African prospects reports born in 2003 and 2004 | 5/20
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 year. 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, and dozens of notable basketball people such as Luis Scola, Dimitris Itoudis, 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 BIGGEST GOAL IS SCOUTING! Anyway, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and feel free to DM!
I am sharing the first part of the project which I have been working on for the last three months. I wrote about 30 African players born in 2003 and 2004. Briefly pros and cons, information, size and comprasions. Part One: 5/20
*Comparisons are based on skills, not projections in the NBA.
Here is my ranking for first group:
- Dick Rutatika Sano — PF — 6'9'’-2004-Rwanda
- Thierno Mamoudou Sylla — Center — 6'10'’-2003-Gana
- Babacar Sane — C- 6'8'’-2003-Senegal
- Valdemar Avelino — SG — 5'9'’-2003-Angola
- Hugo Silva — SG- 6'1'’-2003-Cape Verde
Thierno Mamoudou Sylla — Center — 6'10'’-2003-Gana
Comparison: Adreain Payne
Size
I like his frame. The base is very good. His lower body is above average. His upper body has good chest parts, but he has to work on dozens of other things.
Pros
Explosive athlete.
Can dribble open court.
Shows a strong motor and finishes well around the basket.
Can shoot. His percentage is not high, but he likes to shoot and his shooting mechanics are perfect compared to the 6'10' bigs
Very good rebounder.
Doesn’t have the quickest feet in this class but certainly really good for a big. Balanced.
Has decent post moves and a good stroke.
Monster of rim protection.
Can defend stretch forwards
Decent shooter on CnS positions.
Cons
I’m not a fan of his off ball movement both on offense and defense.
Bad handler. Turnover prone.
Not a good passer.
Not a good finisher in traffic.
Not a good switch defender.
Hasn’t good vertical pop. Just explosive because of his tools.
Valdemar Avelino — SG — 5'9'’-2003-Angola
Comparison: Shorter Patty Mills
Size
5'9'’ is a problem but he is only 16 years old. His shoulders are surprisingly good, but he needs to develop all over his body.
Pros
One of the two best shooters on this class. Smooth, quick, mechanics on his shot. Specially, I’m big fan of his footwork and arc. His mechanics like always ready. Quick shooter; also smart decision-maker. Creates shots well for himself.
Smooth first step.
Quick in the open court.
Has excellent scoring instincts.
Good dribbler from top zone.
Shows good court vision.
Thrives in critical situations.
Looks comfortable with the ball in his hands.
Cons
He needs to work on dozens of things in every sense in defense.
Not a good athlete.
Can’t finish in traffic.
Need to be more active off ball situations.
Bad rebounder.
Hugo Silva — SG— 6'1'’-2003-Cape Verde
Comparison: Bad shooter of Brandon Jennings
Size
There is nothing I can say well here. He lacks strengths all over his body. He has flexibility in a certain part of his lower body.
Pros
Has quick hands.
Enjoys playing the ball.
Has smooth skills in terms of athleticism.
Good off ball attacker.
Good operator in the pick&roll-pop.
Lighting quick first step.
Knows how to incorporate head, pass and shot fakes to get defenders
Very good at changing direction.
Has good floater skills; arc, footwork, handle and timing.
Extremely good rebounder for his size.
Crafty dribbler; uses a good mix of quickness and hesitation moves to get into the lane.
Can defend ISO.
Cons
Bad shooter. There is a huge lack of strength in his shooting mechanism. He struggles every time the ball leaves his hand.
Bad finisher in traffic.
Bad passer on half court.
Not a great team defender.
Bad perimeter defender.
Needs to learn to control the tempo, to slow down and change gears.
Has to work on transition attacks.
Dick Rutatika Sano — PF— 6'9'’-2004-Rwanda
Comparison: Taller Luc Mbah a Moute
Size
Excellent. Both the upper and lower body are in very good condition as a base. The muscle-quick rate in the lower body is good. On the upper body, the shoulders are wide, the chest are solid, but hip mobility and arm muscles should be developed.
Pros
Very gifted athletically. Impressive quickness-agility.
His offensive game is versatile; good post player, can finish in traffic, excellent scorer as a roll man, always active off ball positions, has a good court vision.
He showed he has the speed to put the ball on the deck and blow by defenders to get to the rim.
Can defend multiple positions; C, PF and SF.
Has a good basketball IQ terms of control the tempo and change direction.
Good rim protector.
Good rebounder.
Cons
Bad shooter. He likes to shoot, but he has nothing in the definition of “what should be on an ideal shot.”
Bad switch defender.
Bad handler.
Not a good passer.
Needs to be more patient.
Sometimes he just focuse on scoring.
His off court life is questionable (laziness)for me.
Babacar Sane — C— 6'8'’-2003-Senegal
I was able to watch only two games of him. Therefore, it would not be right to make a brief pros-cons list. My first observations: Very skilled, able to move comfortably with the ball, mobile and fast. He can take positions quickly and find scores in the open field. He’s an excellent rebounder. Both explosive and smooth athlete. His timing of the roll and screen during PnR is excellent. Can finish in traffic, average in the post zones. His handle is promising. He is a good rim protector in defense but needs to work in all the remaining areas. A bad shooter. When he’s in an off ball, his motor is stop. I think he should play as SF, not C.