Saer Sene...

NBA Comparison: Samuel Dalembert

Strengths: An absolutely jaw dropping physical specimen with his combination of size, length, strength, athleticism and mobility ... Very disruptive defensively and rebounds the ball well ... Has a 7'8" wingspan making him a force as a shot blocker ... Already getting playing time at the Senior level for Pepinster and getting decent minutes and stats ... Runs the floor well ... Great hands, has no problems catching the ball or rebounding ... Extremely agile, he can fall down on the court like a cat, not heavily like most big man ... Very coach-able and a hard working kid ...

Weaknesses: Still doesn't have much offensive game to speak of ... Only began playing basketball in 2003 so he's still learning the game ... Must continue working hard to maximize his great potential ...

-Aran Smith 11/22/05

Sene is an explosive leaper from Senegal with an almost NBA-ready body who feels right at home on the defensive end of the court and runs the floor well.

Nobody else at the camp changed the games in Berlin as much as him. Surprisingly agile for his size, and with explosive leaping ability, the 18-year-old (born 05/12/1986) showed good timing blocking shots (7-foot-8 wingspan). Interestingly that same timing eluded Sene while grabbing rebounds in Berlin catching many boards while he was actually coming down during a jump.

Sene’s impact on defense however is not limited to shot blocking only. He is active has a good understanding of rotating defensively on call out picks, and is quick hedging and recovering on screens. His foot-work was above average as well helping him to capture some powerful dunks on offense.

Unfortunately his offensive repertoire at this time exclusively consists of dunks put-backs and an average hook which he only hits from close range. His shot needs a lot of work. The basic form is in place but his huge hands are a problem right now. Nothing is seriously wrong with Sene’s shooting motion, and it should be a matter of repetition before he adds a nice ten-foot-jumper to his game. His ballhandling is virtually non-existent however except for a two-handed power dribble that precedes his jams.

Mouhamed Saer Sene, 7-0, 230 lbs, Center, Senegal, 5/12/86
15 points, 6-8 FG, 3-4 FT, 9 blocks, 6 rebounds

Sene put on an awesome display, tying Kevin Garnett’s Hoop Summit record of 9 blocks in the game. Though the official stat sheet said 9 blocks, I counted 11, and various other people we talked also counted more than 9. Three of them came on one possession, and he had a few on athletic wing Gerald Henderson. Considering that he’s only played basketball for a couple years, it is really hard to believe how good Sene’s anticipation skills are. On offense, he is quite raw, though he does have the ability to step outside and hit a 15 footer when left unguarded. Sene made one in the flow of the game, and also knocked down 3 of his 4 free throw attempts. Despite this, he lacks footwork in the post, and when trying to make a move, he just turns and puts up a hook on a prayer that it will go in. He did have one sequence where he did a drop step and ended up with a dunk, but this was the only time all week where he created for himself out of the post. Sene has good hands when catching the ball down low, and usually waits until the time is right before he goes up to dunk a ball. When rebounding, his hands didn’t seem as good, and he will have to work on using his body to get position, and anticipating the ball to catch it at the highest point in his jump.

Sene has everything physically that you could ask for in a center prospect. He stands a legit 7 feet tall, and his 230 pounds are well distributed throughout his frame. His combination of length and explosive leaping ability is jaw dropping. Sene was the talk of all of the NBA scouts in attendance during the practices, and he was even more impressive during the game, though the U.S. team didn’t have any player who could match his combination of size and athleticism. Centers with the tools he has to work with are rare, and though he is raw at this point, he is young enough as to where he can develop a respectable offensive game. Sene doesn’t receive a whole lot of minutes with is team in Belgium right now, but his game is much more suited to the NBA style of play. He told DraftExpress after the game that he is considering entering the NBA draft this year, so it will be interesting to see if he does, and where he goes if he decides to declare. It’s hard to imagine him not getting some serious looks throughout the first round. European scouts we spoke with throughout the week claim his true age is a bit of a question mark, though, as it often is with many African prospects.

In The Key wrote:Could be another Johan Petro. Like it or not, all international prospects are big gambles. What percentage of them actually are successful in the league? And even if they do become good players, it usually takes a long time because of their undeveloped bodies which comes from the lack of focus on athletism overseas, something that the American game thrives on.

Other than that, he'll probably go prove himself to more scouts and go next year.

rydjorker121 wrote:I've heard a lot of great things about him over the past few days. Physically, he's well built and has a 7'8" wingspan, which is really gigantic, as well as great shotblocking ability. He had 15 points and 9 blocks in the Nike Hoop Summit and his potential is really intriguing scouts. Sene already stated that he might join the draft this year, and if so he's probably somewhere from the mid-to-1st round pick area. Huge sleeper if he joins, very late bloomer as well. Think along the lines of Ian Mahinmi of San Antonio last year.

jminges wrote:

rydjorker121 wrote:I've heard a lot of great things about him over the past few days. Physically, he's well built and has a 7'8" wingspan, which is really gigantic, as well as great shotblocking ability. He had 15 points and 9 blocks in the Nike Hoop Summit and his potential is really intriguing scouts. Sene already stated that he might join the draft this year, and if so he's probably somewhere from the mid-to-1st round pick area. Huge sleeper if he joins, very late bloomer as well. Think along the lines of Ian Mahinmi of San Antonio last year.

You didn't watch him in the Nike Hoop Summit? He was amazing. We should trade up for him.

In The Key wrote:How polished is he offensively? You're right, he's really long and athletic and as long as he possesses those qualities, he'll be a good player, at least on the defensive end. I'm curious to see how Shagari Allyene (8'1 wing span) and Brandan Wright (8'0 wing span) turn out next year.

By the way, Allyene is huge. Not only does he have an 8'1 wing span, but the guy is 7'3! Jaw dropping size but still a prospect. Could be just another but bigger Ha Sung Jin. Intriguiging though.

GameCockMD wrote:

In The Key wrote:How polished is he offensively? You're right, he's really long and athletic and as long as he possesses those qualities, he'll be a good player, at least on the defensive end. I'm curious to see how Shagari Allyene (8'1 wing span) and Brandan Wright (8'0 wing span) turn out next year.

By the way, Allyene is huge. Not only does he have an 8'1 wing span, but the guy is 7'3! Jaw dropping size but still a prospect. Could be just another but bigger Ha Sung Jin. Intriguiging though.

What about mobility? Hops? Agility? Shotblocking ability? post up game?


Give me more!

In The Key wrote:Here's one. He's playing against a bunch of 5th graders so I wouldn't base my observations of his game on this video. Looks slow but could be because he's going easy on them. Long and lanky.

GameCockMD wrote:

In The Key wrote:How polished is he offensively? You're right, he's really long and athletic and as long as he possesses those qualities, he'll be a good player, at least on the defensive end. I'm curious to see how Shagari Allyene (8'1 wing span) and Brandan Wright (8'0 wing span) turn out next year.

By the way, Allyene is huge. Not only does he have an 8'1 wing span, but the guy is 7'3! Jaw dropping size but still a prospect. Could be just another but bigger Ha Sung Jin. Intriguiging though.

What about mobility? Hops? Agility? Shotblocking ability? post up game?


Give me more!

Draft Express: Saer Sene came to the US for a week of training and an all-star game between the top High School players in America and some of their International counterparts in Memphis. DraftExpress was the lone NBA draft outlet on hand to cover both the practices and the game in person thanks to the diligence of our scout Mike Schmidt.

The end result was a near triple-double that made NBA scouts mark down the small town of Pepinster, Belgium in the municipal of Liege as the most exciting spot in Europe to camp out over the next month.

What makes Saer Sene so intriguing is the fact that he’s reportedly only been playing basketball for slightly over two years.

He was sent to work out for NBA scouts in June of 2004 at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy, and according to reports was laughed at for how raw and uncoordinated he was. He then went to play in the 2nd Division of Belgium, and put up excellent numbers there. Thinking that he was at least 3-4 years away, Sene signed a 4 year contract in May of 2005 with Belgian Charleoi, who currently play in the ULEB Cup. Sene was then loaned to Verviers Pepinster for the current season, where he has struggled to get minutes for one reason or another. In two of the four occasions that he received over 17 minutes in a single game, Sene twice notched double-doubles (10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 points, 14 rebounds in 17 and 20 minutes respectively).

Sene will surely not be playing in Belgium next season anyway, so it will be interesting to see what kind of playing time he gets starting this Wednesday against Belgian powerhouse Oostende now that the secret is out and scouts will be out in droves to watch him play. N’Diaye [his agent] says there will be no hiding anymore and he’s very excited to see what his client can do.

Sene reportedly has 3 years left on his contract, but has a clear buyout sum of $425,000 this year or $375,000 next year should he decide to stay another season in Europe. He will be entering the draft and is hoping to go up against all of the top centers in private workouts if they will be willing to compete with him, LaMarcus Aldridge especially.

An International NBA scout we spoke with who has been following him for some time now has very little doubt about how interesting Sene is. “Everyone is very intrigued by him. We’re talking about a guy that will be the longest player in the NBA right off the bat. Magloire has a 7-7 wingspan and so does Mutombo I believe, but Saer also combines that wingspan with a very intriguing knack for timing and anticipating that has been improving all the time. His instincts are better for example than DeSagana Diop, and we see what he’s doing right now for the Mavericks. His feel for the game isn’t great right now, but it’s getting better every time we see him. He definitely has a great upside. He really surprised me by scoring 15 points in the Hoop Summit, we know that he already has two NBA ready skills that are both very rare and always in demand—shot-blocking and rebounding. I could easily see him going in the top 20 of this draft since you know exactly what you are going to get, he is more than just upside since it’s obvious that he will be a helluva shot-blocker right off the bat, and especially as he continues to grow into his body.”

Another African basketball expert (who is not an NBA scout) says he is “just as good as DJ Mbenga right now, but he’s 5 years younger than him. I like his upside because he’s got a great personality on and off the court. He’s a great kid, very quiet, but on the floor he is an animal. You can tell that he loves to play basketball and has a hunger to continue to improve.”

Sene’s season ends on May 13th, which will give him 6 full weeks to train and conduct private NBA workouts with anyone that is willing to go up against him. N’Diaye is planning to bring him over to Sacramento to work with his personal trainer, particularly to work on his footwork inside the post.

He will be entering the draft and is hoping to go up against all of the top centers in private workouts if they will be willing to compete with him, LaMarcus Aldridge especially.

eNlight wrote:who is pro for this dude?

jminges wrote:

eNlight wrote:who is pro for this dude?

Me. Saw him. Very, very athletic. His standing reach touches the rim. When he attempts a block, his hand is always above the square. He has excellent anticipation, at least against "highschool kids" as he tied the Nike Hoop Summit record of blocks "9" with Kevin Garnett. He doesn't have much of an offensive game, but he's definitely a presence defensively. And he isn't foul prone...

slimjim wrote:Verviers-Pepinster 2005-2006 stats for Saer Sene

10.3 min / 69.7 fg% / 41.7 ft% / 4.2 rbs / .1 assist / 1.7 fouls / .3 stls / .5 TOs / .9 blks / 3.1 pts

he is playing in the senior league... with men much older and more experienced than him...

the dude has potential to become something special that's for sure... but yes he is still very unpolished... and i do not think the lakers want to develop bynum and saer....

trade bynum and develop saer... i'd love that...

SHOWTIME REVIVAL wrote:

slimjim wrote:Verviers-Pepinster 2005-2006 stats for Saer Sene

10.3 min / 69.7 fg% / 41.7 ft% / 4.2 rbs / .1 assist / 1.7 fouls / .3 stls / .5 TOs / .9 blks / 3.1 pts

he is playing in the senior league... with men much older and more experienced than him...

the dude has potential to become something special that's for sure... but yes he is still very unpolished... and i do not think the lakers want to develop bynum and saer....

trade bynum and develop saer... i'd love that...

only if its for kg