Youssou Ndoye Playing Well for Austin Spurs
After checking in on former Bonnie Andrew Nicholson we thought it would be a good time to check in on another former big man: Youssou Ndoye.
Ndoye has played in 13 games for the Austin Spurs and has really played well when on the floor. Like Andrew Nicholson, it appears that maybe all the seven footer needs is some more playing time to develop further. Ndoye is seeing only 19.7 minutes per game, while other forwards and centers on the club see much more time. For instance, former UMass forward Caddy Lalanne is playing nearly six minutes more per game but shooting just 48% from the floor. Anyone whose seen the two play know that Ndoye has a much higher ceiling than Lalanne.
Ndoye is shooting a very impressive 65% from the field, best on the team for any player whose played in at least half of their games. Youssou is also averaging 7.6 rebounds in those 19 minutes; truly remarkable. As you can see in the shot chart below, when Ndoye gets the ball close to the rim he’s about as automatic as they come in terms of scoring.
He is also averaging one block per game, certainly less than you’d expect from the former Bonnie given his massive paint presence. He has struggled at the line shooting just 63%, but I would expect that total to go up with time as Youssou showed himself to be a very good free throw shooter by senior year.
From an advanced stats perspective, Ndoye has a 103 offensive rating which isn’t as high as you’d like. His 28.5% defensive rebounding percentage is tops on the club and his 14.4% rating on the offensive glass is also first on the club among qualifiers. However, on the negative side of the ledger Ndoye’s 24.0 turnover rate is worst on the club. It’s clear that his ability to handle the rock in the post and pass out of the low block has factored into his playing time. This is what’s dragging down his offensive rating so much given his incredibly high shooting percentage.
Anyone who watched the Bonnies over the past four years can understand this issue. Youssou was always best when catching the rock and going up and over one of his shoulders, or giving his defender a pump-fake before shooting. He was never the gifted player from a footwork standpoint that Andrew Nicholson was. He would frustrate fans and coaches alike when he would try to put the ball on the floor when it was unnecessary to do so.
So, while they were both dominate big man with post presences for the Bonnies, they were two totally different players. Ndoye needs to play to his strength, use his size to position himself and score and not try to do too much in the post in terms of creating his own shot.
Hopefully the Spurs coaching staff has patience with Youssou and helps him develop his ability to handle the ball and pass out of the post. They’ve certainly had some successful big man in San Antonio, so they know what they’re doing down there.
We hope to see Ndoye playing in a real NBA game before long. We really miss watching the big fella play, man he was fun to watch. When you watch this highlight reel below his effort and passion on the defensive end of the floor are awesome to witness.
For your viewing pleasure, some highlights from the big man’s career in Olean.
