Circling the Globe (Part 3) - Ibou Dianko Badji

In Part 3 of "Circling the Globe", I profile Ibou Dianko Badji. Badji is the quintessential 'draft and stash' player with enormous upside stemming from his gargantuan physical profile, coupled with an underrated developing skillset. While Fran Frascilla's patented "two years away from being two years away" billing is particularly apt in this case, Badji has only been playing basketball for the last four to five years (since 2016), so his current pace of development portends a bright future if he puts in the work. While Badji's core competencies as a prospect can be summarized in about a paragraph, this report will dig deep into his development process, providing you with a window into his improvements over the course of this season and ultimately pro basketball's vision for where he might be down the road.    

On the qualitative side, some have called into question Badji's love for the game, considering the fact that he only started playing in 2016 at the behest of his dad (who played), after initially wanting to continue with soccer (LINK). However, the pace of his development has been rather remarkable considering this fact, and the progress he has made in the last year suggests that he is working hard on his game. Importantly, while he spent a lot of time ball watching on defense in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, his defensive activity level has improved considerably this season. On Barca's B team, he incrementally grew with each game, and this culminated in him now playing with Barcelona in Euroleague, as well as with Senegal in the Afrobasket Qualifiers. While he still has a long way to go to receive minutes at the highest level, considering how new Badji is to the game, I would not place too much stock into these concerns.  

While most are not expecting much from Badji on the offensive side of the ball, his remarkable physical profile and developing skillset should enable him to develop into a finisher at the highest level. To start, Ibou Badji's physical profile is quite unique, as he measured at 7'1 240lbs with a 7'8 wingspan and a 9'10 standing reach at the 2019 U19 World Cup Event. To put this into context, his standing reach is already an inch larger than Rudy Gobert's, and  would be second only to Tacko Fall's at 10' 2''. Given his current 18 year old age, it is certainly possible that he may still be growing! With all of that said, at this point in his development, Badji strictly serves as a finisher at the rim, given his physicality and length, which enable him to finish over the top of most defenders. Though Badji is strong enough to play at the highest level today, it is important to remember that he is an 18 year old still adapting to his body. Considering his strong frame and the possibility of an NBA strength and conditioning program in a few years, it is possible that Badji could develop into one of the most physically imposing presences in the league for years to come.   

In the pick and roll game, the sky is the limit on Badji's potential. He made notable strides over the course of this season, and now is doing a much better job of utilizing his quickness to accelerate past most defenders. Importantly, Ibou Badji possesses nimble feet relative to his size (likely helped by his soccer background) and is capable of streaking past the defense for an easy alley oop play. In the fourth LEB Silver contest I witnessed against Navarra, he flashed scary potential with this slip screen rim run and finish. 

With that said, when he was not utilizing a ghost screen throughout most of the early contests, Badji was not much of a threat due to his poor (yet correctable) technique darting to the rim. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In these matches, Badji had a tendency of moving to the rim in a rounded motion. One of the more extreme examples of this (from the same Navarra contest) can be found here:

Notice that he could have taken a much quicker route to the basket. Part of the problem is probably that Badji - at times - is a bit leery of contact, as many defenders try to impede is progress by bodying him up and cutting off his route to the rim. It is also probably due to poor spatial awareness at this stage of his development. When he is not met by a defender or anticipating contact, he seems to slow down on his rim runs in case the offensive player coming around his screen is able to beat his man straight to the basket. This is not necessary, and he has a much quicker path to the hoop. Additionally, when he reverse pivots off the screen, this slows him down a bit, considering the fact that he has pretty rigid hips. Despite these tendencies, it appears that he has corrected his technique quite a bit over the course of his season alone. By game 7 of the LEB Silver contests that I viewed (against Menorca), Badji appeared much more agile and fluid getting to the basket after setting a screen. 

In the limited minutes he has received in Euroleague, he did flash a nice counter when his path to the basket was met with resistance. In this play, he slips a screen and fades to the high post for an easy jump shot (though he misses here).      

In terms of his screen setting, Badji's base is a bit too wide (similar in appearance to his defensive stance), and he will pick up easy fouls for tripping players if he does not correct this.

While the technique may be a bit off at times, here are some flashes Badji displayed in the pick and roll game this season:

In terms of his shooting ability, Badji is still very much a work in progress. His shooting form up top appears decent, and he displays good touch on his free throws at times (despite shooting a paltry 41.7% from the line in LEB Silver), though he must continue to work on the consistency of his motion/follow through.

With that said, he really struggles with his feet and has a tendency to fade away on his shots from the perimeter. His balance throws off the angle of his shot and makes it considerably more difficult. Given his sizable wingspan, most of his shots should be balanced. Perhaps he is trying to imitate Lebron, who he aspires to become. Given his soft touch, if he works hard to achieve better balance on his shooting motion, down the road Badji could develop into a big man that keeps defenses honest. 

Overall, with regard to his finishing, Badji is a bit clumsy at this stage and shoots a low percentage at the rim against Euroleague competition (instat has him at 2-7 in close). Despite his considerable strength, he often struggles to finish through contact. It must be put in perspective though, that he is only 18 years old, has been playing basketball 4-5 years, and is still adjusting to his body. 

In terms of passing, Badji is an unselfish player who looks for his teammates out of post up scenarios. He looks to cutters and cross court to three point shooters. With that said, he is a bit turnover prone in this area, but this is more a function of his limited in game reps. 

Operating out of the post, Badji needs to make the most strides to justify more playing time at the Euroleague level. Due to his good base/core strength, Ibou is able to seal his man. However, when he receives the ball, he takes a ton of time to get into his moves. This overthinking is also likely due to his inexperience. In terms of his footwork, Badji does a decent job utilizing his pivots to free himself for an easy jump hook. He can get this shot virtually anytime he wants, and displays good touch.

Though he has a considerable amount of work to do before he can become a polished offensive pro, Badji instantly impacts the game on the defensive end just from being on the floor. This is where most of his long term potential resides. Badji's presence is foreboding for just about everyone on the floor and the threat of his length, coupled with his elite vertical athleticism, are a disruptive force. Below are some examples where his presence changed shots without him actually blocking anything.

When he does opt to block shots, Badji's frightening combination of downhill speed, decent lateral quickness relative to his size, and exceptional length make him one of the best rim protecting prospects in the last few drafts. 

His recovery defense is quite remarkable and his activity level has improved considerably since his FIBA U19 days. Below are a compilation of clips that demonstrate this game changing potential. 

Badji's timing has improved considerably since the first contest I saw of his in LEB Silver against Girona.

There have been only a handful of basketball players in the history of the game who effortlessly catch block shots out of the air, retaining possession. This is more reminiscent of a Wilt highlight clip. Notably, all three of these clips came from the fifth LEB Silver contest I watched against Tarragona.

 

While he does not defend on the perimeter often (outside of pick and roll action), Badji momentarily displays good lateral movement, before blocking his opponent's shot later in the possession.

At times, Badji flashes an ability to close out on shooters, though he must improve his recovery speed and timing to maximize his potential.

With all of this said, Badji must work to become more fundamentally sound on the defensive end. Despite his incredible length and size, he still gambles on steals and bites on shot fakes, which leads to easy foul calls. He needs to become more disciplined on this end of the floor to avoid foul trouble.

In terms of defending the pick and roll, Badji often overcommitted early in the year, flashing a "show" trap out high, which offensive players were easily able to work around. Either he must improve the tenacity of his trap, or he should not double out high. 

Badji made some defensive adjustments by the third game I saw. He displayed better awareness of rotations (and whether the rotation man would be able to cover the roll man) and did not overcommit on the trap out high. 

While he gets beat initially, Badji's recovery timing on this pick and roll play against a Euroleague opponent visibly demonstrates what catches scouts' eyes.

As a side note, Badji must do a better job of moving his feet baseline to cut off smaller players. He currently allows guards to drive from one side of the hoop to the other, effectively using the basket as a shield. 

In terms of rebounding, Badji has huge hands, great length, and the athleticism to control the glass. However, he has tendency of fumbling the ball and is pretty weak with the basketball relative to his size. He has a bad habit of bringing the ball down, enabling smaller players to swipe at it. 

However, with greater in game exposure, I anticipate that Badji can become a force on the glass down the road. Take a look at this play on the offensive side of the ball.

All in all, Ibou Badji is probably the best rim protecting prospect of the last few seasons. Only Yoan Makoundou comes close and he is further along in his development. Despite his inexperience playing basketball, Badji's remarkable physical profile, coupled with his potential as a rim protector and as a pick and roll offensive threat suggest that the future is bright whenever he decides to apply for the NBA Draft. As it stands now, I anticipate that he will be selected in the second round, but he clearly has considerable upside. He should continue to develop with Barcelona under the tutelage of former NBA great Pau Gasol (who just joined the team).  

Image Courtesy of wiwsport.com; Video Courtesy of Instat Basketball/Youtube