New Prodigy: Mohamed Dabone, 6'9", 12yrs old

[Charlesareed]

It’s possible he’s 12 years old I’m 40 years old and I look like I’m 29 always looking younger then I am

[srhcan]

If he is older than 12 yrs then he must be one of the most stupid basketball player ever as he is ready for NBA or at least G league but cannot make it since his age is so low. Think about it; why would a player deliberately turn down lot of money this way? Players with his skillset would actually think about forging their age higher to make to NBA quickly.

[BAMAFREAK]

If he is older than 12 yrs then he must be one of the most stupid basketball player ever as he is ready for NBA or at least G league but cannot make it since his age is so low. Think about it; why would a player deliberately turn down lot of money this way? Players with his skillset would actually think about forging their age higher to make to NBA quickly.

Well he is obviously not good enough for any of that right now. Nowhere near it. And if he is actually older, and closer to 16 or 17 then his potential decreases dramatically. If he’s actually 12, then he has absolute limitless potential to not only grow and mature but to harness those tools as well.
It’s what the do in the Caribbean for baseball as well. It’s hard to document age so if a team thinks a good prospect is 15 as opposed to 17, they will pay a lot more as the 15 year old has a lot more growth potential than the 17 year old.

[lambchop]

If he is older than 12 yrs then he must be one of the most stupid basketball player ever as he is ready for NBA or at least G league but cannot make it since his age is so low. Think about it; why would a player deliberately turn down lot of money this way? Players with his skillset would actually think about forging their age higher to make to NBA quickly.

nope. All the intrigue comes from being a precocious player. He is not ready for the G league or any professional league.

[the sea duck]

he's not even playing against 12 year olds. they look 14-15. so he's probably around that age (or slightly older). still insane athleticism.

[Stribor]

he's not even playing against 12 year olds. they look 14-15. so he's probably around that age (or slightly older). still insane athleticism.

he may be older than advertised. Sad that, in Europe, if you are talented you do not play with kids of your age but often a few years older kids. The idea is always to challenge the kid and play him against opposition that is on par with him, otherwise, they do not challenge themselves and stop developing because they can score easily over everyone in their age bracket.

[srhcan]

he's not even playing against 12 year olds. they look 14-15. so he's probably around that age (or slightly older). still insane athleticism.

yeah he is the youngest one while all other players are at least 2 years older

[Cavsfansince84]

he's not even playing against 12 year olds. they look 14-15. so he's probably around that age (or slightly older). still insane athleticism.

he may be older than advertised. Sad that, in Europe, if you are talented you do not play with kids of your age but often a few years older kids. The idea is always to challenge the kid and play him against opposition that is on par with him, otherwise, they do not challenge themselves and stop developing because they can score easily over everyone in their age bracket.

I don't think its a terrible way to do it. It worked out pretty well for Luka and most likely for Jokic. It's really been something done in sports for decades though. If a kid is great at soccer they often play up an age group or in tennis or whatever. Same as freshman playing against seniors in high school if they are good enough.

[srhcan]

he's not even playing against 12 year olds. they look 14-15. so he's probably around that age (or slightly older). still insane athleticism.

he may be older than advertised. Sad that, in Europe, if you are talented you do not play with kids of your age but often a few years older kids. The idea is always to challenge the kid and play him against opposition that is on par with him, otherwise, they do not challenge themselves and stop developing because they can score easily over everyone in their age bracket.

I don't think its a terrible way to do it. It worked out pretty well for Luka and most likely for Jokic. It's really been something done in sports for decades though. If a kid is great at soccer they often play up an age group or in tennis or whatever.

Dont forget Sengun who was also playing against older players

[the sea duck]

he's not even playing against 12 year olds. they look 14-15. so he's probably around that age (or slightly older). still insane athleticism.

he may be older than advertised. Sad that, in Europe, if you are talented you do not play with kids of your age but often a few years older kids. The idea is always to challenge the kid and play him against opposition that is on par with him, otherwise, they do not challenge themselves and stop developing because they can score easily over everyone in their age bracket.

I don't think its a terrible way to do it. It worked out pretty well for Luka and most likely for Jokic. It's really been something done in sports for decades though. If a kid is great at soccer they often play up an age group or in tennis or whatever. Same as freshman playing against seniors in high school if they are good enough.

i'm a firm believer in both. you need to play against competition that challenges you, but also need to explore what you can do against lesser competition. sometimes it opens your eyes to what you can possibly do and then you find a way to execute against better competition.

[italy_23]

Bad to Dabone

Best post of this thread. Made my day

[Willie Colon]

Looks and moves a lot like 18 year old Giannis. Crazy.

[lambchop]

he may be older than advertised. Sad that, in Europe, if you are talented you do not play with kids of your age but often a few years older kids. The idea is always to challenge the kid and play him against opposition that is on par with him, otherwise, they do not challenge themselves and stop developing because they can score easily over everyone in their age bracket.

I don't think its a terrible way to do it. It worked out pretty well for Luka and most likely for Jokic. It's really been something done in sports for decades though. If a kid is great at soccer they often play up an age group or in tennis or whatever. Same as freshman playing against seniors in high school if they are good enough.

i'm a firm believer in both. you need to play against competition that challenges you, but also need to explore what you can do against lesser competition. sometimes it opens your eyes to what you can possibly do and then you find a way to execute against better competition.

That's actually usually what ends up happening in Europe. They play on multiple teams. Often times they aren't required to practice with the youth team or lower league men's team where they get the majority of their minutes in a big role. They just show up to the games and play. Meanwhile they're practicing with the pro team and usually getting limited minutes with a more fixed role.

Here's an example with Franz Wagner:

Doing stuff on the pro team. A ton of spot shooting, playing hard defense, running hard etc.

Watch on YouTube

And then on the semi pro team where he had a huge role. He was too good to play German youth basketball. Of course, he could have played and dropped 50, but the team understands that that would hurt the other players' development and the benefit for Franz wouldn't be big either.

Watch on YouTube