European Prospects

This Friday, three very interesting French prospects have been on the court together in Pau in the league game between Pau-Orthez and Cholet. I speak of course of Ludo Vaty, Nando de Colo and Rodrigue Beaubois. Here is a short recap of the games of the three players.

Ludo Vaty (2m06 – PF – 1988 – Pau Orthez)

The French power forward, who is a key member of the different French youth teams the last years is really having a very interesting season this year. After two poor games, Vaty came up with a nice scoring effort against Chalon where he made 25pts and he also did a nice job against Cholet. Nearly all of his scores came from a very good looking turn around jump shot after having received the ball with his back to the basket. He turns and has a very high release so that he is nearly unblockable on that move. His presence in the rebound is correct, without being enormous. He could eventually use even better his nice athletic tools but he relies a lot on his very soft touch around the key. Physically, he also looks like he has bulked up a bit in his upper body. Defensively, he can defend in the low post, even against bigger guys, an effect of his improved body structure. Vaty is currently not getting as much hype as for example Alexis Ajinça because his upside may look more limited. However, he looks like a much more complete player on the offensive end for the moment.

Nando de Colo (1m92 – SG – 1987 – Cholet)

Two times MVP Nando de Colo is really playing a fantastic scoring season this year. Playing mostly on the SG position because of his excellent scoring talent, I could imagine him also playing the PG spot in the upcoming years as he lacks a bit of size for the SG on the highest level. So let’s focus now essentially on his SG talent. De Colo is first of all an excellent scorer, mostly of three point shots. Without any problem, he can shot from nearly everywhere on the court when he has just a minimum of space. His shot release is not particularly high so that he risks his shots getting blocked. However, his basketball intelligence looks very well developed so that he rarely comes into difficult situations. When getting defended aggressively, de Colo can drive to the basket with excellent direction changes and fantastic ball handling. He went for a fantastic score after an around the back up and under move finished with the left hand; very nice. Defensively, de Colo is not a stopper, he looks like saving his forces for the offensive end which is legitimate with his scoring skills. Why I consider him however as a possible PG in the future? Well, he has such a good court vision and precise passing, that he can play this spot in the future with out problems. But in a role as a scoring PG, not the pass-first guy.

Rodrigue Beaubois (1m82 – PG – 1988 – Cholet)

The highly athletic PG that got his first real hype when he declared for the NBA Draft last year is really coming back from his injury in the middle of the season. Beaubois has taken over the starting job for Cholet and he is doing a pretty correct job right now. His scoring efforts come mostly from a already very precise three-point shot which he takes with a still to be polished move. Because of his excellent athleticism, he can go for the drive and score against the big guys, but he is not using this too much for the moment. Beaubois, who should be a key member of the French U20 National team this summer after he has preferred to go for the NBA Draft camps last year is most likely forming the most attractive back court of the French league next season together with de Colo. Coach Kunter is having a real gem here who looks extremely promising right now.