Fardaws Aimaq Player Breakdown
Dakota Schmidt breaks down the game of 6'11 junior center Fardaws Aimaq. Fardaws is currently testing the NBA Draft waters while also committed to play for Texas Tech if he returns to school
Fardaws Aimaq - Utah Valley: 6’11, 245 pound center
18.9 points, 13.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks on 49% from the field and 44% from 3 on 1.4 attempts per game. 55% True Shooting Percentage. 51% effective Field Goal Percentage
Following a less than stellar freshman season in 2018-19 with Mercer, where consistent foul issues led him to only average 15 minutes per game, he made the decision to make the near cross-country trek from Georgia to Utah to apply his craft with Utah Valley. After waiting out his transfer year, the Canadian-born prospect immediately shined in his new habitat by becoming one of the premier bigs in mid-major hoops.
That elite nature was shown as a sophomore when he averaged 13.9 points, 15 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game on 49% from the field. One drawback from that season was how a combination of him only working in the paint and only shooting 62% from the charity strike hurt his efficiency, as he maintained a pedestrian 52% True Shooting and 49% effective Field Goal Percentages. Despite that, Fardaws was like a Pixar movie during the Academy Awards with a number of accolades that he received which include:: WAC (Western Athletic Conference) Player of the Year, WAC Defensive Player of the Year, WAC All-Conference First Team, WAC All-Newcomer Team, and WAC All-Defensive Team.
Unlike most movie franchises, the sequel of Mr. Aimaq’s run through the WAC was better than the original version. The elevated offensive numbers that you see above os had a lot to do with Aimaq’s increased role within the offense after the team’s scoring leader Jamison Overton transferred to Weber State for his senior season. Mr. Overton’s departure pushed the Canadian’s usage percentage to jump from 26.41% in 2020-21 to 29.6% during this past season.
Unsurprisingly, the climb in volume and efficiency led to him repeating as the WAC’s Defensive Player of the Year and being part of their All-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team. However, the one award that fell through his fingertips was the conference’s Player of the Year, as that accolade went to New Mexico State’s Teddy Allen, who had transferred to the school from the University of Nebraska.
Despite not being able to repeat as the conference’s premier player, he still stands strong as one of the more intriguing mid-major prospects that are currently testing the NBA Draft waters. As mentioned before, a lot of his success on the offensive end comes through how he was able to use his strong frame to dominate inside the paint.
During this past season, much of his work as an inside presence came in the form of either working the left or right block as a post-up threat. No matter which side he’s working on, the Canadian-born big exhibits all the traits that you ask for in a post-up threat. Able to go over his left and right shoulder, he seems confident in his footwork and movements while posting up.
An example of that is seen when he’s working alongside the baseline, he shows good footwork and hip rotation to spin away from his man and get an easy look at the rim. Even when he doesn’t create separation, he shows comfort in his hook shot, which he puts up when he’s been backing someone down or off the catch when there’s an opponent on his hip. That feeling of ease is warranted as the touch on his hook is soft with the ball having a high arc when he gets time to settle.
The last few words in that paragraph are key as the big drawback of Aimaq’s work in the low-post is that there were way too many occasions where he wasn’t able to get settled in. A lot of this comes from his struggles to back down on his opposition to get a better look around the rim. This forces him to settle for contested hook shots that may be out of the range where he’s comfortable.
While him being forced to settle comes from him not having the strongest lower body, his tendency to settle rather than push it to a teammate is problematic when it comes to his future, no matter if he sticks in the NBA Draft or stays in college and plays for Texas Tech. These issues led to him being inefficient in that area, as he shot 42% on 207 total post-up attempts, according to Synergy Sports. Although that isn’t too impressive, it is a significant step up from the 36% on 111 attempts that he averaged as a sophomore in 2020-21. This shows that while there are still flaws in his approach, Fardaws is working on improving those issues and has already made clear strides.
Despite being a work in progress as a low-post threat, the touch he shows on his hook translates to other areas. When working in pick-and-rolls with his teammates, he shows a tendency to throw up a push shot when there’s an opposing player positioned in the paint. He’s comfortable with throwing up that push shot whether he has the ball on the baselines or around the free-throw line.
During his two seasons with Utah Valley, the big didn’t have much opportunity to showcase his skills on the perimeter besides setting screens. However, in the rare glimpses that we saw during the last season, there is some reason for optimism. For one, he’s shown real skill as a high/low passer-by displaying good timing and touch on his feed to cutters. That trait is apparent in the clip below as he finds his man at the moment right after they create some separation from his defender. His soft pass lands right between the numbers, which allows his man to retriever it, pump fake and then score around the rim.
His ability to both quickly spot and deliver precise passes to teammates while on the perimeter is helped by the progress that it seems like he’s making as an outside threat. I only used the word “seemed” in the prior sentence because the 44% that he shot from deep as a junior came on only 46 shot attempts. That limited sample size combined with his significant fluctuation in efficiency from the free-throw line (62% in 20-21 to 72% in 21-22) makes it easy to be wary about guaranteeing whether or not his shooting can translate to another year in college let alone to the NBA or G League level.
However, the hope that his shot is for real comes when you watch his film. While the jumper is a bit slow due to him having to put the ball low before going back up, his ability to quickly adjust his feet and body to face the hoops after getting to his spot is impressive for a player that only made two in-game 3’s before this season. That body control and how his jumper seems to be repeatable leaves you optimistic that he has the upside to be a reliable perimeter shooter with some more development.
Transitioning over to the defensive end, it’s hard to really judge how well Fardaws will translate to the NBA or G League. This is because he spent most of his time at Utah Valley playing in drop defense where he was positioned from the free-throw line to the restricted area. Considering the amount of switching and hedging that bigs are asked to do at the pro level, the defensive situation that he was put in doesn’t translate to what he’d be doing at the pro level.
However, in a similar vein to how we talked about his upside as a high post distributor and catch-and-shoot threat, there are some good and bad that we can take from the small glimpses of when the pride of Richmond, Ontario is working in space. One positive that you can point to comes from a game against the University of Denver. Working in high drop defense, our subject shines as he gets a good jump with a side step on the driving guard, slides his feet to the right until he meets his man, and makes the clean block.
That sort of immediate recognition and slick vertical movement is impressive to see from a 6’11, 245-pound center. While plays like that should give you hope, there’s still a lot of room for him to grow as a defender. The biggest area that Fardaws needs to find improvement at is knowing how to defend the pick-and-pop. As someone that was situated in a lot of drop coverages, opposing teams were able to take advantage if they have bigs or forwards that can shoot from deep.
An example of that is seen in the clip below where the guard drives far enough to force our subject to take a few steps back before throwing an overhead pass back to the pick-and-pop threat. While Utah Valley was screwed after that pass, it wouldn’t have happened if there was a comfort level that Aimaq would be capable of defending the screener from the perimeter rather than stationed on the free-throw line.
The two clips that I threw out, which show reasons for both optimism and concern, leave Fardaws Aimaq as a question mark when it comes to his potential on the defensive end if he decides to stay in the NBA Draft. Because in the vast majority of situations at the NBA or G League level, his ability to stick on the court is going to depend on whether or not he can hedge on the perimeter or simply defend in space.
Questions like that and how he’s progressing in the fight to be a more well-rounded offensive weapon will hopefully be answered in this pre-draft process as he competes in team workouts and potentially the upcoming G League Elite Camp. If he shows growth in these areas compared to where he was at the end of his junior season, there’s no doubt that NBA teams should be calling up his representatives with a two-way contract ready to be signed.
However, if that development is slower than planned or his side is hesitant about taking the leap from the WAC to the NBA/G League, an opportunity to spend a year with Texas Tech and play against Big 12 competition would still be huge in his development as a player. Because while he’ll be a 23-year-old senior when the season starts, Fardaws has made consistent strides in his career and still has room to grow as a player.
If you were to put me on the spot and ask whether he should stay in college or go to the pros, I’m honestly leaning towards wanting him to stay in school and play for Texas Tech. While I would love to see Fardaws in the G League, the opportunity to grow under a new coach and compete for a great program that made it to the Sweet Sixteen in Mark Adams’ 1st year as head coach could be too hard to pass up for a player that has been grinding in mid-major ball. Also, in a recent interview that he did with “The Field of 68”, it seemed clear that the Canadian-born was leaning towards going to Texas Tech on how he described his connection with Mark Adams and the fit within the team’s rotation.
No matter which decision he makes over the next few weeks, it’s clear that Fardaws Aimaq has made tremendous strides as a player during his young career and has a bright future ahead of him.