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Alain Koffi NBA Draft Scouting Report

Alain Koffi NBA Draft Scouting Report
Mar 30, 2005, 01:19 am
Strengths
Very good athlete who runs the court and gets off the floor quickly as well as anybody in Europe his size. He is not afraid of physical contact and uses his vertical leap and explosiveness to dunk or rebound in traffic. He is a very good transition player, knowing where to go to get easy buckets.

Offensively, Koffi has improved his range on his jump shot this year; he’s become efficient out to 16 feet, especially on the baseline. When getting the ball in the low post he generally chooses between working for a hook shot (his go to move) and finishing strong at the basket.

Defensively, his long arms and timing help him become consistent in terms of rebounding and shotblocking in the French league. His man to man defense is solid, he can also cover his guy on the perimeter because his lateral quickness is above average and he does not bite too much on pump fakes.

He started playing basketball late, so he is not a finished product, but has become a productive player this year for one of the best teams in the French league. His work ethic is tremendous; he has a very good attitude towards the game and is always eager to learn.

Weaknesses
While his frame will allow him to bulk up easily, he lacks size (6-9) to defend against stronger and taller big men. He is often used while defending the pick and roll, but suffers a bit in the paint.

He displays a lot of energy but does not have a very good knack for rebounding yet, especially when it comes to positioning himself and boxing out.

He does not score or go to the line that much because he is not a big part of the half court play of his team. He has to work on his handles on the perimeter and on his range to be a consistent threat on the offensive end, as he is still raw here right now. You will not see him taking an NBA 3pt shoot anytime soon, he simply does not have that type of range.

He started basketball mostly at the center position, and will have to adjust to being a full time PF in the league. He would probably be a more interesting prospect had he displayed the same skills two years ago, but right now at age 22 his upside or potential value may be deemed limited compared with other PF’s in this draft who are already established players.

Competition
He’s playing for LeMans who are the leading team in France for two seasons now and competed in the ULEB Cup this year. He showed that he can be an efficient scorer at times in short spurts with 7.5 ppg in 17 mpg.

Outlook
He’s a borderline second rounder who will interest teams that draft European projects and let them improve in Europe. If his learning curb stays the same he can possibly be a rotation player for an NBA team in about 2 years.

Comments
Alain Koffi is having a very consistent season this year, improving on his play last year in many areas: scoring outside the paint, using his athleticism to grab offensive rebounds, and being more involved in his team’s ball movement. His team plays a lot of zone and he is used half at the center spot and the other half at a forward spot, and he has become very solid here.

Facts
Koffi was selected to play for the French national team (led by Boris Diaw) last summer before getting injured and subsequently dropped.

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