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The Atlanta Hawks had an eventful Summer League season.
Some teams tend to use the summer as a break. Their Summer League rosters are mostly made up of guys who won't see a minute of real NBA action.
That was not the Hawks' approach.
They gave plenty of opportunities to players who can be part of their future. One of those players was Zuby Ejiofor, the No. 23 overall pick out of St. John's. The Hawks must have liked what they saw from him over the summer.
Here are three things we learned about the big man.
A four-game sample size is not one to draw large conclusions from. Still, it's worth assessing a player's role and function over that time.
So, Ejiofor's shooting during the summer is worth mentioning.
Between both leagues, he hit 35.3% of his 4.3 3-point attempts per game. At St. John's, he shot 30.5% on 1.6 attempts per game. That's a far better blend of volume and efficiency than anyone anticipated from Ejiofor. Could it say anything about his future NBA role?
Sure — but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Hawks used a low-stakes Summer League environment to experiment with Ejiofor's role, and they said so. Summer League coach Sanjay Lumpkin said the staff was empowering Ejiofor to take those shots. Still, the returns were encouraging, and fans should expect Ejiofor to be a willing 3-point shooter whenever he does get on the floor at the NBA level.
Perhaps we didn't "learn" this so much as it was confirmed. Ejiofor's motor was a major selling point for him as a prospect. Luckily, he's validated every scouting report that mentioned his effort level.
In Salt Lake City, he collected 13.0 rebounds per game over two contests. That number dipped to 5.0 in Vegas, but his blocks went from 0.5 to 1.5. In time, we can assume Ejiofor will strike a balance between protecting the rim and collecting boards.
Most importantly, his effort never waned all summer. Ejiofor won't let that happen. His ability to play harder than his assignment will keep him in the rotation as soon as the Hawks feel he's ready.
Is he ready yet? Mouhamed Gueye's recent injury could answer that sooner than expected.
Ejiofor's 3-point shooting was encouraging, but he struggled around the rim. Between the two leagues, he went 6-of-16 (37.5%) on 2-point field goal attempts.
Partly, that was due to a change in his role. Ejiofor was primarily a play finisher in college, but the Hawks had him attempting to create his own offense. It didn't look like something Ejiofor was equipped to do.
If he couldn't do it in Summer League, he won't do it in the NBA. That's fine. Ejiofor could make a successful career for himself as a play-finishing big, but if he wants more, he's going to have to polish his offensive skillset.
In all likelihood, we'll see if he's made any strides next summer.
Continue reading...
Some teams tend to use the summer as a break. Their Summer League rosters are mostly made up of guys who won't see a minute of real NBA action.
That was not the Hawks' approach.
They gave plenty of opportunities to players who can be part of their future. One of those players was Zuby Ejiofor, the No. 23 overall pick out of St. John's. The Hawks must have liked what they saw from him over the summer.
Here are three things we learned about the big man.
1. Ejiofor May Space the Floor
A four-game sample size is not one to draw large conclusions from. Still, it's worth assessing a player's role and function over that time.
So, Ejiofor's shooting during the summer is worth mentioning.
Between both leagues, he hit 35.3% of his 4.3 3-point attempts per game. At St. John's, he shot 30.5% on 1.6 attempts per game. That's a far better blend of volume and efficiency than anyone anticipated from Ejiofor. Could it say anything about his future NBA role?
Sure — but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Hawks used a low-stakes Summer League environment to experiment with Ejiofor's role, and they said so. Summer League coach Sanjay Lumpkin said the staff was empowering Ejiofor to take those shots. Still, the returns were encouraging, and fans should expect Ejiofor to be a willing 3-point shooter whenever he does get on the floor at the NBA level.
2. Ejiofor's Motor Doesn't Stop
Perhaps we didn't "learn" this so much as it was confirmed. Ejiofor's motor was a major selling point for him as a prospect. Luckily, he's validated every scouting report that mentioned his effort level.
In Salt Lake City, he collected 13.0 rebounds per game over two contests. That number dipped to 5.0 in Vegas, but his blocks went from 0.5 to 1.5. In time, we can assume Ejiofor will strike a balance between protecting the rim and collecting boards.
Most importantly, his effort never waned all summer. Ejiofor won't let that happen. His ability to play harder than his assignment will keep him in the rotation as soon as the Hawks feel he's ready.
Is he ready yet? Mouhamed Gueye's recent injury could answer that sooner than expected.
3. Ejiofor Is Still Raw
Ejiofor's 3-point shooting was encouraging, but he struggled around the rim. Between the two leagues, he went 6-of-16 (37.5%) on 2-point field goal attempts.
Partly, that was due to a change in his role. Ejiofor was primarily a play finisher in college, but the Hawks had him attempting to create his own offense. It didn't look like something Ejiofor was equipped to do.
If he couldn't do it in Summer League, he won't do it in the NBA. That's fine. Ejiofor could make a successful career for himself as a play-finishing big, but if he wants more, he's going to have to polish his offensive skillset.
In all likelihood, we'll see if he's made any strides next summer.
Continue reading...
