NBA Comparison: Festus Ezeli

Strengths: A rangy 7’1 220 big man with the length (7’5 wingspan) and mobility to fill a traditional C role at the pro level…Also has the wide shoulders to add muscle to his frame without the loss of athleticism…A late bloomer who had a breakout season as a rim protector and at-the-rim finisher during his Jr season after being a modest contributor early in his career….Steadily learning how to use his length very well to smother players defensively and is a presence penetrators must locate on any slashes or cuts to the paint (nearly 3 BPG as a Jr)…Pretty fluid athlete for his size and can cover massive ground, making him a factor as a shot blocker even in the mid-range area and when switched on smaller players…Has strong hands and does a good job of keeping the ball high on rebounds and finishes, minimizing the chance of players from stripping him of the ball…An outstanding finisher at the rim (63 FG% as a Jr.) and usually looks to dunk the ball with authority in close….Active motor and shows a good nose for the ball on the offensive glass (2.5 ORPG the past 2 seasons); gets his fair share of putbacks and will take advantage if you don’t put a body on him when shots go up…Developing ability to shoot from mid-range is worth keeping an eye on, Koloko is currently more willing to take jumpers than at the beginning of his career…Solid FT % for a C shows potential signs of growth as a face-up threat (73 FT% as a Jr. after modest percentages his 1st 2 seasons)…Improving passer in the low to mid post area, it’s obvious the college game slowed down for him this past season

Weaknesses: Needs to add more muscle; can at times get knocked off his pivot by physical defenders at the point of attack…Not much more than a lob threat or rim runner offensively…Becomes much less effective the further he gets away from the rim, doesn’t have the touch to be much of a scoring threat when he has to take shots that aren’t dunks…Very raw post game and has awkward possessions when he can’t simply dunk the ball or if his initial move is cut off…Will take some 12-15 ft shots if the defense gives him room, but is not much a threat as a shooter right now…Inconsistent fundamentally on defense; when he guards players facing him up outside the paint he often comes out of his stance and plays too upright leading to fouls and open driving lanes…Doesn’t contain crossovers and misdirection moves in space well enough to seamlessly adjust to the more switch-heavy principles of most current NBA defenses…Will bite on pump fakes and get overzealous attempting to swat shots…Can be a bit foul prone (2.8 FPG as a Jr.), though to his credit he did improve in that area this past season…A late bloomer but will be 22 on draft night and will have questions about how much further he can develop and improve his skill set

Overall: Koloko is a Cameroonian prospect who moved to California as a HS Jr and emerged as a 4-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon in 2019…He played very limited minutes as a Fr. and was a rotational big as a Soph., but emerged in a big way for Arizona as a defensive presence, rebounder (7.6 RPG, 1st on the team) and inside scorer (12.6 ppg, 3rd in the team) for a squad that won the PAC-12 and reached the Sweet 16…He is one of the best shot-blockers in the 2022 class and also one of the most productive finishers…Still, he will have to show he can consistently switch and cover guys outside the paint without fouling and adjust to the speed and spacing of the NBA game…He also is an older prospect, which may give some teams pause about how much development is left to be tapped into with him…Still, he has some strengths that are intriguing and can’t be ignored in a C class that some consider shallow outside of the projected lottery selections, especially when it comes to traditional big men

Notes: Measured: 6’10.75” barefoot, 7’0.0” in shoes, 9’5.0” standing reach, 221.0 lbs, 7’5.25” wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine …

Jorrye Nixon 6/12/22