Noa Essengue, one of the top prospects in world basketball, is set to make his BKT EuroCup debut next season after ratiopharm Ulm signed the versatile forward to a multi-year deal. Essengue (2.05 meters, 16 years old) arrives from Pole France Paris, where he averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 33 French third division game last season.
Ulm invests in young prospect Noa Essengue
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An ANGT standout
Essengue also played for U18 PFBB INSEP Paris at the Belgrade edition of the 2023 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament. Despite being younger than most of his opponents, Essengue averaged 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.0 steals and a PIR of 16.0, taking INSEP to the championship game, in which he had 15 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort against U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade. He has also been a member of the French U16 national team, helping it get a bronze medal at the 2022 European Championship.
A long-term signing
He has signed a deal as a dual player, meaning that Essengue can play for Ulm and its junior team. "What we can see in France, especially in the youth work, is this great athleticism with great body length. You can't practice that," Ulm youth team coordination and former player Chris Ensminger said. "Noa is a big player but still extremely flexible and agile. That makes him variable and qualifies him to play in different positions. Beyond the borders of Europe, the way of playing basketball is developing in such a direction, which is why French talents are very interesting due to this situation.”