In 2002, University of California head football coach Jeff Tedford had a keen recruiting eye for a tight end named Garrett Cross, a standout at Butte College, located about three hours northeast of Berkeley. Cross eventually signed with Cal and got 44 passes, including eight touchdowns, in a solid career for the Golden Bears. The story would have ended there were it not for the virtually unknown Butte College quarterback “jumping off the screen” at Tedford while watching Cross’ movie.
His name was Aaron Rodgers.
At that point, Rodgers had no other offer, and Tedford brought him to Cal as quietly as possible. The rest is history, but it’s possible that one of the best quarterbacks we’ve ever seen wouldn’t even have had an NFL career—at least not the one we know about—if his college coach hadn’t recruited his teammate.
While Victor Wembanyama, the undisputed first pick in Thursday’s 2023 NBA Draft, is unlikely to have as humble a career as Cross, his teammate at French club Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 has risen steadily in recent months in the rankings. draft boards. at least in part because of the attention paid to Wembanyama.
His name is Bilal Coulibaly.
For anyone who watches a fair amount of basketball, it is immediately clear why scouts’ mouths are watering at 18-year-old Coulibaly. Because he was still playing in France at the time of the Combine, Coulibaly sent NBA teams a video from his biometrics showing him at 6-foot-8 with a condor-like 7-2 wingspan and 8-11 standing reach. About a foot shorter and completely off the draft radar just a few years ago, Coulibaly’s growth spurt and subsequent performance with Metropolitans 92 have made him a bona fide first-round prospect heading into Thursday.
After barely playing in his first 15 games of the season, a few injuries presented a chance for Coulibaly to get into the rotation and eventually the starting line-up. He scored in double digits just twice in the first six months of the season — and then did it seven times in the last two months, including playoffs.
Santa Cruz Warriors play-by-play commentator and voice of the NBA’s “Wembycasts”, Kevin Danna broadcast over 40 Metropolitans 92 games this season and was blown away by Coulibaly’s rapid growth.
“He steadily raised his profile this year — he just got better and better and better and better as the year went on,” Danna told CBS Sports. “When I first saw him I was like, oh, this guy could be a prospect later on. I didn’t think when I first saw him, oh, this guy is going to be a first-round draft pick in a few months .”
Coulibaly can be found everywhere from the high-20s to the top 10 in various mock drafts (I had him No. 12 goes to the Oklahoma City Thunderknown for their large upside-down swings), and has received a glowing endorsement from Wembanyama itself for the top five.
In addition to his impressive metrics, Coulibaly’s talent leaps off the screen in much the same way Rodgers did for Tedford. The French wing’s athleticism is off the charts, leading to plenty of impressive dunks on lobs and offensive rebounds.
The slo-mo shot of this putback from Wembanyama’s miss belongs in the Louvre.
He also uses his height and athleticism on defense, establishing himself as the type of versatile, switchable wing that thrives in the modern NBA. Watch as he fights over and under screens, recovering multiple times, before sliding sideways to stay on a ride with a much smaller guard. Coulibaly makes it look effortless, but this is not an easy job.
The deciding factor will be his three-point shot, which looked good at the start of his career. He shot 38 percent from deep at very low volume over his last 25 games of the season and while the mechanics may need some minor tweaking, the release is smooth and consistent. Being a legitimate three-point threat will enhance his role, and from there it will be up to him to use his myriad talents to develop into a more complete offensive player.
“He’s been getting more offensive lately,” Danna told CBS Sports. “He was strictly a stand-in-the-corner guy to start the year, but now he’s taking guys off the dribble a bit. He ends up in traffic. And his athleticism is popping out, man.”
Coulibaly averaged 8.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and a steal over his last 25 games of the season, which may seem disappointing compared to some other prospects, but not when placed alongside young Europeans who playing in top leagues against grown men. As a 19-year-old with Barcelona, recent Hall of Fame inductee Pau Gasol averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds. At age 18, Kristaps Porzingis was recording 6.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game for Cajasol. So don’t be fooled by the lack of garish statistics.
What you can see at Coulibaly is a tailor-made role as a 3-and-D wing, with the benefit of much more. Think Mikal Bridges, a prospect with a similar build and skill set who blossomed from a solid rotation man as a Suns rookie to averaging 26 points per game with the Brooklyn Nets last season. A big difference, of course, is that Bridges spent three years with Villanova and entered the league at the age of 22. Coulibaly won’t turn 19 until July and will therefore require significantly more development – and patience.
“To anyone drafting him, they can’t expect this guy to play 15-20 minutes a game next year. They can expect him to play 30 minutes a game for the G League team,” Danna told CBS Sports. “I call him a half-Caboclo, like a year away from being a year — not two years away from being two years old.
“He’s still raw, but he could definitely be someone later on.”