By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Detroit Pistons proudly presented their top pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Sekou Doumbouya. They previously met with the 18-year-old French forward, but didn’t expect him to be still available for their first pick, the 15th overall. “I told him I didn’t think he’d ever see us again” Dwane Casey admitted and added: “We got lucky.”
Front office chief Ed Stefanski confirmed: “We were very fortunate,” before introducing and handing Doumbouya the #45 jersey. “We never thought it was going to happen. I’d rather be lucky than good and that’s what happened last night” he further pointed out.
Diving into the young French upstart’s playing abilities, he thoroughly checked alongside Stefanski, Casey mentioned: “Similar running the floor and athleticism as far as leaping ability and that type of thing,” before adding: “He’s a jet running the floor like Pascal, so it should increase our speed. His length, his size, his ability to switch positions is something that catches your eye. We have to keep in mind he’s 18 years old.”
Doumbouya will play in the Summer League, but his head coach already counts on him: “He’s going to come here now and stay,” and explained: “He’s not going back, so he’s ours. That’s what I love about him. It’ll be like a piece of clay for us. It’s going to be a village. All of the staff, all hands on deck with him. He’ll definitely be in Summer League, which is great.”
Basketball winning him over
Doumbouya talked about how he picked up basketball over soccer giving credit to his mother: “She said, ‘Try one time. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it,’ I tried one time and then I loved it.”
Asked about Casey, he answered: “I love everything. I love what he does with the team. I love what he did with Pascal Siakam, one of my favorite players right now. I’m just happy to be here to work with him.”