Scouting Report: Josh Nebo

Marko Turk
4 min readJan 18, 2021

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Design: pirtzdesign (@pirtzdesign)

Another interesting big man in Europe is Josh Nebo who is playing his rookie season in Europe in Israel for Hapoel Eilat. Athletic big man can offer much more than just highlight dunks and blocks while also has a lot space for growth and improvement as a player.

BACKGROUND INFO

Position: PF/C
Height: 206 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Date of Birth: 17/07/1997
Nationality: American

Previous clubs:
N/A

Played his freshman and sophmore year at St. Francis and transfered to Texas A&M for his junior and senior seasons in NCAA. As reported by Expressnews Josh Nebo grew about three inches and added 50 pounds in his first two years of college and transfered to Texas A&M so he can play closer to his home. Josh averaged 12.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in almost 29 minutes per game in his senior year in NCAA.

VIDEO REPORT:

OFFENSE

Pick & rolls: Very good pick & roll player. Due to his athleticism and good footwork & hips he turns around quickly and can roll directly to the rim. Mostly acts as an above the rim target where he can catch the ball high above the rim. As a screen setter he has to fix some stuff. His screens are mainly too soft and without any contact. On higher level better defenders could go around those screens prettys easily and broke the play. He has the strength and frame to set strong screens just needs to get the habbit of doing it.

When dunks are not possible his decision making could be better. Usually he makes a power dribble or two and iniciates the contact and tries to draw a foul and get to the line. He lacks court vision to spot open shooters in corners when help is coming from the weakside.

Rim running: Great rim runner and can easily outrun other bigs even when he is not running at full speed. Knows his lane, always runs in the middle and capable of scoring a lot of easy points in transition.

Low post: One area he could probably improve the most. Maybe the reason for poor inside game is the quick growth in college and he wasn’t playing so much in the paint before that. Lacks post up technique and feel, usually making a dribble or two and going to the rim. Takes jump hook shots with both hands and is showing a solid touch on those shots. If he puts in the work, he could bring his low post game to a decent level in a few years in my opinion.

Mid/high post: While he lacks the low post technique, he shows some potential as a face up player from mid/high post. His athleticism and quickness is superior in comparison to other bigs and he can take advantage over that and attack the rim with a dribble or two. He just need to put the ball to the floor quicker since the rules in Europe are a little different and he travels on most occasions when attacking with drives.

Offensive rebounding: Very good offensive rebounder. His athleticism and instincts are very good and also has the motor and relentlessness to go for every ball. With his explosive burst and high reach he can grab rebounds over defenders. Averages 3.9 offensive rebounds per game with an Offensive Rebound Percentage (ORB%) 17.3 %.

Shooting: A non shooter and not really taking any shots outside the paint. His shooting motion and touch at the free throw line doesn’t look bad and in my opinion could develop a decent shooting touch from mid range too. Shooting 45/61 (73.8 5) from the free throw line this season while he was shooting 265/435 (60.9 %) from the free throw line in his college career.

DEFENSE

Rim protection: Good rim protector and contests almost all shots around the rim. Has good anticipation and in combination with his explosive burst can block shots high above the rim.

Perimeter defense: Due to his quick feet and flexible hips he can defend on perimeter. Turns around pretty fast and moves good laterally. Slides his feet well and shows good footwork. Also recovers fairly well when beaten. Not a perfect perimeter defender yet but showing some switchability potential.

Low post defense: An area where he struggles so far. Even though he has a strong body and pretty low gravity point, he is moved too easily in post up situations. Should play with more contact and have a stronger stance. Also allows entry passes too easily, could fight for his position better and try to deny entry passes. I’m pretty certain he will improve in this area when he gets more experience and gets used to the physicality of professional basketball.

Defensive rebounding: Active rebounder and goes for every ball. Showing the same energy as in offensive rebounding. Showing good instincts and anticipation — he just feels where the ball is going and catches it at its peak point. Has explosive vertical leap from two feet and quick second jump.

SUMMARY

An explosive modern big man that has a lot to offer on the defensive end while having some potential in his offensive game too.

Excels as an above the rim finisher, can switch in defense while also protects the rim well. If he develops his shooting and low post game to a higher level he could add an another dimension to his game too.

Not a done player yet but has a lot of room for growth and if he will improve his game step-by-step, he could be a player that could finish on a higher level very soon.

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Marko Turk
Marko Turk

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