2016 FIBA U17 World Championship Scouting Reports: Wing Players
July 9, 2016
Yves Pons, 6'6, Small Forward, INSEP Academy, 1999
Strengths
-Good size for the wing at 6'6
-Strong frame. Long arms. Big hands
-Very developed upper body. Huge shoulders and biceps. Does not look like your typical 17-year old physically
-Elite level athlete. Ridiculously powerful and explosive. Pulls off in-game dunks you might expect to see in a dunk contest. Finishes on the way up, not at the top of his jump, and then continues to elevate
-Multi-positional defender. Capable of covering guards, wings and forwards alike. Contains dribble penetration with outstanding lateral quickness. Plays with huge energy
-Completely shut down tournament's #1 scorer Dzanan Musa in their head to head matchup
-Career 2.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per-40 minutes. 10.7 rebounds per-40 in Zaragoza
-Capable of making an open shot. Does not have the worst stroke. Ball comes out of his hand fairly nicely. Can even knock down shots off the bounce. Career 69% from the free throw line.
-Quick, powerful first step. Draws fouls just by putting the ball on the floor
Weaknesses
-Shot 7/24 for 3. Shoots a very flat jumper that doesn't leave him a great deal of room for error. Not the most fluid looking jump-shot. Has a lot of room to improve in this area. Does not appear to have great touch or feel as a shooter/scorer
-Ball-handling skills are a work in progress. Straight-line driver who struggles when forced to do anything complicated in the half-court. More combo forward than wing in terms of his ball-skills at the moment
-Overall feel for the game is not great at this stage. 4 turnovers per-40. Can get a little careless with the ball. Lack of experience shows.
Outlook Highly productive lefty wing/forward from Haiti. Has the tools to play some small-ball power forward, especially if he grows another inch or so. Misses a lot of time with injuries the past two seasons, which put him somewhat off the radar prior to this event. Only played 17 minutes per game for reasons no one in Zaragoza could quite understand. Made the most of it, averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds with 1.3 blocks and .7 steals, while shooting 77% from 2-point range. Finished the tournament ranking 5th in PER. Will need to continue to improve his skill-level and basketball IQ, as he won't be able to overwhelm opponents with his sheer strength and athleticism the way he often did in Spain.
July 9, 2016
Yves Pons, 6'6, Small Forward, INSEP Academy, 1999
Strengths
-Good size for the wing at 6'6
-Strong frame. Long arms. Big hands
-Very developed upper body. Huge shoulders and biceps. Does not look like your typical 17-year old physically
-Elite level athlete. Ridiculously powerful and explosive. Pulls off in-game dunks you might expect to see in a dunk contest. Finishes on the way up, not at the top of his jump, and then continues to elevate
-Multi-positional defender. Capable of covering guards, wings and forwards alike. Contains dribble penetration with outstanding lateral quickness. Plays with huge energy
-Completely shut down tournament's #1 scorer Dzanan Musa in their head to head matchup
-Career 2.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per-40 minutes. 10.7 rebounds per-40 in Zaragoza
-Capable of making an open shot. Does not have the worst stroke. Ball comes out of his hand fairly nicely. Can even knock down shots off the bounce. Career 69% from the free throw line.
-Quick, powerful first step. Draws fouls just by putting the ball on the floor
Weaknesses
-Shot 7/24 for 3. Shoots a very flat jumper that doesn't leave him a great deal of room for error. Not the most fluid looking jump-shot. Has a lot of room to improve in this area. Does not appear to have great touch or feel as a shooter/scorer
-Ball-handling skills are a work in progress. Straight-line driver who struggles when forced to do anything complicated in the half-court. More combo forward than wing in terms of his ball-skills at the moment
-Overall feel for the game is not great at this stage. 4 turnovers per-40. Can get a little careless with the ball. Lack of experience shows.
Outlook Highly productive lefty wing/forward from Haiti. Has the tools to play some small-ball power forward, especially if he grows another inch or so. Misses a lot of time with injuries the past two seasons, which put him somewhat off the radar prior to this event. Only played 17 minutes per game for reasons no one in Zaragoza could quite understand. Made the most of it, averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds with 1.3 blocks and .7 steals, while shooting 77% from 2-point range. Finished the tournament ranking 5th in PER. Will need to continue to improve his skill-level and basketball IQ, as he won't be able to overwhelm opponents with his sheer strength and athleticism the way he often did in Spain.
