Sacramento continues to sort through potential NBA Draft prospects. Here's why the Baylor star looks appealing.
The Sacramento Kings hold three total NBA Draft picks come June.
General manager Scott Perry must nail all of them, in the name of reigniting fan interest.
Kings and Nets Roundtable already presented Keaton Wagler of Illinois, Kingston Flemings of Houston, Darius Acuff of Arkansas plus Darryn Peterson of Kansas as early pick possibilities. Of course, AJ Dybantsa of BYU is the trending favorite among fans.
But there are potential late round gems to monitor too. Zuby Ejiofor of St. John's has risen as one gaining steam among Kings fans. Same with Isaiah Evans out of Duke.
This time we swing back to the late round possibilities and dive into why Baylor's Tounde Yessoufou is worth a look.
Strong Finisher
If Perry and head coach Doug Christie desire players who can finish their baskets under the rim, Yessoufou is certainly one to look closer at.
The small forward arrives to the hoop with fierce intentions. He aims to throw down the basketball inside the net.
Yessoufou rose as one of the top transition attackers in the Big 12. He won't give up the basketball in the fast break and will get the crowd to their feet.
Christie played on early 2000s Kings teams that loved to attack in transition. He can aim to recreate that element with talent like Yessoufou.
More than a Dunker
Yessoufou drew a huge social media following out of St. Joseph High in Santa Maria, Ca., with his uncanny dunks for a high school phenom.
But he's not a one-dimensional scorer.
Yessoufou knows when to step back and nail the basket from long range. Often resorting to his powerful upper body and elbows to create space for the shot attempt:
He can even hit the tough fallaway jumpers over defenders, as seen here against the Dybantsa-led BYU Cougars:
Areas of Concern
Yessoufou looks like a top 10 talent on the floor.
But there's another reason why he's not listed high in a class featuring Dybantsa, Wagler, Flemings, Cameron Boozer, etc.
His ball-handling against talented defenders is a flaw. Scouts will believe he can become turnover prone in the NBA.
He also must establish more consistency in his perimeter shooting, even though Yessoufou is built more for fast break attacks and the low post.
Can he fit Kings?
Again, this selection is persuaded by Christie more...and if he wants to get the Kings back to where they were when he played for the franchise.
Yessoufou can certainly attack open lanes and out-jump his way to the hoop.
He must develop stronger ball-handling skills, though, even if Christie and Perry seek more transition attackers.
Yessoufou feels more like a early to middle second round find. Especially if he lingers around the third and final pick the Kings must make.
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