akoldah gak

Last week we covered the existing offers in the primer series for 2021 with Guards, Wings and Bigs. Tuesday my Wish List series kicked things off with the Guards and hit on the Wings yesterday. Today, we’ll take a peek at some Bigs that I’d like to see the staff pursue moving forward.

As a refresher, here is my general blueprint for designating bigs:

Big—has adequate size/length to protect the rim and/or rebound and/or not get bullied by traditional bigs in the B10; can ideally finish as a roll-man

File This Under Pursue Immediately

Akoldah Gak

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’11/7’2/205
• High School/AAU: Blair Academy (NJ)/Pro Scholars Athletics (EYBL)
• Current Composite Ranking: 152(!)
• My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 50 Overall

Scouting: I simply have no explanation for the mainstream ranking here. Gak is a giant human being with tons of talent/athleticism that plays HS ball with multiple D1 prospects (Jaylen Blakes and former Michigan target Jabri Abdur-Rahim) in a heavily scouted area while suiting up for a prominent AAU club. I preface my physical profile scouting by saying that most kids listed at 6’11 are actually 6’9 in shoes. Akoldah is every bit of a legit 6’11 and looks absolutely massive on the court. The measurements above were taken from the 2019 Nike Elite 100, so its possible he’s grown an inch and added wingspan since then. Athletically, he has everything you’d want from an NBA standpoint let alone the college game. The blow-by displayed at the 1:12 mark in the film is nothing short of insane for a kid of that size. I don’t know that I’ve seen more than 10 HS bigs display that level of burst over the last 10 years. Once again at the 1:25 mark he attacks a closeout with the fluidity and acceleration of a very athletic 6’7 wing. He moves at an elite level, simple as that.

He’s extremely fluid handling the ball in transition or the half-court. He changes directions with euro-steps and spins with such ease that its hard to fathom. The spin-move he utilizes to avoid a charge at the 0:27 mark is a level of body control, spatial awareness, ballskills and athleticism that simply isn’t fair for a 6’11 center. As if the above wasn’t enough, he shoots the ball like a legitimate guard/wing. Most bigs have a slow/deliberate release that looks a bit awkward. Akoldah is extremely comfortable as a catch and shoot threat with a one-motion shot that is unblockable at the college level. I have no clue what his 3% was as a junior, but that shot looks damn good. He’s an explosive finisher off 1 or 2 legs and embraces contact consistently. On the defensive end he has the look of an elite rim protector that changes how the opposition approaches the game. He projects as an instant-impact player at the college level with some serious pro potential. Offensively he’s the epitome of versatile. With the attributes to be an elite roll-man/lob threat, a face-up option that blows by bigs from the wing/elbow, a floor-spacer in Pick-and-Pop action and a rim-runner with strides like a deer in the open court. Defensively he has the lateral agility to switch on the perimeter and the length/verticality to give you 2+ blocks per game. His combination of size/length/skill/athleticism is scary and he can be a complete game-changer on both ends of the court assuming he’s got everything together upstairs. Assuming that’s the case, I’d take him over any big that we’ve offered and he might be my number one overall target considering the lack of depth at center.

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