Adem Bona

Adem Bona (C | 206 cm | ‘03) ~ Turkey

17.0 pts, FG2-66.2%, FG3-N/A, FT-68.8%, 10.9 reb, 0.7 ast, 1.0 st, 2.6 to, 2.4 blck

Statistically the best player in Montenegro and the only one that averaged a double-double. Bona was just too athletic for the competition. He dominated in rebounding and protected the rim very well. His motor and energy was high, managed to outrun other bigs, caused some problems when rolling to the rim in PnR plays and managed to cover a lot of holes in defense. Dominated the competition because of his athletic tools and energy but hasn’t shown much basketball skillset. At this level athletic tools are enough but we will see next season at UCLA how he will perform against players with similar athletic capabilities. His offensive skill set is still kinda raw and he hasn’t improved by much in that aspect.

Adem Bona (C | 206 cm | ‘03) ~ Turkey

8.4 pts, 2FG-67.6%, 3FG-50.0%, FT-100%, 3.9 rebs, 1.3 ast, 0.7 stl, 2.1 to, 1.9 blks

Great athlete and moves really well for a player his size. His offensive game is raw and in development. Not showing much feel and touch and relies mostly on his athleticism and finishes completely under the rim. Plays with high energy and goes for dunks whenever there is a small chance that he can make it which is a big plus because many young players shy away from that. On the other hand, his defensive potential was always high. His defensive awareness and reads should improve in my opinion because on the top level, those mistakes will be punished quickly. In youth competitions he can still compensate for those mistakes with his athleticism and recover to block shots but this won’t go through so easily on professional level. Protects the rim very well and has great anticipation and timing for blocks. His main qualities are his high motor, athleticism and rim protection but most of the other things need to improve.

Turkey came to the tournament hoping a shot at the medal, but getting into the World Cup at least is a pretty big achievement alone as well. All eyes were on Turkish/Nigerian progidy, Adem Bona. Bona is around 6’9 started playing basketball very late. His development in the last year has been phenomenal, two years ago he didn’t even know what to do in offense but now he is turning into more of a threat. Strength and athleticism is just too much for this level and he just looks so natural on help defenses, close-outs and coming from the weakside. Definitely likes to do highlight plays he showed plenty during the tournaments with chasedown blocks, alley-oops and poster dunks. He averaged 4 blocks per game which is amazing but he overshadowed by Wembanyama’s spectacular defensive performances. What was totally unexpected was to see him take some 3 pointers, he also showed he can make them when he is left wide open from the forwards. As he is learning more about the game, he is now more careful on defense to not get unnecessary fouls and understands where he has to stay on the court. His potential to defend multiple positions on the perimeter is definitely make him interesting along with his inside presence.

Nigerian native who represents Turkey helped himself as much as anyone else in Volos. Incredibly speedy and bouncy modern energy big. His potential as a rim runner, dunker, rebounder and shot blocker is really through the roof. Perhaps the best defensive prospect of the tournament hasn’t been playing basketball for a long time in his life which at times shows in slightly improved but still poor feel for the game. Especially passing is below a critical level. He doesn’t show much promise of shooting or playing back to the basket either but even without that he can be still fine given how elite he can become in few simple tasks that will be his main job. However his drive from behind the arc vs no one else but Moussa Diabate which ended up by spectacular poster dunk and perhaps top play of the tournament may suggest he can occasionally be something more than catch & finish guy around the rim.  While he jumps out of the gym he is still relatively short for a big man (6’9) and even one inch more can definitely help moving forward. Anyways he resembles in big degree Clint Capela, with further development can eventually end up as a first round caliber prospect and it is just scary to think how dominant he will be at upcoming U16 European Championships in Udine if participates there.