NBA Draft 2024: The Mystery Of Ulrich Chomche
The 2024 NBA Draft is filled with a ton of uncertainty, so why not add more uncertainty and mystery in the draft?
Let’s talk about Ulrich Chomche, who is a part of the NBA Academy. He's one of the most enticing prospects in the entire draft with so much untapped potential.
Chomche was born in Cameroon, a country located in Africa. He has such an enticing life story as he came from a very small village to now being a legit NBA prospect. The 6-foot-11 forward is the youngest player eligible for the draft this year as he just barely reached the age restrictions, being born on Dec. 30, 2005. There are some fellow active Cameroon NBA players in which includes the MVP favorite Joel Embiid, Raptor’s star forward Pascal Siakam and young center Christian Koloko.
Being the youngest player eligible for the draft has its pros and cons. The big pro is that scouts and NBA personnel will see you as someone who’s still growing, learning the game and has so much potential to be something special. On the other hand you often see labels thrown at you as if you're not NBA ready and that there’s a lot of bust potential. So if Chomche does end up testing the waters this year, he should be prepared to hear these things about him throughout the entire process.
Chomche played three games played in the Basketball Africa League qualifiers in which he averaged 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal per game while shooting 42.4% from the field, 38.1% from three and 75% from the free-throw line. What stands out about the stats is that he averages three blocks while shooting nearly 40% from three which indicates he has legit 3-and-D potential.
At 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan he possesses elite physical tools for a forward. The physically gifted prospect also has great mobility and is very explosive making him one of the best all-around athletes in this year’s draft. With the athletic and physical tools he’s gifted it helps him make a significant impact on both ends of the floor and it will allow him to keep up with all the other NBA players in the athletic department.
Chomche’s ceiling as a defender is extremely high. He’s a versatile defender that has the mobility and tools to defend smaller players out on the perimeter throughout short spurts of a possession. Having a big that can be somewhat switchable late in shot clocks is awesome to have and all 30 NBA teams would love to have that on their roster. As a shot-blocker he shows great timing, vertical pop and utilization of his length to alter a ton of shots inside the painted area.
Offensively there are still some noticeable holes in his game and some areas he needs to polish up but the flashes are really, really impressive. As a finisher he uses all 6-foot-11 of him to finish efficiently. He’s a legit lob threat due to his wide catch radius, explosiveness and impressive vertical pop. At his size he has impressive shooting ability on great volume from three. In the three games he played he attempted 21 3-pointers and converted on 38.1% of them.
The stretch big potential is evident and he has a chance to be the best shooting big in this draft that is 6-foot-11 or taller. What really makes him so enticing on the offensive end is the playmaking flashes he has shown in the half-court. He shows the ability to be a good perimeter decision-maker with some legit passing creativity. Chomche has really intriguing passing upside which could separate him from a ton of other big men in this year’s draft.
Overall it’s unclear if we will for sure see Chomche remain in the 2024 NBA Draft or not, but at this point it would be silly for him to not test the waters. The young prospect has a great mentor in two-time all-star and Chicago Bulls legend, Joakim Noah, who has roots in the African nation of Cameroon where Chomche was born. Having great guidance by his side will really help him find success at the pro level as long as he continues to work hard and learn every day.
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