Victor Ezeh | Scouting Report
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Born: Feb 12, 2003 (17 years old)
Birthplace/Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
Nationality: Nigeria
Height: 6–4
Weight: 169
Wingspan: 6–8
Hand length: 8.5
Hand width: 9-foot
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.