NBA Comparison: Malcolm Delaney

Strengths: Explossive combo guard who can change the rhythm of the game … Has solid size for a point guard … Possesses a nice frame … Very good athlete … Has natural explosiveness and he is really light on his feet…. Great leaper of one foot … High motor kid, plays with energy and always gives 100%… He looks fearless and doesn’t back down on any challenge … Plays with his foot on the gas all the time … Doesn’t have a problem with taking what defense gives him … Has an explossive first step that helps him blow by his opponent … Can change pace and direction with ease … Good ball handler, with a good looking crossover dribble and a nice change-of-pace dribble that stumbles opponents … Can play above the rim … Great on the open floor, excels in transition … Has the rare ability to be one man fast break … Not scared of the shot blocker, he will go all the way to the basket and even dunk if he finds the room, especially after he drives … He can do the Eurostep in either direction and with either foot … Has some nice looking floaters and long lay-ups to his game … Good shooting form with nice release … Has improved in Spot Up situations … He is a threat in pull-up situations … Good passing instincts … Can make nice kick out passes on the move on the strong side … Good Pick and Roll skills as the ball handler, can either shoot, drive or pass the ball to the rolling big … Moves well without the ball and knows how to take advantage of screens … Adequate rebounder for his position … Great lateral quickness … Can smother his opponent while defending the ball … Makes a lot of steals thanks to his athleticism … Fills the passing lanes nicely on defense and disturbs opponents … He will make an occasional chase down block thanks to his leaping ability …

Weaknesses: Not overly long (wingspan measured at 6-5 feet) … Needs to bulk up considerably otherwise he will get pushed around at the next level … More of a shooting guard for now, he is still learning how to play as a point guard … Not long or big enough to guard shooting guards … Playing with his foot on the gas all the time leads him to some wild and wrong decisions … Sometimes emotions get the better of him and loses his concentration for a few plays in the game … Has problems against high pressure because his ball handling with his left hand needs work … Turnover prone, he tries to do too much too fast at times … Tries passes from difficult angles which leads to more turnovers … Must improve his ability to read the game and decision making … Has the tendency to over-dribble and can become a ball-stopper, icing out teammates … Shooting selection is kind of erratic at times … Pull-up game is still a work in progress … Incosistent shooter from the perimeter … Still needs to work in Catch and Shoot situations … He may have some floaters and long lay-ups in his game, but those shoots still need some polishing … He prefers going to his right and can be predictable … Has some problems finishing against contact and length, especially while driving to his left … Finishing at the basket with his left hand needs work … Mediorce free throw shooter … Takes risks on defense both on the ball and away of the ball looking for the steal, which adds pressure to his team … Stands too far from his opponent while defending on the weak side, which can lead to open shoots … Must defend better on close outs…

Overall: Issuf Sanon is a high energy combo guard with a nice skillset … He can score in bunches and create for both himself and his teammates, while at the same time can be a very good defender on the ball … He is still a work in progress on both ends of the floor, turnover prone, incosistent shooter and still learning the point-guard position … Νevertheless, he is a guy to keep an eye on, since he has all the necessary tools to become a good NBA player in the future.

Notes: His father is from Burkina Faso and his mother from Ukraine … He started playing basketball at 7 years old … He was off the scouting radar until he suddenly exploded in 2017 European U18 Championship, taking the tournament by storm …

Stefanos Makris 6/19/18