Usman Garuba | Scouting Report

Who am I?

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 year. I have written on various sites and magazines before. I’ve been working as a freelance scout for three years. I’ve mentored a few clubs. 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. Anyway, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and feel free to DM!

Expectations?

He could really be one of the European stars in the NBA. There is a “European Zion” stamp, but it should never be compared with it, it should not be compared to it. has an “interesting sparkle”. Maybe there is a “European Zion” stamp, but he should never be compared with him.

Although they show similarities in style of play, Garuba can do well in the NBA in the off-ball game style. If he continues this development, he may be one of the top six players in a team.

Personality

Good. I watched it twice this year in Turkey. After an Anadolu Efes match, I interviewed him for six minutes. He talked about his story in general. Nothing interesting. His English is average, timid, warm but sometimes too stationary.

Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes work privately with him. They provide him with new game information in case he goes to the NBA. For Real Madrid fans he is one of the most valued names. When Mario Nakic failed to reach the expected level this year, Garuba was considered a “young superstar” entirely. They love him. Garuba also loves the team, but he really wants to play in the NBA.

Frame Overview

Powerful, mobile and graceful athlete who has an awesome length with a plus-six wingspan. Strong frame in the upper and lower body. Good, very good frame, quick hips and moves well laterally. Powerful jumper off two feet. Covers ground quickly. Quick to load and jump with a nice and quick second jump, too. He has to work on balance/core strength. Need work on change direction/stop.

Finishing

Not a great finisher but explosive. He can finish in the paint, but he is currently reliant on his athleticism to finish (lobs, dunks ) and not actual “soft, smooth” touch. Finishes well in traffic and can finish through contact with either hand. Does a nice job taking contact and getting the shot up. Has a nice spin move on baseline. Good rim finisher thanks to his athleticism. Active on the offensive glass with tip-ins and follow up dunks. Quick leaper. Good body coordination and nice job stepping around defenses. Does not have good hands misses catches. We will see.

Shooting

Not much of a shooter right now, but there is reason to buy the shot long term in a limited role. His long-range shots in the past years were really bad. But this year, he was fine in the role of off-ball corner shooter. He passed to the corner during the action at wings/top. He evaluated the passes that came to him well. Does a nice job getting his feet set off the catch with good balance. He can hit C&S at a good clip spacing the floor

He has an interesting shooting mechanic. His left hand and right hand become strange at the last stage of the shot. Like layup, but a little harder. Solid.

There is a slightly different situation in the mid-range. It doesn’t use much. In other words, he is not someone to use spot mid-range after the pick.

Has shown some fluidity in PnP attempts and has shown nice ability screening and getting set quickly, smart, but the results are not there, YET.

Yes, the number of attempts was not too high, but as I said, he wants to overcome this problem with his intelligence and discipline.

End of the day, I buy his shoot.

Post Up

Does pretty nice things showing versatility with either hand and does a good job feeling the defense and spinning off-post defense to get an arc on the defender. Has basic footwork, which isn’t very good, in addition to average touch. Not a passer out of the post, not someone who will kick it out and reposition with a better position. Has a quick and strong first step. Unable to really secure a deep position.

Need work here.

PnR

Garuba does a pretty nice job in the PnR and cuts to the basket. Has really nice footwork (speed, timing of step, hip mobility, body balance and handle)/screen setting ability in the PnR/P games. Opening well to the ball, but can sometimes take one more full step/waits a second too long at the pick level.

Average short-roll passer. Nice job manipulating the defense thanks to his dunk threat. Quick and smart decisionmaker in the PnR. But sometimes gets flustered when crowded. Need work here.

Handle

Does not have a good handle right now. Good transition handler. Shows some flashes of spin moves, crosses, and hesitations, but they’re not consistent enough but not someone who will break out many dribble, ISO, chin spin moves, but for Garuba’ role, he does not have to. Does a nice job using his body to bump defenders off. PRONE to traveling.

Passing

Not a good passer. His passion of pass is poor. Entirely reactive passer. Classic passes to make the set work. But since he can memorize the team’s system very well, he does this minor role well. Take the ball, give the pass, pick/take the ball, give the pass, roll-in / take the ball, do two dribbles, pass, go around the rim, take the ball, finish position / take the ball, wait on the top, give the pass your teammate who comes off-screen on the baseline.

Had some flashes of passing to cutters, backdoor runner or center. But these are classic reads.

Rim Protection

Yeah, great. Does a really nice job using his body to contest shots and has very very good timing, footwork, body balance contesting shots. Knows when to rotate off of his opponent to cut. Nice job adjusting his hands to make shots more difficult in the paint. His first step will be huge for his rim protection. Good job protecting the rim with one hand or two hands. Yes, including on the move. He can read the game well and adjust the step timing. Smart moves around the rim. But sometimes he focuses so much on making blocks that he doesn’t see the short roll from the weak side. But yep, he is still young.

ISO Defense

Moves pretty well laterally in space for someone his size. When he is balanced, he does a good job staying with players with his quickness on the perimeter. However, sometimes he makes hasty moves. He has a high focusing power, is smart and uses his body well, but because of both his explosiveness and lack of experience, he cannot make the cold-blooded ISO defense. Foul trouble?

PnR Defense

Solid PnR defender, plays with nice effort, and shows solid footwork thanks to his quick feet and solid hip turns. Does a nice job rotating off of his man to stop the driving PnR ballhandler. But as I said in ISO defense, he is not yet a reliable switch defender because of some hasty actions caused by lack of experience.

Team Defense

High IQ player on defense. Does a nice job rotating in the paint, restricted area and perimeter. Does a nice job helping off ball and recognizing mismatches. Quick decision-maker. Does a nice job creating deflections and using his length to keep passing lanes.