Usman Garuba

Usman Garuba, Houston Rockets – 23^rd overall

Sengün will compete for minutes with Usman Garuba next season, as both bigs were drafted by the Houston Rockets. Garuba is no stranger to competing for playing time in a professional environment due to his experience with Real Madrid in the EuroLeague and ACB. He is one of the best defenders in the draft due to his versatility and high motor. However, he has limitations offensively which includes his ability to shoot the ball. Leading up to the draft, details arose about his large buyout which might have caused him to fall to 23^rd. We could see Sengün and Garuba rotate with one another depending on the team’s need for offense or defense.

Usman Garuba (02’, 6’8’’, Center) Absolute dominator in the paint, nimble with great footwork and at the same time has a strong body and keeps a solid base. He is a bit undersized but fits the scheme of modern basketball, playing with a high motor and passing fairly well. Has an outside shot but not very respectable, improving it would make him a lot more competitive straight away. Under the rim, he doesn’t have a match at this level of competition, plays very well back to the basket, has a nice repertoire of moves and sneaks in creative shots, able to finish with contact. Can play with the ball on the perimeter and push the transition forward but has lose dribble and sometimes loses control. MVP of the tournament, averaged 16.5pts, 7rebs, 3.8ast, 1.3stl, 0.8TO’s, 1blk, and crazy 2FG- 75.8%(25/33) in only 20min spent on the court.

A phenom at youth levels for 3 years now, Usman Garuba’s physical playstyle never seems to lose attraction. In this tournament he once again filled out stat sheets and dominated the gameplay. In a very strong Real Madrid team, he was undoubtedly undertaken the role of a leader. Even though he was a bit undersize in some of the match-ups nobody could match his intensity underneath the basket.

When we watch Garuba, we first recognize his incredible motor, he is never getting tired or reluctant on possessions. He is able to switch on everyone, can defend guards in the perimeter which is valued highly in modern basketball. He was the first one to go coast to coast in most of the fast breaks along with his frontcourt duo Amar Sylla. He made 2 out of his 5 three point attempts, his biggest quest in time will be his consistency hitting those jumpers. His strength is already at pro level for some time now, it definitely helped fighting in the paint and getting rebounds. He is nearly automatic finishing around the rim.

While his role and attributes are already too much for ANGT level, there are questions arising what he can do in the next level. Will he ever develop consistent outside shot? Can he defend the paint like he do here in NBA as well? Can he play more with the ball? Those questions are still left unanswered even after this dominating overall performance. He is a good finisher inside but it is not possible to say he has soft hands nor we can say he is a good passer of the block. He gets too aggressive sometimes, which leads to foul trouble. He is a unique player with unique physical set, he might have to create his own role if he ever goes to NBA. Still he looks like one of the players that will get drafted in two years.

USMAN GARUBA already won MVP of that event two years ago and now was just few points away of repeating this achievement. Spanish prospect keeps overcoming biases about his early development and shows it doesn’t affect his stock at all. He has ridiculous length, magnet in his hands and uses his power in absolutely elite way. NBA chances seem more clear now especially if he starts to shot at better percentage. Expected to see regular playing time with Real Madrid next season especially in home games. Could very well dominate FIBA U20 championship next summer…

USMAN GARUBA, 6’8, FORWARD, SPAIN

STRENGTHS:
– 6’8’’ – Solid frame, already has a muscular body, long arms, big hands. Very good mobility, coordination and vertical.
– Fights in the post, not afraid of contact – bruiser, has great footwork, knows how to get into position and post up as well as snatch an offensive rebound. Demands the ball in the post, scores in traffic, draws fouls. Utilizes a variety of post moves, very fast spins, fakes, floaters, hooks and fadeaways.
– Dangerous in transition, can lead the break and dribbles with his head up, passes to slashing guards or goes all the way to the basket. Often drives coast to coast.
– Operates well on a PnR as a screener, seals defenders, spins fast or slashes to the basket. Can also pop up and pull up a jumper.
– Good vision and court awareness, unselfish, when double teamed constantly finds open shooters on the weak side. Sees slashing teammates and delivers the ball with bounce passes.
– Decent shot mechanics, shoots jumpers from the FT line area, can stretch the floor with a three pointer or beat his defender off the dribble, drive to the rim and finish strong.
– Physical 1 on 1 defender with a solid base in the post, on the perimeter, stays active and keeps opponents in front of him. Good second line defender with an impressive timing for help and blocks, closes gaps effectively, rotates and contests shots with effort, stays light on his legs. Disruptive on defense, high motor, gets his hands on the ball, grabs many steals and starts fast breaks, fights for 50/50’s.

WEAKNESSES:
– Bites on pump fakes, often commits unnecessary fouls, looking for highlight blocks instead of focusing on sound positional defense.
– Not the best shot selection.
– Sometimes overly aggressive, has a tendency of recklessly driving into the traffic and turning the ball over. His dribbles are rather shaky, occasionally losing his handles in transition or when trying to get past his defender.
– Sometimes may struggle to defend bigger players, losing his position and fouling.
– Needs to work on his outside shot, averaged 26.7% from beyond the arc.

OUTLOOK:
Usman Garuba had a very successful tournament, finishing 2 nd with Spain, being selected to All-Star team and taking a silver medal home. Averaging 16.3pts and 12.3rebs in only 24 minutes, he proved his dominance in the paint area with physicality as well as skill, double-double machine. His overall awareness and understanding of the game will help with transition to the next level. Should develop into a very solid option on forward position but needs to improve his outside shot.

USMAN GARUBA – Usman Garuba is a hoop phenom from Real Madrid youth system. He totally dominated FIBA European U16 Championship where he took MVP award and produced triple double in close final game against Lithuania. Currently he continues to do mind blowing things at U18 stage as still two years younger than competition. It raises some obvious questions but he is Spain native and was born there. He even did 2017/2018 pre season with ACB team. Basically he possess Zion Williamson type of body and useful strength. But he is not that skilled with the ball and displays much less bounce. As he is most likely done growing his playing style and advanced stage of physical development causes some doubts whether the style he plays in can be translated to the NBA. With his power, ability to clear out space in traffic, collecting rebounds, running the floor hard and other numerous ways to make his brawn harm opponents he can be high level ACB small ball center. However his positional length is very average, shooting touch is not promising at all and perimeter skills are definitely nothing special. Moreover he lacks creativity, craftiness and natural flair which reduce chances to easily learn typical 4 position skillset. Transition may not be smooth when physical advantage gets less visible. Privately has two years younger brother who also resides in Real youth teams.

USMAN GARUBA (6’8, Forward, Real) – Made Nakic’s MVP award at least questionable. 2002 born Spanish player already needs no introduction in wordwide youth basketball circuit. After dominating FIBA U16 European Championship as two years underaged player he continiues to shine with his unmatched tools in more reliable age group to evaluate prospects. However opinions are divided of what future holds for Usman. For some he is clear cut NBA prospects and next best thing from Europe while others question his productivity on the highest level. I belong to the second group. Usman already reached his physical peak and is not even 6’9 in shoes. He benefits mostly from enormous strength and Zion thickness. He runs the floor hard but attacks more with brawn than burst or bounce. So beside imposing built he is extremely short center or power forward who doesn’t show ANY promise of shooting skills and possess very, very little perimeter game. His feel is average and assists are made mostly in fast breaks in well spaced floor where it’s easy to execute advantage. With tools and mind blowing power that Garuba is blessed with he will still be able to mark his presence on high level but reasonable NBA fit and chance to be impactful rotation player at that level is unclear.

Usman Garuba

Team: Real Madrid       Born: 09/03/2002

Current position: Center

Future position: Forward

Height: 6’8

Born in Madrid, has one brother named Ab Sediq Garuba (‘04) who also plays in the same team. Used to play in CB Azuqueca before landing in Real. He did the pre-season with ACB’s team and was named MVP and the best rebounder of Orotava Tournament. Currently is playing with U18 juniors while still being eligible for U16. Participated in 8 EBA Liga games where he logged 19 mpg and averaged 9.6 points, 8.6 rebounds (3.9 D and 4.7 O). All mentioned numbers compose his very good 14.4 Performance Index Rating.

There are some question marks about future of Usman because he is very developed and may have problems to adjust when he no longer has such a big physical advantage. In my opinion he can play in high level but not in NBA because he is unlikely to have neither Center size nor wing skillset.

PHYSICAL PROFILE

Clearly one of the best in his generation in Europe. When he was U14 he could play against 2 or 3 years older and wasn’t any weaker. Currently is pretty much picking up where he left off among even more advanced players age wise. In the pre-season with ACB’s team he was able to fight for the rebounds and defend well vs pros. He has a strong frame and in general all the parts of his body are tough as rock. He can use it to create the space to shoot in the paint. Moreover he can run the court well.

Downside is development stage which suggests that he won’t make a huge physical progress. Morevover his coordination isn’t perfect.

OFFENSIVE

Thanks to body type, he has all the tools to be impactful post up player. Beside scoring shows good vision as he can notice players on weak side and pass them the ball to hit the open shot. He is good at grabbing offensive rebounds and chases them outside of his area. Gets opportunistic and attacks aggressively to the rim at any chance. After grabbing the rebound can start transition quickly either by passing and handling the ball.

Needs to improve his footwork in the paint which would extend his repertoire. However bigger problem is that he hasn’t good mid and long-range shooting efficiency. Also he lacks isolation moves with his face to the basket.

DEFENSE

Ambitious on ball defender who secures defensive rebounds. Can block some shots in the paint. Able to guard players even faster than him.