Noa Essengue Continues To Fill Up the Box Score for Ratiopharm Ulm

Ratiopharm Ulm is in the midst of struggles in EuroCup play but that hasn’t stopped Noa Essengue from filling up the box score. The 17-year-old continues to make a case for being one of the strongest international prospects in this class.

Noa Essengue / fiba.basketbal

Noa Essengue shot out of a cannon to open the season for Ratiopharm Ulm. At only 17 years old, he made it obvious from the first game of the season that he was worthy of a high-level role with Ratiopharm Ulm, and part of why he likely chose this club, is that they wouldn’t be scared to put a lot of trust in a young player like him. 

Essengue has paid back that trust. Ulm are currently on a three-game skid in EuroCup play but they were nowhere near a competition favorite to begin with. While the team has been up and down, Essengue has still been making the most of his opportunities. He’s currently averaging 10.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on 47/27/69 shooting splits in 23 minutes per game across all competitions. 

The greatest test for Essengue this season is the three-point shooting. His frame and athleticism have led scouts to consistently believe he’ll have the physical tools necessary to be an NBA player, and his talent - shooting aside - across all facets of the game has given him a great foundation to build upon. But in the modern NBA shooting is everything. A player like Essengue can’t be a 3-and-D wing if he can’t make threes. He also won’t be big enough to play center, and it’s well-known there’s little room in the league for non-shooting bigs. 

Essengue is shooting 27 percent from deep across all competitions, but interestingly is shooting 40 percent from three on 15 attempts in EuroCup play and 12 percent from three on 17 attempts in domestic play. Those splits are interesting because you usually see the inverse. EuroCup is higher-quality basketball and thus, you tend to see players shooting numbers drop there with the lack of inferior opponents to juice the numbers. But Essengue shows the opposite. 

Additionally, his three-point shot looks good. The form is consistent, the release point is high, and the mechanics are solid. The ball rotates properly and is often on target. A good portion of the misses he’s had, especially the few bad ones, have been long. Some of his threes have gone completely over the rim or barely grazed the opposite side of the rim. The makeup of those misses is interesting. At such a young age, Essengue is likely getting stronger and he could be struggling to factor that into his shot. It’s only a theory, but the consistency in form and ability to reliably make the shot against tougher competition could give it some credence. Take a look at a sample of his misses for yourself. 

Outside of the three-point shot, Essengue has impressed in other facets of his game. He’s a true weapon in transition, with his long strides making him next to impossible to beat in a race to the rim. He’s an animal on the backboards too, and particularly hard for opponents to keep off the offensive glass. Additionally, he continues to pass and screen well - even showing the ability to throw acutely accurate crosscourt passes with pace. Something not a lot of prospects his age do, especially when they aren’t point guards. 

The defensive upside remains the same. He can guard practically every position, is equally comfortable from the post to the perimeter, and already nails rotations and help defense positioning. His output on both ends of the floor has him rising up draft boards, but the leap into the elite tier of prospects in this loaded 2025 Draft Class will be contingent on the three-point shot.

If he can consistently get above 30 percent, on decent volume, across both competitions that could be more than enough for scouts and NBA teams to buy stock in it and believe he has star upside. Through the first phase of the international season, Essengue has given plenty of reason to believe in that outcome.

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