SF/PF Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky Commit)

[James]

Wenyen Gabriel, 6'9, Wilbraham and Monson MA, Class of 2016
Jonathan Givony

Strengths:
-Decent size for a power forward at 6-9. Reportedly has a 7-1 wingspan, which is very solid.
-Good athlete. Runs the floor like a man possessed. Plays above the rim. Has a quick second jump
-Arguably the hardest working player in high school basketball. Has an incredible motor
-Tremendous offensive rebounder. Averaged 7.1 offensive rebounds per-40 minutes in the various adidas settings he competed in this summer (37 games in total)
-Also a solid defensive rebounder (6.8 per-40)
-Likes to play on the perimeter, even if his skill-level is still a work in progress. Attacks the rim aggressively with straight-line drives. Throws in some occasional spin moves
-Drives left and right with a quick first step. Relentless attacking the basket
-Finishes well around the basket. Not afraid of contact. Converted 129 of his 235 2-point attempts this summer (55%)
-Gets to the free throw line frequently (7.3 per-40). Converts 66% of his attempts once there
-Will make an occasional spot-up 3-pointer. Doesn't have a bad stroke. Good mechanics and smooth follow through.
-Constantly talking on defense. Very good as both a man to man and team defender
-Rotates impressively from the weak-side, either to take charges or block shots
-Averaged 3.3 blocks per-40 minutes this summer, to go along with 1.6 steals
-Very articulate and intelligent off the court. Reportedly an outstanding student

Weaknesses:
-Has a very narrow frame. How will it fill out long term? Lower body in particular is poor.
-What kind of defender will he be long-term? Lacks the strength to guard stronger power forwards on the interior. Doesn't have great balance or lateral quickness on the perimeter
-A bit of a black hole offensively. Looks to put the ball on the floor or shoot seemingly every time he touches it. Dished out 27 assists in 687 minutes this summer, compared with 47 turnovers
-Shoots a lot of jumpers, but doesn't convert very many at this stage. 14/59 (24%) from 3-point range this summer.
-Needs to improve his off hand

Outlook:One of the fastest rising prospects in high school basketball after a breakout summer on the AAU circuit. Went from virtual unknown to five star status according to most recruiting outlets. A native of Sudan, Gabriel moved to the US when he was three years old, together with his parents, brothers and sister Karima, who currently plays basketball at Boston College. He reportedly shot up around nine inches in the last four years, which helps partially explain his comfort level playing on the perimeter. Gabriel's AAU coach Vin Pastore says Gabriel has added 20 pounds to his frame in the last year, which tells you something about just how skinny he's been in the past.

From DraftExpress.comhttp://www.draftexpress.com/#ixzz3icsSt4IS
http://www.draftexpress.com

listed as a pf by dx

 

[Yankees32123]

Good. Very good.

 

[upstater]

Made his top 5:

Why do I get the feeling that, in this case, the teams are listed in a particular order?

 

[YearoftheHusky]

One of those schools is not like the others.

 

[MadisonSquare Gordon]

Has he been for a visit yet?

 

[Yankees32123]

Has he been for a visit yet?

He's been to campus multiple times with the Rivals crew. I think he came for First Night last year if I'm not mistaken (I might be).

 

[MadisonSquare Gordon]

He's been to campus multiple times with the Rivals crew. I think he came or First Night last year if I'm not mistaken (I might be).

Thanks. I thought I remembered reading that somewhere in this thread. I'm hoping that's why we're not on his initial list of visits (at least for the moment).

 

[Kembacity]

I hope he wants his family and friends to be able to come watch home games, and that they'd rather drive to CT than Providence...

 

[mauconnfan]

Won't be a pretty BY when he visits Duke, UK and the Terps

That is if he gets to all of them

 

[James]

Connecticut: “It’s one of my local schools. I feel like I have a good connection with coach [Kevin] Ollie. Obviously since he’s been in the NBA he would help me learn bout that and teach me. I could learn a lot from him. UConn has produced players from my position. Being able toplay through my mistakes is intriguing. I feel I can grow a lot there.

source

Think that 'playing through mistakes' indicates he is aware the amount of touches/minutes he'll get here.

 

[intlzncster]

source

Think that 'playing through mistakes' indicates he is aware the amount of touches/minutes he'll get here.

Ollie sure as hell ain't JC. hahah

 

[HooperScooper]

One of those schools is not like the others.

Yeah, I cracked up when I saw this in Zags Blog.

Wenyen Gabriel cut his list to five schools and they are five of college basketball’s heavyweights.

http://zagsblog.com/articles/wenyen-gabriel-cuts-to-5-plans-kentucky-official/#more-138432

Since when was PC described as a heavyweight? Like 40 years ago?!

 

[RipCity]

Congrats to BC for being able to claim that they were once involved with a top 25 recruit (as long as we're ignoring the dates of their involvement).

 

[Stainmaster]

Why do I get the feeling that, in this case, the teams are listed in a particular order?

Alphabetical - spot on.

 

[RipCity]

Give us your last official visit, and Ollie will bring it home.

 

[upstater]

Alphabetical - spot on.

Huh? "Duke, Kentucky, UConn, Providence & Maryland"

ABCD (!) EFGHIJK (!) LUNOPM (XX??)

 

[UConNick]

Huh? "Duke, Kentucky, UConn, Providence & Maryland"

ABCD (!) EFGHIJK (!) LUNOPM (XX??)

I think he meant from the Bossi tweet

 

[Stainmaster]

I think he meant from the Bossi tweet

Precisely.

 

[husky99]

Oz posted we should be the last visit on tos

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Oz posted we should be the last visit on tos

That's a great sign

 

[UChusky916]

Oz posted we should be the last visit on tos

Let's hope he makes it to us. If he does, I think it's good. He would have visited UConn several times including first night compared to just 1 visit for the others.

What is everyone else hearing @Zionn @3uconn ?

 

[husky99]

Let's hope he makes it to us. If he does, I think it's good. He would have visited UConn several times including first night compared to just 1 visit for the others.

What is everyone else hearing @Zionn @3uconn ?

That is the only issue going last.. if he makes it out of tobacco road without signing we have a shot ..

 

[Zionn]

That is a big if

 

[Skies17]

Couple guys on the PC board said Duke with Maryland second

 

[RipCity]

Yeah inferring the feeling that we are cooked, but I'll try to stay positive.