Post#1579 » by pym » Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:08 pm
If we stay at 38, Santi Aldama is an interesting possibility. He seems to have a lot of skill, but no track record against high level competition since the Euro U18s in 2019. Here's Vecenie's take from The Athletic:
36. Santi Aldama
F | Loyola (Md.) | Birthdate: Jan. 10, 2001 (Age: 20) | 6-11 | 220 LBS | Hometown: Las Palmas, Spain
Background Comes from a significant hoops family in Spain. His father, Santiago Aldama, played professionally in Spain and represented Spain at the 1992Olympics. His uncle also played professional hoops in Spain. Unsurprisingly, grew up playing the game and developed very early. Took a bit of a weird, different pathway than the typical elite Spanish prospect. Played at the Canterbury Basketball Academy near home in Las Palmas and decided to continue there instead of playing at a major youth academy like Real or Barca. In 2018, he played at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament for Barcelona. Continued to develop and was chosen for Spain’s youth national team in 2017 at the U16 European Championships and the U18 European Championships in 2019. It’s at that U18 event where Aldama truly broke out. He won MVP, averaging 18 points and eight
rebounds while leading Spain to a gold medal. That summer, he decided to go the college route in the United States and chose to attend Loyola (Md.). Yeah, it was as surprising to me as it is to you. Regardless, watching Aldama play at the Patriot League level was one of the funniest joys of college basketball in the last two years. The level to which he was better than his teammates and everyone else in the league was staggering. Missed the first part of his freshman year due to a knee surgery. Carried Loyola to the Patriot League title game as a sophomore basically on his own despite being on a short-handed, injury-riddled, COVID-struck team. Decided to declare for the draft following his sophomore season. Was unclear what he was doing up until the final deadline day, when he chose to go professional.
YEAR TEAM LEAGUE Age GP PPG RPG APG TOPG BPG SPG FG% 3P% FT%
2019-20 LOYOLA (MD) NCAA (PATRIOT) 19 10 15.2 7.6 2.1 2.3 1.7 0.9 45.9 21.7 51.5
2020-21 LOYOLA (MD) NCAA (PATRIOT) 20 17 21.2 10.1 2.3 3.2 1.7 1.0 51.3 36.8 68.6
Strengths
Great size for a combo big man at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. Very fluid athleticism. Moves really well with body control. Constantly knows exactly where he is on the court and how to position his body optimally to make it happen. Has the feel and touch of a player who grew up playing the game with great coaching. His feel is outstanding. He moves without the ball exceptionally well. Cuts off the ball into open areas. Relocates into open shots. Everything is just really sharp. Always finds the soft spot in the defense. Knows exactly when his defender makes a mistake and pounces. Also has great hands. Has the ballhandling tools to be able to take advantage of it too. Can handle and control the ball at a high level for someone who is 6-foot-11. Grabs and goes on the break. Runs dribble handoffs at a really high level because defenders need to be honest with his ability to keep it and drive. Can run dribble handoffs as both a ballhandler and a big. Good in screen and short rolls and pick-and-pops. Can straight-line drive to the rim. Loyola ran its whole offense through him. His footwork is pristine. He’s an absolutely terrific passer for a big whose assist numbers drastically underrate his skill due to quality of teammates. Constantly makes quick, high-level decisions to hit open players for open shots that they aren’t able to take advantage of. The tape is so much better than the numbers. The kind of multi-skilled big that teams are looking for. He’s a legitimate versatile shooter. Hit 37 percent from 3. Made his catch-and-shoot attempts (nearly all of which were from 3) at a 39 percent clip. Also made pull-ups at a 37.5 percent clip when he took them. Made them out of all situations. Took dribble handoffs and flattened out behind his teammate to shoot. Made post turnarounds. Made six 3-pointers directly off movement and off-ball screening actions. Hit pick-and-pop 3s going backward. Hit spot 3s with good shot prep. Does take him an extra split second to get it off but has a very clean release. Has legit range beyond the college 3-point and NBA lines. On top of that, terrific finisher at the rim because of his touch. Made 65.9 percent of his shots at
the rim in non-post-up settings, per Synergy. Has the same kind of high-level defensive instincts that you’d expect for someone with this feel. Knows how to angle his body. Makes the right rotations. Constantly uses his length well by keeping his hands high. Gets a ton of deflections and blocks shots. Not going to be elite on that end but has shown enough to where he has a chance to not be a liability in time.
Weaknesses
A couple major concerns. First, has to get stronger. Comes in at around 220 pounds right now, which is just too skinny to play the role he’ll be asked to play at the next level. Won’t be able to hold his position at all against some of the biggest centers in the league. Probably needs another 15 or so pounds to be at his most effective level. Does seem to have the frame to be able to handle that kind of strength and weight. Second, not an amazing athlete. Really fluid but doesn’t have a ton of explosiveness. Needs to really get into the weight room and work through his agility. Has some vertical pop but not quite enough to be a terrific rim protector despite blocking nearly two blocks per game in the Pat League. Gets by based on footwork and skill. Guys still finish over the top of him at the center position. Will need to be a terrific positional defender – something he has potential to be but isn’t elite enough yet. Would be a below-average defender right now in the NBA. Will need to keep tightening up his handle. Was turnover-prone at Loyola, but that was largely because he was asked to do a comical amount for the team due to his skill level. Will be much better as he’s able to downshift a bit in terms of role but can get just a touch loose where he gets stripped. On top of that, worth noting that the Pat League competition level was not all that great. He was comically better than everyone in the
league. Needs to keep proving that his game translates to the next level.
Summary
I’ll be honest, I had to keep reminding myself about the quality of competition factor while watching Aldama. He was so utterly dominant against Patriot League players who just couldn’t match his combination of size and skill. It was like plopping a professional down into a midmajor league. NBA players will be able to match him to a much greater degree, meaning there is some degree of uncertainty with Aldama’s translation to the next level. For that reason, I have him as an early second-rounder who would be a priority guy for me. I would prefer to stash him if I could at a EuroLeague team (and he’ll absolutely have those offers this summer), but if it came down to it, I would give him a guaranteed deal. He’s that gifted as a playmaking five who fits the modern style of play due to his perimeter skill and decision-making comfort. He processes the game at such a high level that it’s easy to see how, with some further strength training, he’s going to be a useful NBA player. We’ll see if he goes through with the draft.
