By Jordan Sensi
It’s time for the second part of our review. After talking about the prospects in Chalon, Strasbourg and Le Mans, let’s see what is going on in teams like Paris-Levallois, ASVEL, or Pau-Lacq-Orthez.
But first we’ll start with Dijon where a physical beast dominates the paint. Drissa Ballo (1995-C-6’10) is a young big man from Mali, we briefly saw him in the Eurocup with the professional team but he is mainly playing with the Espoirs where he averages at least 12 points and 11 rebounds for the third consecutive season. His body is NBA-ready, he has a good wingspan and a decent lateral quickness; being left-handed he can score couples of hook shot from the low post, but he is still extremely raw and has a poor vision from the post. He also has to work on his rim protection ability to have a bright future as a defensive/rebounder center at the highest level.
Still about big man, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne has an interesting prospect. Amine Noua (1997-C-6’8) was seen at the Nike IJT in L’hospilalet earlier this season, but only 4 times in the Espoirs league this season because of recurring knee tendinitis. Noua is very skilled at the low post but his future is at the power forward position and he has not a mid-range game yet. He is a good rebounder too, and he shined last summer at the U17 World Championship with France but he lacks lateral quickness and his vision from the post is very limited.
Peoples attended the NIJT in L’Hospitalet also noticed ASVEL has another good prospect: Lucas Hergott (1997-6’4-SG). The guard has a big scoring instinct and excellent fundamentals, he can score from everywhere on the floor but he is a bit selfish though. The major issue with him is the terrible level of effort he has brought to the defensive end of the floor this season.
Another team with a prospect in the frontcourt and a prospect in the backcourt is Pau-Lacq-Orthez. Lucas Dussoulier (1996-6’6-SG) has the same profile as Lucas Hergott with more length and less explosiveness. He also has big injury prone which is never good at a young age; Pau must hope he will stay healthy because he can be a good player in the French Pro A in a few years.
But, the main prospect in Pau is Alpha Kaba (1996-6’8-PF). The young big is having a solid season (13.9 points & 9.3 rebounds) displaying an interesting offensive versatility and good rebounding instinct. He is able to attack straight lines but he felt in love maybe too much with his outside shoot and should come back closer to the rim.
Other good 1996 prospects are Etienne Ory (1996-6’1-PG) and Cyrille Eliezer-Vanerot (1996-6’6-SF) from Paris-Levallois. Ory is a Euroleague profile point guard, he is the maestro of the team and displayed an amazing passing instinct so far this season. He is the second best passer of the season but he has to work on his outside shooting consistency and his resistance at the contact.
Eliezer-Vanerot joined Ory in Paris after their time at INSEP together. He had an excellent season start, being the leading scorer of the league with 18 points per game during the first 2 months of competition. Nevertheless his average had fall until 11 points per game which prove his big consistency problems. Eliezer is a super athletic wing, but he is also able to shot from the inside. He has all the tools to dominate this league but he is way too shy on the floor and plays without self-confidence. He also is supposed to be a great defender regarding his profile but he is a non-factor on this end of the floor.
Finally, let’s talk about two other INSEP players, Ywen Smock (1996-C-6’9) fractured his malleolus after only 6 games with Cholet (9,5 points and 6,5 rebounds per game), he is still not back on the courts. Paul Rigot (1995 – 6’7 – SF), who was a promising prospect is having an average season in Limoges for the second year in a row. He is a great rebounder for the position and has good all-around tools but it seems like he did not improve for two years.
Photo: Republicain-Lorrain
Twitter of the author: @Jordan_Sensi
It’s time for the second part of our review. After talking about the prospects in Chalon, Strasbourg and Le Mans, let’s see what is going on in teams like Paris-Levallois, ASVEL, or Pau-Lacq-Orthez.
But first we’ll start with Dijon where a physical beast dominates the paint. Drissa Ballo (1995-C-6’10) is a young big man from Mali, we briefly saw him in the Eurocup with the professional team but he is mainly playing with the Espoirs where he averages at least 12 points and 11 rebounds for the third consecutive season. His body is NBA-ready, he has a good wingspan and a decent lateral quickness; being left-handed he can score couples of hook shot from the low post, but he is still extremely raw and has a poor vision from the post. He also has to work on his rim protection ability to have a bright future as a defensive/rebounder center at the highest level.
Still about big man, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne has an interesting prospect. Amine Noua (1997-C-6’8) was seen at the Nike IJT in L’hospilalet earlier this season, but only 4 times in the Espoirs league this season because of recurring knee tendinitis. Noua is very skilled at the low post but his future is at the power forward position and he has not a mid-range game yet. He is a good rebounder too, and he shined last summer at the U17 World Championship with France but he lacks lateral quickness and his vision from the post is very limited.
Peoples attended the NIJT in L’Hospitalet also noticed ASVEL has another good prospect: Lucas Hergott (1997-6’4-SG). The guard has a big scoring instinct and excellent fundamentals, he can score from everywhere on the floor but he is a bit selfish though. The major issue with him is the terrible level of effort he has brought to the defensive end of the floor this season.
Another team with a prospect in the frontcourt and a prospect in the backcourt is Pau-Lacq-Orthez. Lucas Dussoulier (1996-6’6-SG) has the same profile as Lucas Hergott with more length and less explosiveness. He also has big injury prone which is never good at a young age; Pau must hope he will stay healthy because he can be a good player in the French Pro A in a few years.
But, the main prospect in Pau is Alpha Kaba (1996-6’8-PF). The young big is having a solid season (13.9 points & 9.3 rebounds) displaying an interesting offensive versatility and good rebounding instinct. He is able to attack straight lines but he felt in love maybe too much with his outside shoot and should come back closer to the rim.
Other good 1996 prospects are Etienne Ory (1996-6’1-PG) and Cyrille Eliezer-Vanerot (1996-6’6-SF) from Paris-Levallois. Ory is a Euroleague profile point guard, he is the maestro of the team and displayed an amazing passing instinct so far this season. He is the second best passer of the season but he has to work on his outside shooting consistency and his resistance at the contact.
Eliezer-Vanerot joined Ory in Paris after their time at INSEP together. He had an excellent season start, being the leading scorer of the league with 18 points per game during the first 2 months of competition. Nevertheless his average had fall until 11 points per game which prove his big consistency problems. Eliezer is a super athletic wing, but he is also able to shot from the inside. He has all the tools to dominate this league but he is way too shy on the floor and plays without self-confidence. He also is supposed to be a great defender regarding his profile but he is a non-factor on this end of the floor.
Finally, let’s talk about two other INSEP players, Ywen Smock (1996-C-6’9) fractured his malleolus after only 6 games with Cholet (9,5 points and 6,5 rebounds per game), he is still not back on the courts. Paul Rigot (1995 – 6’7 – SF), who was a promising prospect is having an average season in Limoges for the second year in a row. He is a great rebounder for the position and has good all-around tools but it seems like he did not improve for two years.
Photo: Republicain-Lorrain
Twitter of the author: @Jordan_Sensi
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