Zaccharie Risacher

PROFILE

Live evaluation- November 2023 (vs Ratiopharm Ulm)
By Artau Pascual

Zacharie Risacher has put on display all the attributes that make him such an intriguing prospect. Standing at 6'9, Risacher is a highly reliable spot-up threat: his shooting mechanics are clean and smooth, and his release point makes him difficult to block. Risacher has also developed some solid counters to put the ball on the floor and attack the defender in straight lines. Lately, he's been more comfortable at playing through contact and, although his ability to finish in traffic isn't higher than average due to his driving predictability and finishing limited repertoire, he's finding ways to produce in the paint.  Another remarkable strength he has is how well he moves off screens and hand off: the ceiling in these areas has some red flags because of his limitations at turning the corner and a slight lack of hip fluidity to turn into a difference-maker in these sets, but because of his size and ability to get the shot up he can put in trouble slower defenders easily at the current level. We've seen him being used in various schemes such as UCLA cuts, diamonds, and staggers, and he's been able to keep the offensive advantage for his team. His main weakness at this point is he's unable to create looks for himself at a consistent level off the dribble, which limits him to a role-player prospect. He's a smart passer who can do right decisions on the drive, which is also helpful for him after attacking the close out, but he's not creative and lacks the ability to build advantages.

On the defensive end, Risacher has a lot of juice. Firstly, his best strength is versatility: he's big and responsible to make an impact in the last role or as a nail help defender, but he also provides some encouraging POA defense stretches. He slides well his foot to stay in front of ball-handlers at the European level, and he's also good enough to navigate off screens. When he switches or stays with stronger opponents, he uses to be in the right spot, but he simply doesn't have the core strength to handle certain matchups there, which might be a concern for the upcoming level.

U19 World Cup- July 2023

Solid body frame and length. Okay athlete. Talented kid that didn’t show much this tournament. His potential as a spot-up shooter is high and he's good at attacking closeouts and beating opponents in straight lines. He struggles at turning directions with the ball in his hands as the ball handler, and didn't find good angles in pick&roll situations. Limited passing vision. On the defensive end, he has good body to navigate through screens, and he's smart enough to do a good use of his size as a weakside defender.


Season review- June 2023

Strong season for Zach Risacher. The French Wing was able to crack into ASVEL and play solid minutes as a connector wing on the offensive end. He didn't hold the ball after catching it and made the right reads to decide when to shoot, when to drive and when to swing. He also looked improved on the defensive end: did a decent job at boxing out for rebounds and tried to be as switchable as possible. Did a solid use of his frame and size. 

Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals - June 2021
Risacher’s performance was quite impressive in a 15-point show against Real Madrid. He is a tall forward with a long way to go in terms of physical development. Offensively, he is a tremendous shooter (66% with six attempts in two games), and can create off the bounce for himself. Needs to be a bit more active in defense but he doesn’t shy away the contact and plays hard. 


Adidas Next Generation Tournament Valencia - December 2020
Risacher is a 6’8 forward who showed up as a highly intriguing prospect thanks to his mobility, shooting skills and feel for the game. He owns a very promising body, featuring a high and wide shoulders, long arms and still growing potential, as he is in a very early stage of development. Risacher was great moving without the ball to get scoring opportunities for himself, either spot up threes or easy layups after backdoors. His shooting mechanics look very natural and fluid, and his soft touch suggests that he can become a great stretch-4 as long as he keeps gaining strength in his legs. At the moment, Risacher has some issues to guard on the perimeter due to his raw athleticism, but he is pretty good rotating from the weak side thanks to his awareness and IQ.