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Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread.

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Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#1 » by doclinkin » Tue Sep 3, 2019 3:25 pm

So here it is. The last cut on the German national team. Still here is footage of young Bonga as he developed overseas:

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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#2 » by gtn130 » Tue Sep 3, 2019 3:56 pm

He looks like he's about 55 years old
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#3 » by nate33 » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:34 pm

Here's a little footage of him with Germany in the exhibition games. He still looks extremely thin and doesn't appear to have any willingness to shoot.

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I'm not expecting much from him this year.

He is innately gifted with the things you can't teach (size, length, athleticism, court vision) and he is lacking in the things that can be improved upon (strength, shooting). But his strength and shooting are so bad, it makes me wonder if he has work habits it takes to succeed in this league.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#4 » by DCZards » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:46 pm

nate33 wrote:He is innately gifted with the things you can't teach (size, length, athleticism, court vision) and he is lacking in the things that can be improved upon (strength, shooting). But his strength and shooting are so bad, it makes me wonder if he has work habits it takes to succeed in this league.


Your concerns about Bonga's work habits are legit. I don't know if any of us knows enough about him to make a judgement call in that regard. Let's hope he wants to succeed bad enough that he'll work on those weaknesses (strength, shooting) that you point out.

Like you, I'm impressed with what he's already very good at, most notably his passing, court vision and ballhandling in the open court.

He reminds me of Troy Brown in the instinctive way he finds open teammates, especially on the break.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#5 » by JWizmentality » Tue Sep 3, 2019 7:13 pm

Maybe some Thomas Bryant juju...but yeah. Chances are this thread doesn't break page 1.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#6 » by payitforward » Tue Sep 3, 2019 7:16 pm

Here he is in pre-season last year.... Definitely talented!

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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#7 » by payitforward » Tue Sep 3, 2019 7:18 pm

JWizmentality wrote:...Chances are this thread doesn't break page 1.

(The only reason I added this post is to help prove you wrong. Again. :wink: 8-) )
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#8 » by DCZards » Tue Sep 3, 2019 7:58 pm

JWizmentality wrote:Maybe some Thomas Bryant juju...but yeah. Chances are this thread doesn't break page 1.


This thread will definitely break page 1. It's not a matter of "if" but "when."

There will come a day when we'll all be gleefully shouting "Bonga Bonga" and this thread will be exploding with comments about his outstanding play. :D
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#9 » by payitforward » Tue Sep 3, 2019 9:10 pm

DCZards wrote:
JWizmentality wrote:Maybe some Thomas Bryant juju...but yeah. Chances are this thread doesn't break page 1.


This thread will definitely break page 1. It's not a matter of "if" but "when."

There will come a day when we'll all be gleefully shouting "Bonga Bonga" and this thread will be exploding with comments about his outstanding play. :D

I'm thinking today!

It's Bonga or bust -- C'mon JWiz..., get with the program....!
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#10 » by prime1time » Wed Sep 4, 2019 1:29 am

He's so far away from being ready that there really isn't much to say. We have no idea what we have with him.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#11 » by WallToWall » Wed Sep 4, 2019 1:35 am

Raw, raw, raw. Good luck to him. I am pullin' for him. He needs good coaching, reps, experience, and strength.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#12 » by I_Like_Dirt » Wed Sep 4, 2019 2:20 pm

Yeah, I'm a believer. Not 100% sold on anyone until they make it but he isn't the first teenage big to be skinny and weaker than the competition. And while his shooting is bad, I'm not convinced he's worse than Jemerrio Jones who is both significantly older and has never had his worth ethic questioned and Bonga plays a position where he's going to find it easier to be effective without shooting.

As with most young bigs, the big key for Bonga is going to be his ability to pick up coordinated team defensive sets. If he can do that, he's going to have a relatively lengthy career of some sort. If he can't, he may not get a contract beyond his rookie one. The potential is there, though, and I'm very curious to see how he grows as a player. I'm relatively confident he'll figure out ways to at least be reasonably effective offensively even if it's just opportunistic dunks.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#13 » by nate33 » Wed Sep 4, 2019 2:38 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:Yeah, I'm a believer. Not 100% sold on anyone until they make it but he isn't the first teenage big to be skinny and weaker than the competition. And while his shooting is bad, I'm not convinced he's worse than Jemerrio Jones who is both significantly older and has never had his worth ethic questioned and Bonga plays a position where he's going to find it easier to be effective without shooting.

As with most young bigs, the big key for Bonga is going to be his ability to pick up coordinated team defensive sets. If he can do that, he's going to have a relatively lengthy career of some sort. If he can't, he may not get a contract beyond his rookie one. The potential is there, though, and I'm very curious to see how he grows as a player. I'm relatively confident he'll figure out ways to at least be reasonably effective offensively even if it's just opportunistic dunks.

When guys remain skinny and still can't shoot after several years of elite level training, I think it invites questions of their work ethic. Obviously, I'm in no position to know for sure, but presumably the coaches and training staff do know.

I think you bring up a fair point that if one suspects that work ethic is a contributor to Bonga's lousy shooting and skinny physique, then one should also suspect Jones' work ethic is lackluster. That may well be the case. That said, the one thing Jones has over Bonga is that he is a legitimately great rebounder for his size. Rebounding that well is impossible without exceptional effort, energy and determination. Now, perhaps those qualities only manifest with Jones in game situations and not in practice, but at least we know for sure he possesses those qualities in some capacity.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#14 » by I_Like_Dirt » Wed Sep 4, 2019 2:49 pm

nate33 wrote:When guys remain skinny and still can't shoot after several years of elite level training, I think it invites questions of their work ethic. Obviously, I'm in no position to know for sure, but presumably the coaches and training staff do know.


He's 19. The amount of bigs who were skinny and couldn't shoot when they were 19 is immeasurable. There were a lot more bad players than stars in that group but there were a lot more bad players than stars in any group you can come up with. because that's the nature of the game. It doesn't mean he's a sure bet to succeed but it doesn't mean he won't, either. And presumably yes, the coaches and training staff have a better idea. I haven't seen anything that really suggests he has a bad work ethic, though. He's earned praises for his work ethic as far as I can tell, which really doesn't mean anything because a lot of kids get those in his position.

And I actually disagree with you about rebounding. I think it suggests an ability to focus on rebounds and can be indicative of more but not necessarily. Bonga had some pretty impressive defensive numbers in a small sample size last season which suggests strong work ethic, too. Jones saw his rebounding numbers increase exponentially in his 20s as he got stronger. If Bonga does the same thing, he'd be immeasurably more valuable than Jones.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#15 » by nate33 » Wed Sep 4, 2019 2:54 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:
nate33 wrote:When guys remain skinny and still can't shoot after several years of elite level training, I think it invites questions of their work ethic. Obviously, I'm in no position to know for sure, but presumably the coaches and training staff do know.


He's 19. The amount of bigs who were skinny and couldn't shoot when they were 19 is immeasurable. There were a lot more bad players than stars in that group but there were a lot more bad players than stars in any group you can come up with. because that's the nature of the game. It doesn't mean he's a sure bet to succeed but it doesn't mean he won't, either. And presumably yes, the coaches and training staff have a better idea. I haven't seen anything that really suggests he has a bad work ethic, though. He's earned praises for his work ethic as far as I can tell, which really doesn't mean anything because a lot of kids get those in his position.

And I actually disagree with you about rebounding. I think it suggests an ability to focus on rebounds and can be indicative of more but not necessarily. Bonga had some pretty impressive defensive numbers in a small sample size last season which suggests strong work ethic, too. Jones saw his rebounding numbers increase exponentially in his 20s as he got stronger. If Bonga does the same thing, he'd be immeasurably more valuable than Jones.

Fair enough. Perhaps I'm too readily overlooking the fact that he is only 19.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#16 » by Ruzious » Wed Sep 4, 2019 3:01 pm

nate33 wrote:
I_Like_Dirt wrote:Yeah, I'm a believer. Not 100% sold on anyone until they make it but he isn't the first teenage big to be skinny and weaker than the competition. And while his shooting is bad, I'm not convinced he's worse than Jemerrio Jones who is both significantly older and has never had his worth ethic questioned and Bonga plays a position where he's going to find it easier to be effective without shooting.

As with most young bigs, the big key for Bonga is going to be his ability to pick up coordinated team defensive sets. If he can do that, he's going to have a relatively lengthy career of some sort. If he can't, he may not get a contract beyond his rookie one. The potential is there, though, and I'm very curious to see how he grows as a player. I'm relatively confident he'll figure out ways to at least be reasonably effective offensively even if it's just opportunistic dunks.

When guys remain skinny and still can't shoot after several years of elite level training, I think it invites questions of their work ethic. Obviously, I'm in no position to know for sure, but presumably the coaches and training staff do know.

I think you bring up a fair point that if one suspects that work ethic is a contributor to Bonga's lousy shooting and skinny physique, then one should also suspect Jones' work ethic is lackluster. That may well be the case. That said, the one thing Jones has over Bonga is that he is a legitimately great rebounder for his size. Rebounding that well is impossible without exceptional effort, energy and determination. Now, perhaps those qualities only manifest with Jones in game situations and not in practice, but at least we know for sure he possesses those qualities in some capacity.

I think Jones has actually gained some weight - saw him listed at 210 lbs on his Wikipedia page, fwiw. Regardless of work ethic, Bonga still doesn't look strong enough and really doesn't do anything particularly well. He's got to improve in everything to become adequate. If that does happen, I can't imagine it happens within the next couple of years.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#17 » by payitforward » Wed Sep 4, 2019 3:15 pm

Obviously, Bonga is a question mark. For that matter, most guys are question marks at 19.

LA saw enough in him to take him @#39 in a very deep R2 & then to sign him for 4 years (3d year a team option, 4th year qualifying offer). Doesn't mean much on its own, of course. But, surely we should give the guy a chance before deciding he's hopeless.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#18 » by Yuri Vaultin » Wed Sep 4, 2019 5:54 pm

He is raw. He is young. But my God, he is so tantalizing as a prospect with length that just can't be taught.
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#19 » by payitforward » Wed Sep 4, 2019 5:58 pm

I agree! Especially, because I think my post will take us to P.2 of this quickly-developing thread!

Dang! Not quite!
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Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#20 » by JWizmentality » Wed Sep 4, 2019 6:43 pm

Ha! Wrong again PIF!

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