Skal Labissiere wasn’t ready for big-time college hoops. That’s become readily apparent as the Kentucky freshman struggles to make an impact in the rotation.
His inconsistent play and minimal role has naturally triggered questions about his NBA potential. Is the slender Haitian a future star who will eventually access a lofty ceiling, or is he just a physically gifted prospect who was massively overrated entering this season?
Labissiere was widely considered a top three draft commodity when he arrived at Lexington, but he’s consistently failed to assert himself against the Wildcats’ top opponents. The 6’11” center has yet to record double-digit rebounds in any game, and he scored double-digits against just one major-conference foe (the 3-16 South Florida Bulls).
Let’s dissect his game and get a clearer picture of his career trajectory:
The Good
While his season has been overwhelmingly disappointing, Labissiere has offered glimpses of effectiveness. He’s sprinkled in a few smooth mid-range shots, seven multi-block games and even had some nice end-to-end sequences during an eight-minute stint Saturday against Auburn. Labissiere has the early makings of inside-out scoring and defensive talent:
On Monday, Coach John Calipari said he believes Labissiere is finally on his way to success, per Josh Newman of SNY.tv:
He’s slowly coming back to where he can give us minutes. He had a couple of blocks, some opportunities, he dunked some balls (against Auburn). He has a presence, but we got to see what are the max minutes he can go right now because I don’t want to throw him to the wolves like we did early, it just didn’t work.
Those are encouraging developments, but they don’t necessarily portend eventual NBA stardom. Unfortunately there are still several huge holes in his game that are worrisome from a short and long-term standpoint.
The Bad
One of the biggest arguments against his high-lottery candidacy (this year or any year) is his relative lack of awareness and sub-par feel for the game. Sometimes those types of weaknesses aren’t exposed until a prospect hits the college level, and that’s certainly the case for Labissiere:
On both ends of the court, he doesn’t move quickly or naturally to the right spot on the floor. It takes him an extra half-second to identify where he should be and slide into position, and that’s detrimental in some situations. That’s part of the reason he’s averaging a mind-boggling 10 fouls per 40 minutes against SEC competition so far.
All too often, his foot speed slows down when he’s watching the ball when he should be darting to the paint or rebounding position. The wavering alertness, along with a dearth of strength and aggressiveness, has resulted in just 3.2 rebounds per game and 7.3 per 40 minutes.
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman explains that Labissiere isn’t resourceful or physical enough to create extra scoring opportunities, and his defensive timing and footwork isn’t crisp:
Outside of a few uncontested dunks of pick-and-rolls or putbacks, his offense is nowhere to be found. He hasn’t looked particularly sharp defensively, either—at least in terms of knowing when to help or rotate.
Wasserman is one of many who’ve noticed Labissiere often looks lost on the floor. One NBA scout told C.J. Moore of Bleacher Report that the 20-year-old’s game is behind the curve:
His awareness is very poor, and he doesn’t look comfortable out there…He hasn’t really earned the minutes to develop, so his development is behind schedule.
In addition to the lack of awareness and physicality, there’s another notable deficiency that could hinder Labissiere’s chance to be a versatile NBA standout. His foot speed is unimpressive, most specifically his lateral movement on defense.
While Labissiere is a fluid overall athlete, he doesn’t have great burst to defend attackers who have explosive first steps. Even though he covers a lot of ground every game, he may not have the quickness to play multiple positions in the half-court setting and stymie NBA pick-and-rolls.
The Cauldron’s Jonathan Tjarks warned against categorizing Labissiere among Kentucky’s top rim protectors due to his inferior speed:
…He’s not a great athlete when moving side to side. He has good quickness for a (near) 7-footer, but he’s not Nerlens Noel or Anthony Davis…Skal is trapped in a classic conundrum for young big men — he’s not big and strong enough to play as a 5 in the NBA, and he’s not skilled and fast enough to play as a 4.
Tjarks gave an example of Labissiere getting exploited laterally and committing a foul:
Contender or Pretender?
Sure, some of Labissiere’s underwhelming production is due to his role on a Kentucky squad that’s not incredibly cohesive. And yes, there’s time for Labissiere to get stronger, polish skills and improve his basketball IQ.
However, he’s displayed enough inadequacies to warrant a slide down the draft board. It’s time to place him in the pretender category.
If he breaks out this spring, I’ll applaud him for gaining traction and proving me wrong. But at this juncture, there are plenty of concerns to justify a tumble down to the late-lottery or mid-first round. Whether he hops to the NBA this summer (before the damage gets any worse) or stays in Lexington for another year, Labissiere has a lot of work to do before he reaches “elite prospect” status.