NBA Comparison: Skal Labissiere/Bobby Portis

Strengths: Mobile big with size and length (7-foot-3 wingspan) and intriguing productivity/skills … Light on his feet, possesses solid quickness for a 6-10 player … Shows a decent understanding of the game, making good decisions and doesn’t seem rushed or that the speed of the game affects him … Put up big numbers at Minnesota in his sophomore season posting 20 points and 11 boards in 34 minutes per game, coming out of nowhere to garner interest as a first round pick … Does most of his damage in the post and did a good job of not floating out to the perimeter too often … Post skills are developing as he understands how to create space utilizing post fundamentals, with use of pivot feet and drop steps, showing some clever up and under moves … Fights for position in the post, and does a good job of sealing opponents off and receiving entry passes in position to score … Has the ability to create offense for himself, showing the ability to face up and take opponents, big and small, off the dribble as well as pull up for shots …. His first step is surprising for a guy his size … Looked impressive shooting from the perimeter, ended up at 36% from three and his percentage was higher for much of the season … Form on his shot is solid, though slightly mechanical, but he should be able to extend it out to NBA 3 in time and find success … Utilizes a solid turnaround jumper when he receives the ball back to the basket … Was highly effective as a mid-range jump shooter, which is a skill that will translate exquisitely to the next level … Also proved to be a force on the defensive end with 2.5 blocks per game … Solid shot blocker showing good timing, and the length and explosiveness to block shots, both on the ball and as a help defender … Runs the floor well. Gets out on the break and can ignite the break playing the passing lanes with excellent anticipation and quick feet and reflexes for a bigman … Shows very good rebounding ability, especially on the offensive glass where he averaged nearly 4 per game (3.7) and 11 rebounds overall … Excellent hands, showing the ability to catch passes without having many mishaps and the ball seems to stick to his hands on rebounds or passes that aren’t completely on line … Appears to be just scratching the surface of his abilities, as a 20 year old (21 in October) with a lot of skill level yet to polish … Highly coachable, and seems to do a very good job of working on his weaknesses and in game mistakes in order to improve …

Weaknesses: Has solid weight at 240 lbs, but could stand to add more muscle to his frame, in particular his upper body  … Not the most fluid of athletes. Slightly mechanical in his movement and also his jumpshot … Doesn’t have the strength and explosiveness to power through contact and finish and generally looks to avoid contact when attacking the basket … While he shot impressively from behind the arch, for most of his sophomore year, his volume of shots (19-of-52, 0.6 makes per game) creates some skepticism about whether he can shoot from range consistently and extend out to NBA three. But the promise is there … Shooting motion lacks fluidity and takes a little while to go from catching to releasing … Should look to eliminate wasted motion in his shooting form … Shot just 70% from the FT line in his sophomore year … Not the most physical player, has decent body strength but could stand to add more muscle which would allow him to seek out contact more consistently … Can improve upon his pick and roll game, developing better ability to screen and pop or roll … Solid athletically, but not a spectacular leaper, especially off one foot … A little bit of a two footed dominant jumper, which at his size and length isn’t a huge deal, however he is a little less effective in transition as he tends to gather himself before exploding which can be the split second difference between a made basket and a missed one … Some further leg training should give him better explosiveness to go off one foot and finish drives more effortlessly … May struggle to score around the basket with his limited explosiveness … Still learning what he’s capable in isolation situations on the perimeter. Showed a tendency to turn the ball over on traveling violations involving his feet moving faster than his decision to put the ball on the floor … May take some time to adjust to the level of play at the next level as a lot of his success came through sheer outclassing opponents with his size and athleticism. However, his skill set should allow him to transition to the NBA over time …

Outlook: Skill set is comparable to a poorman’s Lamarcus Aldridege … Figures to find a spot in the late first to early second round of the 2020 NBA draft … Projects as a solid NBA contributor with his ability to defend, rebound, and knock down face up shots as well as convert around the basket …

Notes: was selected to the 2018 Hoop Summit for the International team because he has parents born in Nigeria … Was born in Brooklyn, New York … Grew  up in Woodbury, Minnesota …

Aran Smith 8/17/20