Adama Bal: The Towering Guard
Adama Bal is looking to take another step forward this season at Santa Clara. With an NBA physique, can his skills help him shoot up the ranks?
Adama-Alpha Bal took advantage of the showing off his next-level abilities at the mid-major ranks after transferring to Santa Clara from Arizona. Now, the 6’7” senior is looking to take yet another step forward this season after a dominating junior season where he earned 1st Team All-WCC Honors. How will his skillset translate to the NBA?
The Physical Profile
Adama Bal has some serious height advantage as a guard. He’s a perfect wing at 6’7, 190 pounds. He’s been measured to have a 6’11 wingspan, allowing his length to hold a competitive advantage over other guards.
A lot of players at this height and position often have a few more pounds on them but look at Herbert Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans. Jones is listed at 6’7, 206 pounds, so just 16 more than Bal. Jones has a 7’0 wingspan, so just a tad wider than that of Bal.
Another player of similar height and wingspan is Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets. Thompson is listed at 6’7, 200 pounds with a 7’0 wingspan. He has just a slightly wider wingspan and a few more pounds on Bal, but the vision is there with a similar physique.
One thing to keep in mind with Bal is, realistically he’ll add a few pounds of muscle when he reaches the professional level and enters a more intensive workout routine. Many of the players of similar physique are stronger but have at least one year under their belts in the NBA.
What’s The Vision?
Why would an NBA team draft Bal? To start, realistically Bal will be a second-round pick, but the long-term vision provides some reason to buy in and develop him over the coming seasons. Last season, Bal provided the Santa Clara Broncos with 14.4 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting overall. His offensive abilities are his number one feature. He’s a scoring threat at all three levels, as he needs to get a bit more consistent from 3pt, but his form and abilities are both there already. He can knock down solid mid-range jumpers, while using his length and strength to drive into the paint with a floater or layup. His offensive abilities aren’t skewed by a mid-major level either, he flashed plenty of offense against high-caliber players of the power conferences.
Diving into the stats, per barttorvik, Bal shot 57.1% at the rim, 40.3% from within the arc, and 34% from 3pt. Something notable here is, 57.1% of those 3pt shots were coming off assists, so don’t look for him to create his own shot at there. Meanwhile, just 18.3% of his shots at the rim and 14.8% of his shots within the arc came off assists, which is a testament to his offensive abilities. In the NBA, he’ll translate to more of a catch-and-shoot type player from outside while a fierce slasher in the paint. However, he still can act as a combo guard.
Bal can dish it out at exponential rates, which combined with his length and size will translate to the NBA level well. His wingspan and height are major competitive advantages here because he essentially has the ability to stretch defenders, drive in, then dish it back out. He’s not the quickest guard, but his body makes up for the non-electric speed.
Defensively, once again his physical capabilities shine through here. As an oversized guard, he can really break down other offensive guards. As mentioned, he’s not the quickest guard you’ll see, but he has enough speed to be a pest on defense. He’s not going to blow you away on the defensive end, but he’ll be adequate enough to stay on the court thanks to his offensive abilities.
How Can It Break Down?
Bal has truthfully only had one full season in college basketball. His first two seasons with Arizona saw minimal playing time and development, however, thankfully he is just 20 years old. If Bal fails to take another step forward this season, it could be detrimental to his NBA potential, forcing him to fight for a spot through the summer league. He needs to develop a more consistent three-point shot. I mentioned in the vision that the form is there, it’s not the most beautiful shot in the world, but it works. However, there was some serious lack of consistency last season. Many other scouts have nailed this as a must for Bal, and I’m no different here. He doesn’t have the defensive prowess to make up for an average three-point game, he needs to take another step forward.
I previously hinted at this in the last paragraph, but his defensive abilities worry me a bit. He flashed signs during some games last season, but he’s just never been a true force on the defensive end. This is theoretically fine if you have the offensive skillset to make up for that, which in the paint I’d argue he does. As mentioned, he needs to step up on the 3pt shot, however, I’m concerned that his ability to be just average on defense at the mid-major level may not translate well to the competitiveness of the NBA.
What’s The Pathway?
There are two areas I would like to see Bal improve on this season. First, his defense. As mentioned a few times throughout this report, he lacks substantial defensive abilities. As a result, you must wow teams and scouts with your offensive abilities. Taking a few steps forward on defense will not only round out his game more, but it’ll also take pressure off himself from having to be perfect. At 6’7, he has advantage at position, then you throw in his wingspan, and he has the potential to be very disruptive in the passing lanes.
Second, I want to see him take another step forward offensively. I raved about his capabilities, however, there’s always room for improvement. He already has strong catch-and-shoot capabilities, but he can increase his future as a combo-guard by being able to open shots for himself beyond the arc. Inside the paint, he has the physical advantage, so it’d be ideal to see him charge the rim and become an elite finisher. He already has the skills to create shots for others, so leaning in as a next-level offensive threat will open even more opportunities for his teammates as opposing teams will have to lock down on Bal, pulling away from others.
Combine these two with his physique, his passing abilities and you’ll find a late diamond in the rough pick for a lucky team. Bal has the untapped potential to shoot up the ranks this season, but his performance on the court will determine whether we are looking at a late first round/early second round, or a back half of the second round. Keep your eyes on this kid.