GW Hoops / Welcome Zamoku Weluche-Ume

**Posted by Free Quebec** 5/08/2023 9:31 am

Committed to GW!

Beat out Davidson for him.

He plays on a pro team in London with some really good former college stars - Sam Dekker and Jordan Taylor from Wisconsin, Miye Oni from Yale, Kostos Koufos from Ohio St, Luke Nelson from Irvine (frmr Big West POY), Josh Sharma from Stanford. Hopefully all that experience practicing against grown men will mean he’s ready for college ball because those players are better than anything he’ll see in the A10.

Have a good feeling about him. Great pickup!

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 5/08/2023 9:38 am

Great News!!

**Posted by Free Quebec** 5/08/2023 9:52 am

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w20Qi8Ql3pw

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hTiQ0d4_bYk

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X1PmvfURU4k

**Posted by dmvpiranha** 5/08/2023 9:56 am

Welcome Zamoku! There's some definite upside here, although his shooting stats are pretty rough at Barking Abbey where he got actual playing time - he shot under 40% from the field in the last two seasons (hopefully just a product of poor shot selection). At the very least, he can provide some rebounding and I think he may be able to translate defensively with some games under his belt.

I think there are definitely some high upside players for next year, but that's now seven players who have either not played a game in college/seen limited action. Hopefully we can fill the remaining spots with some more experienced players to back up JB's decision to return for his COVID year.

**Posted by Mike K** 5/08/2023 10:30 am

Welcome to G Dub!

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 5/08/2023 10:34 am

Welcome Zamoku. This has to rank among Pops's top assists. (Admittedly not a huge part of #21's game way back when.)

Zamoku's stats should be rendered practically meaningless. He appeared in just 12 of the team's 36 games, averaging under 11 minutes of playing time. (His team incidentally is 32-4.) I agree though with FQ; the experience of being on this team, working with and against teammates during practices, should be considered invaluable experience.

**Posted by jf** 5/08/2023 10:41 am

Great news that we landed a target player. Excellent start to the week. Was wondering why he hadn't committed because the situation and history is perfect for Zamoku.
Furthering our international tradition, which is a great talent market for GW in the Word's Most
Powerful City. Time to drape yet another flag at the Smith Center. And the Pops British connection and history is also great.
You never know how a player will turn out in D1, but if Zamoku puts in the hard work and uses
his talent and athleticism for our needs, he now has the opportunity to make an impact in the
U.S. And has the right coach to do it with to further any high-level pro aspirations.
A very nice outside shot in one of the highlight reels. Zamoku can use his height and springiness to gather rebounds, which we need, and develop his post game, at least in some situations.
Welcome Zamoku and family to our GW family.

**Posted by The Dude** 5/08/2023 11:57 am

Looks like a great addition!

GW does best with a heavy dose of international players

No better destination for them than GW with its massive international student body in the heart of the nation's capital

6'8 with some hops and a legit stroke from 3. Skilled Euro quick first step

Last edited by The Dude (5/08/2023 12:12 pm)

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 6/14/2023 9:16 am

Great Britain U20 Camp

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 7/04/2023 3:31 pm

He made the final roster

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 7/07/2023 2:11 pm

Playing right now vs Austria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLd3dnAW1Q

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 7/07/2023 4:00 pm

Leading scorer in 72-63 win

15pts , 5/8 FG, 3-5 3pt

Team includes James Okonkwo who just transferred from WVU to UNC

**Posted by GW0509** 7/07/2023 4:10 pm

Florida Colonial wrote:
Playing right now vs Austria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLd3dnAW1Q

Thanks for posting the link!

Things I liked:
1. Wingspan - There were a couple of times where he was able to reach out and deflect passes to what looked to be open cutting Austrians
2. Playing Time - He's not just filling out a spot on the team. He played significant minutes in all four quarters, including closing out the win.
3. Confidence - Saw a couple of really confident drives as well as taking and making open 3's when they were available.

Things I didn't like
1. Post game - Very glad we got Akingbola because as of now Weluche-Ume is not a presence down low on offense (or defense really). Mostly ran to the 3-point line during fast breaks. The times he did try to back someone down he couldn't dribble and turned the ball over.
2. Free Throws - Form didn't look bad but they weren't falling today.
3. Defense - Could look lost at times on where he was supposed to be. As described above, his wingspan bails him out when he loses his assignment.
4. Rebounds - Didn't record a single rebound.

Definitely looked like he'll be more of a project than a Day 1 contributor. However, if he figures it out, I think we will have our next dynamic international player. As of now, I see him more of a Draymond Green than Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Last edited by GW0509 (7/07/2023 4:23 pm)

**Posted by jf** 7/07/2023 5:08 pm

Yes, some nice touches, including a smooth 3. And actually put his body in the line a couple of times.
But in accordance with analysis above, seems more comfortable outside than inside, at least in this game.
Has to hit the boards. But certainly, some nice potential and Zamoku has time to develop.

**Posted by LA Colonial** 7/09/2023 9:06 am

10 points on 5-6 shooting and seven rebounds in 30 minutes in 63-56 loss to Portugal. GB rated 38 in FIBA ratings was rated higher than #49 Portugal. .Zamoku is co-leader on team in scoring at 12.5 per game shooting 10 -14 while other co-leader is 3-12 but made lots of foul shots.

**Posted by BM** 7/09/2023 12:02 pm

I don't think Zamoku touched the ball in the first five minutes of the Portugal game. He was just camped out in the corner waiting for the pass. He eventually became more active and contributed more. The Portugal PGs were super pesky (21 TOs by GBR) so there wasn't much flow to the game. Saw more than one would-be driver make a U-turn when they saw Zamuko between them and the basket. He was on the bench for less than five minutes.

Less to say about Luxembourg game. Played less and had a quiet 11/5 (pretty much every game has been a "quiet --/--".

Flat three point shot, but it's worked for him (5-9). Free throw shooting has been abysmal (3-10). ORtg after three games is 126.

Overall he seems very agile for his size and has a nice outside stroke, but way too deferential on rebounds and rarely drives. He needs some of Benny aggression.

Last edited by BM (7/09/2023 12:20 pm)

**Posted by MG14** 7/11/2023 8:45 am

GB with a close victory over Hungary. Zamoku had an off shooting day going 1-7 from the field (0-6 from 3) and finishing with 4 points. Also had 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 3 TOs. He ended up playing 36 minutes.

**Posted by BM** 7/14/2023 1:37 pm

Must get this guy on the team!

https://www.fiba.basketball/europe/u20b/2023/player/Peteris-Pinnis

**Posted by BM** 7/17/2023 10:35 am

Final stats (seven games):

% Minutes: 81
ORtg: 97
3pt%: 33
FT%: 47
Reb/g: 3.6 (meh)

**Posted by dmvpiranha** 7/17/2023 2:12 pm

Benny and Zam both need to improve their finishing near the rim, but I'm looking forward to seeing both develop next year. Right now, Benny is definitely a bit ahead in development.

I'm especially excited to see Zam in an offense with actual coaching. The potential was there, but it was extremely frustrating to watch Great Britain play. They were fortunate to even get out of group play honestly. Unlike Germany, I didn't see a lot of passing and team play. It just looked like a bunch of guys playing pickup. Zam might as well have participated at Kenner with the way England played. The lack of ball movement was especially glaring given his team didn't really have a go-to guy either. Team rebounding and boxing out was spotty at best.

Zam played many minutes but it largely looked like cardio because he got the ball inconsistently and when he did get a touch he felt like he had to get a shot up. Despite that, he was one of the few players who actually tried to make the extra pass/ the right play and I think his willingness to potentially be a lower usage guy/connector piece on the court at least in year 1 may help him get some minutes here and there. I'm willing to excuse his shot selection/stats somewhat because his team was terrible.