I made several trips last summer to get a detailed look at 2023 signee Papa Kante. Suiting up for New York Rens in the Nike EYBL league from April - July, this was a great opportunity to see how Kante stacked up against the very best competition in the country. 

**Note - Papa is #5 in white/blue in the clips below**

 

Switchability/On-Ball Defense

The fact that we're starting off a deep-dive analysis with the on-ball defense of a 6'10 prospect sheds light as to Kante's defensive prowess. I like to initially examine physical facets when projecting on-ball defense and Papa grades out extremely well at the respective position. Kante has superb lateral agility and is able to flip the hips and change direction with ease. His stop and go movement is also an asset, as Papa is able to decelerate/accelerate quite well. Add in good straight line speed and we're taking about a very good athlete that checks all the boxes for a switchable big in the B10.

In terms of technique, the defensive stance immediately pops out. At roughly the :25 second mark in the clip above, Kante gets considerably lower than a 6'7 wing in top-75 overall prospect Eric Dailey. That level of flexibility in tandem with good agility allows him to turn his hips and change direction like a much smaller player because he's never in a flat-footed position. He beat Dailey to the spot twice on that possession after the initial blitz in a good display of athleticism and defensive prowess. 

The very first possession of the clip above sees Papa matched up with former #1 overall prospect G.G. Jackson, who is more of a big wing/PF than guard. On an island 25 feet from the basket, Jackson changes direction and hits the gas in what he anticipates will be an easy foray to the rim against a big. Kante beats him to the spot with ease before swatting the shot attempt. For the more football-centric audience, this the hoops equivalent of an Edge in coverage against a TE............and running the route for him.

Papa projects to be a switchable defender against most teams in the B10, giving Juwan Howard a legit option to blitz and/or switch against ballscreens. While I don't quite expect him to show flashes of shutting down quick-twitch guards like Moussa Diabate, Kante should be able to stay in front of most guards in the B10 for a few dribbles. At minimum, Papa will allow for a blitz + recover approach that provides adequate disruption against pick-and-roll heavy offenses. And while the NY Rens didn't use blitz + recover much on the EYBL circuit, he was extremely impressive in the few instances where that did come to fruition as seen below. 

[Hit THE JUMP for more impact defense]

Rim Protection

As seen in the film above, Kante is a solid helpside rim-protector. He makes good use of his length to high-point attempts at the rim. Papa is an above-average leaper, but he's not explosive/twitchy, particularly with his second-jump. Accounting for that, it's likely he racks up adequate block numbers at the college level, but we're probably not looking at a kid that's going to average 2+ blocks per game. 

I'm actually more impressed with Kante's ability to alter shots as seen in the clip below. His technique + body control is superb, as he consistently keeps his arms vertical and does not move forward when elevating to avoid fouls. Papa is extremely disciplined when contesting shots and that is likely to translate at the college level. 

As mentioned above, I wouldn't necessarily expect huge block numbers. But the impact should be good here given the shot alterations and corresponding lack of opponent FTs that follow from being under control.

 

Post Defense

Post defense is generally an afterthought in projection pieces these days due to perimeter-oriented offenses. But the B10 has experienced an infusion of traditional post-players that are dominating the landscape while the quality of guard play has diminished. That said, let's take a look at post defense, though the sample is admittedly small.

Post defense is very much about technique in addition to physical attributes. Kante generally does a good job of bumping opposing players off their spots and utilizing a 3/4 technique to deter easy entry passes.

But as seen above, technique can only go so far. Sheer size + mass matter. In the clip above, Papa is battling top-50 overall prospect and Oklahoma State signee, Brandon Garrison. Kante does a great job of denying deep position and forces him to catch the ball outside the restricted area. But Garrison took one dribble and lowered his shoulder into Papa to create space before converting a jumphook over the left shoulder. Obviously one possession isn't a good measure for projection purposes, but it's fair to say the mammoths of the B10 could expose size limitations in terms of post defense. 

 

Closeouts

Kante is exceptional at closeouts given his size/position. In the vast majority of possessions in the above clip he closes out short, stays low and uses his length to contest. 

From a technique perspective, I'm not sure you can ask for more from a player still in HS. Closing out short provides margin for error if the offensive player decides to shot-fake + drive, at which point Papa's agility allows him to still stay in front. 

Perhaps more than anything from a technical perspective, he hauls ass to contest against shooters and that has to mean something. 

 

Changing Ends

I've never included a section dedicated to this, but after watching Hunter Dickinson for the last three years, it is indeed relevant. 

In short, Kante is about as good as one can be when transitioning from offense to defense and vice-versa. Look at the ground he makes up in the first possession of the clip above. Papa isn't even in the screen as Brandon Garrison is approaching half-court and the opposition appears to have an easy two-against-one layup. 

Kante makes up that gap with five strides and forces a TO as Garrison runs out of real estate and steps out of bounds. That sort of recovery speed and sheer effort has been sorely missed in the absence of Moussa Diabate and should do wonders for Michigan's transition defense.