Jongkuch Mach Scouting Report
Tape and notes evaluating the Australian teenage giant.
BIRTHDAY: October 8, 2007
PREDICTION FOR FUTURE: High-major D-I commit who will need at least 3 years of college development
ROLE: Play-finishing giant
FLOOR SKILL: Size and shot-blocking/altering
SWING SKILL: Volume (of possessions and physically)
HEIGHT: 7-foot-6
WEIGHT: 195 pounds
18-year-old Jongkuch “JK” Mach looks primed to be one of the next international giants to hit the NCAA.
Here is my elevator statement on the Australian prospect of South Sudanese heritage, with tape and more in-depth notes below:
JK Mach is 7-foot-6 and light on his feet, which is always going to get you looks at the highest level of basketball.
Mach is a very enticing defender with his genuinely unique size and signs of being able to move around relatively well.
On offense, he’ll be a pure play finisher and, hopefully, an impactful offensive rebounder.
But the 18-year-old’s strength on both ends is a massive swing skill and his hands also really need to keep improving.
Background:
Parents are Aluet and Abraham. Dad is 6-foot-8. His grandfather was 7-foot tall. Family moved from South Sudan to Kenya, then to Perth (where he was born) when he was 11 months old.
Started playing basketball around 14 y/o when his friends encouraged him to take advantage of his size.
“To be honest, I was kind of pushed into playing, because I was tall,” Mach said. “But I love the game now, it’s just been fun to me ever since I played.”
Says his dream is to make the NBA.
Listed at 7-foot-4 in April 2024. So tall that he had to sleep on an angle.
Now listed at 7-foot-6 as of January and February 2026.
Might still be growing, which is scary/tantalizing.
Had some problems with his knees but working through it. Wears knee guards while playing.
Part of the inaugural Perth Wildcats academy class.
First intake of 29 players saw an “enhanced focus on providing an elite pathway for local Indigenous and African juniors.”
Wildcats Academy director Keegan Crawford said: “Physically you look at [Mach] and he’s a blank canvas.”
NBL1 stats with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence:
2026 (6 games): 2.3 PTS (55.6 FG% / 50 FT%), 4.7 REB, 0.7 AST to 1.3 TOV, 0.2 STL, 1.5 BLK, 1.8 PF in 12.7 mins
2025 (16 games): 2.7 PTS (75 FG% / 70 FT%), 3.2 REB, 0.1 AST to 0.6 TOV, 0.0 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.1 PF in 10.2 mins
Has also played for an assortment of Western Australia (WA) squads.
2026 Australian U20 Championship (5 games): 7.2 PTS (71.4 FG% / 54.5 FT%), 6.4 REB, 0.6 AST, 0.2 STL, 1.4 BLK in 20.6 mins
As of Jan. 2026, agent is Solomon Dech of Promondo Sports.
Has an offer from LSU.
Also college interest from Charlotte, Colorado, Santa Clara, South Carolina, Washington State... a couple more in there that I don’t think have been publicly named yet.
Notes:
Defense:
Really light on his feet for his awe-inspiring height. Can hedge, then run back to the paint.
Can he stay this mobile as he continues to put on NECESSARY weight and muscle?
I don’t think he’s stiff. Always ready to load up and contest. Can move his feet.
Not sure he can really turn or flip his hips that much, but don’t know how much that ultimately matters if he’s able to more or less stay parallel to attackers and then use his insane length to contest.
TBD vs. much higher level competition, but signs seem encouraging.
Good timing and hand/arm placement on his blocks. Really hard to finish or shoot over him.
Hasn’t played at a super high pace, but able to get up and down the floor.
Plays with better patience than you would expect for a raw 7-6 center on defense. Doesn’t just sell out at the first chance he has to get a block.
Lack of strength means he can get moved back, but size/length/verticality can offset this (better than in other departments of his game, at least).
Play finishing:
Roll and dunk. Or catch around the dunker and dunk. He’s a huge target.
Can dunk without jumping.
Flashes soft enough touch I guess, but I just want to see him finish assertively every single time really. Can’t always do that because his strength and hands can be lacking.
No self-creation, even in the post.
Is he going to be able to get up-and-down the court? For how many possessions per game? How many of those come at full capacity? While staying healthy at 7-6 (or more)?
If everything goes well, really simple plug-and-play fit that should be portable for basically any team - even if just in a limited number of minutes.
Inconsistent rebounder:
Numbers should be more dominant given his size, though they have generally ticked up. That’s encouraging.
But right now, mostly comes down to being taller than everyone else. Can just snatch the ball over the top and then maybe finish.
Non-factor too often due to his lack of strength and improvable hands, as I’ll mention below.
I don’t think his motor is poor; it’s just that he is physically limited right now.
Screening must get better:
Overall, technique needs to keep improving. Continuing to get stronger will help.
Doesn’t always make contact or establish a wide base to truly bother his ballhandler’s defender.
But has legit gravity whenever he rolls hard (or even semi-hard) to the rim. Will pull in the help or force the tag. Can finish the play himself or create the space for a kickout three.
Passing glimpses:
Only passes from a standstill. Nothing on the move.
Scarce but interesting flashes seeing over the top or even hitting some passes through relatively tighter windows.
Runs basic (D)HOs. Inherent threat as a roller comes in handy.
Wonder if he’ll ever be able to leverage his size more as a playmaker, but it’s risky to have passes go from that high to a lower length without being picked off.
Turnovers are mostly a matter of hands and strength:
Can he get low enough to catch tougher/bobbled passes?
Not always strong or physical enough to, again, get low and establish position in the paint - even against smaller defenders.
I don’t want to say weaker defenders here, because Mach is still at a strength mismatch against a lot of opponents despite being having the evident and significant size advantage.
If he turns the ball over, ca he get back and erase what he just gave up at the next level? Could be tough for transition defense. Good open court mover in general, but hard to outrun the ball.
wilko FTW 🫡