After opening the 2022-23 season as a projected high-end Big Ten contender, the Michigan Wolverines endured a frustrating year ending without a trip to the…
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I made several trips last summer to get a detailed look at 2023 signee Papa Kante. Suiting up for New York Rens in the Nike EYBL league from April - July, this was a great opportunity to see how Kante stacked up against the very best competition in the country. Note - Papa is #5 in white/blue in the clips below Finishing Papa displays the ability to finish with soft touch in traffic. He's a solid release valve/dumpoff option against a scrambling defense that understands how to create advantageous finishing angles. He occasionally flashes the ability to be a lob threat when given adequate space as seen in the first possession of the clip above, but this is not consistently part of his offensive package just yet. But I do wish Kante were more violent/explosive at the rim. He's a bit too finesse-oriented with his finishing approach in my opinion. And that can lead to some struggles as seen below. The common theme in all of the misses above....lower body contact on
I made several trips last summer to get a detailed look at 2023 signee Papa Kante. Suiting up for New York Rens in the Nike EYBL league from April - July, this was a great opportunity to see how Kante stacked up against the very best competition in the country. Note - Papa is #5 in white/blue in the clips below Switchability/On-Ball Defense The fact that we're starting off a deep-dive analysis with the on-ball defense of a 6'10 prospect sheds light as to Kante's defensive prowess. I like to initially examine physical facets when projecting on-ball defense and Papa grades out extremely well at the respective position. Kante has superb lateral agility and is able to flip the hips and change direction with ease. His stop and go movement is also an asset, as Papa is able to decelerate/accelerate quite well. Add in good straight line speed and we're taking about a very good athlete that checks all the boxes for a switchable big in the B10. In terms of techn