Future Hoops Originals: Papa Kante, Defense
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.
February 20th, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
Always wished Beilein got a guy like this to at least come of the bench and catch lobs.
February 20th, 2023 at 2:42 PM ^
Can’t wait to see what he becomes in Juwan Howard’s Finishing School for Bigs. Hope he feels like sticking around.
February 20th, 2023 at 2:45 PM ^
Good stuff Matt, thanks.
Assuming Hunter and Tarris are both back next year, and probably in line for 30+ minutes each, do you think Kante will be ready as a freshman for ~10 minutes a game?
February 20th, 2023 at 3:37 PM ^
Although still pretty raw, Kante should allow us to play Hunter and Reed together more.
February 20th, 2023 at 5:30 PM ^
Assuming both are back, then I think it's likely both start in a twin tower lineup. In that scenario, I can definitely envision Kante giving one of Hunter/Tarris a blow for one shift per half.
February 20th, 2023 at 2:50 PM ^
Really love reading these detailed posts with examples on these guys. Especially when it's positive stuff.
February 20th, 2023 at 3:08 PM ^
So for those of us of a certain age, is he more likely to be Maceo Baston or Maurcie Taylor?
February 20th, 2023 at 5:31 PM ^
Defensively he's more Maceo Baston. He's not as gifted offensively as Mo Taylor at the same stage
February 20th, 2023 at 6:12 PM ^
That's saying a lot. Baston is still the bounciest big guy I've seen at Michigan.
February 20th, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
Brent Petway?
February 20th, 2023 at 9:22 PM ^
Ekpe Udoh?
February 21st, 2023 at 8:17 AM ^
Brent could get really high, but I was thinking more about Baston's really freaky ability to make the second jump. I've never seen a guy that big at Michigan who could get up, come down, and then get back up in the seemingly before the guy he was checking landed. And odd combination of fast feet and a lot of explosive jumping ability.
February 20th, 2023 at 3:08 PM ^
Welcome back Matt! Looking forward to what Kante can do next year.
Any thoughts on 2024 recruiting? Especially interested to hear any updated scouting you have on Christian Anderson.
February 20th, 2023 at 5:31 PM ^
Need to see him this Spring
February 20th, 2023 at 3:56 PM ^
Hi Matt - I am a big fan of your analysis. I am irrationally excited about Christian Anderson coming in 2024 - I wonder if there is any chance of him reclassifying to 2023.
This linked article says that he is up to 6'0" and I can easily imagine a 6'2" version of this kid being a 5* and impact player at Michigan in a couple of years.
Is there anything you are seeing / hearing about Christian?
February 20th, 2023 at 5:32 PM ^
Would be shocked if he re-classified. There is a long history of re-classed guards failing miserably (former M target Khristian Lander being a very loud case)
February 20th, 2023 at 9:39 PM ^
Reclassing as a guard (particularly one that already needs more time to grow like Anderson) is a quick way to ruin a career.
Hard to name one for whom it went well, whereas that road is paved with targets for whom it went poorly like Lander, Carter Whitt, Emoni Bates, and Derryck Thornton.
February 21st, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
There is an exception: Canadian guards. Jamal Murray and Dillon Brooks were good after reclassifying. The difference there is that they're really reclassifying back to their original class as they're generally held back a year.
February 20th, 2023 at 4:34 PM ^
Great to see that we have a good defender coming. We certainly can use one. Matt, what does Papa do on the offensive side? Can he score on anything outside of a dunk?
February 20th, 2023 at 5:32 PM ^
Detailed analysis of Papa's offensive game forthcoming in the next week
February 20th, 2023 at 5:01 PM ^
"this the hoops equivalent of an Edge in coverage against a TE............and running the route for him."
Jalen Harrell says Hi.
February 20th, 2023 at 5:11 PM ^
a lot of upside with Papa's athleticism
February 20th, 2023 at 5:54 PM ^
You say he is 6'10, but in that clip against Dailey, he looks about the same size.
Are my eyes fooling me? He looks about 6'8, 210.
February 20th, 2023 at 6:12 PM ^
Legit 6'8.5 - 6'9.5 IMO
February 20th, 2023 at 7:26 PM ^
Do Hunter, Llewellyn and Barnes return?
February 20th, 2023 at 8:11 PM ^
They can’t all return. Llewellyn would put them over the scholarship limit by one. If someone transfers or goes pro then he could return as well. I think there will be at least one transfer. There’s one player for sure that has been here for a bit and he doesn’t get playing time.
February 21st, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
Williams needs to transfer. he should be behind Tschetter but Howard just loves playing him
I wonder what Isaiah Barnes does? He looks terrible in his few minutes. the guy also looks tp have the smallest feet in college basketball...
February 21st, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
If you don't see where and why Williams adds value...that tells me everything I need to know about you and your knowledge of basketball. The same people who didn't understand Draymond's value for the Warriors all those years.
Williams is not a starter...and if he is...he's the clearly 5th option. You can't penalize him because Michigan doesn't have a better option (e.g. Diabate). That's not his fault.
But he's a quality rotation player, a do-it-all guy that teams need and if he's not the 5th option, he'd be great in a 7th man type of a role.
Like I've said, we have 3 starters (Dickinson, Je. Howard, Bufkin), 3 rotation guys (Reed, Williams, and McDaniel), and 3 deep rotation bench guys (Baker, Tschetter, Ja. Howard).
Add two legitimate starters to this team and it's a Final Four caliber team. Instead, we're playing guys who should be #6, #7 and #8 in the rotation as starters. You can't win with that level of talent.
It also is the reason our bench is terrible. You add Williams and McDaniel to the bench rotation and it's vastly improved.
Barnes has played in half the games this season and in those games he averages 6 minutes a game. Clearly he's just ready or very good right now, but your comment is like we expect something from him.
He's like Nunez as far as I'm concerned.
February 21st, 2023 at 11:11 AM ^
It's unclear whether Llewellyn has any eligibility left. I believe another year will require a waiver from the NCAA to get a medshirt for this year. This is his 4th year participating. The same is true for Baker who has participated in 5 years but has a (IMO poor) argument to get 18-19 back.
The scholarships are full at the moment for this year. We can match departures to arrivals to determine the situation for next year:
Departures
- Joey Baker graduation (99%)
- Jaelin Llewellyn graduation (75%)
- Playing time transfer 1 (70%)
- Jett Howard to NBA (60%)
- Playing time transfer 2 (50%)
- Kobe Bufkin to NBA (40%)
- Hunter Dickinson to NBA (10%)
Arrivals:
- George Washington III
- Papa Kante
- Portal combo guard?
- Portal wing?
- Mystery 2023 sleeper (Khayat-style)?
- 2024 commit+reclass?
February 20th, 2023 at 7:56 PM ^
Excellent and well-made points here, Matt. The value of having a big who is an excellent defender cannot be overstated.
February 20th, 2023 at 8:39 PM ^
I have high hopes for Papa K
February 21st, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
My only concern is his size, the Big Ten is going to continue to get guys like Kofi and Edey. That'll probably only be a game or four, but still puts a ceiling on the team you'd think.
February 21st, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
Trace Jackson-Davis (6’9”) says high.
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