Evaluating Eli John N’Diaye and Hugo Gonzalez against Crvena Zvezda in a Euroleague Game

November 3rd, 2024

Real Madrid’s 6-8 Senegalese forward, Eli John N’Diaye has been getting plenty of playing time and is playing well in the Euroleague and the Spanish ACB League, which are two of the toughest professional leagues from around the world. Also, Real Madrid has a highly touted prospect in 6-6 swingman Hugo Gonzalez, who is projected by some to be a potential first round pick for the 2025 draft. I decided to take the time to watch them play for Real Madrid in a October 24th game against Crvena Zvezda, with thanks to YouTube via PierreHoops. Here are my thoughts on how they fared, as well as how they may currently stack up as prospects for the NBA.

6-8 forward, Eli John N’diaye scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting, made 2 threes, and had 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block in Real Madrid’s 95-72 Euroleague win over Crvena Zvezda on October 24th.
(Photo: Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images, via Relevo)

Eli John N’Diaye had a strong showing to help lead his team to a blowout win over Crvena Zvezda. He is a very athletic, skilled combo forward that excelled at making plays on both ends of the floor to help his team get the victory. N’Diaye shot the ball very well from beyond the arc. He was very effective in making open, spot-up threes off the catch, and he did a very good job of knocking down outside shots to provide floor spacing for his team.

He also showed a knack for scoring on hustle plays. N’Diaye excelled at scoring on fast breaks and rolls to the rim. He was able to score on a strong floater in traffic, and he also threw down an emphatic jam on the break. Plus, he also was able to slip a screen to score on a thunderous dunk. On the other hand, N’Diaye wasn’t quite as effective at scoring out of the post. He struggled to make jump hooks consistently around the basket, and though he drew a foul to get to the free throw line once, he missed both of his free throws in this game.

Also, N’Diaye displayed satisfactory playmaking skills in this game. He is an unselfish player that will make the extra pass to find open shooters, and he would get the ball to his teammates to set up scores for them. He also showed that he can pass on the move. There was one play where he dropped a quick pass out of bounds, but his teammate’s pass was hard to handle that time.

He also showed a satisfactory ability to rebound the basketball. N’Diate was able to leap up to get a handful of defensive boards, and he also would chase down balls and tip them to his teammates due to possessing a good motor. On one play early on, he tried to leap up to get a defensive board, but the ball went off his hands and went out of bounds instead.

N’Diaye also defended very well in this game. He is an athletic, rangy defender that will actively contest shots to get stops for his team. He was able to intercept a pass that was thrown right to him to get a steal. He also stayed with an opposing ball handler and rotated to defend a roll man to block a shot hard in a timely fashion out of bounds. Plus, he moves his feet well, and he would actively contest shots both out on the perimeter and in the paint to force a wealth of misses. Sometimes though, he would over-help too far off of his man, which would lead him to be out of position and late on his rotations, which would lead him to allow opponents to score on outside shots.

Overall, Eli John N’Diaye is a very athletic, energetic combo forward whose sharpshooting prowess, ability to score on the move, and multi-positional defensive versatility makes him an intriguing prospect for the 2025 draft. While he may not be an elite shot creator or facilitator, he is a high-motor player that projects well into a 3 and D role as well as into an energetic defensive specialist role at the NBA level. He is having a very good season right now, and he could end up going in the late first round, as he could end up being a solid role player similar to former New York Knicks’ forward, Wilson Chandler in the NBA.

Hugo Gonzalez didn’t play very much in Real Madrid’s blowout win over Crvena Zvezda, as he essentially only played in garbage time when the game was already out of hand. Still, Gonzalez was able to make some good plays on offense, and he’s an athletic, ball-handling swingman that showed some promise on both ends of the court, even though his jump shot still is largely a question mark.

Gonzalez showed a fairly solid ability to score off the dribble. He was able to utilize a crafty, Eurostep move to his left to score on a contested running layup in traffic. On the other hand, he missed an open three-pointer off the catch, and he has really struggled to knock down outside shots this season.

On one good play, Gonzalez was able to quickly swing the ball to notch an assist. He also did an adequate job of rebounding the basketball. He also played decent defense in this game. He was able to fight through a screen to stay with an opposing ball handler and get back to his man. He also rotated and fought through a screen to contest a three to force a miss. On one play though, he got beat off the dribble when defending the baseline, which led him to commit a reach-in foul.

Overall, Gonzalez didn’t get nearly as much playing time as anticipated, and one possible reason is that his outside shot hasn’t come around as quickly as the other skills he’s shown so far. Still, he’s an athletic playmaker that has shown solid two-way potential. Even if he ends up sliding out of the lottery and ends up being more of a prospect that goes in the late first to the second round range, he is a crafty offensive player who at best could develop into a Spencer Dinwiddie type of player in the NBA.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how N’Diaye and Gonzalez fared in this game. Thanks for reading.