Two coaches, separated by more than 2,500 miles and a day between interviews, provide independent scouting reports on the two players expected to be off the board first and second in Friday’s MLS SuperDraft.
The reports sound oddly similar on former Duke standout and Charleston Battery player Jeremy Ebobisse and former UCLA standout Abu Danladi.
UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo and Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser say their player is good around the goal, can gets shots off when it doesn’t seem possible, are good with either foot and are big and fast.
“A lot of tools around the goal that make any striker… that’s what people pay money for,” Anhaeuser said of Ebobisse.
“For sure the most dynamic player coming out of college and going into the SuperDraft,” Salcedo said of Danladi.
Ebobisse is 19 and played just two seasons at Duke before signing a contract with MLS, which assigned him to Charleston. He started 30 games at Duke, scoring nine goals with seven assists. Duke coach John Kerr said that Ebobisse, in the field’s final third, knows how to unlock defenses and shift defenders off-balance to create openings for shots.
With the Battery, Ebobisse appeared in five games, scoring one goal with one assist. Though Ebobisse wasn’t with Charleston long, his skills and demeanor impressed Anhaeuser.
Ebobisse didn’t look to impress with talk and antics. Instead, Anhaeuser said he was quiet and went about his business. His feet and brains soon made it clear why Ebobisse may go No. 1.
“The main thing that’s going to be attractive is he has a nose to score,” Anhaeuser said. “First day he came in from training, he’s able to get shots off in many different ways and able to score not just with a right foot or instep with his right foot. He can bend it with his left or right.”
Minnesota scouted him Ebobisse once at Charleston, and he visited the Loons.
Anhaeuser said the challenge for Ebobisse in MLS will be handling bigger, stronger players. Anhaeuser said he handled it well at Charleston.
“He knew he was here to get himself ready for this weekend,” Anhaeuser said.
Salcedo said Danladi also has that ability to get a shot away when it doesn’t seem possible. Danladi showed that in skills by scoring 18 goals in three seasons with the Bruins.
He can get shots off because Salcedo said Danladi has quick, soft feet that enable him to take advantage of his athletic and technical ability.
Salcedo said Danladi reminds him of Orlando’s Cyle Larin, who scored 17 goals as a rookie in 2015 and 14 more in 2016.
“Abu has that ability to score more than 10 goals in the league,” Salcedo said.
The knock on Danladi is durability. He played in just 11 games in 2016, 19 in 2015 and 12 in 2014.
“What people don’t realize is the college season is such a short period of time with a lot of games,” Salcedo said. “It’s hard to recover and be fully recovered from game to game.
“He didn’t play the entire season because of injuries. If he can be in an environment where he stays healthy and takes care of himself, the sky’s the limit.”
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