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Dallas Mavericks: A Closer Look At Maurice Ndour

By Christian Blood

Jul 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) dribbles the ball as New York Knicks forward Maurice Ndour (55) defends during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. The Knicks won 76-66. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) dribbles the ball as New York Knicks forward Maurice Ndour (55) defends during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. The Knicks won 76-66. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Dallas Mavericks continue to add athleticism and length to their roster as the franchise has just added intriguing prospect Maurice Ndour, a still-developing forward most recently active with the New York Knicks during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

According to Mavs.com, Ndour has signed a deal worth an undisclosed amount. In fact, there’s not much to know about this 6’9” rookie who was born in the West African nation of Senegal.

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But as the video below illustrates, Ndour has a skill set that seems a little uncommon for the position he plays. This guy has some stroke to him, and by that I mean that he hits shots from beyond the arc. He hits from just about anywhere.

Ndour also shows plenty of ball handling skills beneath the rim and his 7’6” wingspan gives him the ability to get his hands on opposing shots either outside the paint or within the lane.

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In fact, Ndour resembles, in some ways anyway, recently signed Jeremy Evans, another 6’9” forward signed by Dallas earlier this month. In this particular case, Ndour really looks like he’s the better shooter and is also a few years younger at just 23 years old.

In addition to inexperience at the NBA level – or no experience – Ndour probably could afford to add a good 10-15 pounds to that frame as he’ll need some extra strength when going up against other NBA big men. His leaping ability is well established, but his ability to maintain position will likely be a significant challenge moving forward.

With the Knicks this summer, Ndour was highly productive. He averaged 9.6 points and 28.3 minutes per game. His 4.8 rebounds were evident along with his single blocked shot and one steal per game. His 23 points over Philadelphia were good for a team high in that particular contest.

Most of Ndour’s experience at this point comes from having played a couple of seasons at Monroe College and then Ohio University for two more. He obviously went undrafted, but is this not looking like the type of player that Dallas seems to be in the market for developing as of late?

Yes, the Mavericks have a well-distinguished reputation for looking for talent overseas.

Future Hall of Fame member Dirk Nowitzki obviously cements that reputation nicely, but just this year the Mavs drafted 19-year-old center Satnam Singh, an Indian native who’s going to take some time to develop, but if successful could end up being a fantastic building block for the post-Nowitzki era, which is coming much sooner than later.

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    • It would seem that Ndour would be a prospect for the power forward position in Dallas one day, at least if his game translates to the NBA quicker than later.

    Then again, it’s possible that he could play small forward for the Mavericks depending on where things go long-term for recovering Chandler Parsons.

    Ndour seems intelligent and has been around the world working on his craft. He seems realistic enough to know that he’s not a finished product and that it’s going to take some real effort and patience for his dream to come true.

    Maybe he realizes that he’s got something that many other players like him don’t have, starting with desire.

    If he stays healthy and continues his upward push coming out of college, it’s not impossible that he could find himself getting minutes on a Mavericks team that’s not exactly rebuilding, but definitely renovating itself for future contention beyond 2015-16.

    Next: Dallas Mavericks: A Future For Jeremy Tyler In Big D?

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