A great family of basketball players. His father, Stephane, was a very good professional player in Europe for 20 seasons and his sister, Ainhoa, was the MVP of the European U16 championship last summer.
Zaccharie Risacher's entire history in basketball is pretty interesting. Like you said, his dad Stephane had a very successful career in Europe. Some USA-based fans might remember him as well from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where the French team won a silver medal. It's also because of Stephane that Zaccharie was born in Malaga, given that his dad was playing for Unicaja. His sister is also a highly touted prospect in her generation, and his cousin Shawn Tanner played for Angers last season in the French 2nd division.
Idk what makes him really high as a lottery pick. - Not a good finisher around the rim - Limited self-creation - Limited shotmaking - Limited ball handling - Lack of strength physically + Consistent C&S/spot up shooter + Great in transition offense + Great help defender in protecting the rim and being pesky
Nothing you said is inaccurate, but keep in mind that this is an 18 y/o in his first season as a pro while dealing with the pressure that comes with being considered the best pro teenage prospect currently in France. Risacher's frame will allow him to get stronger in time. His self-creation, shotmaking, and ballhandling (they all tie into each other) are indeed very limited right now... but he's also playing in a fairly rigid role. Let's see how he does with NBA freedom because I've been watching Risacher for about three years now and he passed+shot the ball a lot more at youth levels. All of those strengths you mentioned are things NBA teams need nowadays. They want quick and impactful two-way decision makers at the wing who can play off the ball and use their athleticism to impact the game. I think that's Risacher to a tee.
@FloorandCeiling I get your points, but it seems that he would be a long-term project when he came to the NBA. As a Spurs fan, I don't think we need more long-term project players at this stage, at least from skill set perspective.
Yesterday Landry Fields (GM), Quinn Snyder (Coach) and Kyle Korver (Assistant GM) of the Atlanta Hawks were watching Risacher in the French League playoffs.
A 6'10 good 3 shooter, good ballhandler, who seems to have a good basketball IQ and even seems to be able to defend should be a highly coveted player in this Draft. In my opinion he could very well be the #1 pick. He shows some deficiencies in creating his own shots and lacks some physicality, but they don't seem like serious problems to me. Obviously, he reminds me of Michael Porter Jr.
He can shoot from three, play off the ball, defend multiple positions, has NBA athleticism, and can fit on any team. I also think Risacher has untapped potential creating for himself. He’s my number one pick.
Another super high quality breakdown. Your nuance and specificity is a refreshing departure from "He's a bum" culture. How do you view his current downturn in 3 point shooting compared to the beginning of the year? Personally, I'm more inclined to see the beginning of the year as the outlier. If he's closer to a 35% 3 point shooter instead of 40%, does that move him down significantly?
Appreciate you! Yeah, I think with this draft especially, it's important to keep an open mind and try to look into prospects even more because of how unpredictable everything is right now. With regards to his three-point shooting, I don't think Risacher is a high 30s guy right now (probably like 35-37% at first) but his touch and versatility gives me a lot of hope. He's already pulling up in transition, rising on balance in the open court, moving and rising into threes out of pindowns... all great signs for a 6-foot-10ish prospect who just turned 19 y/o. If he's a 35%ish shooter but on high volume and hard attempts, it doesn't move him down for me. But if he shoots in the mid-30s on a relatively "easy" catch-and-shoot diet without showing more flashes creating for himself, then it's a much bigger concern.
I agree that he's not a #1 scorer, but he has everything it takes to be a really valuable and solid role player for a long time. He's the number one prospect on my big board.
@@FloorandCeiling I think I would as well, just now digging into this draft. Have a hard time seeing Atlanta not drafting him if they keep the pick and Trae.
Hangs out at the 3 point line. Yah, we need more guys like that :) At least he can hit them, tho at 37%? Thats a top 3 pick? Maybe he'll get stronger...maybe he wont. He needs more time to develop. NBA teams are too desperate and its hurting the game. I'm missing the 80's...lol
@@FloorandCeiling I just don't see it...for the exact reasons I mentioned. But, there seems to be a group-think that agrees with you. I've never been a group-think guy ;)
For anyone who actually understands about high competition level, basketball. This dude called Zaccharie R.; is a complete safe bet, for any NBA roster. Even for the Phenix Suns, that already have two great shooting guards. Since a good shooting guard, tends to keep the opponent team's defence, guessing; and therefore voiding the need for overcooking complex offensive basketball plays. A bit like the Atlanta Hawks, used to play; when Dekembe and Dominic, were still playing in the NBA.
We're seeing in the playoffs that the NBA is a quick decisions league, particularly if you're not one of the two stars/ballhandlers on the team. You need to be able to catch and shoot, catch and drive, or catch and pass quickly. Risacher can do all of these things already, plus his help side defense as a 6-foot-10 wing is already impressive given that he's an 18 y/o in his first pro season. Right now, I have him ranked higher than Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis.
Thanks for the vid! This draft is going to be super unpredictable! You should do a mock draft now that the lottery is done. Curious how your mock looks.
I touched on this in my latest mock draft, but Holland absolutely deserves credit for how he has grown from an energy wing prospect who was almost like an undersized big at times to someone who has primary initiator potential. Two or three years ago, it was unimaginable to imagine Holland creating for himself off the bounce or pulling up after breaking a defender down with his handle. However, those flashes are still very raw. The shotmaking can come around despite the low percentages, but I'm more worried about the decision making. Ron isn't quick off the catch, he hesitates shooting spot-ups, he can suffer from tunnel vision, and his shot selection needs to improve. Right now, I'm higher on Risacher. The NBA is a catch and shoot/pass/drive league now. He can do those things already, as we've seen this season for Bourg. Zaccharie showed less self-creation than Holland, but he understood his role better and he has consistently made good decisions as a first-year 18 y/o pro playing A LOT of games. On top of that, his defense is more functional at this stage.
The million dollar question: can he be more physical in the nba. As a hawk I really like him but the hawks lack a pest on defense, seems kind of smart and conservative like Deandre Hunter
People saying he’s not falling out of top 3 aren’t taking into consideration the top 3 teams picking. ATL with the first pick is taking Sarr. Houston at 3 has a lot of wings and they need a big like Clingan to pair with Sengun. The wiz are the team I would see taking Zach unless they feel high on Topic. I don’t think it’s far fetched that Zach falls to 4.
@@calebjackson3580 It's a good fit because he can play off the ball (keeping the touches going through Sengun, FVV, Jalen Green, Brooks, Whitmore and Amen in the long term...) while adding size+multipositionality on defense. I'm just not sure Risacher will be available at 3.
The guy is not an elite rim protector, can't create his own shot, cant shoot off dribble in high volume and will never be 1st option or even a star. Why on some draft tables he goes number 1 pick is beyond me. Lottery teams typically desperate for stars, I think he is riding the Euroleague hype.
@@joed7185 I'd understand sarr as he is a safe bet even if he wont be a star. But Risacher plays soft it seems, Hornets had excuse to draft Brandon Miller as they already have LaMelo. I doubt it'd make sense to draft him for any lottery team. If Pistons draft him they'll keep tanking.
The biggest concern is the lack of self creation. I will say that Risacher seems like he'll always be more of a third option, but he could explode in a setting with more freedom. His role was really narrow in France and Europe. With Atlanta getting the first pick, I think Alex Sarr is the favorite to be the top pick this draft but I really can't see RIsacher falling past the Rockets at 3.
@@rep227 I think the issue is that the only top prospects who can actually shoot that isn't a guard are Risacher and Kyle Filipowski And like, the Pistons already have a non-shooting defensive wing in Ausar, so
I like Castle at 4 better, just for the two way presences. Spurs need defense. Then get Sheppard or Dalton Knecht for shooting with the 8th. Or Dillingham or Topic with the 8th.
Yeah, I think San Antonio will go after a guard and a wing but they also really need shooting. You can hold off on being a good defensive team for a bit longer imo, but I don’t think you want Victor Wembanyama playing around non-spacing again.
Seems likely if he's there at #3 tbh (I think the Rockets' best fits are probably Risacher, Matas Buzelis, and then Reed Sheppard, Jared McCain, and Devin Carter a tier or two below), but I'm honestly not sure he will be.
The prospect who reminds me the most of Jabari in this draft - although it's almost strictly a one-way situation because the defense is not there right now - is Tyler Smith from the G League Ignite. I have a video on him, as well.
@@FloorandCeiling yeah I’m not surprised, but I’m a Rockets fan so I love Jabari. So I’m saying as a Rockets span. We already have that type of player in Jabari Smith Junior.
If the Rockets keep this pick, then I think they should be looking to draft someone who is comfortable off the ball and can also contribute on defense. Risacher fits the bill and, if he's there at #3, I don't see him falling past that.
@@rep227 I can understand this and get behind the idea if it happens, but I guess I'm still high on Jalen Green and I think he'll be ready to shoulder more of the workload again in a couple of seasons. With Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore developing, those two guys will also be able to handle the ball. That's before getting to Alperen Sengun, who needs a lot of touches. With all of those guys on the roster, I'm more partial to drafting someone who can make quick decisions off the ball, while continuing to add size and length around Sengun's defensive limitations.
@@FloorandCeiling Well Sheppard can contribute with his perimeter defense and shooting. We overpaid VanVleet only because he accepted a short term contract and Amen is currently having problem with handles and showing good signs of being an off ball player. I really think we should pick Sheppard, he is the safest option for us and best fit.
@rep227 Sheppard is 6'3 and doesn't project to be anywhere near Van Fleet defensively. Add to that he is not a great point of attack defender. He's great at playing the passing lanes, but he'll get hunted outside of that. He's a great shooter but not at 3. Trade back or something instead of taking that guy at 3.
18-year-old pro in his first season against grown men. Not to mention that Risacher will finish the season having played about 60 games. Can't be too harsh.
I seriously hope the Hawks draft this guy bcuz he clearly does not need the ball in his hands to be effective and it would be retarded as hell to draft A player like Sarr who needs the ball in his hands just like Young and Murray having 3 players on A team that need the ball hasnt ever worked in NBA history
