Papa Kante

Kante has a physically imposing frame with good size, broad shoulders, a strong body, and reported 7-foot-4 wingspan. He can be a dominant rebounder and active shot-blocker. He rim-runs well, is just starting to utilize his big body to seal for easy buckets inside, and has made a lot of progress with his hands and reactions in quick catch-and-finish situations. Kante also has good touch and footwork, but becomes less efficient when trying too hard to prove his face-up skill set. He has become a consistent free-throw shooter and isn’t incapable of knocking down an occasional open rhythm three, but too often picks-and-pops instead of rolling hard to the rim, settles for tough-twos in the mid-post area, or stops the ball with too many fakes and pivots trying to create his own shot. Defensively, he’s physical in the post and fairly mobile hedging ball-screens for a player his size, albeit a true center and not overly switchable. Overall, he has good size, measurables, a college ready body, and is an asset on the glass and defensive end. His offense continues to develop, but will likely need to be simplified at the next level.