BBL: Isaac Bonga: Taking long steps towards the goal

“All Eyes on Isaac” is the title of the series by Basketball. de, which features regular reports on the great Point-Guard talent.And indeed, many basketball enthusiasts were looking forward to the first games of Bongas as an integral part of the FRAPORT SKYLINERS BBL rotation.And the 17-year-old has so far mastered the challenge and earned his minutes in the BBL.Together with Point Guard Tai Webster and Combo-Guard Philip Scrubb, the large superstructure player forms the three-man backcourt of the Mainstadt team.You can find more basketball news on Basketball. com.

Five games are now behind the Frankfurters, and Bonga was on the field for at least 15 minutes in every match.Apart from the first meeting at Science City Jena, it was always more than 20 minutes (22.4 MpG).On average, Bonga has 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists – these are exceptional values for a player of this age.It also proves that the U19 international has already been given some responsibilities by Head Coach Gordon Herbert.In the following, we will explain in more detail how the 2.05 metre Point Guard contributes to the game of the Skyline and whether progress can be seen in comparison to the pre-season and summer.

Particularly striking is the improvement of the litter, on which Bonga worked intensively with Frankfurt’s co-trainer Klaus Perwas during the off-season, as he described in the last conversation with basketball. de.Progress can be seen in the eye test, but also in the statistics.At the U19 World Championship in Egypt last July, Bonga had only hit one of his twelve distance throws.In the first five BBL games of the current season, there were four converted threesomes in eight attempts.He has taken all the litters out of the catch and shoot so far.This is of course an extremely small sample, but progress towards the summer can only be seen from the casting technique.

Bonga only took free threesomes, where he had enough time to start his litter.But the mere fact that the youngsters hope to sink these open distance throws safely represents a big step on the way to his personal goal for the season: to become Starting Point Guard.The ability to hit the open throw is essential for the 18-year-old to get more uptime.In the off-ball offensive system of Head Coach Gordon Herbert, based on spacing and ball movement, Bonga must be able to provide danger away from the ball.

In the first games in Jena (2/3 3FG) and against the Goettingen club (2/2 3FG) he punished the free spaces consequently.Recently, he even earned his vocation to the starting line-up.Bonga started in the backcourt against both Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and the Central German BC – one time next to Webster, the other time next to Scrubb.

But of course, Bonga not only acts as a point guard away from the ball, but also takes over the ball presentation, introduces moves and creates for fellow players.A big challenge for the 17-year-old was the game against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.John Patrick’s team is well known and notorious for the frequently used full-field press.Especially in this match Bonga got into some pressure situations, which the young Guard solved in most cases with calm and overview despite four ball losses (in 27 minutes).

Most turnovers are performed by Bonga as the ball leader in pick-and-roll.Generally speaking, the 2.05 meter man has the advantage that he is much bigger than his opponents and has a good overview of the game.However, some of the passes are still avoidable.If Bonga is looking for a final on the drive himself, he is often unstoppable.The Play Type stats show a 100 percent throw rate (3/3 FG) when he finishes as the ball leader in the pick-and-roll.Bonga also played some assists after pick-and-roll, as in the early stages of the MBC game on Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann.With more experience, the 17-year-old will soon be able to make the right decision even more often.

One of the most common actions bongas is also the game in transition.The guard likes to run the fastbreak to try to generate simple points.With his long steps he only needs a few dribbling moves from his own basket to the opponent’s basket.He regularly succeeds in pulling free throws, which he hits very reliably (13/13 FT).Even in important moments during crunchtime, the 17-year-old has already proven his nervousness, such as in Weissenfels, when Bonga made the preliminary decision in the extra time with two transformed free-throw shots.

Bonga has also proven that he can stand his ground in defence at BBL level.In the one-on-one, he can keep his opponent in front of him thanks to his speed and his long arms and also appears as a ball thief (1.2 steals per game).Its size also allows him to switch off the ball in the opponent’s pick-and-roll or blocks, which can be seen in some situations.Sometimes Bonga still gets stuck on blocks, but this was partly compensated by the attentive team defenses of the Skyline team.

In team defense, Bonga does not pay attention to one or the other.The Point Guard often sinks deeply, sometimes too much.In the following example from the game against Ludwigsburg, he loses sight of his opponent in the Transition-Defense.The young international doesn’t pay attention to Thomas Walkup (No. 0) in this scene, who runs towards the left corner to score two simple points from there.In this case, the communication with Mike Morrison (No. 24) is also missing.Bonga probably thinks the Big Man’s taking over Walkup.

Nevertheless, there are also positive scenes, for example, when he rushes to the post-defense to help and thereby pushes the opponent’s ball loss.In the second example from the Ludwigsburg game, Dwayne Evans (No. 1) posts against Phil Scrubb (No. 30).Bonga joins in for a double and forces the Ludwigsburg man to turn over.However, the Frankfurter is lucky in this situation that Evans does not recognize and allude to the completely freestanding Adika Peter-McNeilly (No. 10) on the Weakside.Nevertheless, Bonga is still doing the right thing in this situation, even considering the running down of the sausage, which ultimately leads to a ball win.

Bonga is also doing a good job in rebounding.In the rebounds per game, the Point Guard occupies fifth place among all players, with all the players in front of him standing on the field for much longer on average.The playmaker is even active on the offensive board.The 17-year-old catches one offensive rebound per game.With this score, he even ranks third among all point guards.

All in all, Bonga is well on the way to establishing itself in BBL.The build-up player gets the trust of Gordon Herbert, who lets him play his game.Thanks to some good performances, the U19 national team has already started twice.After a successful start to the season with the Skyliners, he and the Frankfurt team are now facing some tough games.The coming opponents of the Mainstadt team are Bayreuth, Munich, Oldenburg, Bamberg and Ulm.In these games Bonga will face some of the best guards in the league.It will be exciting to see how he fights in these duels.

Basketball. de will report on this in the next issue.Until then, Bonga may be of legal age: on the 8th day of his life.November, the young talents will celebrate their 18th birthday.Birthday.