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Samba Gueye

Not in any ranking or draft
Height: 6'10" (208 cm)
Weight: 211 lbs (96 kg)
Position: PF
Hometown: Thiaroye, Senegal
Current Team: Liege
Win - Loss: 13 - 10

Articles

Blogging Through Europe (Part I: Belgium)

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Nov 25, 2007, 06:37 pm
Draftniks circa 2002 might remember an African prospect named Samba Gueye, once hyped as a major NBA prospect by the website nbadraft.net. He was described back then on the site as “the best prospect out of Senegal EVER.” Chad Ford of ESPN Insider covered him when he attended the NBA Africa 100 camp, and put a proper perspective on where he stands as a prospect.

Gueye was committed to play USC at that time, but that obviously never happened. Gueye played in France over the last few years with Chalon, but really never stepped on the court for a senior-level match, only seeing 2 ½ minutes of total playing time last season. He’s suffered injury problems that are still hampering him, and continue to keep him out of the lineup even here. Liege recently signed him to a two year contract.

We got to watch Gueye practice on Friday, and you could very clearly see why people were excited about him when he was supposedly 15, as well as why he is an extreme long shot to hear his named called when he becomes draft eligible in June 2009 as a 1987 born prospect.

In a nutshell, Gueye is a 6-10, long and skinny big man, with incredibly raw skills. Reportedly a freak athlete (it was hard to tell in this setting, plus he is still injured), Gueye actually has really nice touch all the way out to about 18 feet. His shot takes a fairly long time to get off, but features a high release point, and he can even put the ball on the floor a bit when he’s not being contested. He has very little in the ways of post moves and no left hand to speak of, and also is still far from being physically developed. Once he was placed in more competitive settings, for example a basic 3 on 2 transition drill, you could see his lack of experience come out, as everything just seemed to move too fast for him on the floor. Liege is wisely planning on sending him down to the Belgian second division, where he can enjoy significant playing time and be able learn from making mistakes on the court.

Gueye is just another in a long line of examples why we’ve become so incredibly skeptical of big man African prospects, especially ones who come out of nowhere seemingly with a tremendous amount of hype. Besides Mutombo and Olajuwon (each unique cases in their own right), you’d be hard pressed to find another Africa player who has actually succeeded in the NBA. With the dozens of prospects we’ve seen fizzle over the past few years and many more sure to come, it’s hard not to get cynical sometimes, as dangerous as unfair as that might sound. For a player like Gueye, though, it might not be too late as far as making a career in Europe is concerned.

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