nachbariscrucial
Prospect
From the Stockton Record
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050706/SPORTS/507060308/1004
Yango has a shot at a hoop dream
JASON ANDERSON
Published Wednesday, Jul 6, 2005
SACRAMENTO -- He'll always have Paris, but Guillaume Yango still wants more.
"I want to be in the NBA," he said.
The former University of the Pacific player could be overseas, flying his country's colors, trying to realize one of his dreams with the French national team. Instead, Yango will wake up this morning on the Las Vegas strip, one of 17 prospects invited to play for the Sacramento Kings in the 2005 Reebok Vegas Summer League at Cox Pavilion.
Yango's decision to pursue an opportunity in the NBA might cost him an opportunity to play for France in the European championships this summer, but that's a risk he says he must take.
"Europe is my very last option," Yango said. "I always wanted to represent my country, but as a kid, I always dreamed of playing in the NBA one day."
Yango has improved immensely since coming to Pacific from the College of Southern Idaho in 2003, but at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, he'll have to move from center to power forward.
"That's not a position of need for us, but this gives us a chance to see him in a more condensed fashion," Kings scouting director Scotty Sterling said.
Yango worked out with the Kings' summer squad for three hours at the team's practice facility Tuesday afternoon before boarding a flight to Las Vegas later in the evening. The team will play five games in 10 days, and when it's over, the Kings could decide Yango is too small, too raw or too much of a long shot to warrant another invitation when they open training camp this fall.
Yango has no contract and no assurances for the future, but he will have a chance to show NBA coaches and scouts how much he has improved his perimeter jump shot.
"Between drills on Tuesday, he was out there knocking that shot down," Sterling said. "He has improved. That's the first thing you notice about him."
Yango came to this country as an unpolished big man, but he began to flourish after transferring to Pacific and ranked among the top 10 in seven statistical categories as a senior in the Big West Conference last season. He averaged 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 0.89 blocks per game. He shot .634 from the floor, .705 from the free-throw line and proved to be one of the conference's best post defenders.
He wasn't quite good enough to get drafted, but he's still getting better.
"I think 'G' has some upside to him," Pacific coach Bob Thomason said. "He's starting to shoot it pretty well from the outside, and the bigger games he played, he played really well for us."
Yango held his own against Providence's Ryan Gomes in Pacific's 66-58 victory in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament and did the same against Pittsburgh's Chris Taft in a 79-71 win in the opening round of the 2005 tournament.
Gomes and Taft were chosen in the second round of the NBA Draft on June 28, giving Yango hope that he, too, might find a place in the world's best basketball association.
"I think I have a shot," Yango said. "I think if they're in the league, I can be there too."
Maybe.
Maybe not.
He'll have to overcome his shortcomings, but Yango believes that can be done.
"I'm a little bit undersized, but I can shoot a little bit from the outside, and I'm quicker than most of the guys who play my position," he said.
Yango won't help the Kings get bigger, stronger or more physical in the post, but that doesn't mean he can't find work in the NBA someday.
"He's undersized for the position, but there are a lot of undersized guys in the league," Sterling said. "I wouldn't rule him out as being an NBA player at some point."
Contact reporter Jason Anderson at 209 546-8283 or janderson@recordnet.com
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050706/SPORTS/507060308/1004
Yango has a shot at a hoop dream
JASON ANDERSON
Published Wednesday, Jul 6, 2005
SACRAMENTO -- He'll always have Paris, but Guillaume Yango still wants more.
"I want to be in the NBA," he said.
The former University of the Pacific player could be overseas, flying his country's colors, trying to realize one of his dreams with the French national team. Instead, Yango will wake up this morning on the Las Vegas strip, one of 17 prospects invited to play for the Sacramento Kings in the 2005 Reebok Vegas Summer League at Cox Pavilion.
Yango's decision to pursue an opportunity in the NBA might cost him an opportunity to play for France in the European championships this summer, but that's a risk he says he must take.
"Europe is my very last option," Yango said. "I always wanted to represent my country, but as a kid, I always dreamed of playing in the NBA one day."
Yango has improved immensely since coming to Pacific from the College of Southern Idaho in 2003, but at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, he'll have to move from center to power forward.
"That's not a position of need for us, but this gives us a chance to see him in a more condensed fashion," Kings scouting director Scotty Sterling said.
Yango worked out with the Kings' summer squad for three hours at the team's practice facility Tuesday afternoon before boarding a flight to Las Vegas later in the evening. The team will play five games in 10 days, and when it's over, the Kings could decide Yango is too small, too raw or too much of a long shot to warrant another invitation when they open training camp this fall.
Yango has no contract and no assurances for the future, but he will have a chance to show NBA coaches and scouts how much he has improved his perimeter jump shot.
"Between drills on Tuesday, he was out there knocking that shot down," Sterling said. "He has improved. That's the first thing you notice about him."
Yango came to this country as an unpolished big man, but he began to flourish after transferring to Pacific and ranked among the top 10 in seven statistical categories as a senior in the Big West Conference last season. He averaged 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 0.89 blocks per game. He shot .634 from the floor, .705 from the free-throw line and proved to be one of the conference's best post defenders.
He wasn't quite good enough to get drafted, but he's still getting better.
"I think 'G' has some upside to him," Pacific coach Bob Thomason said. "He's starting to shoot it pretty well from the outside, and the bigger games he played, he played really well for us."
Yango held his own against Providence's Ryan Gomes in Pacific's 66-58 victory in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament and did the same against Pittsburgh's Chris Taft in a 79-71 win in the opening round of the 2005 tournament.
Gomes and Taft were chosen in the second round of the NBA Draft on June 28, giving Yango hope that he, too, might find a place in the world's best basketball association.
"I think I have a shot," Yango said. "I think if they're in the league, I can be there too."
Maybe.
Maybe not.
He'll have to overcome his shortcomings, but Yango believes that can be done.
"I'm a little bit undersized, but I can shoot a little bit from the outside, and I'm quicker than most of the guys who play my position," he said.
Yango won't help the Kings get bigger, stronger or more physical in the post, but that doesn't mean he can't find work in the NBA someday.
"He's undersized for the position, but there are a lot of undersized guys in the league," Sterling said. "I wouldn't rule him out as being an NBA player at some point."
Contact reporter Jason Anderson at 209 546-8283 or janderson@recordnet.com
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