When the Pistons traded Maurice Evans for Cheick Samb last summer, I figured it was little more than an effort to dump Evans’ contract for a long-shot prospect who might not ever play a single minute in the NBA.
That still may be the case, but over the past year Samb has emerged from a complete unknown to a name people are starting to talk about. Chad Ford wrote about Samb yesterday for ESPN Insider, ranking him the 10th-best international prospect:
Africa is still the new frontier in NBA scouting. The league has had a presence there for a few years with the Basketball Without Borders program, and a few teams — including the Mavericks and Nuggets — have full-time African scouts. But for the most part, it’s not easy to evaluate and project players from Africa.
A good example is Samb. He got little-to-no buzz before the 2006 draft, and the Pistons stole him late in the second round without much fanfare. Then Samb arrived at the Las Vegas Summer League and shocked people with his size, athleticism and ability.
Now 22, Samb spent this year playing for Cornella in Spain, working on his game and building up his thin frame. Over the course of the year, he’s gained nearly 30 pounds and is starting to dominate in his league. He had 19 points and 15 rebounds the other night and it seems, in a few years, he might be the answer to some of the Pistons’ big-man woes.
I’m going to skip right over Ford’s comment about Detroit’s “big-man woes,” since the only “woe” they have right now is which player to leave out of the rotation. Also, as astute Pistons fans are likely chomping at the bit to point out, Samb isn’t playing in Spain’s top division, but Tony Ronzone, Pistons director of basketball operations and international scout extraordinaire, claims he’s still facing some tough competition. From Keith Langlois on Pistons.com:
Ronzone said Samb is capable of playing in Spain’s top division, but doesn’t because Cornella’s counterpart in the first division is loaded with older players in a system that leans toward seniority.
“He could have played on the first team but it would have been spot minutes,” Ronzone said. “The first team guys are 28 and 30 and it’s an age thing there. But there (sic) level two league is comparable to high Division I (American college basketball). Those guys can play.”
Ford recently had Ronzone on as a guest on his Daily Dish podcast, where he spoke more about Samb’s progress. The entire interview is worth a listen (mp3), but kudos to Justin Rogers of MLive for transcribing the pertinent parts:
Ford: You talk about Africa, The Pistons drafted a guy named Cheick Samb late in the draft and nobody had really heard about him. Even on the internet, the few photos that were available were kind of grainy. Then he shows up at the NBA Summer League camp in Las Vegas and he puts up pretty some big numbers for a guy no one has heard of, and I think surprised a lot of people. How did you find this guy and what kind of prospect do you think he can be?
Ronzone: I think he’s going to be an incredible prospect. A great story about when we brought him over to play in Vegas and we’re flying from Phoenix to Las Vegas, you know Cheick speaks very little English. He speaks Spanish, French and two different African dialects. So we’re flying into Vegas and he looks at me and say, “Coach, coach, this is Detroit?”
“No Cheick, this is Las Vegas”
“Oh I like.”
You have to remember, this is the first time he’s played or even been in America, and he doesn’t really understand our coaches’ terminology, but he goes out there and plays really well.
When he arrived in Las Vegas he was a whopping 205 pounds, but since that time he’s put on 35 pounds. I just showed some of the staff, including Joe Dumars, a photo of Samb because I saw him last month and the first thing they say is, “Who is that? Is that Nene?” because that’s what his body looks like now. His body has completely changed. We’re really excited to have him come back this summer to see the improvement. He’s 7′ 2″ with a 7′ 8″ wingspan, but the beauty is that he can catch and shoot. He’ll step out and shoot a three, he’ll go down in the post and he has great passion for the game.
Samb has only been playing basketball for only five years. He’s from Senegal and he was found pretty much because of his brother, who I can’t speak about right now because he’s an underage player. His brother was recruited to play for Barcelona, and the GM over there is a good friend of mind, so that’s how I got the connection with Cheick. Their mother said that if you take the young one you have to bring Cheick too, and he just happened to develop a lot quicker than anyone expected. We’re very fortunate to have landed him late in the second round and we’re hoping we’ve found another Mehmet Okur, but he’s obviously a different type of player.
No matter how questionable the competition he’s facing is right now, I’m excited about adding a 7-foot-2 center with that kind of wingspan and range to the end of the bench a year or so down the line. Will he ever start a game? Maybe not, but I don’t see why he couldn’t eventually crack a rotation. Yes, he’s already a bit old for a prospect, but his circumstances are unique considering he’s only been playing organized ball for a few years now. Plus, under the tutelage of professional coaches he’s apparently already made great strides — not to mention filled out his previously rail-thin frame, which was the biggest knock on him last summer. Consider my interest piqued.
The 10 best international NBA prospects [ESPN Insider ($)]
Futures Market [Pistons.com]
Pistons scout hypes Cheick Samb [MLive.com’s Full-Court Press]
Previously on DBB:
John Hammond watches Alex Acker and Cheick Samb
All hail Joe D
I cant wait to see what Cheick Samb can do. I 7′2 guy that can shoot is a very interesting thing and we know he can block and rebound.
And offtopic comment of the day: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XO__zO7ikR8 Carlos Delfino makes the top 10 dunks of the season.
Just to nit pick about one point made in the post, to say he has only played “organized” ball for 5 years seems to overstate the point a bit, you generally say that a kid who has been playing on the playground his whole life but has only been coached for x years. It seems that the case here is that Cheick hadn’t played ball at all prior to 5 years ago. I think that makes a big difference and helps those of us who want to sit at our computers and dream of this kid being the next KG.
No one expects him to be KG. I think we’re hoping for Dasagana Diop. A shot-blocker to give you some minutes off the bench.
Tom: good point. That’s part of the reason I’m so encouraged by the progress he’s already made — I should have stressed that point more.
The fact that Samb had only played five years of basketball yet still showed excellent fundamental skills was what impressed me more than his height and shot-blocking. If you want to get more about Samb, check out the coverage of his first Vegas Summer League with the Pistons, at http://www.badboysummercamp.com.
I hate having to post this over and over again, but Ronzone is a pretty good fibber.
Samb played for the 3rd tier team. It is nowhere close to NCAA ball. From the pictures shown of games, they typically play in gyms with an audience under 2,500. The games are not televised, and there is no one else on Samb’s team I could pick out as an NBA prospect. In fact, I’d be surprised if there are 10 prospects in that entire 18 team league.
The first tier team is in the ACB, Winterthur Barcelona. Then they have a LEB league club, and Samb plays for the LEB-2.
Fran Vasquez 23, Juan Carlos Navarro, 27, Roko Ukic 24, these are all key players that are relatively young.
I was impressed by Cheick at the VSL, but he will have to be more than a low expectations surprise this year, and start making the case that he can be a potential NBA baller.
Let’s hope for Samb but not get too carried away.
The Spanish LEB-2 has been increasing its level over the past two years and now feautures ex-NBA players such as Robert “Tractor” Traylor, Rico Hill or Sean Lampley. If it would have to be compared to a NCAA Div. I conference it would obviously would not be among the top conferences but it could be among those that foster many Mid-Major powerful schools (West Coast Conference or Atlantic 10). The gyms were these teams play are small, no doubt, but the league is structured to feature young talent so that players can be develop and later play in ACB.
Cheikh has gained a lot of muscle and he still hasn´t lost a bit of his athleticism. On top of that he has a great shooting touch and intimidates as few players have in the past. If I would have to compare him with a NBA player it would have to be Samuel Dalembert but with a better understanding and feel for the game.
Hopefully we will have the opportunity to see him play in the summer league. Once you see him play you will start beleiving the hype.