Anyone out there have a solid idea on where El Alfy would rank among the 2024 bigs? Where would she fit on a list of Thomas, Tac, Koval, Almon, and Heiden? I’m aware rankings are subjective and often wildly inaccurate. While I don’t know anything about Almon beyond her commitment to Miami, I tend to see the remaining three uncommitted players listed above as being relatively close in terms of ability. Obviously they vary in terms of particular strengths and weaknesses but based on what I’ve seen and heard, none are considered “elite” or “generational” players but rather “solid” with potential for more.
I don't have a solid idea regarding their relative rankings, but I suspect El Alfy might be at the top of that list. Her mobility and ball-handling is much better than most bigs. I know Thomas is high in the rankings, but I wasn't that impressed in the few clips I have seen. I have to keep that in mind, however, because I had a similar reaction to Koval based on very minimal videos, then saw her play for Ukraine in the 3x3 under 18 and was far more impressed.
In that tournament she got good position underneath and shot quickly when she got the ball. Seemed strong, good fundamentals, pretty good skills, but pretty average athlete. Heiden seems to be similar to me as well, ranked lower but maybe underrated.
I am probably interested in Tac second after El Alfy. Appears to be extremely long and pretty athletic. I presume she would be a very good rebounder/shot blocker and yet have the potential upside to be a low post scorer as well. If she advances on the offensive end, she might move up from around 10 to closer to the top, but I haven't seen that much of her either, so all of these opinions are based on pretty limited information, but those are my thoughts based on what I have seen thus far.
