Observations From the Torneo Internacional Memorial Pascual Chulià
For one weekend, Torrent, Valencia was a hotbed of international NBA potential draftees. Here’s a review of the African prospects.
Spanish basketball is historically viewed as one of the highest-quality iterations of the game that can be found outside the United States. A large reason for that is the impeccable development systems in place for youth of the country’s major clubs.
Many of those Spanish development systems (Real Madrid U18, FC Barcelona U18, Baskonia U18, Valencia U18, Joventut Badalona U18) were put to the test in this early season by facing off against one another and top clubs from Lithuania (Zalgiris Kaunas U18) and Italy (Olimpia Milano U18) at the Torneo Internacional Memorial Pascual Chulià.
A good pre-cursor to the Adidas Next Generation Tournament, this U18 competition gave us a preliminary look at the talent from EuroLeague and other top clubs. New names integrated rosters while familiar faces may have taken on new roles, so let’s get into what we observed from the African players present.
Mohamed Dabone | 2011 | 6’10” | F/C | Burkina Faso | FC Barcelona
Dabone is incredibly gifted with physical tools that made him a versatile frontcourt threat on offense and defense, jumping passing lanes and using long strides to get to the basket and finish well above the rim, leading to an all-tournament team selection. He showed improved perimeter defensive discipline, though he still has a ways to go on that front; consistently getting in a stance and cutting down on the number of times he jumps for pump fakes will improve his defense significantly.
Juom Maker Bol | 2008 | 6’11” | F/C | South Sudan | Baskonia
Bol won tournament MVP as one of the youngest prospects by getting whatever he wanted on the court. The big man with raw guard skills was able to pull up from distance, score in the post and collect second chance opportunities all tournament, leading him to average a hefty and efficient double double. To fulfill his potential, he’ll need to tighten his handle and work on his strength to become even more of a frontcourt mismatch.
Sidi Gueye | 2007 | 6’10” | C | Senegal | Real Madrid
Sidi Gueye’s long wingspan, constant activity and mobility had him blocking shots and finishing plays in a variety of situations, helping him get on the all-tournament team. He seems to genuinely enjoy screening, oftentimes telling the ball handler which direction to use him and directing traffic to make room for the best DHO and screening angles before making smart passing reads. Gueye attempted a few jump shots, but he has the touch and form required to make shooting a worthy area of focus. More long range reps should improve his standing as a prospect.
Gildas Giménez | 2007 | 6’5” | SG/SF | Burkina Faso | Real Madrid
One of the high upside players on this team, Giménez projects as an ideal wing prospect after stringing together good performances with Spain’s national team and Real Madrid. He does everything you’d want from a star wing: attacks the basket, makes plays for others, shoots when open and defends hard. Giménez could benefit from further tightening his ball handling to get to his spots quicker. He shoots the ball well and could also afford to put up more three-point attempts.
Sayon Keita | 2008 | 6’11” | C | Mali | FC Barcelona
Keita was arguably the best and most consistent paint protector in Torrent, whether he was actually blocking shots or just altering them. His massive reach combined with acute awareness of how and when to contest shots caused headaches for opponents. Keita also encouragingly showed flashes of hub passing and an unorthodox jumper that went in from time to time. Building on those last two skills with a quicker release and more time in the short roll could improve his stock immensely.
Omar Karem | 2007 | 6’1” | G | Morocco | Olimpia Milano
Karem played an important role for tournament champion, Olimpia Milano as a bench scoring spark, helping to keep the team afloat when its more touted prospects in Luigi Suigo and Achille Lonati were resting or not as effective. He finds crafty ways to score in the paint despite his stature and is a streaky shooter who can heat up quickly from deep. He gambled correctly for steals occasionally too. Using his creativity to make more plays for teammates is imperative to his development as it will be difficult for him to play off ball as solely a scorer at his size at the senior level.