June 16, 2014

Baye can't catch, but he makes it difficult for the other guy to catch, too.

The startled looking man above is Baye Moussa-Keita, and he averaged 1.8 points in only 15.5 minutes per game. It is self-evident then that he contributes nothing offensively. And it is really is pretty much nothing. BMK cannot create in the post, finish in the post, drive at all, shoot, get to the foul line, score from there even when he does, pass with any aplomb or even catch the ball in traffic - even one handed dunks can be a fraught moment. What little touches he does get are off of offensive rebounds, and even at point blank range, he will often times still pass the ball back out. It is frustrating, especially the bad catching, as his physical profile would suggest he could be an effective pick and roll scorer in the Boniface N'Dong style were he actually able to catch the ball when it was thrown at him. Alas, he is not, and thus Keita's sole offensive purpose is to offensively rebound.

However, Keita is very good at that, grabbing more offensive rebounds than he does defensive ones. Rail thin but athletic, with very long and very thin arms, Keita is active on the glass and can get above defenders to tip the ball and keep it alive. This does not work as well on the defensive glass, where his lack of strength sees him pushed out of position, but it does at least give him a purpose offensively. And while the lack of strength is a problem on both the defensive glass and man to man post defenders, Keita is nevertheless a pest in the middle of the zone, who anticipates and reads well, and uses those same long thin arms to disturb anyone in his way. He is one of the most useful 1.5 points per game players around.

However, Keita is very good at that, grabbing more offensive rebounds than he does defensive ones. Rail thin but athletic, with very long and very thin arms, Keita is active on the glass and can get above defenders to tip the ball and keep it alive. This does not work as well on the defensive glass, where his lack of strength sees him pushed out of position, but it does at least give him a purpose offensively. And while the lack of strength is a problem on both the defensive glass and man to man post defenders, Keita is nevertheless a pest in the middle of the zone, who anticipates and reads well, and uses those same long thin arms to disturb anyone in his way. He is one of the most useful 1.5 points per game players around.

Baye Moussa-Keita never really developed at Syracuse. He arrived as a rail thin raw defensive pest who had big holes in his skillset and made many frustrating errors, and he left four years later as the same player with maybe slightly fewer errors. Nevertheless, being so long, mobile and disruptive is a skill that will always be at a premium. Perhaps he could run some pick and roll on a team that actually employs it into their playbook. And even if Keita was only ever a limited minutes role player at Syracuse, he can still be a limited minutes role player as a professional, too. It is still a tough role to come by.

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