Cheick Faye, 6'7, NBA Academy Africa, Senegal, 1998
Jonathan Givony
Strengths:
-Good size for the wing at 6'6 without shoes
-Has an exceptionally long 7-foot wingspan
-Showed impressive potential defensively, using his quick feet and long arms to close out from great vantage points and wreak havoc on the perimeter
-Has a nice framework of skills offensively to build off
-Aggressive offensive player who wants to make things happen in his minutes on the court
-Can handle it in the open floor, even using some combo moves. Shows good footwork and a strong first step attacking off the dribble.
-Solid jump-shooter in drills. Workable mechanics. Rises up with good balance and shoots at apex. Has some touch. Even shows some ability to knock down pull-ups.
Weaknesses:
-Oldest player at the camp, already 19 years old.
-Frame is very narrow and may struggle to put on a great deal of weight, especially in the lower body. Only 175 pounds
-Can't always finish what he creates around the basket. Fluid, but not overly explosive, which hampers him in traffic due to his lack of strength
-Shoots a moon-ball jumper with very little rotation. Had some bad misses, especially when he was forcing the issue
-Decision making is questionable at times. Will go into iso mode and and run into brick walls
-Lacks experience and polish and in five on five settings
Outlook: Faye is one of the first players invited to the NBA Academy Africa in his home country of Senegal, and seems to have benefited from the coaching he's received thus far. He more than held his own at the Camp and had some strong moments at times, especially early on. His rapid improvement leaves a lot of room for optimism about what perimeter players from Africa in the future can accomplish at the NBA Academy with the coaching and development structure they'll find.
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