Fred Hoiberg hit the transfer portal hard in the offseason to supplement a key group of returners and a well-rounded 2022 recruiting class. The final piece of that puzzle was SMU transfer guard Emmanuel Bandoumel, who will look to fill a key role for the Huskers on the wing.
Bandoumel is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, who spent the last three seasons at SMU. He started 68 of the 80 games he played in a Mustang jersey including every game of the last two seasons. This past season, Bandoumel averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 36.1% from the field (35.2% from 3) and 82.3% from the free-throw line.
To get a better feel for what Bandoumel will bring to the table for the Huskers, I dove into his 2021-21 game film with the help of Synergy Sports.
Previous Film Studies: Derrick Walker | C.J. Wilcher | Keisei Tominaga | Juwan Gary
Bandoumel scored .906 points per possession (PPP) in 2021-22, ranking him in the 59th percentile and considered “good,” largely because of his 3-point volume and low turnover rate.
The part of Bandoumel’s offensive game that he relies on most heavily is his jump shot as 76% of his shots this past season were jumpers. He shot a respectable 36.6% and scored 1.106 PPP (71st percentile, “very good”) on all catch-and-shoot opportunities. His unguarded numbers were even better — 40.6% shooting on 69 attempts, 1.217 PPP, 66th percentile. His catch-and-shoot numbers in 2020-21 were even better, albeit on a smaller sample size — 42.6% overall with a slightly higher percentage on guarded shots than unguarded ones. However, he struggled mightily shooting off the dribble, converting them at a 25% rate this past season.
More than half his possessions — 53.3%, to be exact — came in spot-up situations. As a reminder, this category includes both catch-and-shoot looks and any driving opportunities after the catch. He scored 0.892 PPP (50th percentile, “average”), though he shot just 32.4% overall.
Two-thirds of his spot-up possessions ended in catch-and-shoot 3s, and he converted them at a 36.6% rate overall. He opened and closed the season on a bit of a cold streak (6-of-24 and 4-of-20, respectively) but shot 38-of-90 (42.2%) in between. It’s clear Bandoumel is confident in his jumper and comfortable letting it fly, whether his defender is close enough to contest or not. However, his efficiency cratered when he had to put the ball on the deck.
Bandoumel shot just 3-of-25 on pull-up jumpers (1-of-12 on 3s and 2-of-13 on mid-range shots), and it was an adventure any time he tired to get all the way to the basket. He shot 7-of-23 around the basket with five trips to the foul line and 15 turnovers. Bandoumel is a good run-and-jump athlete, but he seems to lack touch and coordination, and any kind of contact can lead to some wild misses around the basket.
The only other high-volume play type for Bandoumel at SMU last season was transition, which made up 19.9% of his possessions. He scored 0.934 PPP (37th percentile, “average”) and shot 38.8% from the field. Unfortunately, his catch-and-shoot numbers weren’t nearly as good as in spot-up situations. He shot just 9-of-34 (26.5%) from deep with those attempts spread out all around the arc. He did knock down his only pull-up 3 attempt, at least.
Bandoumel had more success attacking the basket in the open floor than he did in the halfcourt spot-up situations, and he was able to better show off his athleticism as a result. He shot 4-of-8 with two turnovers and two fouls when catching the ball on the perimeter and putting it on the deck. He shot 9-of-16 around the basket when he caught the ball and was able to finish with one dribble or less, including three alley-oops and four other dunks. He shot 4-of-7 with two turnovers when leading the break himself. Some of his finishing issues still popped up in transition as well and six of his 14 misses around the rim were the result of getting stuffed by a defender, but it was better.
Here are some fast break highlights of Bandoumel from last season.
Bandoumel is much more of an off-ball player, but he did show some promise as a secondary ball-handler in the pick-and-roll. He looked to score using a ball screen on 8.9% of his possessions (34 in total) and scored 0.794 PPP (62nd percentile, “good”) while shooting 40% from the field.
Once again, his finishing issues popped up as he shot 4-of-13 with one foul drawn at the rim, and he missed all three of his pull-up mid-range jumpers as well. However, he offset his struggles inside the arc by shooting 6-of-8 on pull-up 3s, and he did a good job of reading the ball screen coverages and identifying when he was going to have space to let it fly.
Bandoumel also shoed some promise as a playmaker out of ball screens. He generally reads defenses well and understands where to go with the ball. He hit his screener both rolling to the rim (three assists) and popping to the arc (two assists), and he showed a good feel for making the pocket pass on the short roll to give his big man a chance to make the right play (six good passes, two of which led to scores). He also did a good job identifying the open man on the perimeter (four more assists).
Here are some pick-and-roll highlights from last season.
The sample size for every other play type was too small to learn much from. Bandoumel is a somewhat limited player offensively, but spot-up, transition and pick-and-roll pay all fit nicely into Hoiberg’s offense.
However, it might be the other end of the floor (in addition to his experience in a good program) that made Bandoumel attractive to Nebraska after he entered the portal. He’s a smart defender who plays hard and uses his length well. At 6-foot-4, he has a plus wingspan which he uses to contest shots and get in the passing lanes. While he may not have elite lateral quickness, he’s fundamentally sound and moves his feet well. He works hard to stay in front of his man, and doesn’t give up when he’s initially beat, often getting back into the play to affect the shot. He does a good job of getting through screens. He generally understands where he needs to be when he isn’t guarding the ball and does a good job of making proper rotations, switching where necessary, stunting and recovering to shooters and generally putting in multiple efforts on any given possession.
Here are some highlights displaying Bandoumel’s defensive effort, fundamentals and IQ.
Hoiberg went after some big fish in the portal, looking to replace Bryce McGowens’ offensive production with the likes of Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves and South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman. Instead, they found what looks to me like a Trey McGowens replacement: a defensive-focused off-guard who can act as a secondary ball-handler but isn’t likely to provide a ton of highly-efficient scoring. He may not have star potential, but Bandoumel can certainly fill an important role in his lone season in Lincoln.
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
