Getty Florida State Seminoles center Christ Koumadje
Throughout the early stages of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, towering 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall grabbed plenty of attention. It’s not often you find a player that tall who’s capable of producing at a fairly consistent level. But while the UCF big man is impressive, Florida State Seminoles center Christ Koumadje has flashed some upside worth talking about as well.
Koumadje hasn’t seen the same amount of playing time during his collegiate career as Fall, but he’s showcased the ability to make an impact on the floor. The senior big man stands at 7-foot-4, 268 pounds and is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he saw decent minutes. During the 2017-18 season, Koumadje averaged 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Florida State’s intriguing big man took a nice step forward this year, posting marks of 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while playing 15.6 minutes per game. While Koumadje isn’t a player who can be matched up with certain opponents, he could still have an NBA future. But to this point, the FSU center has been largely overlooked.
Christ Koumadje NBA Draft Profile
There’s no question that the biggest concern over Koumadje is the ability for him to transition his game to the next level. The NBA is far different than what it used to be in terms of using traditional big men and it may be tough for his game to adjust to that.
Seth Berkman of the New York Times cited an interesting quote from Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders on players such as Fall and Koumadje.
“What’s interesting about both, their advanced analytics, they play off the charts — well over 1 point per possession, and that’s really effective in college basketball,” said Steve Kyler, the editor and publisher of Basketball Insiders, which produces weekly N.B.A. mock drafts. “When you dig deeper, in situational-type things they grade really well, but the truth of the matter is the N.B.A. game isn’t played that way anymore. It’s all about stretch 5s, quickness.”
It’s a fair point and one that Koumadje may have a tough time overcoming. His speed and ability to step out and knock down shots aren’t entirely there yet. In Florida State’s second-round NCAA tournament win over Murray State, the big man made 3-of-5 attempts, two of which were dunks and one was a tip-in.
Christ Koumadje NBA Mock Drafts & Projections
Although Koumadje’s name hasn’t popped up in mock drafts or landed on big boards, for the most part, there is some belief that he could be a potential second-round selection. There’s still a lot for the Seminoles center to prove, but the pre-draft process could potentially help him out.
In the same article above from the New York Times, Kyler of Basketball Insiders cites that both Fall and Koumadje “may get a look on the fringe based off their size.”
I made a previous comparison of Fall’s game to Philadelphia 76ers center Boban Marjanovic. In short, he has the potential to be the type of player to make an impact off the bench in limited minutes and take advantage of certain matchups. That would likely be the outlook for Koumadje as well if he were to make it to the next level.
More likely than not, the towering center will wind up in the G League and need to prove he can adjust to the speed of professional basketball, but he should be a fun name to watch.
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