Ibou Badji had no business getting to Zach Edey’s jump hook shot. The 7-foot-4 Canadian had collected an offensive rebound and put a shoulder into Badji before going up for what appeared to be an easy close-range finish.
The 7-foot-2 Senegalese center swatted the ball into Canada’s bench, showing the type of athleticism that could appeal to an NBA team on draft night.
Badji, whose Senegal team was ultimately outclassed by a stacked Canada squad at the Under 19 World Cup last summer, is a pick-and-roll lob threat and rim protector extraordinaire.
The 19-year-old Badji, who is under contract with Barcelona, withdrew his name from consideration for the 2021 NBA draft and stayed to Spain. He saw only 3 minutes of action in Barcelona’s opener, a likely preview of his season given the squad’s depth, so he agreed to a loan to second-division Lleida.
“I need to play. I need to make myself better than last year,” Badji said of the move after he had spent most of the prior two…