NBA Comparison: Ndudi Ebi/Serge Ibaka

Strengths: Just 18 years of age and one of the youngest players in the draft, Bruno is a prospect with rare physical gifts possessing a 7-foot-7 wingspan … He oozes upside with his impressive wingspan, broad shoulders, big hands and long legs … A good leaper, explosive jumping ability, very fluid, runs the court like a guard, which he uses to take advantage of slower and less athletic players … On top of the physical gifts, Bruno has solid form on his shot … He is extremely adept facing the basket and even shows the ability to knock down 3 point shots … Also shows some back to the basket abilities, utilizing hook shots … He is still very thin but has a good body and can easily add weight and get stronger without losing any quickness and athleticism … He has a soft touch around the basket and finishes well with dunks and lay ins … He is an interesting player on defense, as he has good timing for blocked shots, utilizing his great length and shows good defense against taller SFs and quicker PFs … Good motor. A good rebounder, especially on the offense end …
 
Weaknesses: Undoubtably a project, Bruno will need a lot of time before he will be ready to play at the NBA level … His entire (short) career has been played in Brazil, so it’s uncertain how he will handle moving to the US and the rise in level of competition … He is still completely unproven having only played in a minor league with limited minutes and in not so competitive games … So it is difficult to translate his game to the NBA, he must work his intensity and aggressiveness on both ends of the court. He’ll need to gain strength and learn how to play against stronger players … He plays more like a power foward at this point than a small forward, as his ball handling skills are limited … As a natural PF he must work his ball handling skills to put the ball on the floor to be a SF wich is his better position to play on future, on defense he can improve his rebound instincts and his lateral displacement to play against SF on NBA. Need some years of improvement to come but is a very hard work kid and a phisicall freak …

Outlook: Coboclo is the ultimate swing for the fences type of pick, similar to taking a promising high school player who lacks any real experience or polish … He has a very shy personality. He is a very simple kid with a great work ethic, very similar story to Leandro Barbosa. And similar to Barbosa, Coboclo has remained in Brazil instead of going to Spain or another country in Europe to develop against a higher level of competition …

Notes: Selected 20th overall in the 2014 draft by the Toronto Raptors … Surprisingly left his name in the NBA draft after declaring his name early … Stood out at the Basketball without Borders in Brazil in 2013 … Reportedly did not work out for any NBA team … Current teammate of former Toronto lottery pick (#8) Rafael Araujo … It is reported that he will join the Raptors for the 2014-15 season …

Vinicius Panerari 6/27/14