Malick Badiane

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK, this happens every year. Three weeks before the draft, there are all
these projections, then after a few workouts, things go crazy and you start
seeing names you've never heard of before. Malick Badiane is from Senegal.
This report from Chad Ford (ESPN Insider) makes him sound like a young Shawn
Kemp. The quotes from the scouts are pretty exciting. I know someone will
throw out Moiso, but in my mind, this kid is the opposite of Moiso. Jerome
was athletic and had great skills-he just didn't have the toughness or
aggressiveness or instincts to succeed. Badiane sounds like a Moiso-like
athlete without Moiso's skill, but with aggressiveness and a good work
ethic. Who knows for sure? But it sounds like he may fall around the Celts'
picks.

On a similar note, I heard Chad Ford on the radio this morning and he was
talking about Pavel Podkolzin, the 7-4, 300-pound monster from Siberia.
Pavel is holding his private workout today at 1:30. Anyway, Ford swears the
guy is a great athlete. Says he runs like a deer. Says he's too good to be
true as a physical package. Says he moves like a guard, but his skills are
very raw because he hasn't been playing long. Anyway, this is another
example of how the draft can shift. Some guys will move up, some down. We
won't have a good idea of how it will shake out until the week of the draft.

By the way, the stuff below on Badiane contrasts quite a bit to the stuff
Ford wrote about the private workout of the two high school kids, Villanueva
and Ndudi Ebe. Apparently their workout was very mild, didn't prove much and
not all that impressive-although not really unimpressive either. They don't
sound like first-rounders at this point (based on what I saw of Villanueva
in the McDonald's game, that's no surprise; he didn't look anywhere near
draftable in that game). 

Mark

P.S. Sorry about the formatting. 




2:30 p.m., University Illinois Chicago 
A few wrong turns get us to the gym after Badiane's workout has begun. 

The difference in the atmosphere is palpable the minute we enter the 
room. 
Badiane is grunting and growling. His trainer, Eric Lichter, is putting 
him 
through a strenuous drill. Badiane is going full speed. 

He's pounding the ball with every dribble. He's clawing, scratching out 
every drill. He takes the ball at the top of the key, takes one dribble 
and 
throws down a huge dunk. He does it again. And again. And again. 

For the first time all day, I can smell the sweat in the gym. 

Badiane is an impressive physical specimen. He's a 19-year old, 
6-foot-11, 
234-pound power forward with a 7-foot-4? wing span and a 32?-inch 
vertical 
jump. His body is already ripped, and his frame suggests he could 
easily 
bulk up to 250 without losing any speed or agility. 

At one point Lichter takes a huge cord that looks like a giant rubber 
band, 
ties one end around his waist and the other around Badiane's waist. He 
then 
tells Badiane to attack the basket and dunk the ball. As Badiane fights 
to 
get there, Lichter is pulling the band in the opposite direction. 

Badiane is grunting with each fierce dunk. 

"Again!" Lichter shouts as he yanks the cord. Badiane jumps, Lichter 
pulls. 
Badiane stretches toward the rim, Lichter keeps pulling. 

About 40 NBA scouts and GMs are in the gym. None of them are talking to 
each 
other. They're all staring, jaws agape. 

"I told you," the international scout said. "That is an NBA workout. He 
just 
earned himself a lot of bread." 

If Badiane had been on the court with Ebi and Villanueva, he would have 
killed them both. 

"Right now, the international players are hungrier," another scout 
continues. "They really want it. Over in Europe (Badiane plays for a 
team in 
Germany), the conditions still aren't always great. You never know when 
or 
if you're getting paid. The facilities aren't that great, and the money 
isn't very good. You don't play to have seven Bentleys in your garage. 
You 
play because it's your passion." 

" Where are you going to find that combination of power and 
athleticism?" 
the scout said. "I hate comparisons, but how different is he from Amare 
Stoudemire in terms of strength and desire? I don't think there's that 
big a 
gap. " 
- NBA scout on Malick Badiane of Senegal 
Two NBA scouts in the gym have followed Badiane for years. One claims 
he 
should be a top 15 pick in the draft. The other won't go that far but 
does 
insist he's a lock for the first round. 
"Where are you going to find that combination of power and 
athleticism?" the 
scout said. "I hate comparisons, but how different is he from Amare 
Stoudemire in terms of strength and desire? I don't think there's that 
big a 
gap." 
Another assistant GM walks up to me, smiles and sums up the last 45 
minutes. 
"It looks like you've stumbled onto another goldmine." 
 Here's the book on Badiane according to several experts in African 
scouting 
who know him intimately. He's one of the strongest, most athletic big 
men in 
the draft. He is an above-average defender, strong rebounder and a great 
shot blocker. He runs the floor like a guard and is an explosive 
leaper. He 
has a soft shooting touch and his range extends out to 15 feet. Of all of 
the young, African prospects to come to the NBA in the last 20 years, 
both scouts claim Badiane has the most offensive potential of any since
Hakeem Olajuwon. 
Lichter has another comparison that seems to fit. "He reminds me a lot of 
Nene," said Lichter, who trained Nene Hilaro last summer. "They're both 
as strong as an ox. Nene is a more talented physical prospect, but Malick is

much more skilled around the basket than Nene was when he came over. 
Badiane 
is very swift, which is kind of amazing considering how powerful his legs
really are. He's got awesome power from his base." 
Lichter has helped Badiane improve on his raw ability. He has him working in

a sand pit in Cleveland, mimicking NBA moves in sand to increase his 
strength and explosiveness. In five weeks, Badiane has gained 17 pounds -- 
all of it muscle. After the workout, Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe shows
Badiane a few moves 
in 
the block. He's shaking his head and smiling widely as he walks away. 
Badiane is just happy to be here. "I just wanted to work hard and show 
the 
NBA what they would be getting if they drafted me," he told Insider. 
"I've 
been working very hard and I'll keep working hard if they choose to 
draft 
me." 
Badiane has plenty of experience against top competition. He played 
well at 
the Global Games in Dallas last summer (and held his own against Darko 
Milicic), and he impressed people at the ABCD camp for high schoolers. 
When asked who is favorite NBA player is, he smiles and says Ben 
Wallace. "I 
love to play defense like he does. I just want to be strong, grab every 
rebound and block every shot." 
He only has one caveat on that comparison. "But I will score the ball 
too." 
Most scouts have assumed Badiane will be taken by the Mavs at No. 29. 
But 
based on what we saw on Thursday, Badiane probably won't be on the 
board 
that long.