Achille Lonati Scouting Deepdive
Achille Lonati is an important talent for Olimpia Milano and for the future of Italian basketball.
Todays top of discussion? Achille Lonati, a 2007-born guard and one of the young stars of Olimpia Milano and the Italian National Team at the youth level, and the qualities that stand out in his game.
Lonati, who played for Italy in the FIBA U-17 World Cup this summer and for Olimpia Milano in the Torrent Tournament in Spain at the beginning of the season, has managed to stand out in every team he’s been a part of with his energy, his strong character and the positives he brings on the court.
I think describing him as a combo guard would not be an incorrect assessment.
It won't take many years for many basketball fans in Europe to realise how entertaining he is to watch.
So, what does Achille do right on the court, what he knows how to do best and what are the areas where he still needs to improve?
Energy
When Lonati is on the floor, you’ll catch him do the same thing on offence or on defence all the time: Running!
Reading the game well becomes a much more valuable asset when it comes with energy. Achille provides both of those in abundance.
For example, the constant movement of his arms in off-ball defence could not have been otherwise explained.
Olimpia Milano's U-18 team is a very promising unit for the future of Italian basketball, with prospects like Mattia Ceccato, Diego Garavaglia and Luigi Suigo, in addition to Lonati.
Achille, like his teammates, is an important piece of this generation. The energy and aggression of the team tend to peak when he plays together with Garavaglia. The arms are constantly moving, they play a role in the defence with the sense as if they are always on the verge of a steal.
Beyond that, positioning comes to play here once again. AchilleLonati reads what is happening on the court and knows exactly where to stand and when.
In the video below, you can see his quick reaction and reverse handed block against Dash Daniels, who is a great Australian prospect with a superior physique than Lonati.
The lack of physicality in his game in general is also evident here. It is impossible to conclude that Lonati is a great one-on-one defender on the back of one position where he is effective against Daniels. This is because there are times when he is ineffective against more physical ball handlers than him and this may be costly for his game in the future.
In addition, his agility in off-ball offence, which allows him to constantly up the tempo, is worth mentioning.
In these half-court offences where he is not the primary ball handler, he makes good use of screens and gaps of the defence. In handoffs, he’s able to create positions for himself and feed the team's big man Luigi Suigo.
Apart from that, he is always at the forefront of fast breaks and not only he increases the tempo but also creates an extra shooting option for his team by anchoring himself in the corners.
Shooting
Achille, who opens up these shooting options by anchoring himself in the corners in transitions and fast breaks, also makes good use of the passes he receives and turns them into points. He evaluates very well where he has to stop, where he has to turn and where he can receive a pass.
Aside from that, he has important potential as a catch & shoot threat. It’s a natural result of the combination of his positional knowledge and shooting mechanics. When you look carefully at the quickness and balance of his release, it is not surprising that he can be successful.
When he receives these passes, if a defender is coming to closeout, Lonati is an attacker who can attack the closeouts well and can complete these positions efficiently.
Other than that, it is hard to say that his scoring bag is very deep. He needs to work hard to be up the percentages in contested shots. He needs to create for himself more. He needs to develop physically and get stronger.
But it would not be fair to say that he is not an efficient attacker. Lonati is a reliable player.
Calm Under pressure
Lonati's game is best characterised by the fact that he is always as hardworking as an ant but as relaxed as a cicada.
Although his dribbling is not one of his most prominent assets, his reaction under pressure is spectacular.
In the video below, we can see how calm he was in the face of suffocating pressure in the Joventut Badalona U-18 game at the Torrent Tournament and how he retained possession and allowed his team to overcome the full-court pressure:
If there is anything he lacks in his game, his speed is there for him to make up for any deficiency.
So does his ability to think on his feet and make quick decisions. Like in the video below where he quickly finds the open big man inside on one foot.
Summary
Achille Lonati will make a big name for himself in the coming years if he doesn't have any major setbacks.
In terms of the NBA Draft, it is necessary to say that he does not create sky-high expectations. However, it would not be wrong to say that he has a very suitable profile for FIBA basketball.
His physical development and sharpening of his ball skills will determine his future.
Even now it is clear that he will be a very valuable player, but it will be fun to witness his career development!