NBA Comparison: Franz Wagner

Strengths: 3-and-D wing with great size … Above average as an athlete … Has shown nice mobility and flexibility for a player his size … Really light footed and a pretty good leaper off one foot … His shoulders suggest that his body could fill up nicely … Has good feel for the game and a good basketball I.Q … Versatile, it’s easy to imagine him playing from shooting guard to power forward in the future if he keeps evolving … Excels in the open floor, fills the wing nicely and does a lot of his damage in transition … Can score an occasional coast to coast, his ball handling is dependable in the open floor… Clean, smooth, shooting mechanics, he has a high shooting release point, which makes it difficult to get blocked … A real threat as a 3-point shooter in Spot Up situations, either from the wings or the corners … Has shown potential in situations where he just positions himself and takes a shot … Moves very well without the ball, can find the gaps in opposing defenses and score … Has nice instincts in off ball actions, likes to make 45 degree cuts or baseline cuts when he finds the chance … Has shown potential coming off screens for shots … Knows when to take advantage of any moment of hesitation from his defender and do a quick curl to the basket … Has tried to develop a floater that he uses occasionally, with mixed results … Creative finisher at the rim, has shown ability to finish plays with either hand, or even change hands in the air … A ball mover, he is willing to make the extra pass … Solid defensive rebounder … Has nice lateral quickness … Could support switch defense in the future … Versatile defender, can guard either wing position for now and even some point guard for small stretches in switches … Can chase players in off screen actions at a good level for now … His long hands help him to disturb his opponents when he defends in post ups …

Weaknesses: Readiness, toughness and intensity are all question marks … Not an elite athlete … He has to add some weight to be able to play on the next level … His thin frame causes him problems on both ends of the floor, physical opponents can make his life difficult …  Jumping off two feet needs work, especially from standstill … Standing vertical leap needs work, his quadriceps are probably not as strong as his calves …  Has problems putting the ball on the floor, his dribble is too high … Pull Up game is still a work in progress …  Can’t really create his own shot due to his lack of an elite first step and loose ball handling… Needs to work on attacking closeouts, his average ball handling limits him and is a below average finisher at the rim in these situations … Has problems finishing in the paint through contact for now … Has some wild misses at times in shots that he takes while in motion, with the ball just hitting the backboard … His floater still needs some work, he will need to develop it to expand his game … Can’t really punish mismatches in the post for now, not physical enough to do it consistently … Can’t play the Pick and Roll as the ball handler for now due to his limitations with the ball in his hands… Decision making isn’t there yet, has the tendency to make some bad turnovers … Has a negative assist/turnover ratio … Bulkier opponents can establish position on him in the post and score … Bigger opponents can post him up… Loses focus at times on defense, allowing some back-door cuts … Doesn’t really produce any defensive stats …

Overall: Zaccharie Risacher is a player with a 3-and-D wing potential with great size, in an era where players with his skill set are more valuable than ever … His ability to knock down open shots and move well without the ball, while at the same time he has shown versatility as a defender makes all this hype reasonable … At the same time, it’s obvious that he is a work in progress … His ball handling needs work for him to be able to play as a wing in the NBA, while he also has to bulk up to be able to sustain the physicality of the League … But his skill set is translatable and his potential ceiling is too high to be ignored

Notes: Measured 6’9.5″ 193 lbs 6’10.5″ wingspan, 8’10” standing reach at the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit …

Stefano Makris 4/17/24