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Zags Set To Host Another European Talent


It appears that Mark Few and Tommy Lloyd's trip to Europe may prove to be invalubale for the future of the Gonzaga program, as reports out of France indicate that the raw but extremely athletic Mam Jaiteh will be visiting Spokane in the coming days.

While Jaiteh doesn't address the need that Gonzaga has at SF, he would be part of an incredibly talented and deep Gonzaga frontcourt in the future. According to a DrafExpress evaluation, Jaiteh is raw but has the build of an NBA player already:

Offensively, Jaiteh is extremely limited, as he possesses very little footwork, average touch around the basket and is unable to pass out of double teams. Regardless of where he catches the ball on the floor, he's always looking to make a move, which renders him fairly turnover prone, particularly once opponents caught onto this fact.

Jaiteh is nevertheless a massive presence inside the paint, allowing him to post some solid numbers at this tournament by crashing the offensive glass and simply presenting himself at the rim for easy finishes. Interestingly enough, he knocked down his free throws at a very nice clip (13/17) and even converted one decent-looking mid-range jumper.

Defensively, Jaiteh can be effective due to his sheer length and bulk, and certainly got the job done on the glass, grabbing almost six rebounds in just 19 minutes per game. He lacks significant experience and fundamentals on this end as you can probably imagine, though, particularly in team defensive settings where he doesn't show a great feel for rotating and wasn't much of a shot-blocking threat despite his physical tools.

The most natural comparison for Jaiteh is Abdul Kuso, who was a tremendous defensive player and rebounder with raw offensive tools. I have long maintained that Kuso could have been a huge impact guy if he had four or five years in a Gonzaga uniform. Jaiteh would be a candidate to redshirt and would have a couple of years before being thrown into the rotation. However, he brings an immediate shot-blocking and defensive impact that is missing in the Gonzaga frontcourt.