Chris Tadjo: “I model my game after Bam Adebayo.”
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Chris Tadjo had a successful week at the All Canadian Games, securing the back-to-back MVP
designation.
Measuring at 6’9” with a 7’0” wingspan, he made his presence felt as an emphatic finisher inside and provided elite rebounding on both ends of the floor.
Further, his mid-range jumper showed some promise.
We spoke with him about being recognized and selected for a second time at this event, how the
@nbaacademy has helped him develop both on and off the court, his message to @IowaHoops
fans, and more.
Q&A coming soon....
Chris Tadjo had a successful week at the All Canadian Games, securing the back-to-back MVP
designation.
Measuring at 6’9” with a 7’0” wingspan, he made his presence felt as an emphatic finisher inside and provided elite rebounding on both ends of the floor.
Further, his mid-range jumper showed some promise.
We spoke with him about being recognized and selected for a second time at this event, how the
@nbaacademy has helped him develop both on and off the court, his message to @IowaHoops
fans, and more.
Q&A coming soon....
Fran was interviewed on the Hawkeye Fanatic Radio Show (on KCJJ) this morning.
Tyler Cook-like ability to grab the ball flat footed under the basket, but rise straight up and dunk one handed. In traffic!
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With him having a 7-foot wingspan and being pretty well put together, I wonder if the staff projects Tadjo as playing the 5 spot quite a bit. It could explain why they haven’t been offering so many true bigs in the 2025 class lately.
There will be 10 or more minutes available at the 5. I’m hoping that Fran will have a tough time keeping Tadjo off the floor because of his rebounding & athleticism.
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I hope this is true, because it would also free up Dembele to spend most of his time at 4. Fran has some really athletic options at the interior positions.
so this fall will iowa bb team look dramatically different than
on a related note will fran’s team possess a dramatically different look this fall?
He seems pretty well suited to the modern day 5 spot.
The 4 needs to be a 3pt threat now to keep spacing.
I imagine he'll be a perfect rim runner for Brock in screen and roll and plenty capable of defending the rim too while also able to move laterally in space.
Agree. If they are on the court together, depending on the matchup, Dembele might actually be better defending on the block because of his strength but on offense he can be the "4" because of his shot.
I'm pretty interested to see both he and Tadjo.
I think Traoer will at a minimum be capable of defending the 3 but he's not a very good shooter and that doesn't usually translate to pt with Fran, especially from a wing.
I like the idea though. Having that kind of a rebounder and defender at the 3 spot would be awesome.
My enthusiasm for Tadjo stems from comments made by Coach Spurlock in June (on another pay site).
Agree with this. He and Koch could be an interesting combo at 3/4, with Koch providing the offense and Traore the defense and rebounding. Add Freeman, Tadjo and Dembele, and Fran will need to really screw up not to come up with some nice center and forward lineups that can play both ends.
Traoer has a dribble drive game I want to see just as much as the defense & rebounding.
Agree but if a defense doesn't respect your shot it becomes pretty difficult to drive.
Tadjo is the least skilled but most athletic of the Traoer/Dembele/Tadjo mix.
I think Dembele is the most skilled and least athletic, but most physical. He's getting pretty rounded out with mass, especially his legs. I think he's solid from 3 (30% or better), has a mid-range, and can score with his back to the basket, in addition to being a physical, smart defender. A 3 level scorer who isn't elite at any level, but is a threat at each level and can take what defenses give him.
Tadjo has a very limited back to the basket game, is not a 3 point shooter, and most of his face up game is just raw power and athleticism without a lot of skill. He's someone you have as a perimeter screen and roll guy, or put him in the short corner / dunker's spot and let him be an offensive rebounder, lob, dump off guy who can finish whenever his guy leaves him. Very good in transition. Just don't expect much sophistication with his dribble, footwork or face up game. If he is truly 6'9" then maybe both he and Dembele can play some 5, but I still think Tadjo on film has some basketball IQ stuff on both ends to work on - sometimes mentally he's a bit behind where Dembele was last year imo.
Traore is somewhere in the middle. I think his 3 point shooting was in the mid to high 20% range, but maybe in Fran's offense with good decision making he can be a low 30's guy. I like that he could guard the 3/4 spots whereas the other two may be 4/5 guys.
All 3 guys look like they can be plus defenders, although Tadjo may take awhile to adjust to more sophisticated defensive rotations.
Will be interesting to see how Koch can play defense at this level, as he's an upper 30's 3 point shooter and very highly skilled I believe. Maybe can be a Sandfort understudy type 3/4 guy.
I think Dembele is the most skilled and least athletic, but most physical. He's getting pretty rounded out with mass, especially his legs. I think he's solid from 3 (30% or better), has a mid-range, and can score with his back to the basket, in addition to being a physical, smart defender. A 3 level scorer who isn't elite at any level, but is a threat at each level and can take what defenses give him.
Tadjo has a very limited back to the basket game, is not a 3 point shooter, and most of his face up game is just raw power and athleticism without a lot of skill. He's someone you have as a perimeter screen and roll guy, or put him in the short corner / dunker's spot and let him be an offensive rebounder, lob, dump off guy who can finish whenever his guy leaves him. Very good in transition. Just don't expect much sophistication with his dribble, footwork or face up game. If he is truly 6'9" then maybe both he and Dembele can play some 5, but I still think Tadjo on film has some basketball IQ stuff on both ends to work on - sometimes mentally he's a bit behind where Dembele was last year imo.
Traore is somewhere in the middle. I think his 3 point shooting was in the mid to high 20% range, but maybe in Fran's offense with good decision making he can be a low 30's guy. I like that he could guard the 3/4 spots whereas the other two may be 4/5 guys.
All 3 guys look like they can be plus defenders, although Tadjo may take awhile to adjust to more sophisticated defensive rotations.
Will be interesting to see how Koch can play defense at this level, as he's an upper 30's 3 point shooter and very highly skilled I believe. Maybe can be a Sandfort understudy type 3/4 guy.
I think we'll see his shooting numbers go way up from his stint in Manhattan. From the games I've watched of his there were a lot of low percentage shots either late in the shot clock or far from the bucket. He'll never have that issue with Fran.
I suspect that Traore is not going to be one of their top scoring options, with Payton, Freeman and Dix being by far the top 3, but if he moves well without the ball, Harding will find him, especially going to the basket.
Harding is not a weak defender if he eliminates the reach-arounds.
Payton is fine guarding a 4. Some 3's will be a problem. And hopefully Fran doesn't stick him on 2's at all, but he probably will.
Same with Pryce. Will struggle with some 3's. And hopefully Fran doesn't stick him on 2's at all, but he probably will.
Koch will be fine guarding 4's. But will probably struggle with some 3's.
We'll see what pans out a backup center
This in itself says he is a weak defender. The inability or unwillingness to keep his man in front of him completely breaks down any chance at good team defense. This along with his limited size compounds the fact other teams will take advantage of him. It forces other teammates to cover for him & they themselves get into foul trouble. Until he proves otherwise, he has been the "weakest link".
So we're pretty much saying the same thing except I don't find the lack of size to be a problem.This in itself says he is a weak defender. The inability or unwillingness to keep his man in front of him completely breaks down any chance at good team defense. This along with his limited size compounds the fact other teams will take advantage of him. It forces other teammates to cover for him & they themselves get into foul trouble. Until he proves otherwise, he has been the "weakest link".
The fact that the reach-around hasn't been coached out of him is on Fran. So put it this way; on any other team Brock would be a damn good defender
Brock will never be a damn good defender, although he has not been a really bad defender either. At least he is active and seems to give good effort.
Yes, not just his height, but strength. Also, his arms are not long.
Well maybe damn good defender is a bit of an exaggeration. The arm length is a good point.
But Brock has damn good lateral quickness and he plays damn hard.
I just don't see the size being that big of an issue, myself
I have also read a couple places that Manhattan's offense consisted largely of giving him the ball and saying "here, do something with it". I suspect he will get better shots in our offense all over the court.
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