9/8 Espn Insider - A few African prospects

[OutletPass]

African players must progress quickly
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, September 8
Updated: September 8
9:34 AM ET


JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Basketball took on a new meaning Friday as the NBA Africa 100 camp resumed. After an emotional trip to Soweto on Thursday, the NBA coaches and players working the event saw everything in a different light. "You see something like that, and it focuses you to make sure you're teaching the kids everything you can," one coach said. "You just have to look at these kids differently. You're not just trying to help a kid realize a dream here. You're trying to help a village, a country, a continent live and breath. If we can help produce a Dikembe Mutombo in this camp, thousands of people will be blessed. Thousands." The scouts have their work cut out for them. Most of these kids redefine the word raw. Many of them have just begun playing organized basketball. Their lack of fundamentals is alarming. It's just too early to project "NBA player" out of anyone here. But a few players stood out, because of their size, athleticism and how quickly they progressed after just three days of NBA coaching. Not surprisingly, none of them is shorter than 6-foot-10. The guard play in Africa is especially bad.

"Guards are at a disadvantage," Clippers scout Fabricio Besnati said. "Big men can hide their lack of fundamentals with raw size and power. Little guys can't. If you're under 6-foot-6 and you can't pass or shoot, you just have no chance." After huddling with several scouts and coaches at the camp, I spent the day watching three players who scouts felt, with a lot of work, good coaching and a break here or there, could turn out to be an NBA prospect down the road. These three guys might not be the best players here, but they're the three players with the most potential.

Samba Gueye, 6-10, 192 lbs, Senegal - Gueye had some buzz going into the camp after a story about him appeared on a website devoted to the NBA draft last year. At just 16 years of age, he's generating an enormous amount of hype for a kid who has some glaring holes in his game. Athleticism is here in abundance. But unless you're 7-feet tall, being skinny and athletic won't get you to the next level. What scouts like about Gueye is his athleticism and intensity for a kid his age. His body is an almost exact replica of Kevin Garnett's coming out of high school. He has a 7-foot-5 wing span, can jump out of the gym, runs the floor and can throw down monster dunks. His coach, Lance Blanks of the Spurs, called him "little K.G." throughout the camp. Gueye liked it. "He is my favorite player," Gueye said. "I think we do look a like." But there's little else separating Gueye from 10 or 20 other young Africans here. He's raw fundamentally. He was as turnover prone as anyone in the camp. He has no post game. Several of the jump hooks he took not only missed the rim, but flew over the backboard. On three straight possessions, Gueye was blocked trying to dunk the ball.

While it was clear Gueye had more experience than some, most of it has been in basketball schools, not on the floor. As the game became faster paced, Gueye's speed and athleticism dominated. But when the opposing team got its defense set (and I use that term in the loosest sense) he had no idea what to do. Gueye may have an enormous amount of hype going for him, but unless he gets to the United States, puts on muscle and learns a post game, he'll suffer the fate of many of the kids here.
"He has a chance," one scout said. "But to call him a top prospect is absurd. Just having the tools isn't enough anymore. He reminds me a little bit of Darius Miles, but Miles is much more skilled right now. If he gets in the right situation, and if people quit telling him he's the greatest, I think he has a shot." Gueye will get his shot next fall. He told Insider that he's committed to USC and will attend school there next year. That is, of course, assuming that he can pass the entrance exams, learn English (like most people in Senegal, he speaks French), get a visa and then crack the rotation. None of those obstacles seems to faze Gueye. "I know I have a gift," he said. "I've learned much here. I've got to take it back and use it to improve my game." If he doesn't, this Internet legend may become a ghost in people's minds quickly.

Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Fall, 7-foot-1, 188 pounds, Senegal
If Gueye wants to look up to someone, Fall may be the best role model out there. Fall is not only the most skilled big man at the camp, he may be one of the most skilled young players in Africa, period. He has a feathery soft shooting touch, nice handle, is very long and has nice timing on his shot blocking. Fall plans to enroll at Oak Hill Academy, the prep-school powerhouse in Virginia, within the next few weeks (he's waiting for his visa) and turn himself into another Senegalese hero, DeSagana Diop.
The two bear few resemblances at this point. Fall is not only the tallest player in camp, he may also be the skinniest. He doggedly avoids contact in the paint, preferring to shoot mid-range jumpers most of the time. His left hand is deceiving, and he's very quick for his size. What Fall, and everyone else for that matter, lacks is game experience.
"Most of these kids don't spend much time practicing or playing," Mavs director of scouting Amadou Fall said. "They need a lot of things, but for the good ones, what they lack is real game experience." NBA scouts saw the same thing and shortened the clinics to give the players more time to play one another in actual games. The improvement between Wednesday and Friday was dramatic. Dropped passes, turnovers and air balls characterized Wednesday's games. By Friday, kids were running the fast break, making no-look passes and finishing around the basket. Nothing could save their shooting in such a short time, but the offensive production of kids like Fall was dramatically improved.

What's next for Fall? An NBA coach breaks it down. "He's very skilled and very smart," the coach told Insider. "I'm glad he's getting to a U.S. school. He'll pick things up very quickly and has the potential to be a dominant player. Obviously strength is going to be a big issue with him. I'm not sure how much weight his frame will hold. He's going to have to get much, much stronger to be successful in college or the NBA."

Kenechukwu Obi, 7-foot, 240 lbs, Nigeria
Obi may be the most intriguing player in the entire camp. He is just 15 and has been playing organized basketball for just five months. Sam Ahmedu, of FIBA Africa, found him in the hinterlands last October. He's a member of the Ibo tribe, a tribe that doesn't really play ball, but just happens to produce very tall young people. 15-year-old Kenechukwu Obi is raw, but his natural ability had scouts drooling. When the drills first started on Wednesday, scouts were amazed that a kid this big didn't know how to play. Obi fumbled the ball every time he tried to dribble. He left his feet whenever his opponent caught the ball. He looked blankly at a coach when asked to throw the ball in from the sidelines. There isn't a more raw kid in the camp. However, his massive frame, wide shoulders, athleticism and intelligence in someone his age had scouts drooling.Obi quickly became a pet project for Mutombo and several of the coaches. At 15, the kid already looked like an NBA player. Could they teach him how to play like one?Over the course of the next 48 hours, Obi worked as hard as any player in the camp. His first game experience was comical at times, but by Thursday you could see the wheels turning in his head. He was absorbing everything and making huge strides.

By Friday, his main coach, Alex English (not a bad tutor), was hugging him. Another coach said with the right training, the kid could be a star. "It's the same with a lot of the kids here," he said. "They have so much to learn and no one to teach them. If he could work on his post moves for a couple of hours every day, he'd be awesome. Kids just need repetition. Unfortunately that's the one thing the camp can't provide." The one thing going for Obi is that he was found young. Many of the players aren't discovered until they're 18 or 19. By the time they've learned what they need to have learned, they've already missed their opportunity. Obi has a chance, but only if someone gives it to him. "What that kid needs is a high school coach in the U.S. to step up and take on a project," one scout said. "He won't contribute right away, but with a little patience, he could be special." Obi is still struggling to understand it all. "Someone here tells me I'm a good player," he said. "I don't believe them. How can it be? I don't really know how to play. But now I have the confidence to go back and start playing hard. If the NBA coach says I can play, I will work hard to prove him right."

The best of the rest
Gueye, Fall and Obi weren't the only players who showed potential. Several others stood out as well. Boris Diaw's half-brother, Papa Saliou Diaw, was here and showed great athleticism. He's 18 and can jump out of the gym. He doesn't yet have, however, Boris' great feel for the game.

Mali's Abdrahamane Traore looks like a young Corey Maggette. At 6-foot-6, he had one of the best bodies here. Egyptian two guard Haytham "Egyptian Lover" El Saharty was very tough and had a great feel for the game.

Another Senegal big man, Moustapha N'doye, is just 16. He measured in at 6-foot-10, 221 pounds and showed off a pretty impressive set of low-post moves for a guy who's only been playing hoops eight months. Nigeria's Charles Okwandu, a 7-foot-1, 190-pound center is pretty skilled, but he couldn't handle any real contact in the paint.

Said one Nigerian scout: "That boy is very smart, but he's afraid to get touched. That's just a lack of game experience. No one gets knocked down shooting jumpers in the gym. He'll eventually adjust."

He has a point. The play inside was very physical for most of the camp. Most of the big guys didn't shy away from contact.

[Simon2]

Seems like most of the tall guys are less than 200 lbs! That's skinny! Imagine being 6'10 at 188 lbs.

[EricaLubarsky]

my boyfriend plays hoops, and is in great shape and he's 6'1" and 200. I cant even imagine someone 7' and less than a hundred. There are only so many Keon Clarks. Isn't Dirk like 255 now?

[Rod1975]

When Manute Bol first came to the US to play ball at the University of Bridgeport, he was 7-7 195 lbs and never really got past 225 even when he was in the NBA.