Florent Thamba, 6'10, Mountain Mission High School (Virginia), Congo, 1999
Jonathan Givony
Strengths:
-Has strong physical attributes, standing around 6'10, with very long arms (reportedly 7'4 wingspan), big hands and a tremendous frame.
-Moves well for his size
-Very well coached big man. Skilled and competitive
-Shows really nice footwork inside the post and soft touch with back to the basket. Uses crafty spin-moves and pivots.
-Has potential as a long-range shooter. Good mechanics, follow-through and touch. Doesn't translate to games yet.
-Goes out of area for offensive rebounds
-Showed some timing as a shot-blocker
-Comes from a strong background. Moved to South Africa and received some very good coaching. Looked very focused during the camp. Seems to have a good feel for the game
-Played up a year (or even two) at this camp and didn't have a problem making his presence felt
Weaknesses:
-Maybe an inch or so undersized for the center position
-Good, not great athlete. Does not get off the ground that well with second bounce
-Struggled to translate his shooting prowess to the actual games. Does not shoot it consistently every time. Tends to fade unnecessarily and contort body sideways on release, leading to some long misses. Easy to clean up, but needs to be done.
-Hangs his head a bit when things don't go his way. Needs to continue to develop his killer instinct and play hard all the time
Outlook: Relatively unknown big man who just arrived in the US this past fall. Isn't getting much buzz in recruiting circles so far, but will undoubtedly emerge as a high-level college recruit. Has all the tools you look for in top-shelf center from a college perspective.
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