instead of going normal way but Dianko generally does a great job using the rule of verticality to contest shots. He can chasedown blocks, also, his on ball rim protection is good thanks to his quick hands and vertical pop (For example, 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, Senegal vs. USA, Badji blocked Cade at the first quarter, 04:34). I have big question marks from his PnR and off ball defenses from the NBA window ..As I said, Badji is not a great player laterally. I think he sees the effect of this situation on defense most. Dianko is slow against fast and clever guards (2019 ANGT Valencia, Herbalife Gran Canaria, Jean Montero defense) and mobile pivots (2019 ANGT Valencia, Valencia Basket, Alonso Faure). He has a hard time defending the handler during PnR. Quickly passed. His hands are quick but that’s not enough. I think he is not good to use his physical tools wisely against bigs like Faure. Also Badji is not someone I would want chasing players off screens. In my opinion, IDB has to improve on these issues because NBA’s modern era bigs are quicker. Also NBA teams are using more screen motions with pick to pick. However, shows flashes about takes bad angles giving ballhandler an area to attack. Smart team defender. I mean he has good communication with his team. I like his on ball and post defenses. He has a strong base and strong upper body with room to grow. Flashed ability to defend bigs in space who are can shoot, play post up and play with huge explosiveness. He has a pretty nice post up defense technique, I mean, he knows how to use his hands and feet as leverage. Also, his strong upper body and long arms help him about post up player’s angle. I think he does a nice job battling in the post.

Summary

Ibaou Dianko Badji. He is a physically dazzling prospect. He does things well on offense and defense. I think 7–1 prospect has the effect to be a superstar. But he did not gain experience at higher levels. He did not go into hard mental wars. He was not found in a good team environment, good mentor. Khalifa Diop and Amar Sylla, an important Senegalese prospect such as Ibou, are experiencing these experiences/wars. Playing in Barcelona B is good, but I think the best thing for his development in the short term will be to play a team in Lithuania, Germany or Italy for the 2020–2021 season. For now, Badji is a risky pick for the top 10.

8. Emmanuel Adeola

Born: 7 June 2004

Nationality: Nigeria

Height: 6–5

Wingspan: 6–foot-7.5

Position: G

Physical

Standing 6-foot-5 with 6-foot-7.5 wingspan and weight of 205 pounds, Emmanuel Adeola has an impressive size and frame for the 16-year old basketball player in my opinion. Despite he can play multiple positions both on the offensive end and on the defensive end, his main position is guard and most of 16–17 years-old guards are around the 6-foot-3 right now. Also, some of PGs, SGs, SF, and even PFs have serious troubles on strength. The 16-year old Nigerian talent is not perfect naturally but his upper body strength is dazzling in my opinion. Long and strong arms, wide shoulders, strong back which allows him as a good back-to-back scorer on some positions, quick footwork, nice lateral movement, and vertical pop. However, he needs to learn how to use his physical tools, I mean, sometimes Adeola plays like 6-foot-2 lack of strength player. He can’t finish in traffic or like that. Of course, he must continue to gain strength over time and continue to expand his body base. Emmanuel Adelola is an average athlete who can finish around the basket using his fluidity or explosiveness. Adeola does a pretty nice job on rotating his own body, reverse spin to going to the basket. He is not an above the rim player but showed some flashes on his great vertical pop with his strong first step. End of the day, I would like to see him more aggressive around the basket. Because he has the potential to be a quick and strong athlete like Russell Westbrook in my opinion.

Offense

Playing a significant role on the ball for the Stellazurra Rome youth team, Emmanuel Adeola does a little bit everything on the offensive end. Running the lanes quickly, Adeola’s game mostly revolves around spotting up for the mid-range or 3-pointer, filling the lanes in transition, face-up attack, and pick-and-roll situations. As a shooter, he has room to get better. I mean, Adeola using a lot of 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers. Also, he can create his own shots and can play as a spot-up shooter. However, his shooting form looks weird. I don’t think it is unorthodox or something like that but he doesn’t look comfortable. I think the main problem here is his shot pocket. His release, arc, footwork, BBIQ (knows when and how to shot), quickness, and elbow angle looks good but his shot pocket beginning too low. So, it creates a huge timing problem and effect negatively on his last touch in my opinion. Has room on that. Emmanuel runs the transitions well. Thanks to his quick feet, average ballhandling, high dribble, and good body coordination, the Nigerian player can run on open floor well. Also, he can finish in those positions himself with using his soft touch, change direction ability on the ground, and size & frame. Has a good self-creator potential, Adeola also has some problems with decision-making mechanism, painted area dribble & handling. As I said, he sometimes plays like a 6-foot-2 player, it’s the first problem. Then, he sometimes forcing the game too much. Has to learn give kick out passes in my opinion. Can’t create a shield around the ball. These things which are I think he has to improve on his face-up offense. From the good things window, Adeola has great quickness, feeling for the game, and can play with smartly. Can hit mid-range if his attacking to the rim angle is closes. As a pick-and-roll handler, not a good passer but showed some notable flashes on footwork tricks and body fakes. I mean, I think Adeola knows how to use his footwork and body to create his dribble spacing well. As I mentioned, he has room to be a good passer. Showed some advanced flashes but not consistent and good in my opinion.

Defense

I think Emmanuel Adeola is not a motor-noses defender and mostly plays with his great length, long arms, quick lateral movement, very quick and active hands in my opinion. Generally, he comes up with steals, deflections. He can anticipate well and runs around the passing lanes, then, leading to transitions. With size & frame, pretty nice body balance, mobility, quick hips, quick hands, Emmanuel Adeola is capable of defending multiple positions in my opinion. He showed some flashes on his ability to agility to slide on the perimeter defensively. Can switches from guards to small forwards as he flashed appealing versatility as an individual defender. Sometimes, EA can do pesky defense on shooter on the ball defense in my opinion. He reads his opponent’s footwork and shooting form well, then, can react well to. Not a great shot blocker or rim protector but I think he is not the weakest player around the basket in his team. As an off the ball defender has room to get better. Sometimes his motor stops on the defensive end. So, his man can find open shooting or dribbling angles on these situations. Also, Adeola is not a good help-side defender. Decent on the ball defender, yes, but as a help-side defender, go to the wrong angles. Has to learn it in my opinion. From the rebounding window, he is very good for the 16-year old point guard in my opinion. Can grab the ball, run the floor, and leading to score.

Summary

Emmanuel Adeola physical tools and his potential to be a versatility player both on the offensive end and on the defensive and makes him a good player, however, he has not played in a tough tournament (2020 Szent Isvan is not good not bad in my opinion) yet. He took very limited time even at ANGT. So for me, it is too early to say he has an excellent NBA potential for him, but his scoring instinct, average team awareness, and size & frame make him a good prospect clearly. End of the day, shooting consistency, athlectisim, defensive motor, and ability to making play are the most important things to his future. If he can improve on these things a little bit, will be good in my opinion.

9. Eli John Ndiaye

Born: 26 June 2004

Nationality: Senegal

Height: 6–8

Wingspan: 7-foot-1

Position: PF-C

Physical

Standing 6-foot-8 with a near 7-foot-1 wingspan and a lack of strength 190-lbs frame, Eli John Ndiaye playing as a center but his physical tools create some question marks about it in my head. I mean, he both undersized and lack of strength for play as a center at the high levels. However, 7-foot-1 wingspan, elite vertical pop, quick hip turns, wide shoulders, quick lower body, and his ability to using his BBIQ with his body help him here in my opinion but at the end of the day, I think that Ndiaye has room to play center at the high level. Born in Guediawaye, Senegal on 16 June 2004, Eli John Ndiaye does much of his damage on using his ability to play above the rim explosively from the athlectisim window. A great catch-and-finish threat, Ndiaye does a pretty nice job to jump on his feet quickly, rotate his body, and reach the basket with perfect balance, court vision, and mentality in my opinion. I mean, he doesn’t step back. More quick than mobile, Ndiaye has a great potential to be an elite athlete at the high levels despite his lack of elite size and frame. Because he can play as a dunker spot man or create his dunk positions. Also, he is very, very quick on the open floor. So, he is like Sekou Doumbouya in this regard in my opinion. However, his size & frame is a big question mark for me.

Offense

Playing primarily catch-and-finish scorer, Eli John Ndiaye does much of his scoring filling lanes in transition, off the ball finisher, post-up scorer, and above the rim player but also his ability to create for himself as an interior is a notable thing in my opinion. Thanks to his ability to play through to contact and finishing skill-set around the basket in traffic despite his lack of elite size & frame, Ndiaye has a nice soft touch, refined footwork, solid stance, good court vision, and decision-making ability on the offensive end in my opinion. He sees his opponent’s defensive line and reacts well with quickly. A reliable catch and finish weapon, lob target, Ndiaye is not a selfish interior scorer but sometimes forcing the game too much. In other his offensive weapons, things that need to be improved are a little more critical. I mean, Ndiaye knows how to score from the post-up, r can dribble from the outside line and create his own position, so he can also show something as a slasher, but he’s not consistent in these things. While in post-up, he can use his court vision to see the open man, but when weak-side help comes, he does simple TOs. Ndiaye not a perfect handler, but not a very bad handler either. In the positions he plays as a catch-and-finisher, he lifts the ball from the bottom up very quickly, while he draws attention to a very nice defensive in his ballhandling. However, he makes some simple TOs in downhill dribbling and handling. Read & reacts passer, not any shifty or crafty things, but that’s enough in my opinion. A very active on off the ball motions with using his hips, BBIQ, and motor, also, running transitions well, the biggest elephant room on his offensive arsenal is shooting in my opinion. Eli John Ndiaye has a solid form. Looks comfortable with his shooting form. Not a great release but some advanced footwork, timing, two-motions shot, and fearlessness stand out here. Also, he showed that he can create his two-pointers shot but not consistent. If he can improve his right hand, release, and some micro things on his own shooting form, things can change seriously. Because, as you know, centers that look undersized like Ndiaye in the NBA make perfect floor spacing effect with their dominant athlectisim package and/or shooting threats. I think this is very important for his future.

Defense

Eli John Ndiaye is evolving on the defensive end impressively in my opinion. Displaying good instincts protecting the rim, Ndiaye wasn’t guarding quick and physical PGs, SGs, SFs, and PFs but from September 2019, he showing a lot of great things on that. Possessing the length, sliding, mobility, and timing, Ndiaye combines his BBIQ with his physical tools and can defend multiple positions. Eli John can use his lateral movement and body stiffness well against the guards. He does not have very fast and active hands and eye-hand coordination, but his good footwork and mobility help him here. He is able to rotate his stance a little more against forwards, thus stimulating his own defensive angle and reducing his opponent’s attack options. He can sometimes make a timing mistake against floor spacer bigs, he cannot read their movements on off the ball motions well, he reacts incorrectly to some burst fake. In fact, this is usually his defense against shooters. I think he is not a very tough and combative defender in the painted area. He usually uses his BBIQ and wingspan to protect the rim or make a block. Post-up and consistently switch defenses are the biggest things as a question marks on his defensive arsenal in my opinion. As a pick-and-roll defender, well, Eli John Ndiaye has special things in my opinion. I mean, he sliding very well with good geometry thanks to his team awareness, talking with his friends. After sliding, Eli rotates his hips, sets up his footwork, and moves well laterally to coverage handlers. But when things come around the 3-pointers line, he is not a good choice. Has room on that. The Senegalese big man is a very solid and engaged rebounder both on the defensive end and on the offensive end, showing good anticipation.

Summary

The threat created by Eli John Ndiaye as a catch-and-finisher, his ability to can play above the rim, potential shot weapon, and ability to defend multiple positions on the defense make him a valuable prospect but must be consistent in his shot, play with a slightly higher motor on the defense, should more balanced on post-up games and be more reliable in his dribble. It will also be important to gain strength.

10. Dick Rutatika Sano

Born: 31 January 2004

Nationality: Rwanda

Height: 6–9

Wingspan: 6–11

Position: PF

Several interesting Rwandan basketball players have been playing in the US in recent years. Arnaud Nkusi, Emmanuel Habimana, Osborn Shema and Cadeau Shema are plays in different colleges. However, I think Dick Rutatika Sano promises a better career than any of these prospects. Among the general African players, Sano is one of the six best African prospects with Thierno, Joshua and four players. He was born and raised in Kigali. He has one brother and one sister. He started the basketball thanks to his father, Emile Rutatika. Emile, bought him basket-balls and they always played basketball. He started to go train at Club Rafiki, in Nyamirambo, and then at Cercle Sport in Kiyovu.

Physical

Dick Sano’s size and frame looks perfect. His shoulders are not wide but look strong. DRS’s upper body is not strong overall but his core muscles and triceps looks perfect. Rwandan player’s arms are long and he has average power on arms. My favorite things about his physical tools are his lower body. Sano’s lower body is both very strong and fast. By the way, his arms are not very strong, but thanks to his quick use of his wrists, he can overcome his deficiency. His lower body is strong and fast for his age. Hip mobility is impressive. The first step is strong. The second jump is excellent. He grabbed the offensive rebound in the FIBA ​​U16 African Championship thanks to his second jump in 24 positions on offense. Eight of these 24 positions, he used FTs. He found 26 buckets in 13 positions. Did not happen the other three. I mean, he knows very well how to use his strong lower body and average upper body. He knows how to take contact. His vertical pop timing is perfect. He is not an explosive athlete, but he can use his vertical pop fluently. You can see the best examples of this in the matches against Angola and Egypt.

Offense

First of all, I want to say that Dick Rutatika Sano has not good fundamental. I think he needs basketball training in the USA or Europe. For example, think Khalifa Diop or Dianko Badji, these guys are not perfect around 2016 and 2017. However, when they came to Spain, they found opportunities to increase their basketball IQ and gained global recognition. I think DRS needs that because his pure skills are better than Diop and Badji. He can finish in traffic with a strong first step, soft touch and very good timing. Also, he can change direction on the ground. As I said, I am a big fan of his second jump. Really, Sano’s second jump timing and vertical movement are dazzling. Sano is a prospect who can create spacing for himself after the PnR with lateral movement, drive fakes and quick movement. He knows how to take contact for the bucket. His off-screen games are good. You can see how Sano is a good off-screen and PnR player in his matches against Angola, Egypt and Guinea. Also, you can see his open court quickness and high dribble in his match against Cote d’Ivoire. Okay, I’ve come to the most important thing his career projection. Shooting. During the U16 tournament, Sano used five three-points, 29 FTs and 17 mid-ranges. He found only one three-point shot hit. He found 15 FT and eight mid-range hits. These numbers aren’t very high, but I think Sano’s only three-pointer and mid-range shots are important. In a triple hit against Cote d’Ivoire, he shot with great confidence. In general, his release is high and his timing is good. However, he has not a shot fundamental and IQ. As I said, Sano’s pure skills are very impressive. Because he’s not just a dominant painted area player. Within a year or two he needs to learn fundamental in a good place.

Defense

I think Sano’s lack of fundamental does not hurt him here too much. He showed more good things with his IQ on defense. DRS is not a painted area defender who can play with high energy and can make impressive blocks. He plays with his brain. I mean, Sano is a player that you want to follow his opponent on off-ball motions. While doing this, DRS reads the game well and follows his opponent with good timing. with quickness. He has pretty quick hands and also his eye-hand coordination is very good. We do not see much that a 15–16-year-old player has consistently put his opponent under intense pressure on defense. In Europe, Paulius Murauskas, Teodor Simic, Zinedin Mulic and Urban Klavzar are good at this. So is Sano. As I said, he is not a perfect rim protector. He should better about it. Lateral movement is good. He is a good post player on offense but a bad post up defender. His reaction to the fake is not good. He knows where to rotate after PnR but cannot defend the guards. While defending the guards, he looks so unbalanced. I think he’s a very good rebounder. He has excellent intuition, especially about getting offensive rebounds. So is defense. Highlights ob the defense are the ability to read the game, off-ball defense and PnR defense.

Summary

In my opinion, Sano is one of the best prospects of Africa. Really. He and Thierno are promising African prospects for NBA. For DRS, his pure skills are dazzling. He can dribble on the open court with quickness. He knows how to finish around the basket. He is not a reliable handler or passer but has classic read and react package. I am a big fan of his defense. But at the end of the day, I say that he needs fundamental to be a good player at the NBA level or even the NCAA rank. Because he showed all these skills only in African Championships and NBA Global Kamp. Now, for a high level, he needs to stay in a place like NBA Academy Africa (he played there but the program ended a couple of months ago).

11. Samuel Ariyibi

Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi was born on June 6, 2002, in Lagos. His father died when Ariyibi 15-year-old. After his father died, he took leadership in his family. His father’s main profession was not a basketball player, but he played basketball at a professional level in his 20s. Oluwatobi has two older sisters. One older sister is a fashion designer and the other older sister works as a manager in a wine company. His mother works in the secretarial department of the government in Nigeria. Both of Ariyibi’s older sisters were runners in their youth. Samuel started playing basketball and soccer at the age of 9. Upon his mother’s guidance and being impressed by the Miami Heat, he focused entirely on basketball. He wasn’t a good soccer player. OSA played as a striker. Their home was close to the basketball academy in Lagos. Ariyibi was discovered simultaneously with Victor Ezeh from Nigeria to the NBA Academy. It was Patrick Mwamba, born in 1999, who made the academy aware of him. Ariyibi’s biggest goal is to become an All-Star NBA player.

Physical

Standing 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-1 wingspan and 190-pound frame that continues to improve, Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi has nice size for an 18-year-old small forward in my opinion. His arms long, not too strong, also, has great core and chest muscles in my opinion. However, his shoulders not wide, not even average. In his lower body, has great vertical pop for his own height in my opinion. Moving well laterally, Samuel’s linear movement is not too good. Quick footwork, but has not any shifty or trick in my opinion. His legs are long but lack of strength hurt his defensive stance sometimes in my opinion. From the athleticism window, I think Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi has a lot of room to get better. Ariyibi showed that he can make highlight dunks, can be a good lob target guy, after running open flor well can dunk too but not consistent. Can’t finish in traffic with using his athleticism in my opinion. Showed good thing on his smoothness in the post in my opinion but overall, lack of elite strength hurt his athleticism here.

Offense

My favorite thing about Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi’s offensive is so much in his arsenal. I mean, he has a good potential to be a floor spacer shooter even though not perfect yet, he can play around the post, he can sometimes finish in traffic, he can run and score fast in transition, he can play above the rim … In short, he can do a little bit of everything on the offensive end as a floor spacer. 6-foot-8 Ariyibi can sometimes play like PG and broke his opponent’s defensive geometry. As a shooter, Ariyibi does much of his best work on spotting up two-pointers. Has a nice elevation on his own shot, the Nigerian prospects showed a lot of times that he can create his shot after one or two-dribble. He has a nice burst fake, court vision, and hop in my opinion. Also, he can hit around the mid-range as a snake-host player after the screen. From the 3-pointers window, I think Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi has a lot of room to get better. Showed some flashes as a catch-and-shooter but not consistent. I think the main problem with his 3-pointers shot is his release. Ariyibi looks uncomfortable on his own shooting form, behind the 3-point line in my opinion. His right hand too open, and it’s creating a problem. I am a huge fan of his pick-and-roll offense. Because Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi can play as a handler after the screen with soft-touch, nice dribbling, body balance, and change direction ability on the ground. Also, he can play as a roller after the screen with good rolling timing, post footwork, and pump fakes. Naturally, he is not an efficient scorer as a roller or post-up player but has these two weapons on his own offensive arsenal and it’s perfect in my opinion. Samuel does struggle with finishing strong at the rim — can play above the rim on the open floor but can’t do it on half-court offense consistently — especially if any contact is made. If OSA can increase his ability to drive and attack the hoop strong, he will inevitably draw more fouls to get to the line in my opinion. As an off the ball motions player, Samuel showed that he can give body fakes around the wings to create his running channel. Then he runs, takes the ball, and finishes or giving a pass. I don’t think he is a good passer or handler. I would like to see him more aggressive with the ball. Lack of strength and experience (naturally) hurt his ballhandling skills in my opinion. As a passer, there are not any crafty or pocket things, just showed some flashes as a read-and-reacts passer. Despite he can take responsibility in critical moments, I don’t think Ariyibi is the hot scorer.

Defense

Jumping for grabbing the ball extremely quickly, Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi is a very good rebounder for his position and size in my opinion. My favorite thing about on the defensive end is his awareness. I think Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi’s team awareness, directing his friends to on-the-ball or off-the-ball action, and talking to them all the time is a big plus on his defensive package. His hands and general body are always active, he coordinates his body well, has good timing for deflections. The Nigerian not an aggressive defender, but generally fluent and trying to bring something to the table with his BBIQ. He tries his best to protect the rim by integrating his vertical pop, coordination, and physical tools, but he’s not perfect at it. Thanks to his solid stance on the ball defense and his ability to transfer good energy from below to high, Ariyibi can sometimes become a pesky defender. In addition, thanks to his lateral movement and game reading skill, he does not give wrong reactions to his opponent’s pump fake in my opinion. He has a lot of room to work off the ball defense and putting pressure on shooters. He follows his opponent well on off the ball motions, but he is completely helpless against things like reverse spin, pin-down, and stagger. When his own man is gone, he has trouble doing the correct rotate, causing two vulnerabilities in the team’s defensive geometry. The most important reason for not putting good pressure on the shooters is that he cannot adjust his balance well in my opinion. Sometimes very hard and sometimes very soft. His ability to defend multiple positions and high team awareness make him a good defender, but at the end of the day, I think he should work on perimeter sliding, off the ball rotate, and closeout defenses.

Summary

Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi can do many things on offense and defense by playing in multiple positions. For these reasons, I think he could be the ideal NBA player. But I think his development on his own shooting, whether he can gain strength and his experience on defense will determine his role, consistency, and overall projection in his NBA career.

12. Oumar Ballo

Born: 13 July 2002

Nationality: Mali

Height: 6–9

Wingspan: 7–foot-6

Position: C

Oumar Ballo was born on 13 July 2002 in Koulikoro, Mali. He grew up in Koulikoro where 45 minutes from the capital Bamako until the age of 13 when he moved to Gran Canaria. Early years, he was soccer as a good goalkeeper. He was tall enough, but the hardest part was that when the ball was on the ground. Ballo was getting into so many problems then I just decided to switch sport. Thanks to his brother, Ballo try to play basketball but he liked to play soccer more because that’s where all his friends were. However, shifted his focus to basketball due to his amazing physical tools. Ballo played basketball in a Canterbury International Basketball School. He stayed there for a couple of years and then, 2018, Ballo moved to Mexico City for nine months. His families, not similar to other African families. I mean, Oumar grew up in a small family, has three siblings, no difficulties and we were very close. His father is 6-foot-6 and his mother is 6-foot-1. His brother is 6-foot-10 and Ballo is 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan. He has a special bond with his mother. He is the last child and they have strong feelings for each other. His family has always been supportive.

Physical

Standing 6-foot-9 with an amazing 7-foot-6 wingspan, Oumar Ballo has solid dimensions for a big man in my opinion. Strong and very long arms, wide shoulders, strong, very strong core muscles, quick hips, quick footwork, and strong legs. I think he needs to lose some weight. Yes, it may not be perfect for a player who plays based on domination in the painted area to lose weight, but Ballo’s height is not very long, so I think he should lose some weight. Clearly, he is an explosive athlete. Can dunk everything but I have a big question mark. Ballo can dunk everything but has not to shield around the ball. I mean, in some positions, he’s holding the ball too exposed to dunk, so even players who are physically worse than him can block. I think Ballo has to learn to create a shield around the ball. A strong, bouncy athlete who is more comfortable moving bodies inside than sliding around the hill or wings, Oumar showed some good things on his linear move. He is not a great ground athlete but knows how to dribble in the painted area with great aggressiveness and physicality in my opinion. Can run transitions as a trailer well, he knows when and where to run in those situations, not good laterally, has room on that, thanks to his hip mobility, footwork, and body balance Ballo has a brutal effect in the post zone.

Offense

A dominant presence inside, Oumar Ballo is an elite lob target who also plays very well in the post zone. When he gets the ball in the painted area, Ballo can decide in a short time, using his powerful first step, elite vertical pop, soft touch, and ability to change direction in the air while fluidly curving into the basket. Also, he can produce miscellaneous points in bunches when he’s dialed in. As a brutal post scorer, Ballo like Joel Embiid in my opinion. He can do post moves like Embiid, draw foul while curling into the basket after the body coordination fake against his defender, he is not afraid of contact play, wants contact play, plays with aggression and physicality. His left step isn’t perfect, but his right step great; knows how to gain momentum. He can also take a step back while in post and create his own mid-range shot, but he’s not consistent. My doubts about him start here anyway. Ballo is undoubtedly the perfect painted area threat but sometimes OB uses positions unnecessarily during the game. When he plays against a physical defender, he pushes positions too much, losing momentum for both his team and himself. There are also redundancies in these mid-range shots he tried. He uses mid-range shots that make his team lose rhythm in positions where he can pass very easily. I think he has to improve in this regard. It is nice that he is not afraid to play against pressure but the skill-set is not yet elite levels for that. The Malian prospect is unable to shield around the ball and lacks elite ballhandling, so he makes simple turnovers. Good on face-up play thanks to his combination of physical tools and aggressiveness but needs to improve his back-to-the-basket plays beside post. I mean, he has to be more active on pick-and-roll. He is not a roller guy, can’t play on that role but has to learn it. He showed some things on off-ball situations as a reliable, active catch and finish target and productive offensive rebounder. Good trailer player in transitions as I mentioned. Not a passer, showed some things on as a read&reacts passer but for now, has a lot of room to create for others with using his gravity like Udoka Azubuike and/or Joel Embiid. As you guess, he hasn’t any deep-range or mid-three-point-range threat. So what makes him valuable offensive? As I said, he is an aggressive, always willing and unstoppable paint field player when he makes the right decisions in quick decisions.

Defense

The anchor on the defensive and, Oumar Ballo showed some flashes to switch onto guards but he does his best job as a rim protector. With all the tools to be an elite defender, Ballo a factor in the passing lanes, active on the glass and energetic as a rim protector. In my opinion, he is a smart team defender. He does a good job talking for his teammates if they are caught on a pick for a perimeter player going hill or along the perimeter. He knows the team defense rules like switching, timing … Ballo does a pretty nice job on post defense. He reads his opponent game and reacts well to that. The Malian prospect is an average PnR defender. I think Ballo’s game reading and wingspan help him to guard handler with quick hands, average lateral quickness and timing. He sometimes showed that his opponent was able to close dribble and shooting angles. Also, his active hands help him to get in the handler’s passing line. However, he can sometimes open too much, I mean, giving a dribble channel to the rim for the handler or roller. Needs to learn a balanced defense. I think his explosiveness gives him too energy, it’s good, but for the team defense, he has to play with synchronization. Also, needs to improve on off-ball defenses. He is not a player who can run around the screens very well in terms of timing and BBIQ in my opinion. With a terrific combination of length, athleticism, and energy, Ballo is an excellent rebounder who can jump and grab very well with good timing and body coordination.

Summary

I think Oumar Ballo is a physically perfect NBA prospect. On offense, he is an elite lob target and is very effective in the post zone. He’s also a dazzling athlete. Ballo is an elite rim protector, showed some flashes on perimeter rotate and switches and excellent rebound ability on defense. But his game needs balance. I think he needs to improve his decision-making, learn to play synchronously with the team, and lose some weight.

13. James Othuke Okemirie

Born: 30 December 2004

Nationality: Rwanda

Height: 6–8

Wingspan: 6–foot-11

Position: PF

Physical

Standing 6-foot-8 with a near 7-foot wingspan and solid frame, James Othuke Okemirie has good size and frame for a 16 years old Nigerian power forward in my opinion. Although Okemirie is only 16 years old, he has a much better physical package than many prospects born in 2002, 2003, and 2004. I think his legs are long and strong. JOO can move well laterally, vertically, and linearly in all types of movement. Footwork is not fast, he does not have techniques such as burst and go-stop-fake, but laterality and vertical pop make up on those cons. He needs power in his upper body, naturally, but for a 16-year-old African player, he has quite long arms and a strong core. I think these are the main reasons why he excels his opponents in contact play, his ability to get outstanding offensive rebounds, and his fluidity in transition games. His shoulders are narrow, and he has thin wrists, which negatively affects his shooting mechanics. Okemirie has very good tricks from the athletics window. I mean, when playing as an off the ball player, he can go smoothly to the rim right after he gets the ball, and he using a great, really great hop. In situations like transition, he shows his explosive athleticism and dunks using his vertical pop in my opinion. The Nigerian power forward has a very impressive second leap. I think the timing of this second bounce and the sleight of hand after taking the ball is dazzling.

Offense

James Othuke Okemirie has a classical European big man package on the offensive and in my opinion. He can play around the rim well, runs the court, has a good BBIQ, average court vision, and effective two hands finish. My favorite thing about his offensive performance is his combination of body balance and last touch. Because most of African players have unorthodox balance and touch bt Okemirie reads the game well, dribble with the ball, and finishes with a good coordination-balance, soft touch. He can’t finish position with one hand, also, sometimes forcing the scoring, it’s not good. But generally, I think that he has good BBIQ. For example, against one of the best interior defender Thierno Mamadou Sylla, Okemirie did a great job using his body fakes, footwork around the post zone, and nice hooks. Playing on the ball quite a bit for a forward, James is an average off the ball player. He knows how to create cutter positions for himself in my opinion but lacks a degree of consistency and elite strength hurt him here. He is not a great lob target guy but showed some flashes on that. In the general game philosophy in which Nigeria increased the ball sharing tempo, James Othuke took the role of flash and talked to his friends by his team awareness. JOO can create a gravity effect thanks to his ability to play very aggressively and quickly around the painted area, and this gravity effect allows spacing for the shooters. I mean, James is a player who can create spacing out the painted area and I think this is very important. On the other hand, he has a lot of room to be a real scorer in my opinion. He is not a player who can take responsibility in the critical moments. He is even not a mid-range shooter, not at all. Has a lot of room on his shooting. From looking to his free-throws, JOO’s lack of elite strength and lack of consistent experience hurt his shooting mechanism, has to change everything in my opinion. He is not a good passer, just knows read & reacts passing but not consistent. As a ball-handler and dribbler, James has a good skill-set for a 16 y/o big man in my opinion. He has not any tricks as a ball-handler but knows to create a shield around the ball. As a dribbler, he doesn’t force the game, just dribbling on the half-court.

Defense

I think James does everything on the defensive end, I’ll explain that, but it’s worth remembering that he has shown all his defensive performances so far against African players. Rebounds first. I think James is one of the best rebounders of the overall 2004 international prospect pool. He uses his second leap on both the offensive end (34 rebounds in seven games) and the defensive end. Also, his body coordination, game-reading skills, and ability to outperform opponents in contact play helps him here. As a rebounder, he has not any cons for now in my opinion. On the defensive end, my favorite thing on him is his ability to protect the perimeter with tallying blocks, impressive steals. While doing these things, he using his body coordination well again, showing his quick hands, lateral movements, and vertical pop. A high awareness player, JOO puts a lot of effort and fight on that against shooters and the pick-and-roll situations. He slides to guards well, also, he is not a player who has the potential to be Shaqtin A Fool, I mean, he knows how to stay in front of quick and shifty ballhandlers. He has a solid stance, showing his hip turns well. He can protect the rim well, aggressive, and has a good block timing, step moving. On the pick-and-roll situations, the Nigerian prospect slides to guard or forward, and stop him with his body. Against the physical and aggressive bigs, his body base, vertical pop balance (can jump with two-foot, two hands, lateral stance technique), and BBIQ make up for his lack of elite strength in my opinion. One con from defensively has to learn doing all these things in the transition situations. Other than it, he is an all-around defender in my opinion.

Summary

Potential versatility both on the offensive end and on the defensive and make the Nigerian prospect valuable in my opinion. Shooting consistency, lack of fundamental, and lack of elite size are the most important question marks in my mind about him

14. Abdoulaye Donzo

Born: August 14, 2003

Height: 6-foot-9

Wingspan: 6-foot-11

Nationality: Guinea

His uncle played in local teams.

Physical

Standing 6-foot-9 with 7-foot wingspan and strong frame, Abdoulaye Donzo has good size for a 17 years old African forward and a good combination of vertical pop and lateral quickness. Long arms, wide shoulders, stiff core muscles and strong chests for his upper body, should add weights as muscles. His lower body needs a lot of things. Yes, has vertical pop and lateral quickness but needs strength and should learn how and when to use his athlectisim package. Donzo is a lob target guy, can make highlight dunk and protect the rim with high gravity. Also, he can defend his opponents vertically. I think this is very important. Because as you know, versatile players are too many nowadays. Your athletics package needs to be wide to gain an advantage when defending or attacking these players. Donzo’s package is good but never a fluid athlete. I think this is the biggest problem with his general playing style. Because Donzo has the potential to become an elite versatile player, but his lack of smoothness and offensive fundamentals hurt him here.

Offense

Doing a bit of everything on the offensive end, Donzo makes his best contributions as an off-ball player. In my opinion, AD’s basketball BBIQ is good. Perfect for creating spacing for himself by using screens. Not only from corners, but he can also create channels all around. While running, he surprises his opponent using go-stop-go and burst techniques go in the opposite direction of the screen, and most importantly, he decides what to do within three to four seconds after taking the ball. He played as an off-ball motion player 27 times at the 2019 FIBA ​​U16 African Championship and scored 40 points from these 27 positions. A good lob threat who can produce miscellaneous when he’s dialed in, Guinean forward shows some inside-outside shoots on catch-and-shoots situations while impacting the game with his athleticism on the glass and in the open floor as well. Here I want to say a little more about his shot. In my opinion, Donzo has strange shooting mechanics. Abdoulaye can use his mechanics very quickly after taking the ball, aligning his feet but his release and arc are very low. I mean, for someone with 6-foot-9, he preparing up his mechanics quickly but throws slowly. Donzo, who can create his own shot with fake and body balance around the mid-range and perimeter, is generally lacking in fundamental. He can’t dribble in the half-court, can’t give even read & reacts passes, can’t find easy hits in some easy layup positions because his final touch is not, and he uses his impressive track and field package unbalanced. As I said, Donzo doesn’t have a perfect dribble package, has a lot room to learn, but can finish positions with explosive dunks using vertical pop as he has excellent momentum in transitions. In half-court, he is inefficient when drives right, better when drives left. In the African Championship, he played with 15% efficiency in positions he drove to the right, and 70% in positions he drove to the left. He is not a roller or popper for now. Can finish both hands but as I mentioned, his last touches are problematic. Needs to learn half-court dribbling, read&reacts passing, at least solid handling and rolling.

Defense

Possessing good length and instincts on the defensive end, Abdoulaye Donzo is the prolific rebounder (grabs the ball very high and begins the transitions, cannot create for others, just for himself; for offensive rebounds, nice vertical pop and timing but lack of elite last touch hurt his second chance points) and plays with discipline and physicality. Combining of lateral quickness, vertical pop and aggressiveness, Donzo can guard multiple positions, of course, average levels. He can stay in front of quicker guards thanks to his lateral tools (footwork, hip turns and balanced stance), can stay in front of physical forwards thanks to his physical tools and active hands, can stay in front of bigs thanks to his natural skill-set. I mean, Donzo can protect the rim (the explosiveness to block shots emphatically) and his mobility and length allow him to be a good perimeter and post defender, who covers pick-and-roll and post up situations average. End of the day, I think he is a good on-ball defender. However, needs to be more consistent in general and has to learn off-ball defense and intensity. I mean Donzo knows how to stop his opponent, but he can’t do it consistently and intensely. In some positions, he looks like sleeping. For example, in their match against Nigeria and Mali, he gave 16 easy points to guards who were physically bad and not very fast. AD has to learn to put pressure on defense. Apart from that, he should learn to use his off-ball BBIQ on offense, in off-ball defense. He must learn how to run around the screens. Also, after pick-and-roll, he sometimes does very simple fouls, needs to learn to play balanced.

Summary

I think, Abdoulaye Donzo is a promising modern-era player with shooting repertoire, versatile defensive performance and painted area plays. However, has a lot of room to be “elite” prospect. Needs dribble, handling and passing package, also, should stronger.

15. Khalifa Diop

Born: January 15, 2002

Height: 6-foot-11

Wingspan: 7-foot-3

Nationality: Senegal

Position: C

Physical

Has tremendous size for an 18-year old center at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and an improved 235-pound frame. I think Khalifa Diop is one of the prototypes of the old-school African players. Long and strong arms, wide shoulders, solid hips, solid footwork, the strong upper body generally, and explosive lower body. He has a pretty strong frame but needs some balance on his own body. I mean, he has some problems on using his strength to go to the basket. I think Khalifa Diop is more explosive than fluid. Can make all types of dunks. Thanks to his great vertical pop, two-feet quickness, general body strength, long arms, timing, and second jump (if he needs), Khalifa Diop is a great lob threat athlete in my opinion. On the open floor, he is not too quick and it’s a big minus in my opinion. Because on the offensive end, KD has not any threat as a floor spacer, classic interior scorer. So I think if Diop wants to be in the NBA, he has to make a difference with his explosive and fast athleticism like Sekou Doumbouya. But for now, he doesn’t have that and I think it’s a huge problem.

Offense

A dominant presence inside, Khalifa Diop is a great elite lob target but also he is a great catch-and-finishing and dunker-spot scorer in my opinion. Has the interior strength to battle other power forwards in the post, Khalifa showed pretty nice footwork on his post games. After taking the ball, Diop using his footwork, quick hips, and lateral movement to buckets, also, showed that he has BBIQ. I mean, he knows how to using pump, body, or eye fakes to create his hook spacing in the post in my opinion. As a catch-and-finisher, he has nice elevation from low to high in my opinion. I think that Diop has versatile rolling weapons: Roll-replace, flare, drag, early, late, pindown, stagger, chin line, SLOB target with great rolling timing, soft touch around the basket, ability to finish these rolling positions one or two hands, and one or two feet. As a shooter, he has a lot of room to get better. Showed nice flashes around the mid-range with a solid release, good timing, and vertical pop but it does not create any plus in my opinion. Has to add some 3-pointer threat on his own offensive arsenal in my opinion because Diop is not a great dunker-spot scorer like Ivica Zubac and not a great athlete like Sekou Doumbouya, Clint Capela. So if he wants to play consistently in the NBA, has to add at least one of these skills. Read-and-react passer, has high awareness on the offensive end, reliable downhill ballhandler, and has average court vision.

Defense

I don’t want to use unnecessary things just to make the report long. I mean, showing great on the defensive end, Khalifa Diop’s physical tools, timing, and effort-level make him a good shot blocker, rim protector but also showed that he can defend in the post with using his BBIQ (sees his man’s footwork well, so, preparing his own stance with great reacts, has active and quick hands), solid stance, and length in my opinion. Showing pretty nice mobility stepping out to slide around the perimeter, fighting for position around the basket, and using verticality well on occasion, Khalifa Diop’s defensive awareness is good. He sees things early and talking with his teammates to block the passing lanes, block the opponent’s trick offense. Not a great off the ball motions, switch, and transition defender in my opinion. Knows how to switching but lack of elite body defensively, and lack of elite footwork against quick players hurt his stock here in my opinion. I think Diop has the potential to be a pesky defender on shooters thanks to his vertical pop and length but needs to learn runs around the screens with good timing. I think Diop is not an excellent rebounder, but average on both ends.

Summary

Khalifa Diop is a good lob target, has catch-and-finishing and decent mid-range potential, showing effort on the defensive end but he hasn’t any pure things, I mean, he is a classical European type center for now. If he can improve his athlectisim or adds an average 3-pointer threat, works change. But for now, I don’t think he is a good NBA prospect.

16. Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso

Born: 2004

Nationality: Nigeria

Height: 6–10

Wingspan: 7-foot-1

Position: C

Physical

Standing 6-foot-10 with near 7-foot-1 wingspan with lack of elite strength 210-pound frame, Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso has a good body base for a 16 years-old African player but lack of strength hurt his stock in my opinion. Wide shoulders, strong arms, quick footwork but lack of strength on his core muscles, chests, legs, shoulders, back hurt his post-up games, face-up defenses, and explosive athleticism package in my opinion. Playing a significant role as the NBA Academy Africa’s painted area games, Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso does the majority of his athlectisim on smoothness. I mean, most of 6-foot-10 and other African bigs plays with great vertical pop and athleticism but Ugonna has a different thing. His quick hips, great lateral movement, his momentum which he gains from his legs, wide wingspan, and defensive ballhandling skills make him a smooth athlete around the basket in my opinion. And it’s a very good thing. Because with it, he has great potential as a floor spacer, I mean, he can take the ball and reverse to the basket, while doing it, he creating spacing for others. But he has a lot of room to get stronger, also, I think he should learn balanced vertical pop and open court dunks. Because at the end of the day, he will need these two things in my opinion.

Offense

A talented big man with an excellent feel for the game, high-level motor, Kingsley Onyenso shows himself as a lob threat, catch-and-finisher, impactful rebounder, and elite post threat. I think he is a really good post-up weapon for all teams. I think Onyenso has footwork well above his age. After taking the ball, he can create a shield around the ball, read the opponent’s defensive stance, create his own angle of attack, find the right balance, and if necessary, he can reverse spin and go to the basket. Also, UKO can use his body to giving fake against the help defense from the weak side and uses short hooks from the strong side. A true inside threat, the 16-year old is a good catch-and-finish player in my opinion. He is not like a Joshua Ojianwuna, Nelly Joseph, or Dick Sano but his smoothness around the basket makes him a good on it. After taking the ball, he can raise his floater pocket very quickly, Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso does speed-body changes well, he can score with a soft touch by not stepping back in contact game and making intelligent movements against his opponents. He is not an above the rim player, also as I mentioned, he doesn’t have a good vertical pop but I think he knows how to use the rim to gain momentum and that’s very important. Because he is 6-foot-10 and has a good BBIQ, so he can score against physical, explosive rim protectors. Not a great pick-and-roll player, has to learn how rolling after screen in my opinion. Ugonna’s biggest problems on the offensive end are dribbling, passing, and shooting in my opinion. He showed some flashes as a half-court dribbler as a reliable handler but not consistent. Made simple mistakes on it. As a passer, he showed very promising flashes. He can find open man after he creates spacing for them thanks to his post-up threat. However, sometimes forcing the game too much. As a shooter, he has a lot of room. He is bad all of the shooting types in my opinion but he is just a 16-year old player, so has a good time in my opinion. He always fights on the offensive end, his awareness is high, when he is in off the ball motions he can make good screens for shooters like Tyrese Proctor and Giovanetti to run on sets such as staggers and chin lines.

Defense

Showing good mobility stepping out to slide on the perimeter, fighting for position in the paint, and using verticality well on occasion, also, with all the tools to be a difference-maker inside, Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso does much of his best work offensively guarding opposing big men around the basket. On it, he is a bad post-up defender, lack of elite strength and lack of experience hurt him here (look his game at Szent Istvan Basketball Cup 2020 games and Pole of France). But his rim protection ability with using his length, mobility, quick hips, game reading ability, timing, smoothness, and his defensive awarenesses are notable. He is not an excellent shot blocker but showed on it some flashes, more importantly, he showed impressive mobility sliding his feet on the perimeter for his size. His mobility and footwork really dazzling on the defensive end in my opinion. Most of 16-year old European and African prospects have serious problems on it but I think Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso has not. Knows how to change his speed-body balance against all types of players; quick guards, physical forwards, etc. He can’t run transitions well, I don’t think that he has a good deflection repertoire. Also, he has to improve on off the ball motions. Sometimes, the 16-year old player does unnecessary help to the weak-side. I think UKO has interesting potential as a switchable defender. He can’t stand against quick guards on hill and wings despite his stiff stance but he’s good at using his body and switching in general game tempo. I think the most important thing to develop in his defense package is the post-up. He can sometimes be very weak in this regard. As a rebounder, he is excellent. A good area rebounder whose length helps him challenge shots, Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso grabs a lot of rebounds both on the defense and on the offense. He hasn’t a great vertical pop but his length and second jump timing and quickness makes up it for him in my opinion.

Summary

Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso’s post-up threat on offense, his ability to combine his promising ballhandling and fluency with his BBIQ; his defensive effort, interesting switch potential, and excellent rebounding ability make him a valuable prospect in my opinion. But I think dribbling, scoring instinct, shooting, post-up defense, and gain strength are his cons where he has to improve.

17. Victor Ezeh

Born: Feb 12, 2003 (17 years old)

Nationality: Nigeria

Height: 6–4

Weight: 169

Wingspan: 6–8

Hand length: 8.5

Hand width: 9-foot

Position: SG-SF

Physical

Standing 6-foot-4 with a lanky 169-pound frame, 9-foot hand width, 8-foot hand length and a 6-foot-8 wingspan, Victor Ezeh has good size for a 16 years old shooting guard but has room to get stronger. In my opinion, his upper body looks good. Has long and strong arms, Ezeh’s chest and core muscles are stiff. However, his shoulders not good. VE’s lower body better than his upper body. Because his footwork is quick, has pretty quick hip mobility, strong legs and his lateral movement almost excellent. He is a fluid athlete who can above the rim pretty impressively in space. He is not a fluid athlete who has a vertical pop but he knows very well how to use his frame for fluidity. I am thinking of born 2003 guards on the international pool. Fedor Zugic, Jean Montero ve Matteo Spagnolo first names that come to my mind. If I compare Ezeh with these names physically, I think he has one of the best frames in the class right now but for the future, clearly, has room to get stronger. In fact, his physical tools, offensive and defensive skills and athleticism remind me of Jalen Brunson.

Offense

A smooth athlete who shot the three at an elite level, Victor Ezeh is one of the top three shooter in his class. You know, many African prospects are bad at shooting. Assemian Moulare, Grace Aluma, Valdemir Avelino are good at this, but there is a problem in general. Among the international prospects born in 2003, Jean Montero and Thijs de Ridder have an excellent shooting repertoire. I think Ezeh has that too. He can use screens in off-ball games and create a perfect shooting area for himself. Ezeh does not create his shot from deep range but can do it around the perimeter. Victor’s shooting mechanism looks solid. His arc and footwork my favorite things on his shooting. I think, he hasn’t good body coordination, finger sensitivity and eye-hand balance but Ezeh has a shooting mentality. I mean, he knows how to smash where and when. He’s not using unnecessary shots. Victor was one of the top shooters of the tournament at the 2019 EYBL and the 2020 HoopHall, and he has shown things about his shooting IQ multiple times. A player who has a soft-touch while using floaters, Ezeh can finish around the basket after using screen/screens. He cannot create the layup position himself due to vertical pop, lack of handling and strength. He usually uses a screen from the left-wing or corners, cut and finishes around the basket-like it. As I mentioned on his physical tools, Ezeh is a fluid athlete who can above the rim pretty impressively in space. VE uses screen while doing this. He is not an SG who has elite handling and passing packages. Read and reaction passer, Ezeh is a reliable handler but not shifty, creativity or drive and disher. Hasn’t great court vision. Thanks to his understanding of the game, showed some flashes on PnR as a passer. However, inconsistent. Quick on transition and finishes position after the all court dribble. In the half-court, he can dribble with the ball using screens. This is my biggest question mark about him anyway. Ezeh actually has a talent package that could be a good SF in the NBA, but his current level of athleticism is an issue. If he can progress on his athleticism (just plays above the rim is not mean he is a good athlete, needs consistency, vertical pop, can finish in traffic, can finish face-to-face, needs handling to reach to the basket easily) and physical qualities, I think he will be a good three & D player that every team would want.

Defense

I think Ezeh is active on the defensive and, showing great stance with almost elite footwork, good eye-hand coordination and quick hands. He did much of his best work defensively in the off-ball reads last three tournaments. I mean, he is an off-ball defender who can run around screens with quickness and body balance after reading games well thanks to his BBIQ and lateral quickness. Ezeh is a good team defender. He does rotate well and guides his teammates to protect the shell around the perimeter and baseline. He perfectly suppresses his opponent’s spacing of shooting. He does not angle his opponent, does not give dribbling a chance. However, in the action/on-ball game, around the basket and in switch defense, he’s very bad. The lack of elite athleticism and strong frame hurt him here but don’t remember, he is 16 y/o. So I think he has the average to be an on-ball good man-on-man defender thanks to his quickness and BBIQ but needs get stronger and good athlectisim. Here, too, I have an idea of ​​his NBA career. Ezeh is not a good rebounder and as I said he is not a good on-ball man-on-man defender for now but I think he has a potential to be SF on defense thanks to his off-ball defense and team discipline (high motor, talking to teammates, etc.) Not positional, but effective.

Summary

Victor Ezeh is one of the youngest and most talented names in the NBA Academy. He has a few critical shortcomings, but his shooting skills, discipline on both offense and defense and his work-based off-court life can make him a good NBA player. I think he can get a good career as a SF in the NBA, but he needs to get stronger, improve his handling and jump a level or two in athletics.

18. Grace Aluma

Born: 7 August 2003

Nationality: the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Height: 6–1

Wingspan: 6–3

Position: G

Physical

Born on August 7, 2003, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, standing 6-foot-1 with a solid 195-pound frame and a 6-foot-3 wingspan, Grace Aluma has a lot of room to get stronger. His upper body frame looks great. Long arms, wide shoulders, and strong core muscles. From his lower body window, quick footwork, solid hips, lateral quickness, and average vertical pop stand out. However, lack of elite length and size base hurt his stock here in my opinion. He needs to add weight and muscles but his length is a big question mark for me. I think Grace Aluma has a pretty good athlectisim package for his size and age. I mean, he shows some flashes on open court explosiveness, in addition, I can say that clearly, he is a solid athlete. Knows how to rotate his body to find bucket around the perimeter.

Offense

I think Grace Aluma does much of his best work on the offensive end as a passer showing the ability to drive and dish and use his defensive prowess to create spacing and opportunities to set up teammates in transition situations. He can operate pick-and-roll very well. I think that Grace Aluma is good at surprising his opponents, using creativity rather than classical passership, giving body/screen/ball fake things, and creating a shield around the ball in every sense. I don’t think he’s an advanced momentum or shiftiness ballhandler I think Aluma is a defensive ballhandler in the style of Chris Paul. He protects the ball well, knows how to set the tempo while using his body, and gives the right pass type at the right time. He is not a very fast guard, but GA can increase the tempo of the game when necessary with his passing arsenal and wide court vision. He is good at playing his teammates on horns and false motions. I think that he was the best compliment to Nelly Joseph Junior and Joshua Ojianwuna, who played as a lob-target guy at NBA Academy Africa. I think he’s an all-around passer. He can beat the intensity defenses with his high dribble and court vision. From the scorer window, Aluma has not too many weapons in his arsenal. Grace showing some flashes as a slasher. He does a pretty nice job of showing the ability to use his athleticism to his advantage attacking the rim finding some success as a slasher. However, that’s it. I don’t think he is a good shooter, cutter, pick-and-roll handler scorer, and isolation player. Of course, showed some flashes all of these things but has not a primary scoring weapon. It’s the biggest question mark on my mind about him. I think he has potential as a shooter. Grace can create his shots around the mid-range and does a nice job as a catch-and-shooter but has to be more consistent, has to be fearless, and take responsibility like his passing skill-set. Good transition scorer thanks to his solid first step, body coordination, high BBIQ, and timing in my opinion.

Defense

Bringing energy and instincts to the defensive end, Aluma is a pesky on-ball defender in my opinion. While doing it, his physical deficiencies hurt him, but GA’s ability to set his stance perfectly (read & reacts, positional stance, footwork, and timing), game reading skills and fast reaction make him a good on-ball defender. Covering ground, chipping around the glass, and making some hustle plays, Grace Aluma showing good lateral quickness and sliding on the perimeter, also, regularly picket the pocket of ballhandlers in my opinion. On the other hand, he is not a switchable as you guess, can’t rotate pick-and-roll well, and not a consistent transition defense player. Sometimes, his motor stop. I can trust him as an off-ball motion defender. I think that Aluma knows how to run around the screens very well, also, knows how to react quickly and correctly to a possible opponent’s fake set use like a diamond or thumb up-down. I think that Grace knows very well to face the surprises he created on offense on defense. He can’t put good pressure on the shooters, and he sometimes makes critical mistakes in pump fakes but at the end of the day, I can buy his defensive stock for the NBA because he can both protect the shell on the team defense and the pesky defense on the on-ball, but his physical defects are of course a huge question mark.

Summary

For the moment, I don’t think Grace Aluma is an NBA prospect. Because he physically lack both length and strength, there is also a lot to improve on the offensive individual scoring package. But he just turned 17 and has a good time to develop, and GA knows how to lead the team. I think he could enter the NBA as a CP3-style PG, for it, he has to improve physically and at least has to an average shooting package.

19. Youssouf Singare

Born: 01 May 2003

Height: 6–11

Wingspan: 7–1

Nationality: Mali

I got comments from two teammates about Singare from his national teammates.

“Singare was the most important player of our team in the 2019 African Championship. He is a very talented player but never plays selfishly. He likes to share on the court.”

“We get along well with Youssouf on the court and we get along well off the court. He’s actually very cheerful. He is friendly and loves to spend time with us. I admire his passion for training. He always works hard to be better.”

Physical

Standing 6–10 with an average wingspan and a rapidly improving frame, Youssouf Singare is an explosive athlete who has all dunking and blocking packages. I mean, he can dunk with both hands, one hand, reverse, 270, etc. In my opinion, his physical base looks great. Long arms, long legs, quick feet, quick hands, wide shoulders, stiff core muscles and smooth hip. However, his lack of strength hurt his game. Has average arm strength, also, his lower body looks power but he needs filling out his frame by adding strength to his upper body and gaining muscle. I like his combination of footwork and reverse spin. Singare uses his footwork perfectly while playing a post around the baseline, does reverses with good timing and goes to the basket fluently and finishes the position with explosiveness. In doing so, YS uses his body coordination, hip mobility and long arms very well.

Offense

As you know, many African Cs play with an explosive game understanding in the painted area. These players are effective in post-up. They have a good finishing ability around the basket with smooth movement and dominant last touch. Youssouf Singare is like these players. He doesn’t have a pure ability that can make him special. He can’t shoot, or rather, he doesn’t use. He lousy in FT’s. His prominent features on offense are to play in the painted area quickly, go to the basket with good timing, body coordination and strong first step, play post-up and dunk. As I said, he uses his body coordination and footwork when he playing post up. Singare doesn’t have soft touches around the basket. Usually, he uses rim or is tried short hook shots. He can finish in traffic with pretty impressive vertical pop. My favourite thing about his offense are his motor, second jump and last touch. I mean, I watched all the matches Singare played in the 2019 U16 African Championship and several prep matches. In all these games he got a total of 49 offensive rebounds. He found 24 second-chance points from these rebounds. In 15 positions, he took the contact with good BBIQ (knows how to use his body as a shield) and used FT. While doing this, his motor was always active and the energy in his wrists was very good at the final touch. I mean, although he didn’t have a soft touch, he used the energy on his wrists and made a strong finish. Of course, Singare showed how good his second jump was in all these positions. Knows play cuts with high BBIQ and uses his footwork well. I mean, he uses PF’s screen and runs the corner spacing, takes the ball and finishes the position with high energy. He is an average roller. He does good screens but cannot roll with good timing and also cannot roll good place in opponent team’s spacing. He is not a trailer or good runner in transition. As I said, his shooting is awful. He doesn’t have the pure talent to make him a good player in the NBA, but he can use traditional C skills well. So I think he might be a good player at the European level.

Defense

I think Youssouf Singare is one of the best defenders among the 2003-born African C’s. He can use his explosiveness athlectisim tools on defense. He’s a very good defender around the rim. Singare’s hand-eye coordination is good, block timing is almost perfect, and YS knows how to use his body when defending around the rim. I mean, he made good use of his wingspan+footwork around the perimeter and his hip mobility around the baseline in some matches as his opponent went to the basket. Youssouf has a game intelligence that allows him to close the shot angle of his opponent in mid-range and three-point shots. He reacts correctly to the shooting fake, keeping one hand on top and the other on the bottom, using his vertical pop in a balanced way while his man using shot. Singare is a player that I want to follow his opponents around screens in off-ball games. Because Singare can move around the screens very quickly and accurately. Not good at PnR and switch defenses. Lack of strength hurt him on PnR defense. I mean, he can’t follow roller strongly after PnR. When his opponent’s contact game accelerates, he cannot react well to it. On defense, his motor is high but inconsistent, his stance is unbalanced and sometimes does unnecessary help defense. For these reasons, Singare causes big problems on defense of his team during the switch defense. He cannot move well laterally. I am a big fan of his rebounding. He can grab a lot of rebound both offense and defense thanks to his average BBIQ, vertical pop, second jump, impressive ground balance after the pop and eye-hand coordination. He is a really good rebounder. In my opinion, he hasn’t any cons about rebounding.

Summary

I don’t believe this kid can be a good player in the NBA. I know, he is 17 years old but career projection is more suitable for Europe. I believe his effectiveness around the painted area and his protection skills around the basket will make Youssouf Singare a good C in Europe.

20. Assemian Moulare

Assemian Moulare was born on January 21, 2003 in the Ivory Coast. Moulare is a French citizen due to his family’s condition.

Moulare’s cousins ​​professionally played basketball. For example, Armel Traore, one of his cousins, is one of France’s most talented prospects in the new generation.

Moulare played in Metropolitan 92 last season. He took part in the 2019 FIBA ​​Africa U16 Championship for Ivory Coast. Since the end of May, AM has been training at INSEP facilities with French and African prospects.

It is not clear which team he will play next season.

Moulare is one of the players with the highest training discipline. According to the information I received from my player friend in INSEP, AM is always training. After the team training is over, he does individual training for two hours.

He is not calm in his off-court life. He likes traveling, spending time with his friends, but Moulare maintains his discipline. I mean, he uses his free time in a balanced way with training.

He is good with his teammates, but because AM is the best player of the team he is usually in, sometimes he can be egoistic. It is hurt his team environment.

He averaged 20.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, two steals while shooting 38.1 from the court and 34.8 from the 3PTS at FIBA U16 African Championship 2019.

Physically

6–2 African guard players generally have problems with a lack of power and staying thin. Moulare is not the strongest 17-year-old guard in the world, but I do not think he is powerless like other African guards. His arms are long and strong. His shoulders are wide but weak. Chest and core muscles are weak, thin. Lower body is fast, agile. I think his lower body is good for his age. The strength of Assemian’s arms is an advantage, but in general, he has to work on this.

Mentality

I think Assemian Moulare has an interesting game mentality. He always fights regardless of score in the match. He does everything he can to make a score. However, there is a problem here. While doing everything he can to make, it sometimes breaks the order in the team. AM restricts ball sharing and plays individually. This naturally affects the rhythm of other players in the team. I think his individual mentality is good, but he has to have in-team mentality.

Offense

I think Assemian Moulare’s finishing skills are underrated. He can finish with both hands after quick footwork with soft touch, good timing and getting the ball up quickly. His first step is not good but, in my opinion, he knows well how to change direction both ground and air. Assemian can finish with body contact but lack of vertical pop hurt him. I am a big fan of his floaters. Combo guard has an impressive last touch on floaters with good timing. I mean, I mean, the ball goes to the basket very soft. He does not give any angle to his opponents to stop the ball. He can miss easy bucket. He is not a prospect who can finish the position with high percentages on layups or floaters. I think he has to learn how to use positions. AM drives when there is an ideal angle to pass in some positions. He puts his own position into trouble. Moulare’s score-oriented play hurts him. He has not any post up skills. I think, he is a good shooter. Moulare transfers energy from the lower body to the upper body. He adjusts the hand angle well. AM also adjusts the alignment of the ball with the head well. Footwork, timing and decision-making mechanism is problematic, but I think his shooting ability is generally good. He can hit the three-points shots both CnS and movement. He has not a great mid-range jumperbut this is not necessary for our era. Fluid release off dribble moves. However, I think lack of pop limited his shooting. Because Moulare has the skills to use a deep range shot, he can read the game and choose the shot well, but due to lack of vertical pop, he cannot catch the energy he wants in deep range shots. For movement shots, 6–2 guard does a great job reading sets, getting his body balanced, set quickly his arms and foots, and staying ready to shoot. I have doubts that his shot will come. Moulare is a player who thinks points first. If this mentality persists, continuous try shooting will limit his role in the team. Because if you are not Klay Thompson or Kyle Korver, you are not allowed to be a role player (there are other factors, of course) who are constantly allowed to shoot in any team. He has to improve on this. He is not a great PnR passer or scorer but showed some flashes. He does not have burst but can play with pace and does an impressive job manipulating the defense with fakes. His eye-hand coordination is good. He can hit the jumpers or floaters after the screen. However, not consistent. He can give the pass after the screen, but these passes are not creative or shifty. Just classical passes. I mean, pocket or bounce. I think he is not a reliable ball-handler, but we can understand his ball-handler skills better if he plays with an average guard.

Defense

In my opinion, Assemian is very high IQ team defender in terms of rotating. AM knows where to be, helping the helper, I mean, his awareness is good. He does not a major defensive playmaker but does a great job in his team system. He showed some flashes of good footwork with eye-hand coordination and lateral movement at the PnR defense. I think his lack of elite athleticism hurt him here. He is a smooth athlete both offense and defense. but inconsistent. Also, his lateral quickness is not good. He can overcome these deficiencies with some things on offense, but his deficiency in athletics and his inability to move physically well restrain him. In my opinion, Moulare does a good job digging on drivers in the paint with quick hands. He is not a shot blocker, also, he has not vertical pop but showed some flashes on rim protection. On-ball protection, he can defend the basket thanks to his game reading skill and footwork. He has the quickness to get over the hill but can get lazy sometimes. My favorite thing about his defense is off ball positions. Assemian Moulare’s motor is always active. He is not an excellent defender, but I think he can use his energy well on defense both off ball and ISO. Despite not being physically elite and lacking in athletics, Moulare is good in these defenses because of his ability to read games, fast hands, and a good reaction to action. In my opinion, 6–2 guard, does a great keeping his head, seeing his man and the ball, and not losing his man off ball. He can stick with his man with quick hands an foots. For ISOs, despite lack of lateral quickness, Moulare does a good job thanks to his effort, steal timing and court vision. Also, I think his hip turns to help him here. I mean, he can pass the screen with good hip turns.

Summary

Assemian Moulare is an African French who can physically promise something about the future. He knows the game, has high energy, can shoot and finish in the painted area. AM is not perfect on defense, but he is always a fighter. I think Moulara is not a good passer and a handler to be a guard. I have huge doubts as he plays a lot of score oriented. But at the end of the day, Assemian Moulare could be a good European scorer because he has always done this to his peers so far. If he can continue his growth curve, he can be an elite scorer at EuroCup or Euroleague levels.