Scouting Mohamed Bamba against Iowa State (January 1st, 2018)

Stat line: 10 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks

Mohamed Bamba is one of the more intriguing (potential) prospects in the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft. My initial thoughts when I heard his wingspan was seven-foot nine-inches and his standing reach was nine-foot six-inches was……is that possible? In all seriousness, Bamba’s mixture of defensive instincts and graceful movements make him a candidate to develop into the best big from the 2018 NBA Draft.

On January 1st, 2018, Bamba and Texas played Iowa State in Ames. The Cyclones started their Big 12 league play with a loss at home against Kansas State. Meanwhile Texas came into the matchup with Iowa State 0–1 in league play after a close home loss to Kansas.

In this game the Texas front-court had a considerable size advantage, and I was interested in seeing if Bamba would impose his will. He is one of the more raw prospects in the nation, and as expected the results were mixed.

Offense:

Texas is not a great 3-point shooting team. They run most of their offense through their bigs, but Iowa State gave Bamba a tremendous amount of respect in the pick and roll. But this is where the state of the current NBA worries me as it relates to Bamba. He has shown the touch to one day develop into a solid outside shooter. But that is something I feel he should worry about developing later. As of now Bamba should be able to beat most bigs on straight-line drives because he is so quick and agile.

In a game with 17 lead changes, Bamba’s willingness to play hard and “do the dirty work” showed up. With just under two minutes to go he ran hard on a roll down the middle of the lane, sucking in the defense. This led directly to a 3-pointer from one of the Longhorns’ guards. He will likely work out of the pick and roll (PnR) a lot in the NBA. So the fact that he rolls hard to the rim is great, but he will need to work on passing on the move to break defenses that try to load up his side of the floor with extra help defenders.

Bamba only took eights shots in a game that went to overtime. So we are actually getting a decent look (in my opinion of course) of how he will be utilized at the professional level. My biggest gripe on offense is that he occasionally settles for the mid-range jump shot. In the clip I created below (from a Frankie Vision video), Bamba gets some space after a pick-and-pop. Although the spacing overall is a perhaps a little too cramped for him to score, driving to the basket would’ve drawn enough attention to open up a shooter on the perimeter.

Per Hoop-Math.com, Bamba is shooting 32.4 percent on two-point jumpers. By comparison, he is shooting 75 percent on shots at the rim. As of now his post game has seemed non-existent. And something I noticed frequently during the game was just how often Bamba gets fronted in the post. When he got fronted Bamba would try to hold his position expecting a pass, but wouuld end up getting wedged underneath the basket. Smaller post players will use their low-center of gravity to continue pushing Bamba underneath the basket and out of the play. In college he can use his incredible length to grab rebounds even when he is out of position. But in the NBA he will need to develop counter-moves to come out on top in wedge rebounding situations. Adding muscle over time will also help him deal with physical bigs. Bamba is an OK offensive player right now. But he needs to be more active in looking to score. Developing a 3-point shot is great, but doing so before learning several solid post moves is a questionable decision at best.

But even so, every team in the league can use a low-usage rate center who specializes in defense in rebounding. And because he is so great at those two things, he could become an All-Star one day even if he never improved. But because of the fluidity of his movements and his touch around the basket, his offensive ceiling is what gives him the potential to one day be the NBA’s best center. This kid is averaging 4.5 blocks per game, and he can do this:

Defense:

If you’re an NBA general manager, the reason you are drafting Mo Bamba is that he is a wrecking ball on defense. He utilizes all of his seven-foot nine-inch wingspan to deter opponents from even attempting shots at the rim.

When his teammates make mistakes — like Bamba’s teammate closing out recklessly in the clip below — he covers for them. And he usually alters shots if he doesn’t block them. His outstretched arms act as an incredible deterrent.

He moves his feet well laterally, a key component for bigs in today’s switch-heavy NBA defenses. Bamba knows that he can contest shots from afar, so he rarely over-commits on D. Iowa State shot 36.8 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from the 3-point line, and only attempted nine free throws.

The Bamba effect is real.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that block percentage is a big indicator of how well a player will translate to the NBA level on the defensive end. Through 13 games Bamba has blocked a truly astonishing 16.8 percent of opponents two-point attempts.

Current draft projection:

At this point I believe Bamba is a lock to be at least a top-seven pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. I really can’t see more than five teams passing on his upside, so top-seven is being conservative in my opinion. Once he adds more weight onto his 225 lb-frame, he will be able to deal with bigs who try to force him away from the action. But for now he is a player who can obviously block shots, but more importantly is willing to do all the things that help your team team win that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. The fact that he can still improve mightily as a ball-handler, passer, and 3-point shooter is just icing on the cake.

Next game: Bamba and Texas will be on the road January 6th against Baylor