2019 NBA Draft: Mfiondu Kabengele low on draft boards despite skill-set

Mfiondu Kabengele is a perfect fit for today’s NBA. Why isn’t there more buzz around Florida State’s big man for the 2019 NBA Draft, especially his skill-set?

This year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has lacked the typical madness that is associated with its March showcase. Auburn and Oregon are the only non-top-four seeds to make the Sweet 16, which means the second weekend of the tournament will feature, for once, the best teams in the country, and present us with great individual and team matchups, including Mfiondu Kabengele against Gonzaga’s NBA frontline.

Kabengele is a 6’10” big man that comes off the bench for Florida State and happens to be their leading scorer despite playing only 21.4 minutes per game. FSU is an extremely deep team that Leonard Hamilton uses to his advantage to wear out opponents, but Kabengele has stood out all season with his all-around game for those who’ve watched the Seminoles.

The 21-year-old from Burlington, Canada is averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through FSU’s first two tournament games, shooting 64.0 percent from the field and 66.7 percent on 3-pointers. Yes, it’s a small sample size against two mid-majors in Vermont and Murray State. But Kabengele shot 38.1 percent from deep on 1.8 attempts per game in the regular season along with blocking 1.5 shots per game.

Those two numbers alone should make the nephew of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo a first round prospect for the 2019 NBA Draft (if he were to declare), but for most of the season he’s nowhere to be found. After his great start to the tourney, he’s climbed up some rankings, with ESPN ranking him No. 30 in their latest rankings and Yahoo! pegging him at No. 34 in their post-tourney mock draft.

It’s great to see this happen, and somewhat shocking that it’s taken this long for him to be noticed. This is a player that is dominant on both sides of the floor in limited minutes playing in the best conference in college basketball. Kabengele stands out every time he’s on the floor, whether he’s crashing the boards and finishing in the paint or sticking with guards on the perimeter defensively.

This is a player that played really well in the ACC Tournament when the competition improved with matchups against three teams currently in the Sweet 16 (Virginia Tech, Virginia and Duke). Kabengele averaged 2.7 blocks and shot 35.7 percent from deep on 4.7 attempts per game. The percentage is lower, but that’s impressive for a big man taking that many 3s.

After the dominant performances to start the NCAA Tournament, Kabengele gets his biggest test yet and a chance to go against two top-level NBA prospects that Gonzaga boasts. Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura have been near the top half of draft boards all season and present a great barometer for Kabengele for NBA minds.

Clarke is more mobile than Hachimura, but seeing Kabengele matchup with both of them is the highlight of the Sweet 16 for NBA scouts. Clarke is a defensive marvel who averaged 3.1 blocks and 1.2 steals per game this season, and seeing how he defends Kabengele in an all-Canadian matchup in the post — and when he’s stretched out to the perimeter — will give a rare NBA vibe to a college game from a big man perspective.

Regardless of how he performs against the Zags, Mfiondu Kabengele has boosted his stock tremendously this March. He does literally everything you’d want in an NBA big in today’s game. He is efficient in the paint, has a proven record of being a solid shooter from deep and is a monster on the offensive glass (2.1 offensive rebounds per game).

Defensively, you’d be pressed to find many 6’10” bigs that offer his combination of perimeter defense and shot-blocking prowess. Like everyone, he has to improve in some areas, such as passing and ball-handling. But a pick-and-pop big that can roll to the rim, crash the offensive glass and defend across the board should not be slotted in the 30s.

If he shows out against Gonzaga and however long Florida State lasts in the tournament, expect him to continue climbing up boards. Roles and niches are becoming a major part in team development in the NBA, and Kabengele has a clear skill-set that is coveted by NBA teams. If he declares for the draft this year in a supposed down year for prospects, Mfiondu Kabengele is a name to watch moving forward.