March 24, 2011

The frontcourt is no shallower. Fran Vazquez, Boniface N'Dong and Erazem Lorbek all returned this season, and added to the bunch was Kosta Perovic, who transferred in from Valencia. Between the four, Barcelona can offer every kind of look. Vazquez and N'Dong are the big and athletic interior defenders; Perovic is even bigger than them both, whose size alone can serve as a deterrent. On offense, N'Dong and Vazquez can run the court, as well as the pick and roll, and make their mid-range jumpshots. Perovic can create around the basket and has footwork and touch, if not much speed or strength. Lorbek can do both; he can create in the post, step out for the mid range jumpshot, and drive on slower opposing bigs, armed with the best mid-range game of the four. And if Barcelona need a small ball four, they can turn to Terence Morris.

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April 11, 2010

- Boniface N'Dong

Former Clipper big man N'Dong is with Barcelona. Splitting time at the centre position with Fran Vazquez, N'Dong is averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15 minutes per game in the ACB, alongside 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game in the Euroleague.

You may never have heard of Boniface N'Dong, and the fact that he spent a whole season on an NBA roster as recently as four years ago may have completely passed you by. This is fair enough, because nothing much really happened. But it happened. N'Dong signed a minimum salary deal with the Clippers in time for training camp 2005, made his NBA debut aged 28, and appeared in 22 games with the team. He even started one. Boniface totalled 50 points, 37 rebounds and 23 fouls for the Clippers, and put up a PER of 11.0, before returning to Europe to continue his strong career there.

Boneyface has NBA talent, particularly on the offensive end, which isn't usually the case with fringe NBA calibre Senegalese big men. And he has a great name. There's nothing here not to like.

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