NBA Comparison: Rodrigue Beaubois

Strenghts: Left handed guard with a nice frame that looks that can fill up nicely… Good size and great length for his position (wingspan measured at 6-8 feet) … Good athlete who seems to take care of his body … Explosive guard with an above average first step … Posseses great leaping ability … Versatile player who can play both guard positions … He can be used either as the ball hanlder or as an off ball guard … He plays within the system … His quick first step helps him blow by his opponents and attack miss-matches and closeouts … Has the ability to penetrate from both sides and is really quick going left … When he is concentrated is not afraid to go all the way to the basket and try to score against bigs in the paint … Can create his own shot with ease … His ability to score off the dribble is probably his biggest advantage … Can create seperation from his opponent before shooting with a nice looking step back … His pull-up Jump Shot has improved dramatically through the years … Very good shooter … Has NBA range in his shot, even off the dribble … Has been used in Catch and Shot and Spot Up situations with very good results … His 3-point shooting would be and will be higher when he learns to avoid taking tough shots … Excellent free throw shooter … Has great court vision and can find the open shooter … Has the ability to pass off the bounce and on the move … Watches all the floor, sees the lanes and can find the cutter to the basket … Great in drive and kick situations … Has improved considerably in Pick and Roll situations, looking more willing to find the rolling big … He is a threat in every way possible while playing the Pick and Roll thanks to his shooting ability, explosiveness and court vision … Moves well without the ball and can make good cuts, catching his opponent off guard … Excells in transition as the ball handler … Great lateral quickness when he is motivated and takes a good low stance … Has active hands when he defends the ball … His length and quickness help him create a lot of problems to his opponent … Fills the lanes at an acceptable level … Active weakside defender … He can anticipate plays while he is in the weakside and rotate accordingly … Great at chasing his opponent around the screens … He has the I.Q to be in controll and not lose focus on the defensive rotations … He can make an occasional chase down block … Has lockdown defender potential …  

Weaknesses: He is not overly explosive … He doesn’t always play with the same aggressiveness … Does not concentrate as he should at all times … Has a lot of ups and downs, even within a game … He is still learning the point guard position because he began his career as an off guard … Gets sped up and plays too fast at times … Has problems reading the game …Turnover prone, his assist/turnover ratio could improve … He must learn to take over a game when he has to … He can be a streaky shooter … He occasionaly shows a little hesitation before shooting off the dribble which causes him to lose a split second and allows his opponent to contest his shot … He can fall in love with his shot and not attack the basket as much as he should … He settles for a 3-point more times than he should after a big is switched on him … Shot selection is a question mark because he has the tendency to take contested shots … Can be impatient when he hasn’t taken a shot for a while … He doen’t always drive hard to the basket and go all the way into the paint … When he attacks the basket he looks too willing to pass rather than finish the play, which leads to turnovers … Has problems finishing at the rim through contact and in traffic … Has the habit of telegraphing passes and trying to pass from tough angles … He should learn to look for the simple play rather than the flashy one … He must mix it up more on offense and find the balance between his favorite move (step back) and driving to the basket, maybe adding some floaters to his game … He doesn’t go to the free throw line as much as you would expect for a player with his athleticism and talent … His Pick and Roll game still needs improving, since he has the tendency to look for a shooter rather than the rolling big … He doesn’t always has a low stance on defense, depending too much on his physical tools … He is having some problems defending the Pick and Roll, looking lost at times … He stands away from his opponent when he is defending the weak side, something that leads to either a free shot or a rushed and wrong close out by him, which adds pressure to his team … He might be more than willing to help coming from the weakside, but there are moments when he just freezes and watches a play happen …

Overall: Elie Okobo is a combo guard who is still learning how to become a point guard. His ability to score in every way possible (Pull-up, Catch and Shot, Spot up, Drive) along with his court vision, above average athleticism and defensive potential make him really intriguing. If he manages to play with the same motor all the time and become a point guard he could be a really good player in the future.

Notes: He is kind of a late bloomer, since he wasn’t included in any youth national team selection until he participated in U20 Eurobasket in 2016 … He was the 3rd leading scorer of the U20 Eurobasket … He has been a member of the first team of Pau Orthez since the 2014/15 season …

Stefanos Makris 3/21/18