Nelly Joseph | Scouting Report
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, 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!
Born: Nov 20, 2001 (18 years old)
Birthplace/Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
Nationality: Nigeria
Team: Iona Collage
Height (Shoes off): 6'9"
Height (Shoes on): 6'10.5
Weight: 230
Hand length: 9"
Hand width: 10.25"
Wingspan: 7'2"
One of the NBA scouts who watched Nelly in USA told me that about him: “Nelly Junior is a physically gifted prospect but I think the main thing that will make him a good NBA player in the future is the way he uses his physical tools. I mean, Joseph is not just an athlete who can dunk or block, his repertoire of play is huge and that will make him a worthy C.”
His Englis is not very good. After some of my research, Nelly’s off-court life based on basketball. He just trains every day. Dribbling, shooting, rebounding … He calls his friends, coaches and wants to train constantly. Work ethic is very high.
Physical
Standing 6'10.5 with a 7'2'’ wingspan and a 230-pound frame and an impressive combination of quickness of leaping ability, Nelly Junior Joseph has good length and strength for a center. His upper body very impressive. Nelly’s arms are long and strong. His shoulder, chest, and core muscles looked weak at EYBL games in 2018, but he was on the court with an excellent frame in NBA Academy games in 2019 (especially at Hoophall). His shoulders looked wide, the middle parts of his body are strong and he has excellent hip mobility. NJ’s lower body is not very strong but quick. Too quick. Jr. Joseph has a footwork & hip mobility combination that gives him momentum around the baseline and perimeter. For the NBA window, I think he is ready. You know first thing many NBA teams look for in a C’s physical tools is power and the ability to use it. Nelly Josep fit that thing. He is a strong C and also knows how to use his physical tools. He has a fluid and explosive athleticism, both on offense and defense. Sometimes Nigerian prospect goes to the basket with perfect fluency around the baseline, sometimes he does an impressive dunk in a position that seems difficult. On defensive window, he can protect the rim thanks to his impressive second jump and vertical pop. Also, his switch stance is good thanks to his lateral movement. So yes, in physically, I think he is ready for the NBA.
Offense
Nelly Joseph looks like a traditional C at first glance since he can’t shoot, but his dribble and court vision package make him a modern-era C, I think. Of course, his major offensive weapon is diving to the rim with excellent mobility, strong first step, vertical pop, high BBIQ, aggressiveness and good timing. A dominant presence around the rim, NJJ is a great lob target whose sheer size&frame makes him effective in the post as well. He can finish in traffic, can change direction both ground and air. Has a wide dunking package; one hand, two hands, reverse, alley-oop, long step… However, my favorite things about him are not these things. A talented big man with an average feel for the game, Joseph can dribble both full-court and half-court. That’s why I see him as the modern-era big man. If you watch Nelly’s three games at Hoophall and the matches he played in 2019 EYBL, you can see how creative his handling is for a C. After taking the rebound, he can dribble in the full court and scores around the basket. While in the half court he waits in the corner or wing channels, shows his burst and stop-go-stop ability when the ball comes to him, and dribbles quickly into the basket. So he’s like Joel Embiid and Pascal Siakam. He also has a wide court vision. When Nelly, who can play post-up effectively, realizes that he cannot go to the basket during the post, can pass his open teammate (I am a huge fan of his chemistry with Grace Aluma, Babacar Faye and Victor Ezeh) with good timing thanks to his wide court vision. As he throws these passes, he collects the opponent’s gravity effect on himself and actually creates a spacing from the painted area. This is why I consider his offensive repertoire suitable for the NBA. NJJ is not a good shooter, he didn’t even use as many shots as I can call he is a good or bad shooter. Apart from a few mid-ranges, I only saw his shooting mechanics during FT’s. It’s not an “Oh my God, it is terrible, so terrible” but he can’t get the ball out of his hand well. Inconsistent. There are tons of things to improve… Also, in close range layups around the basket, he sometimes makes simple mistakes because of his lack of soft-touch and finger sensitivity.
Defense
Showing great combination of timing and movement, also, physicality on the defensive end, Nelly Joseph can use his tools very well. In my opinion, NJJ doing a pretty nice job shooting gaps to get in the passing lanes. His rim protection is excellent. There is no impressive block threat like Yannick Nzosa, Adem Bona, Dianko Badji, but he moves well both laterally and vertically, keeping his body balanced and using his hands perfectly while defending his opponents around the rim. I love his pick and roll defense. Because after the switch, he can defend team’s shell well against quick and strong guards. I think, Nelly uses his footwork, wide wingspan and sturdy stance to do this. He cannot defend against guards after every PnR, but for a player who is 19 years old and play as a C, I think his knowledge on it is high. He also defends the roller with good timing and a post-up player with impressive footwork and low stance. RJJ is not a player I would want him to walk around the screens on off-ball games. There are timing and effort deficiencies. His defense is based on combining BBIQ with athletics but I have a big doubt about his defensive performance, his energy use. Yes, Nelly is an energetic player on both sides of the court, but when you carefully watch Nelly’s performance on defense, you can see that he cannot rotate in many positions (made 61 mistakes at 2019 EYBL), made unnecessary help defense. This is my biggest doubt about his defense.
Summary
Nelly, I think, is an underrated prospect amongst the players born in 2001. It is a great chance for him to play in Iona, where Rick Pitino is his head coach. He could be a good NBA player with his knowledge on defense and his ability to combine a dribbling and handling package on offense with good painted area efficiency. He has to improve his shot, get stronger and I think his effort/motor activity has to be consistent.