GDYNIA (Poland) - French power forward Zacharie Perrin was named MVP of the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024, after leading his country to its third-ever U20 title.
Perrin already has an extensive career in FIBA Youth competitions, including an All-Star Five nod in last year’s FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, where France came up just short, losing in the Final against Spain. This year, however, the 19-year-old forward was instrumental to get France over the hump, en route to their second title in a row at the U20 level.
In this Player Spotlight, we'll take a closer look at Perrin's game and the ways in which he helped France take the gold medal in Gdynia.
Offense - Toughness and Smoothness in Equal Parts
For Perrin, it all starts with his combination of size and fluidity, which makes him a valuable player on multiple levels of the floor. Standing at 2.08m (6ft 10in) with long arms and a strong frame, Perrin makes most of his damage around the basket, both as an interior scorer and offensive rebounder.
On a fundamental level, Perrin is a strong finisher who utilizes his strength to play through contact, create space against opponents and protect the ball in traffic. Despite not being a tremendously explosive leaper off a standstill, Perrin is still a tough cover for opponents, being able to keep his balance against contact and convert catch-and-finish opportunities around the basket with relative ease due to his combination of strength, touch and versatility as a finisher.
Beyond the play finishing, Perrin is also able to create his own shot with his back to the basket, with his strength and his fluidity with the ball in his hands. He’s comfortable taking a dribble in traffic and he shows impressive coordination and footwork in these situations, utilizing spin moves and step throughs to find the open space around the rim.
Perrin can also generate extra possessions for his team with his offensive rebounding, an area in which the French forward benefits from his combination of strength, standing reach, motor and great hands to pursue his own misses and secure contested rebounds in traffic.
As imposing as Perrin is around the basket, the most eye-popping moments for him happen beyond the restricted area, where his combination of size and ball-handling ability gets him to the rim both in transition and in half-court drives.
The French forward is not a tremendously quick handler, but he certainly possesses a great level of creativity and smoothness with the ball in his hands for his size, which turns him into a mismatch, as he’s too fluid for opposing bigs to contain in the perimeter, but when defended by smaller guards and wings, he can just overmatch them physically and drive to the rim through contact for easy layups.
His passing ability is equally as impressive when you consider his size. Perrin is not exactly a point forward, but his fluidity with the ball in his hands allows him to lead the break and distribute the ball in transition. In the half-court, Perrin plays with equal parts of unselfishness and flair as a passer, always looking to get teammates involved, being quick to react to double teams and defenses collapsing, and finding teammates with creative deliveries through crowded spaces.
The jumper is a work in progress. He has certainly made strides in this area, having attempted 3.0 three-pointers per game after averaging just 0.6 per game in previous FIBA tournaments. While the results aren’t there just yet, having converted just 23.8 percent of his three-pointers and 54.3 percent off his free-throws during the tournament, his newfound willingness to attempt three-pointers and some encouraging flashes, especially in pick-and-pop situations, are a good indicator of potential for him to eventually become a threat as a three-point shooter.
Defense - A Multi-Level Presence
Similar to his offense, Perrin was able to make an impact on defense both around the basket and beyond the arc. Despite his outstanding size and strength, France didn’t have Perrin as a full-time rim protector, allowing him to act as the last line of defense and contest shots around the basket as a help defender. When he had to step into an interior defender role, was also able to hold his own in post ups, contesting shots and deterring opponents from scoring.
When Perrin was in the perimeter, he did a good job of staying in front of opposing wings and forwards in switches and ISO situations. He’s not quick laterally, but he moves with enough fluidity and body control to stay in front of opponents and utilize his size and length to contest shots without fouling.
As an off-ball defender, Perrin shows a level of anticipation that allows him to come up with steals and deflections occasionally, but he could definitely show more awareness, as he can stay upright, get caught ball-watching and give his defensive assignment too much space, all details that make him vulnerable once opponents receive the ball and he has to close out. Even if he can get low and turn his hips rather quickly for his size in switches and ISO situations, plays that require a level of reactiveness are out of his comfort zone due to his lack of elite quickness.
Outlook
While France had a truly stacked cast at Gdynia, with Noah Penda, Alexandre Bouzidi and Mohamed Diawara all making important contributions, it’s fair to say that Zacharie Perrin was the driving force behind France’s second U20 EuroBasket title in a row, as he made an impact across the board, providing his team with interior scoring, playmaking for others, rebounding and versatile defense.
Perrin will be one of the top young players to watch during the 2024-25 season, not only in French basketball, but among all international prospects ahead of next year’s NBA draft.
While at times it becomes difficult to envision players who don’t have the elite measurements to be full-time rim protectors thriving in the NBA without a reliable jumpshot, Perrin showed at FIBA U20 EuroBasket that he possesses a number of qualities such as toughness, ball-handling ability, interior scoring and feel for the game that could be valuable for any team in the world, including those in the NBA.
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