After yesterday morning’s workout, a 7-foot-1 mammoth lumbered his way into the gym. Awe-struck, I asked around if anyone had seen this guy before. Turns out his name is Cheikh Samb and I had to dig deeper into his past.
Turns out the Samb is from Senegal. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 51st pick of the 2006 NBA draft but was traded that day to the Detroit Pistons for shooting guard Maurice Evans. He bounced around to a few different teams including the Clippers, Nuggets and Knicks and never got any legitimate opportunities in the NBA. Samb then went to Europe in 2009 to play for Real Madrid on a one-month contract but after a bumpy ride full of injuries he was released after his contract was up and his agent told him to go back to Senegal to put on weight and get healthy. His career stats in the NBA amount to a whopping 1 ppg and 1.4 rpg.
So why am I telling this you all of this when this guy has never really seen time in the NBA before?
Samb is now a free agent, and his 7-foot-1 frame demands attention when he walks on a court. The Wolves are in search of a fifth big man to develop behind Big Al, Love, Darko and Hollins. Samb has the tools to become a real threat on the defensive side of the ball; he led the Spanish league in blocks in ‘05-’06, registering more blocks than the totals of all but one team. But what impressed me at the glimpse of a workout I got to see was his superior offensive skills. He looked as raw as anyone in the post going up against Bill Laimbeer. But what caught the eye of most spectators was Samb’s sweet shooting stroke from 10-feet to beyond the arc. Barely needing to even lift a toe off the ground, Samb cocked back and released a soft rotation each and every shot. It was really exciting to watch. And probably the cherry on top of the pie was when Samb was running the length of the court only to meet and completely bulldoze assistant coach Reggie Theus holding a pad on one end of the court. He ran with power and athleticism and not many big men can do that.
You can tell that bringing in Tony Ronzone from Detroit has drastically improved the Wolves’ relations with international players and this is an example of that. Ronzone knows this guy has talent; he just needs the right situation to showcase it, and he knows that too.
Look for Samb as a possible signee this summer as he has a good chance of playing on the Wolves’ summer league squad.
http://www.howlintwolf.com/2010/06/a-di ... the-rough/
Good stuff starts at ~1:15
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9knz5eO9-U[/youtube]
