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The Sports Xchange

OVERVIEW

Scouts who have attended the European U-18 Junior Championships over the years have walked away very impressed with the progress made by Alexis Ajinca. A rare big man, blessed with incredible court speed, he will probably begin his NBA career as a forward, but with his suddenness and athleticism, he could create nightmares for slower centers.

His athletic talent is such that he has also been used at shooting guard. He has very good ball-handling skills for 7-footer. He's shown steady growth the last year, adding more than 30 pounds to his frame since playing in the July 2007 U-19 World Championships. What also impresses scouts is his gargantuan wingspan -- 89 inches.

Ajinca's name started appearing on scouting sheets after his impressive performance at the 2005 European Junior Championships. Talent evaluators considered him the most athletic big man in Belgrade. What caught their attention was his quickness and ability to get off the floor -- he ran the floor like a wing.

At the 2006 Albert Schweitzer Tournament, Ajinca proved to be one of the biggest difference-makers at the competition. With his height and wingspan, he dominated on defense at center, blocking shots and disrupting the play in the paint. He constantly brought the crowd to its feet, as no opponent was able to score on him inside.

Later in the 2006 season, at the U-18 European Championships, he showed he was not only capable of playing in the paint, but that he has a smooth touch firing from the perimeter.

At the 2007 Nike Hoop Summit, Ajinca used his length and athleticism inside while exciting scouts with emphatic dunks. However, he struggled with his back to the basket with his ball-handling and footwork. At 207 pounds, he knew he had his work cut out for him in the training room, if he hoped to secure a first-round selection in the 2008 NBA Draft.

His offense seemed to regress at the June 2007 Douai Tournament, as he struggled shooting the ball behind the arc. Facing the basket as a power forward, he again failed to find his perimeter stroke and show skills attacking off the dribble during 2007 U-19 World Championship competition.

After the 2007 U-19 tournament, Ajinca signed with Hyeres-Toulon. He had played two games of Pro-A Ball the previous season with Pau-Orthez, but managed just two free throws while missing all nine field-goal tries in the two games he played at Elan-Bearnais.

For Hyers-Toulon, Ajinca appeared in 25 regular-season games, scoring 130 points (5.2 per game) while shooting 81.0 percent from the charity stripe, as he hit on 45-of-84 field goals and 2-of-5 3-point attempts. He averaged 5.0 rebounds per game and blocked 24 shots.

ANALYSIS

Positives: Has added over 30 pounds to his frame since summer 2007 and the additional bulk did not affect his excellent quickness and foot speed ... Runs the court like a guard and is an ideal fit for the up-tempo game and his quickness would be impossible for bigger centers to handle on defense ... Has an incredible wingspan (89 inches) and finally discovered how to use it, along with his timing and elevation, to block shots in the paint ... Versatile athlete with experience at all three front court positions and has also earned minutes at shooting guard ... Works to position and get his body wide to post up ... Fluid moving up and down the court and uses his length well to finish on lob passes ... Long arms to block shots without leaving the floor ... Deft passer with good court vision and maturity for a player his age ... Best when operating in the open floor and even guards struggle to cover him when going the distance on the fast break ... Displays excellent hands and good ball-handling skills, with the ability to make plays off the dribble ... Makes good decisions with the ball in his hands and displays a good crossover ... With his speed, he can put the ball on the floor and go end to end ... Does a good job of grabbing the ball in the high post and using his ball-handling skills to get to the basket ... While his offensive game has yet to mature, he works hard getting back on defense and the added bulk in 2007 saw him get better position in the paint, where he used his long arms to alter shots ... Sometimes loses concentration in one-on-one defensive matchups, but has the vertical agility and lateral mobility to recover ... Shows a soft touch to make bank shots from the low post, where he can also execute a mini-hook ... More comfortable shooting when he takes a few steps into the arc, but he has a very high release that makes his jumpers very tough for a defender to reach ... Still a work in progress establishing his shooting touch, but is slowly developing a decent mid-range jumper ... Also shows enough range to make NBA-caliber 3-pointers ... Is a patient shooter who doesn't force the action ... Gets most of his scoring success on alley-oops, showing good balance and strength to draw contact on the way to the rim ... Late in 2007-08, he seemed more comfortable using his mid-range jumper and with patient coaching and technique refinement, he could have an effective face-the-basket game developing ... Displays solid free-throw shooting mechanics, which will be beneficial, as he is effective drawing contact on the way to the basket ... Has developed a smooth jump hook that he uses often in the low post ... With the added bulk, he knows how to position himself in the lane to force the opponent to change the shot ... Still needs to add strength to bang the boards, but has the balance and agility to squeeze through traffic to get the rebound.

Negatives: Even though he improved his strength by adding more than 30 pounds this past season, he still needs to improve his power base -- might not have the strength needed to block out at the NBA level and is pushed around by bigger defenders when he gets too narrow in his base playing in the post ... Must improve setting screens (does not get into position well on pick-and-rolls)...Shows smooth feet in the open court, but for some reason, takes choppy steps, causing him to take time to execute his post moves ... When he gets abused by physical opponents, he will fade to the perimeter ... Lacks a go-to shot and his footwork in the low post needs refinement ... Gets a bit lazy and will take the ball down with a high dribble, struggling to protect it from guards attempting to steal in the post ... Has to recognize the double, as defenses do a good job of collapsing on him leading to turnovers ... Has a good feel for getting into position to block shots or rebound in the paint, but he needs to improve his post skills with his back to the basket ... Needs to do a better job of finishing after contact and will get pushed around too much trying to work his way through double-teams ... Good defender, but sometimes gets too aggressive going for rebounds, causing him to get in a bit of foul trouble ... Uses his body well to stay between the shooter and the basket, but smaller defenders can get him off his feet with pump fakes and slip past him when he tries to regain balance.

Compares To: MIKKI MOORE-Sacramento ... Ajinca's body has seen a good growth spurt the last year, as there was no apparent loss of speed after packing more than 30 pounds on his frame since the Nike Hoop Summit. He has that long wingspan, quick feet, fluid moves and excellent athleticism to be a rarity -- a big man with the ability to get some minutes at the "three" position. In the NBA, there has never been a seven-foot shooting guard or small forward, but until his body matures, Ajinca might not be able to withstand punishment as an NBA center. Is an unselfish passer with a good feel at the defensive end. His offensive game is still very raw, but he has good face-up ability with the range to score from the perimeter. If an up-tempo team uses him as a small forward while waiting for him to fill out, defenders will have nightmares trying to figure out how to contain him.

CAREER NOTES:

Ajinca played in a total of 27 Pro A-Ball games in France the last two season, connecting on 45-of-93 two-point field goals (48.4 percent) and 2-of-10 from 3-point range ... Shot 78.3 percent from the free-throw line (36-46) ... Pulled down 83 rebounds (3.1 per game), as he collected 14 assists and eight steals ... Also blocked 25 shots.

2007-08 SEASON

Played in 25 regular-season games for Hyeres-Toulon (wore jersey #8), logging 273 minutes of action ... Scored 130 points (5.2 per game), as he shot 53.6 percent from the field (45-of-84) and 2-of-5 from 3-point range ... Had an 81.0 percent success ratio from the free-throw line (34-of-42) ... Crashed the boards for 125 rebounds (5.0 per game) and 24 blocked shots ... Added 13 assists and generated seven steals ... Turned the ball over 28 times ... Scored in double figures in four contests and had one game with more than 10 rebounds.

2007-08 GAME ANALYSIS

Opened the season with nine points and five rebounds in just 10 minutes of action vs. Elan-Roane ... Grabbed three boards and scored seven points, making both field goals and all four free-throw attempts vs. Clermont ... Scored in double figures for the first time in 2007, totaling 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, as he also had four rebounds vs. Le Mans ... Hit on 4-of-6 field goals and poured in 12 points to go with four rebounds vs. Strasbiurg ... Had a season-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as he added four rebounds and two blocks vs. Gravelines ... Credited with his third-straight double digit performance, scoring 15 points that included 4-of-7 field goals and four rebounds vs. his former team, Pau-Orthez ... In the playoffs, he totaled six points and a season-high 14 rebounds, including 11 off the defensive boards vs. Nancy-Elan.

2006-07 SEASON

Spent most of the year competing on the Tournament circuit (Nike Hoop Summit in April, Douai Tournament in June, U-19 world championships in July) ... Did suit up for two games with Elan Bearnais, Pau-Orthez (wore jersey #13), but managed to make just 2-of-4 free throws, missing on all nine field goal attempts.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS/TEAMS Competed for Federal Centre (N1) from 2003-06 ... Member of the 2004 championship Amalaliada, Greece Europe Cadets squad ... Played in the September, 2005 European U-18 Junior Championships ... Participated in the May, 2006 Albert Schweitzer Tournament ... Member of the 2006 Junior Champion of Europe team (Amaliada, Greece) ... Played center in the September, 2006 U-18 European Championships ... Part of the 2007 France Winner's Cup team ... Part of the French team that won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Youth Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia.

INJURY REPORT

PERSONAL

Father was a wrestler from the French Islands ... Born Alexis Ajinca (pronounced Al-ex-i A-Jin-Sa) on 5/06/88 ... Resides in Saint Etienne, France.