In this article, I will be taking a look at arguably the most intriguing prospect right now in Poland, Sacha Killeya-Jones who was brought to MKS Dabrowa Gornicza in Polish EBL during this crazy summer offseason.
Let’s start from the beginning and go back to his high school times. After terrific last two years, Sacha established himself as a five-star college prospect and was regarded as one of the best players in his class. To no one’s surprise, he was recognized with a selection in 2016 to prestigious McDonald’s All-American Boys Game where he shared same coloured jerseys with names like Jason Tatum and Bam Adebayo. Originally committed to Virginia but then choose to start his journey in collegiate basketball with Kentucky.
After two quiet years at Kentucky, decided to sit out 2018/2019 season and transferred to NC State. Though before he was eligible to get back on the court again, he turned pro and moved to Prague. After a brief stay there he then moved to Braunschweig in German BBL for even a shorter stop. In 2019 he settled in Kalev-Cramo in Estonia which competed in Estonian/Latvian league as well as VTB but didn’t play much in either of the two averaging around 14.5 minutes per game. He then signed this summer with MKS Dabrowa Gornicza and was arguably the biggest sign this offseason in Poland. Sacha was given a much bigger role than in the last few years, has a lot to prove after a couple of quieter seasons and at the same time stays concentrated on his goal, which is reaching the NBA.
Let’s now dive into his skillset and potential. Sacha’s talent pops right of the charts, he is a 6’11, bouncy power forward/center with tremendous size, intensive motor, quickness and mobility. His level of athleticism, coordination and offensive fluidity for a big is not often seen in the Polish league. When watching Sacha all of the things above become quickly apparent making a tremendous difference on both ends of the floor for his team.
Offensively has a smooth touch around the rim, very good balance and a nice arsenal of moves. Patient in his execution, can pivot his way out of trouble or traffic and sell his pump fakes to an impatient defender. Impactful back to the basket game, but can also confidently take his man 1v1 face up with very good coordination, fast first step, decent ball control and handles for a player his size. Rim running is another strong area in his game, rapidly can spring out to transition getting in front of other bigs creating problems for defenses to contain him in the open court. Also dangerous as a late trailer, getting the ball when cutting through the middle and finish softly with a floater. In half court his great mobility and light tread allow for a fluid pick and roll game. Sometimes it looks like his timing is slightly off, rolling a bit too early not allowing his teammate to make full use of his screen. But, usually though, he can smoothly pop for an open shot but more importantly roll to the rim where he is a constant alley-oop target. Has a strong presence on the offensive glass, swiftly moves through traffic, shakes off his opponents and tries to secure a rebounding position or just flies over and puts it straight back in with a flashy dunk. Not a playmaker for others, bit too obvious with his deliveries at times but nonetheless fairly well recognizes situations and shares the ball with better positioned teammates. Not a reliable shooter yet, this is key to really improving his stock. Although, he shows promise, has a good stroke and nice arc on his shot, likes to stop on his drives for a pull up jumper but his consistency or lack thereof is clearly visible. It is going to take some time for him to get his shot right as he really only started shooting from outside this season, previously in his career, he wasn’t even attempting long range shots.
On the other end, Sacha is a very flexible defender, can cover a lot of ground and switch with decent success onto smaller players on the perimeter. Has wide stance, keeps his hand up when the opponent tries to beat him in the lane and makes good use of that 7’2” wingspan altering and contesting shots. His length comes in handy on the glass as well, but also has very good positioning, leads the league in defensive rebounds per game. On the interior has a wide, stable base and a good level of strength being able to withstand most of the opponents, but could put on a bit more muscle on his frame. Off the ball he can actively be protecting the rim, swiftly coming over from weak side but very often bites on fakes losing his position, also needs to recognize some situations a bit quicker. Does a good job generally closing gaps on defense, well blocking the lanes on PnR’s, hedging and recovering back, again thanks to his mobility and agile feet.
With 9 games played so far, he is off to a good start individually putting solid numbers day in and day out. At the time of writing this article, he’s third in the league in points, second in rebounds and leads in blocks per game. Sacha is auto eligible for this year’s NBA draft, although it is very unlikely, he will hear his name called out next week, he could potentially find his way into the league playing consistently here in Europe. Has very high potential, this year could be a good trampoline for him to remind people of what he is capable of and jump to a more competitive level, continuing climbing the ladder.
