Strengths: Bako is a very long big man with some upside left to develop despite being 1995 born, Auto-draft eligible … He moves well laterally and doesn’t do anything out of his comfort zone … Huge wingspan 7’3’’ helps him  around the rim, catching lobs and scoring on second shots opportunities … Loves setting high screens and rolling to the rim to catch the ball close to the basket … Not afraid of contact in the low post, initiating contact and going at his defenders … Defensively he can switch and stay on his feet, and has proven difficult to score over in the paint … Has a good feel for rebounding offensively and defensively with timing … Solid vision in the post to find open teammates for shots … Runs the floor well and has quick feet …

Weaknesses: At 210 lbs, lacks strength and a physical presence to play at the NBA level … He must get stronger to become effective, even for a high level European team … Also needs to improve his low post game adding a greater variety of moves and learning how to use his length to score easy over his opponents … Defensively has to do a better job of boxing out defenders …

Notes: Stood out being awarded first team at the 2017 adidas Eurocamp …

Stevan Petrovic 6/19/17