[PhillySports0Participant]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/10002061/why-uc-irvine-mamadou-ndiaye-top-prospect-nba

 

If this freshman class couldn’t get crazier enough…. it just did. He’s not the fastest dude in the world but these highlights dont look half bad.

 

  

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

Sorry but the phrase "household name" is becoming so overused. My mother is never going to know the name "Mamadou Ndiaye". She knows who Jabari Parker is. That is closer to a household name. Had to get that off my chest.  

 

Anyway, I saw his brother play at UDUB and thought he could make a roster based purely on his size and sure enough here is a more athletic version of that. Scary. 

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

Sorry but the phrase "household name" is becoming so overused. My mother is never going to know the name "Mamadou Ndiaye". She knows who Jabari Parker is. That is closer to a household name. Had to get that off my chest.  

 

Anyway, I saw his brother play at UDUB and thought he could make a roster based purely on his size and sure enough here is a more athletic version of that. Scary. 

[TRC1991Participant]

 Aziz N’Diaye and Mamadou N’Diaye are not related.

[TRC1991Participant]

 Aziz N’Diaye and Mamadou N’Diaye are not related.

[Cardinal_FanParticipant]

 I don’t think he’s an NBA athlete….I could see him getting dunked on a nightly basis. He’s not a very good vertical athlete. I see Shawn Bradley.

[Cardinal_FanParticipant]

 I don’t think he’s an NBA athlete….I could see him getting dunked on a nightly basis. He’s not a very good vertical athlete. I see Shawn Bradley.

[SiggyParticipant]

 Good vertical athlete?? He doesn’t have to be, he’s got a freaking 8’1 wingspan with a possible 10′ standing reach. How much more vertical does he need to be?

His issue won’t be verticality at all.  Whether he’s a legit pro prospect will depend on his lateral quickness, agility and ability to change ends.

 

[SiggyParticipant]

 Good vertical athlete?? He doesn’t have to be, he’s got a freaking 8’1 wingspan with a possible 10′ standing reach. How much more vertical does he need to be?

His issue won’t be verticality at all.  Whether he’s a legit pro prospect will depend on his lateral quickness, agility and ability to change ends.

 

[highflyer0Participant]

           I go to UC Irvine and have seen him play live so I’ll tell you what I think of him.  First of all, he is a great guy.  All his teammates love him and he is always willing to interract with the students here.  I went up to him on my way to class and he was delighted to give me a fist bump with his King Kong sized hand (it’s huge!).  In terms of the game of basketball itself, he is not as slow as you might think.  UCI runs a fast paced offense for the most part, and they do not walk the ball up and wait for Mamaou to make his way up the court.  He has huge strides and can go end to end in at an impressive speed.  His conditioning is impressive as well, as he is able to play for relatively long stretches at a fast pace.  As of right now, I think he is a bit overrated as a player.  He disappears for long stretches on offense, sometimes not even touching the ball for minutes at a time.  On defense, he is definitely effective but it is not impossible to shoot over the top of him as he does not get much lift.  

           However, I really think he has a great deal of potential and here’s why.  Usually when you see these freakishly tall players, they were essentially forced into playing basketball and have no real passion for the game.  This is not the case with Mamadou.  He has a competitive fire in him and is not afraid to show it.  In the season opener against Fresno State, he did not get the ball for a long stretch of play, and instead of moping around, he went over to his point guard and demanded that he get the ball.  That really impressed me, because depsite his limitations on offense, he has a desire to make an impact and feels confident in his abilities.  He also has put a lot of work in on his body, which shows a great deal of drive to improve.  Getting stronger over the next few years will only further establish him as an amazing defensive precense.  Also, I have heard that his conditioning used to be an issue, but there is absolutely no evidence of that anymore, which means he must have worked extremely hard in the offseason to get in better shape. He isn’t ready for the NBA game at this point (and has a VERY long way to go), but if his work ethic is as good as it appears to be and he adds a couple of post moves and gets stronger, a 7’6 center with solid agility and an 8’3 wingspan will be extremely hard to pass up on at the end of the first round in a couple of years. 

          On another note, a lesser known freshmen at UCI by the name of Luke Nelson has really impressed me early in the season, at times more so than Mamadou.  He’s a 6’3 combo buard who won player of the year in England, but flew under the radar and ended up in Irvine.  Look for him to generate some buzz if he keeps up his level of play throughout the season.

 

[highflyer0Participant]

           I go to UC Irvine and have seen him play live so I’ll tell you what I think of him.  First of all, he is a great guy.  All his teammates love him and he is always willing to interract with the students here.  I went up to him on my way to class and he was delighted to give me a fist bump with his King Kong sized hand (it’s huge!).  In terms of the game of basketball itself, he is not as slow as you might think.  UCI runs a fast paced offense for the most part, and they do not walk the ball up and wait for Mamaou to make his way up the court.  He has huge strides and can go end to end in at an impressive speed.  His conditioning is impressive as well, as he is able to play for relatively long stretches at a fast pace.  As of right now, I think he is a bit overrated as a player.  He disappears for long stretches on offense, sometimes not even touching the ball for minutes at a time.  On defense, he is definitely effective but it is not impossible to shoot over the top of him as he does not get much lift.  

           However, I really think he has a great deal of potential and here’s why.  Usually when you see these freakishly tall players, they were essentially forced into playing basketball and have no real passion for the game.  This is not the case with Mamadou.  He has a competitive fire in him and is not afraid to show it.  In the season opener against Fresno State, he did not get the ball for a long stretch of play, and instead of moping around, he went over to his point guard and demanded that he get the ball.  That really impressed me, because depsite his limitations on offense, he has a desire to make an impact and feels confident in his abilities.  He also has put a lot of work in on his body, which shows a great deal of drive to improve.  Getting stronger over the next few years will only further establish him as an amazing defensive precense.  Also, I have heard that his conditioning used to be an issue, but there is absolutely no evidence of that anymore, which means he must have worked extremely hard in the offseason to get in better shape. He isn’t ready for the NBA game at this point (and has a VERY long way to go), but if his work ethic is as good as it appears to be and he adds a couple of post moves and gets stronger, a 7’6 center with solid agility and an 8’3 wingspan will be extremely hard to pass up on at the end of the first round in a couple of years. 

          On another note, a lesser known freshmen at UCI by the name of Luke Nelson has really impressed me early in the season, at times more so than Mamadou.  He’s a 6’3 combo buard who won player of the year in England, but flew under the radar and ended up in Irvine.  Look for him to generate some buzz if he keeps up his level of play throughout the season.

 

[Author]

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