Cooper Flagg | 6’8” Wing/Forward | Duke

As the number one ranked player in the class, the 6’8” big wing did anything but disappoint. Flagg dominated on both ends of the floor, using his length to stifle players on the defensive end and his strong intersection of tools to create offense. The intensity was apparent and he truly showcased his malleability as a defender: effectively guarding ball handlers at the point of attack, providing strong help at the nail, and erasing shots at the rim. His combination of real lateral agility at that size, length, and general feel gives him the tools to be a premier defender in the NBA. 

Offensively, he was consistently able to create advantages as the primary ballhandler, keeping his handle alive against pressure and navigating through multiple lines of defense. Flagg does not possess elite burst, but it still enabled him to get a step on his defender on most drives. Scoring mostly at the rim, Flagg exhibited great touch and high-level contact balance to get through defenders and find angles. Flagg ended up shooting two attempts from the perimeter, missing both, but was confident launching these shots. The energy transfer on the shot for the most part is good, taking a dip to generate more energy but he would create some imbalances when the shot was launched due to cocking the ball too far behind his head. This causes his shot to be closer to two motions and requires him to use more energy to launch, mitigating some of the energy created from the dip.

Dylan Harper | 6’5” Guard | Rutgers

Dylan Harper was the star of the show at Jordan Brand, dicing up the defense with his shot creation and size. In fact, the defining moment of the game ended up being the three straight off the dribble 3s he hit in the second half while Cooper Flagg was his primary defender. At first glance, Harper’s advantage creation tools do not seem striking, with a sub-par first step and limited vertical explosion. However, he is extremely adept at creating space off the dribble to hunt his shots on the perimeter, taking step-backs and side-step jumpers with ease: a function of his great lower extremity strength. When his drives get walled off, he’s extremely comfortable creating these shots as a counter to throw backtracking defenders off balance. 

Where his first step lacks, Harper’s fantastic acceleration tools make up for it. Using his shin angles and good ankle flexibility, he showcased some twitch turning corners and exploding out of his second and third steps. This combination of shooting gravity and acceleration tools bodes well for a potential advantage creator that uses ball screens. It should also help his scalability when using him off-ball to attack off the catch or operate off of actions that can get him downhill like Zoom, Wide-Pin, and Double Stagger actions. He did not get much post-up usage in the game but I would not be surprised if Harper can effectively score off of guard post-ups with his size and frame at higher levels.

Boogie Fland | 6’2” Guard | Arkansas

While smaller in stature, that did not take away from a player who looked like the best advantage creator in the game. Boogie Fland was consistently creating 2-on-1 situations from a standstill throughout the game, using his exceptional first step to slice the first line of defense and attack gaps with speed. He mostly acted upon these advantage situations with quick kick-out passes to the perimeter, but when he had a lane to the rim he was able to find finishing angles with his flexibility.

Boogie ended up taking three 3s in the game and did not make any of them, but I would attribute this to shot variance as his shot mechanics looked fairly fluid. He has a 1.5-motion jumper but releases effectively at a high enough set point to create shot windows. There is a slight knee valgus which can be hammered out with increased lower half strength and balance, but a product of that is that he is generating most of the energy from his shot with his upper body mechanics.

Defensively, Boogie tended to gamble quite a bit rotationally which made him struggle on-ball but his feel and active hands showed up as a guy that can create havoc off-ball through steals. With his straight-line speed, that should also open up his ability to lead transition offense at higher levels, just like he did at Jordan Brand.

Liam McNeeley | 6’7” Wing | UConn

Calling McNeeley an extraordinary shooter might be underselling his ability to bend defenses with his shot. The Jordan Brand Classic was no exception, where he shot 50% from beyond the arc on 10 3-point attempts. He displayed a wide range of shot versatility, shooting off movement, off the catch, and off the dribble. He was also able to weaponize his touch in the intermediary, causing defenders to guard him extremely tightly. There was a drive that stood out to me, where he took a defender off the dribble after a hard closeout and got fouled on the rim attempt. It stood out to me because he struggled to decelerate in traffic. If this is a real issue with his movement skills, it remains to be seen as I would need to take a closer look over a larger sample of his drives to see if this is a consistent issue. Regardless, this is more of a concern if you are projecting real handling usage for McNeeley at the NBA level and less of an emphasis for someone who will use driving off the catch as a counter. 

As a connector, he was maintaining advantages and processing decisions that were one pass away quickly. On the other side of the ball, McNeeley was able to slide his feet and flip his hips well against wings. With improvement in technique, I can definitely envision him containing drives against bigger players at the NBA level.

Isaiah Evans | 6’6” Wing | Duke

Isaiah Evans struggled in certain aspects of the game but you could piece together the type of creator he could end up being at the NBA level with polish and physical development. A dynamic shooting wing, Evans exhibited his feathery touch at all three levels of the court, with the most prominent areas being from the midrange and perimeter. What stood out to me was that although Evans has a slighter frame and weighs a reported 185 pounds (ESPN), he was able to take and make most of his shots when physicality was applied.

Strength will be an important facet of his athleticism to monitor as most of his wins in scoring situations came from space-creation moves and shooting gravity. Although he is a fluid handler, his lack of power and burst on drives forced him into a shot diet of difficult pull-up jumpers. The other issue is his space creation moves like step-backs did not often create enough space, and defenders could stay within his shot window, which is what I would attribute to most of the misses in the game. Strength also affected him on the defensive end as he would get caught across screens while navigating. However, when there was no screen to deter him, Evans showcased his potential on that end with how he operated against ball handlers using his length.

Honorable Mentions

• VJ Edgecombe: Edgecombe struggled to shoot in this game but his ability to break down defense with his burst was on full display. Even without his shot, he was able to affect the game with promising point-of-attack defense and by grabbing rebounds.

• Drake Powell: He had some great moments as a play finisher, making kick-out passes and even operating out of the dunker using his vertical athleticism

• Asa Newell: With Newell, you could see his ability to play finish at the rim and from the perimeter effectively. He was able to flaunt his instincts as a rim protector and take away shots at the rim.

• Kon Knueppel: At 6’5”, Knueppel showed off his proficiency from range. He has a wider shot base that provided more stability on the shot, but outside of this he maintained advantages as a connector and provided real intensity on the defensive end.

• Derik Queen: While he is an undersized big, Queen exhibited strong rebounding, finishing at the rim, and his ability to pass out of post-ups and the short roll. His wide crossover on drives was compact and created space efficiently.

• Jalil Bethea: Great upper extremity flexibility and burst that helped him knife through defenses at 6’4”. He even showcased some manipulative passing in transition.

It will be fascinating to see how these players continue to impact their new teams, post high school, but one thing was clear: the talent pool in this incoming class is stacked amongst a wide array of archetypes and positions. The 2025 NBA Draft is shaping up to be one of the stronger classes in modern draft history, and the Jordan Brand Classic was emblematic of that very notion. 

The post Jordan Brand Classic 2024: The Standouts appeared first on Swish Theory.

Scouting Report on Top Florida and California High School Prospects in 2024 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament and Hoophall Classic Title Game featuring film breakdowns from NBA and data visualizations using Cerebro Sports’ analytics.

How often do two #1 draft prospects face off in the same game?

Now ask yourself what the chances are of the #1 rated prospects in three separate classes playing in the same game, let alone doing so twice in one season.

The number one senior, Cooper Flagg (2024); the number one junior, AJ Dybantsa (2025); and the number one sophomore, Tyran Stokes (2026) all sit atop their respective big boards, projected to be the top NBA Draft picks in the near future.

Their teams, Montverde and Prolific Prep, matched up twice this season: the 2024 MAIT Championship and the Hoophall Classic, the first time in the history of hoops that ESPN aired a game featuring #1 prospects from 3 different draft classes.

(graphic via ESPN)

The Teams

Montverde Academy
Prolific Prep
Oak Ridge
Brewster Academy
Calvary Christian
DME Academy
Riviera Prep
The Rock School
Imani Christian

The Players

Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes
Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley, Shon Abaev
Jordan Tillery, Elijah Crawford, Rob Wright
Tyler Johnson, Ryan Jones Jr., Dante Allen
Derik Queen, Alden Sherrell, Moustapha Thiam
Dwayne Aristode, Winters Grady, Cameron Simpson
Mikey Lewis, Curtis Givens, Nojas Indrusaitis, Zoom Diallo

The Numbers

Let’s look at Cerebro Sports’ data to compare different impact metrics kept track by Cerebro to evaluate the stats from the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament’s standout players.

To find the best players from the tournament overall, let’s compare overall impact (C-RAM) and defensive statistical impact (DSI) to show the most impactful two-way players who impact winning the most from the handful of games in the 2024 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.

The visualization below graphs the most active defenders on the x-axis compared to overall winning impact on the y-axis, revealing how much of the defense component makes up each player’s overall two-way impact in these games.

Cooper Flagg (12.9), AJ Dybantsa (10.7) and Tyran Stokes (10.7) finished 1st and T-2nd respectively in Cerebro Sports C-RAM metric, rating off the charts as the most impactful players overall from the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.

Cooper Flagg jumps off the page, dominating his games on both ends in winning affairs while filling up the box score, averaging 4 blocks and 1.7 steals in the 3-game tourney. Stokes trailed only Flagg in defensive statistical impact.

Liam McNeeley bringing defensive impact with his sniper off ball shooting and scoring versatility gives him exciting ceiling of two-way impact at the highest level.


All of the MAIT’s Top-10 most impactful players by Cerebro’s C-RAM played for Montverde or Prolific, except for three:

4th Ryan Jones Jr., The Rock School
6th Tyler Johnson, Oak Ridge
9th Dante Allen, Riviera Prep

Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley, Tyler Johnson, Dwayne Airstode and Derik Queen stand out for their overall impact, with the next range of positive impact comparitively features Aiden Sherrell, Elijah Crawford, Mason Fuentes, Curtis Givens, Winters Grady, Cameron Simpson, Joseph Hartman, Shone Abaev, Cameron Simpson, Jordan Tillery, Rob Wright, Nojus Indrusaitis, Mikey Lewis, and Zoom Diallo.

Curtis Givens, Montverde’s sixth man, ranks 2nd overall in the tournament in defensive statistical impact, much higher than one might expect given the talent in the field. Flagg, Givens, Stokes, Sherrell, McNeeley, Gaskins were the most active defenders from the tournament.

The goal of the data visualization below is to show the best offensive producers of the tournament to help predict the best Future Scoring Creators, the most efficient and most consistent offensive options for creating good shots for themselves and others.

To do so, let’s compare players’ pure scoring prowess (PSP) and floor general skills (FGS) to find high feel good decision-makers who can score effectively and create consistently. Scoring (PSP) is on the vertical y-axis, and Playmaking (FGS) is on the horizontal x-axis. Each player is marked by a circle with 3pt efficiency shown by the size and color of the circles; the bigger and brighter, the better.

Which prospects can be relied on the most as offensive engines for team-first shot creation?

AJ Dybantsa stands out for his scoring load and efficiency with the ability to set up others. Derik Queen and Ryan Jones Jr rated off the charts in scoring in these three games too.

Cooper Flagg, Liam McNeeley, Tyran Stokes, Tyler Johnson, Shon Abaev, Dante Allen, Asa Newell, Elijah Crawford, and the Fuentes brothers rate well in both playmaking and scoring, some of the more reliable shot creators from the tournament.

Dwayne Aristode, Winters Grady, Cameron Simpson rated in the Top-15 as scorers, mostly doing their damage from deep, each rating Top-3 in 3pt efficiency respectively.

Rob Wright, Curtis Givens, Jordan Tillery rate similarly positive in scoring, showing a range of good to great playmaking skills.

In the Hoopshall Classic tournament, Cooper Flagg ranked 5th in overall C-RAM, though most teams only played 1 game to Flagg’s 3. (Cameron Boozer ranked 3rd with 2 games played)

The Top-6 most impactful Hoopshall Classic players by Cerebro’s C-RAM with 2+ games played and 10+ minutes per game, with notable prospects like Cameron Boozer, Jase Richardson, Darius Acuff from the The Sunshine Classic, the last tournament held at Montverde.

Flagg racked up 12 blocks and 6 steals to only 5 fouls throughout the Hoopshall Classic, rating good to great in scoring, shooting, passing, finishing, and defense by Cerebro.

Click the YouTube LINK above for a Video Scouting Report on the Top-5 players who shined brightest in the Prolific – Montverde Matchup: (Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes, Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley)

The Film

Cooper Flagg
6’9″ Forward/Wing
Montverde Academy

• Star-stopping shot-swishing superstar
• Versatile, lengthy, active big wing defender
• Elite motor, never gives up on a play, never runs out of gas, plays hard through the final whistle
• Phenomenal rebounder using height, length, anticipation, timing
• Great vision, looks for open shooters on drives
• Well-rounded threat to score on and off the ball
• Tough shotmaker from every spot on the floor, rim-attacking dunks, 3pt range
• Cerebral ball instincts, especially off ball cuts, putbacks, rebounds, help defense blocks
• Attacks closeouts against rotating defenses to create rim shots for himself, open kickouts to teammates, fouls drawn in traffic

Players with the wingspan, height, footwork, and athleticism to guard anyone on the floor and swat any shot in sight with the timing, ball instincts, and awareness to pull it off posses a rare combination of skills eluding to a potential rim-deterring defensive anchor.

While no player is perfect, Cooper Flagg does nearly everything well on the hardwood. With a motor that doesn’t turn off, Flagg is able to fill any role, guard any player, attack the rim, shoot from deep, beat you with the pass, operate either end of a pick-and-roll, and even get hot in a post-up or pull-up style from midrange, at the rim, and from deep.

When artificially intelligent robots eventually replace human beings as basketball players, those robots will model their game after Cooper Flagg’s archetype.

With similarities to Aaron Gordon, Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirlenko, and any do-it-all stat-stuffing tall forward who brings versatility to defense and scoring before him, Cooper Flagg is The Ultimate Swish Army Knife.

Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero awards Cooper Flagg Gatorade Player of the Year (Photo Credit: WABI/Joe Greer)

Cooper filled the box score in a victory over Oak Ridge during the MOAT, posting a statline of 22 PTS (50 FG%) – 14 REB – 6 BLK – 2 STL – 3 AST/3 TO (1 foul)

Scooping a sweet pickpocket steal guarding point-of-attack, drawing a hard foul attacking the rim off the turnover, blocking a shot from behind before throwing down a monster putback one-handed slam, making a smartly timed deflection to force a turnover before a methodical fundamental footwork driving rim-finish, timing up a buzzer-beating putback showing anticipation and motor crashing the glass for rebounds, even drilling an impossible pindown pull-up turnaround jumper off the handoff for good measure, while protecting the rim racking up blocks every time you look up.

Fake handoff in-and-out dribble stepback pull-up three all in one motion. Block a shot, grab the board, push the pace, fake the kickout, eurostep through traffic, throw down the slam; death by a thousand cuts leaves opponents begging for mercy.

The Maine Event featured 2 Flagg Plants and 4 Blocks in the Hoophall Classic championship matchup…

…in the first half.

Elite modern defenders who aren’t quite traditional big men like Bam Adebayo, Jonathan Isaac, Jaren Jackson Jr., or even the all-time great Kevin Garnett himself show how Flagg’s ideal role can be maximized at the highest level, unleashing a do-it-all ball-hawking big on teams that haven’t maximized their floor spacing.

While only listed as 6’9″, The Boys Basketball Gatorade Florida Player of the Year brings nonstop energy and laser focus, quite literally every possession. Arguably the most impressive indicators of future success for Flagg’s upside is his motor. Cooper continues to contest shots, crash the boards, attack the paint, and protect the rim; all game long, no plays off.

Allowing Cooper Flagg to freeroam defensively is a recipe for disaster for opposing teams. When Flagg is matched up with a non-shooter, free to read and react as his team’s free safety, mayhem ensues; no shot is safe.

In one sequence against Prolific, Cooper fights through a screen at POA, and though too late for the shot contest, he sees the board bounce his way, leaps in to tip the board in traffic with one hand, and fights multiple opponents for the loose ball.

Then Coop brings the ball up the court looking up for a teammate to push to, gets the ball back and immediately attacks the closeout with a pumpfake low-swing dribble drive, creating open looks for others by drawing in extra eyes into the paint and no-look kicking out to the open man, creates a would-be hockey assist corner three for his team, rebounds the missed shot with another one hand tip to himself reaching over the opponent without fouling, and cleans up the play with a one-legged Dirk Fade for good measure.

Lockdown on-ball perimeter defense on top prospect AJ Dybantsa, with Flagg flipping hips getting tall/thin fighting over screens, poking at the ball stopping dribble drives, deflecting ball right out of his hands for the steal, and finding teammate Derik Queen for the fast break rim-roll reverse.

This sequence highlights Flagg’s anticipation, timing, and grab-and-go style, swatting Dybantsa’s drive with the help of McNeeley going straight up to contest in semi-transition, with Cooper scooping up the boarding and pushing the pace. Every player can improve something; this play ends with a lowlight, showing how with more game rep experience and ball control dribble drills could be beneficial for feeling out defenses with decision-making, as he challenges 3 defenders with all his teammates open behind him for trailer kickouts; Flagg gets blocked and called for a travel, losing possession.

High low back and forth between Flagg and Newell leads to a wild contested FLOATA for Flagg through contact, bending over and around the defense

Back-to-back backdoor baseline cutting slam dunks against DME’s 2-3 zone with the help of a back screen from a teammate in the paint. Flagg’s timing, hops, and cutting impact on display.

AJ Dybantsa
6’8″ Wing/Forward
Prolific Prep

• NBA GMs dream big wing star scorer with high two-way feel, winning impact, and nightly tough shot making highlights
• Elite All-Star Upside and Immediate Impact Two-Way Starter as Versatile Scoring Big Wing
• Soft touch finishing at the rim and midrange tough shots
• Deep range and shooting confidence on in-rhythm Pull-Up triples
• Potential primary scoring option at NBA level as consistent scorer on and off ball
• Good ball control, sometimes a loose dribble but burst and wingspan allow him to recover and sometimes use the looseness to create a movement advantage to throw off the defense
• Nice vision, good decision-maker, looks for teammates on kickouts when drawing defenders into paint
• Exciting player for fans as tough shot-making scorer at every level with a smooth shot release, bouncy breakaway dunks

AJ Dybantsa’s ceiling similarities ideally look something like a Paul George archetype, the modern generation’s favorite 6’8″ archetype like Tracy McGrady was for kids growing up in the early 2000s, in their incredible all-around ball skills and natural athletic two-way feel, the ability to create their own shot from any spot on the floor, keep dribble alive without losing it, and rise up with a nearly unblockable shot release for a splashy jumper from on or off the ball, with those ball instincts playing out on the other end when jumping passing lanes, blocking shots from behind, reading plays before they happen.

Brandon Miller may be the most similar type of exciting slim 6’8″ versatile big wing scoring prospect in the league today.

These high-potential wings could have a range of outcomes like Jeff Green, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Wiggins, RJ Barrett, to Tobias Harris as tall, lengthy, skilled wings who can put the rock through the net and make it look easy and natural doing it; players viewed as potential all-stars at some point in their development yet brought day one impact as starting-level forwards who can score semi-consistently in the 15-18-21 PPG range as reliable two-way starters in the right lineups dependent on the opportunity and roles.

Dybantsa dropped 22 PPG through 3 tournament games in Montverde shooting 25/37 FG and 6/12 3P. While his passing numbers were only an 11 AST / 11 TO ratio, AJ made good reads looking for shooters when his shot wasn’t available after breaking down the defense and drawing extra defenders into the paint.

Flashes elite shooting touch.

First the FLOATA drawing a big man on the switch, then picked up by a big in transition, calls his own number, drops the hesitation moves and half-spin fakeout footwork for driving contested shots, converting both runners to end the first quarter in Prolific vs. Montverde

Savvy ball and body control to break the full-court press with a give-and-go; drawing a switching big to half court, accelerating swiftly past him; spin, gather, decelerate to split a swiping help defender; stop on a dime for the touch FLOATA.

The first time these two teams met in the Hoopshall Classic, AJ Dybantsa led his team in scoring with 21 PTS – 5 REB – 4 AST

This is a pro move early in the game by AJ Dybantsa showing his advantage creation, body control, and soft finishing touch.

Draws big man on switch in PnR -> Hesi -> in-and-out dribble -> stop on a dime -> lofts up a FLOATA -> Swish

In this pick-and-roll, Dybantsa flashed his feel for the game when he’s trapped by the wide wingspans of Flagg and Queen before hitting the roller with a b-e-a-utiful touch lob pass over the top of the blitzing defenders for a rim-rolling rim-rocking slam!

Crossover hesi drive through contact AND1 against Cooper Flagg?

AJD gains momentum after Zoom breaks down the defense attacking the paint with a drive and kick, opening a gap for AJ to attack the closeout, crossover reset to force Flagg to open his hips and start backpedaling, gifting Dybantsa a half-step advantage, all the room he needs to attack the rack, stop on a time, create contact and still finish the shot falling to the floor.

The release on this shot is so high even NBA defenders would have trouble blocking it.

AJ Dybanza being able to rise up for contested middy pull-ups will make him hard to guard as a pro; tall tough shot-makers who can get to their spot and consistently hit their shot over contesting hands are hard to guard at every level.

Dybantsa dropped 21 PTS in the the Hoophall Classic Title Game, rising to the occasion as the game went on: drilling two threes, dishing out a 3pt assist kickout, and drving coast-to-coast for the one-man grab-and-go fast break FLOATA

Earlier in the tournament, AJ Dybantsa dropped 18 PTS – 9 REB -0 1 STL on 8/11 FG and 2/3 3P for Napa California’s Prolific Prep in an overtime victory against Dante Allen out of Miami, FL’s Riviera Prep.

Dybantsa flashed the full custom edition matte yellow lambo grand theft auto potential star package against Riviera Prep, showing off start-stop body control, decelerating drives, hesi handles, soft touch, wide vision, strong north-south athleticism, and deep range shooting.

AJ Dybantsa was a one-man human highlight reel: a mean drive-by dunk, a powerful tip slam, a nasty drop-off bounce pass, a corner C&S three off the in-and-out dribble kickout from Zoom Diallo, a clean decision driving through the paint for the corner kick, a nicely timed board off a miss, multiple cross-court passes into shooter pockets, sound closeouts and contests.

Prolific Prep’s Dybantsa and Stokes kept their foot on the gas in the semi finals against Brewster.

AJ is a real hooper, a monster on the hardwood, converting 10/11 FG and 2/3 3P on his way to 30 PTS – 1 STL – 1 BLK and 5 AST / 2 TO in the W. Flashes scoring versatility, next-level athleticism, shooting touch and grab-and-go body control.

Hitting contested middy pull-ups, finishing the post-up face-up stutter-rip reset driving spinning finger roll, driving and gliding right by any defender in isolation and handoff sets into decelerating finger-rolls, all while relocating with off-ball movement for plays like the zipper screen catch-and-shoot triple and timing up the backdoor cut for an easy one at the rim.

Consistently shows two-way feel, timing, effective use of length advantage and defensive awareness for deflections, steals, stops, with 4PT swings off turnovers ofrten created.

In this game against Brewster, AJD scoops up the loose ball recovery and throws down a tip slam off the turnover; then he sees a pass coming, jumps the passing lane for an anticipatory steal and breakaway highlight slam, then patiently protects the rim blocking a reverse, then flips hips at point of attack defense and fights through a screen to force the guard into a travel, then grabs and goes off a rebound with a flashy highlight behind-the-back dribble and alley-oop lob to Tyran Strokes.

Tyran Stokes
6’8″ Forward
Prolific Prep

• Natural Athlete who flies around the court, a north-south force who gets up vertically
• Impressive body control on change of pace; can accelerate, decelerate, explode at right times to create advantages and shots for himself and others
• Good timing anticipation and ball instincts jumping passing lanes
• Foul-drawing and bump-and-finish through contact for soft touch finishing and eurostep footwork on drives
• Deep range shooting capability

Betting on 6’6″+ players with noticeable athletic advantages amongst their peers, who can already utilize deceleration body control with ball instincts, contact-drawing ability, and clean shooting touch are all good bets for future development.

Against Riviera: 14 PTS – 15 REB – 5/2 AST/TO – 4 STL – 5 BLK; thats 15 boards and 9 stocks for THE POINT GUARD!

Tyran Stokes dropped 22 PTS & 5 REB on 64% FG% in the contest against Brewster, with an impressive sequence swatting a shot strongly, grabbing the loose ball, and running the floor for a coast-to-coast fast break flush, showing off the touch and timing tossing up alley lobs and throwing down oop slams.

Here against Montverde, Stokes draws a foul and a goaltend after the MEAN right to left hesi crossover, driving through contact, before following that up with another driving bucket at the rim, driving and jumping around the floor in a herky-jerky style similar to Markelle Fultz in terms of his start-stop body control, crossover handle, and lift at his size.

Sneaky athleticism shown here as Prolific runs double drag, Tyran Stokes slips the screen and pops out into the corner, where the ball finds him as he shows off the first step burst to beat his man into the paint, decelerating and exploding for the poster slam, hanging in the air while gliding through two defenders.

Stokes drills C&S threes off the strong flare screen and kickouts from AJD, one in the clutch to take the lead with under two minutes to go in the MAIT championship.

Drawing lumbering bigs into switches creates advantages for this change of pace wing.

Earlier in the Prolific-Montverde game, Tyran Stokes draws a foul by hesi-driving into big man D.Queen after first being trapped and drawing the switch.

Later in the game, Stokes draws DQ on a switch again, this time using his speed, ball and body control to crossover and accelerate into a spin move, slowing down with decelerating footowork for a finesse finger roll finish at the rim, shown below:

Tyran makes a good read one play breaking up PnR lob for a steal, but then tosses up the bad pass turnover on a fast break.

After a good team defense possession with AJD cutting off baseline drives and stunting at shooters, finished off by Aiden Sherrell protecting the rim with the help-side block, Tyran Stokes explodes like a firework show through a cloud of defenders, taking off for the breakaway highlight jam, showing off his first step burst, decelerating body control, and downhill force.

Tyran Stokes starts with no momentum here; yet he still makes a play from behind, as Stokes accelerates, times up, and catches Cooper Flagg for a chasedown (double-block) after Asa Newell got a block of his own the possession prior.

Asa Newell
6’10” Forward
Montverde Academy

• NBA size, height, length, strength, effort, footwork, two-way feel
• Outstanding motor, energetic rotating relocating rim-running rim-protector play-finisher
• Brings defensive tenacity, swarming opponents with active hands, lengthy feel, and quick feet from wing to wing
• Great fundamental postup footwork, dropsteps sealing defender behind with counters
• Can hit open catch-and-shoot three, make extra swing pass
• All-around winning player with high floor as athletic north-south plus-defender rotation player with post-up dribble pass shoot skills and a high ceiling as a two-way starter if he scores effectively at the NBA level.

Asa Newell plays with so much energy its like he’s dropping a spirit bomb on the court.

He’s everywhere defensively, contesting everyone, and always beats everyone down the floor for rim-runs in transition.

Newell outworks his opponents by moving with purpose off the ball; rotating, contesting, blocking shots, rim-running, making extra passes, cutting to the rim.

Should be a future pro rotation player for his defense and play-finishing alone, attacking both ends like a Brandon Clarke.

Rated 3rd in At the Rim efficiency via Cerebro Sports’s ATR metric.

The Asa Newell Sequence

Switches onto Dybantsa in P&R, deters multiple driving lanes, contests stepback pull-up three, runs floor to beat the other team to the paint to secure leverage positioning, drop step slam from the dunker spot to force a timeout.

Against Oak Ridge, Asa Newell made it a mission to gain position for the patented postup drop step spin baby hook early and often, finishing with 12 PTS (5/7 FG) – 8 REB – 1 STL – 2 AST/2 TO and a double-block with Cooper Flagg, a common occurrence for the pair of pterodactyls holding down the frontcourt.

In Montverde’s *87 POINT* win over Imani Christian (127-40), Newell made an immediate impact on both ends to the tune of 15 PTS (7/11 FG) – 8 REB – 3 AST – 1 BLK. Asa beat his man down the floor to park in the paint and secure post-up drop-step positioning near the rim, beats opponents to the ball by crashing the boards for misses, going back up strong with his go-to baby hook fling.

Montverde Teammates Rob Wright and Curtis Givens showed vision and scoring ability with heads up plays, making good reads, and hitting relocating C&S threes. Cooper Flagg swished in some C&S threes, adding a look off dime and back-to-back blocks, because that’s what he does. McNeeley led Montverde in scoring with 18 PTS and 3 3PM and a nice dunk. Imani Christian’s backcourt of RJ Sledge and Tristen Brown showed off clean finishing at the rim with crafty finesse and footwork.

Master of the postup backdown block dropstep baby hook shot down; a go-to move that works, with counters to boot.

Look at this ball awareness by Newell, timing up an offensive rebound during a free throw with a defensive end swim move to pull the chair out from behind the man boxing him out, deflecting the board to himself, and immediately turning and looking for the other rebounder, Liam McNeeley, on a relocation corner three that resembles one of the all-time moments in hoop history, Chris Bosh kicking out to Ray Allen to keep the Heatles alive against the Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals.

Liam McNeeley
6’8″ Guard
Montverde Academy

• Legitimate floor spacer, knockdown 3pt shooter, especially C&S and movement threes running off screens, forever relocating for the catch-and-shoot dagger from deep
• Versatile scorer with diverse shot profile on and off the ball
• Soft shooting touch at the rim and from beyond the arc
• Attacks closeout with force, looking to score, slam, finish strong
• Pesky defender who’s feel for the game helps break on slow handles and passing lanes for steals (made slightly easier knowing Flagg Newell and Queen are behind you to clean things up)

Good scorer, good decision-maker, good passer, good finisher at the rim, great anticipation defender, great 3pt shooter; that’s one prettyyy, pretty, pretty good rotation player at any level, if not a high-volume scorer 3pt sniper at the highest one.

Able to create good looks for himself as an on-ball scorer, or with the help of a strong handoff as an off-ball threat running around screens, stretching the floor where defenses need to know where he is at all times, Liam McNeeley shares scoring versatility and off-ball shooting gravity of snipers like Malik Monk or Tyler Herro.

Can’t be left open, should be trapped/iced with the ball in his hands to deny the shot and force a dribble or pass-to contain shooting threat. McNeeley will counter with a quick decision to drive hard at rim for the dunk or clean finger roll finish.

McNeeley balled out in the Hoophall Classic Title Game, leading all scorers with 22 PTS on 4 3PM; Liam impressed with his shot versatility, a diverse diet of dunks and threes.

With refined footwork, timing, awareness, McNeeley created his own scoring opportunities primarily by staying in motion off the ball, running through Elevator Screens for a turnaround C&S 3pt jumper, stopping on a dime after jumping a passing lane for a steal to decelerate into the pull-up jumper, even countering the three by attacking closeouts with finishing-at-the-rim packages and hammering home slams at the rim, while making the extra swing pass when needed, seen in the video below:

Often leads team in scoring next to potential pros in Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen, Asa Newell, Rob Wright, Curtis Givens.

As Hoophall MVP, Liam McNeeley won one plaque, one picture with Ice Cube, and one OFFICIAL Hoophall MVP bathrobe.

(Photo Credit: Lonnie Webb)

Liam McNeeley’s soft shooting touch isn’t just found from beyond the arc, here using the rip-through re-screen off the handoff give-and-go to evade AJ Dybantsa’s length on the perimeter, force a switch on the drive, and still swish in the FLOATA through bump and finish contact, even switching hands from left dribble to righty push shot in the air. Skills galore

After their teammate is blocked, Flagg wastes no time grabbing the loose ball and no-look kicking out to Liam McNeeley for a C&S three, one of his favorite targets on drive-and-kicks, clearly trusting the knockdown shooter at every opportunity.

Elijah Crawford
6’2″ Point Guard
Brewster Academy

• Natural point guard mentality looking to push pace at every opportunity and find teammates for open looks
• Two-way feel, frenetic energy, active hands forcing deflections
• Anticipation jumping passing lanes, timing up rebounds
• Impressive start-stop body control on decelerating drives
• Strong, big, explosive, especially for his height and position
• Tight handle, great vision, clean passing chops
• Tough pull-up shotmaker at midrange and 3pt level
• Developing skills like finishing at the rim, decision-making to slow down the game, and consistency would raise ceiling

In the Semifinal against Prolific, Elijah Crawford came to play, leaving it all on the floor with 30 PTS – 5 REB – 4 AST / 2 TO shooting 11/17 FG and 6/6 FT.

Soft touch, scoring versatility, finishing packages like the FLOATA, pull-up jumpers from the contested middy running Spain P&R to the stepback triple out of double-drag pick-and-roll, an off ball elbow screen cutting alley-layup, a transition outlet up-and-under finish, multiple nicely timed backdoor cuts to the rim, always looking for the best shot for his team by drawing extra defenders and creating looks for others, hitting teammmates in shooting pockets; highlights here.

Elijah’s all-around point guard play was made evident even when teammates’ shots didn’t fall, because open 3pt looks were still created. Once after he ran back on defense for a deflection, he swoops in for the rebound in traffic, brings the ball up, moves the ball around, gets the ball back, and makes a spinning pick-and-pop pass to the shooter; another tim, he operates double-drag after double-drag until he finds the driving lane he wants to manipulate the defense with to create an open look for the shooter.

In the MAIT’s 3rd place game between Brewster and Oak Ridge, Elijah Crawford put up 7 PTS – 6 REB – 5 AST / 2 TO – 2 STL in 23 MIN, making winning plays through out.

The Stanford commit’s sweetest sequence may have been the deflection for a steal pace-pushing dropoff pass for a trailer in transition C&S three. Elijah stays bringing up the ball like he’s mad at the basket, on a grab-and-go wheel with a never-ending motor the whole game. Hits Nojus Indursaitis for the highlight fast break slam, drills a pull-up three after trapping his man under the screen, hits the grab-and-go turbo button off the board for a quick corner-kick 3PT assist to Dwayne Aristode, and drills a behind-the-back fadeaway middy pull-up so fast you’d miss it if you looked down for a second.

Jordan Tillery
6’6″ Guard
Oak Ridge

• Tough shot maker who can score at all three levels
• Active hands and great timing for digs, deflections, passing lane steals, blocks on the way down
• Soft touch on threes, floaters, alley oop lobs
• Natural point guard at 6’6″, tall for position
• Great body control for deceleration finishes at the rim, grab and go acceleration speed, first step burst to the rim
• Tight handle ball control on dribbles
• Great vision, playmaking feel, team-first passing chops

Jordan Tillery out of Oak Ridge can fly.

Tillery impressed in all-around winning two-way impact against Montverde with anticipation and active hands creating multiple deflections for steals; soft touch, sound timing, and good body control on the spinning FLOATA, tight handles for a mean ISO finger roll reverse, range on the three-pointer, vision on the alley-oop lob pass and mad hops on throw down mean tip slam.

In the first quarter, Tillery’s active hands deflects the live dribble of Liam McNeeley in transition, then forces another turnover soon after for a second steal, following those up with a nice display of body control and shooting touch on the spinning FLOATA.

Over the course of the game Jordan flashed fiery handles and finishing at the rim on the finger roll reverse, knocked down a catch and shoot jump shot from downtown, and lobbed up an alley-oop to Oak Ridge teammate Tyler Johnson.

Tillery left it all on the floor in the fourth against Montverde. The Southern Miss commit stripped Rob Wright’s shot on the way down after leaping to contest, throws down a powerful putback one-handed tip slam off his own miss, swipes the ball away for a deflection steal, completes the give-and-go fast break flush slam dunk highlight.

What a move by the Georgia Southern Commit.

Against Brewster, Tillery showed off effective flashy handles, vision, body control, rebounding timing in traffic, and finishing at the rim with the decelerating finger roll and a good two-handed skip pass across the court. While his shot might not have been falling, he found other ways to contribute. Oak Ridge teammates Tyler Johnson (6/8 FG 7/8 FT) and Cameron Simpson (6 3PM) dropped in 20 points a a piece.

Jordan Tillery gains a momentum advantage into the DHO from the wing, sizes up the defense, drops a quick killer crossover, attacks the gap with burst, decelerates into the air hunting contact for the bump and finish against the big in the air with a tough soft touch up-and-under winding finger roll.

Against The Rock School, Tillery picked up the grab-and-go pace and hit tough shots galore, despite a few turnovers trying to make a play:

19 PTS (8/11 FG) – 5 REB – 1 BLK – 1 AST / 4 TO

Middies with the contested turnaround Dirk fade
Clean finishing at the rim
Timing up the lob pass
Sound body control decelerating on coast to coast drives
Impressive ball skills for the 6’6″ playmaking speedster

Tillery leaving it all on the floor to propel his team to a win: opens the second half with a pull-up three, later with a rebound in traffic and huge block in the clutch:

Tyler Johnson
6’5″ Wing
Oak Ridge

• Athletic force uses advantages effectively over peers, energetic rebounder
• Strong play-finisher at the rim, can hit open three and attack closeout with burst
• Risky reacher on defense, gets steals but more fouls than forced turnovers
• 16 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST in a win over The Rock
• 19 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL vs Montverde Academy
• 20 PTS (6/8 FG), 9 REB, 5 AST in a win over Brewster Academy
• 5th in overall impact via Cerebro C-RAM
• 33% 0.7 3PM over 3 games
• 1.3 STL+0 BLK for every 2 Fouls

In the Montverde matchup, future Virginia Tech Hokie 6’5″ Forward Tyler Johnson flashed creative handles, tight ball control, transition tenacity, cerebral team defense, active hands for a passing lane deflection steal before a give-and-go layup, tough shotmaker on pull-up and catch-and-shoot threes, driving up-and-under finish at the rim through defenders.

The future UCF sharpshooter 6’6″ wing Cameron Simpson showed off his funky jump shot and feathery shooting touch throughout the tournament with 3 catch-and-shoot treys against Montverde and 2 pull-up threes against Brewster.

6’0″ point guard Jalen Reece pitched in against Montverde with impressive pull-up shooting, the stepback gather from three, the pull-up middy, spinning elbow fadeaway, with a nice wraparound pass for a corner catch-and-shoot three. When facing Brewster in the 3rd place, Reece showed he had the full-sprint-stop-on-a-dime elbow pull-up jumper down looking like Russell Westbrook, even hitting behind the back dribble fadeaways to create space for himself to go to work.

Shon Abaev
6’7″ Forward
Calvary Christian

• Tough shot-maker at all three levels
• Developable ball-skills with NBA height and length
• Tight handle, mastery of dribble moves
• Soft touch shooting as clean scorer with silky smooth jump shot as a pull-up threat

Shon Abaev shows off his full arsenal of ball-skills, body control, ball control, and scoring touch: the fake-drive stepback three; the fading in-and-out dribble stepback corner three over contests; the change-of-pace hesi fading FLOATA, splitting the trap defenders into a eurostep FLOATA through 3 total defenders; the leaning pull-up middy fadeaway; splashing in talls hot release middy fadeaways like a young Michael Beasley making every shot feel unblockable by falling away while taking it.

Shon Abaev may be getting buckets professionally for years to come. His shot release is hard to contest, and when he shows the ability to get to any spot on the floor, the shot confidence to rise up and fire, and the silky smooth shooting arc to drop in nothing but net shots from anywhere, there’s little defenses can do but send multiple defenders, and pray.

Guard Cayden Daughty, Shon’s teammate at Calvary Christian, also impressed with his natural feel in this game, creating a hockey-assist corner-kick three-pointer off a nice hang dribble revealing his handle, vision, and passing chops, while keeping active hands ready for a deflection and steal.

vs. Riviera Prep
Shon: 16 PTS on 7/13 FG – 5 REB – 2 STL
Cayden: 17 PTS on 7/7 FT – 3 STL – 3 AST / 1 TO

vs. Brewster
Shon: 16 PTS on 17 FGA – 6 REB – 7 AST / 1 TO – 2 STL – 2 BLK
Cayden: 20 PTS on 12 FGA

Rob Wright III
6’1″ Point Guard
Montverde Academy

• Two-way team-first floor-stretching playmaker who plays hard and smart for his size
• Traditional point guard with modern scoring creator skills, savvy connector, smooth 3pt jumper, tight ball control handles
• Hunts contact on drives for fouls, nice aggressiveness with the ball, tough shot-making on runners over tall defenders
• Gets up under players on defense, forcing offensive fouls, making opposition uncomfortable.
• Winning player, makes talented teammates better with natural point guard instincts that elevate an offense, makes the right play every play, looks for best shot for the team, hits open shots, high floor as floor-managing 3pt-shooting connector

Showing nice touch against Oak Ridge with the underhand bounce pass, the running FLOATA, and the catch-and-shoot corner three.

Smart movements, relocating here to the corner, up to the wing, attacking closeout with 0.5 second decision making, spin move footwork and clean finger roll finish to create easy layup for himself off BLOB set:

Good 3pt shooter on and off the ball

FLOATA King Rob Wright III has mastered one of the toughest shots in the game, a necessary one for a point guard attacking the rim with drop defenders who tend to be much taller and in the way.

Clutch scoring late for Montverde, runs Horns set with picks on both side of the ball, reads defense and finds good shot for himself to tie the game with just over a minute to play in the MAIT Championship game.

Clean contested dribble drive up-and-under reverse for Rob Wright without much room to operate:

Rob Wright III is as cool in the clutch as they come.

Montverde clears the entire side of the floor with a misdirection stagger screen for their 3pt threat McNeeley to distract the defense as Wright and Queen run a simple angle high PnR

Rob feels his first step advantage with the big man too high up, speeds past the dropping big for a finger roll layup.

Rob draws a charge on Dybantsa the next play before Flagg beats a press for a breakaway slam to seal the championship!
(Flagg blocks another shot and draws a foul with 5 seconds left for good measure before the buzzer)

Derik Queen
6’10” Center/Forward
Montverde Academy

• Overpowering NBA Size, Strength
• Mobile Rim-Protecting Rim-Rolling Lob Threat Play-Finisher
• Good footwork, handle, finishing touch, vision, timing
• Active Hands, solid defensive instincts to Deflect ball without fouling
• Questionable decison-maker with developable ball-skills, can be too forceful with a live dribble

vs Oak Ridge: 23 PTS on 11/15 FG with 11 REB – 2 BLK – 1 STL – 2 TO

Rim-deterrent against Oak Ridge contesting shots and forcing bad ones, despite a handful of plays of trying to do too much, Derik Queen throws down a couple of strong man putback jams. Queen flashed sound footwork and shooting touch near the rim on the spinning hook shot through traffic and solid timing on a late-possession block to prevent a 2-on-1.

Big rim-runners like Derik Queen, Aiden Sherell, Ryan Jones Jr. rated highly in At The Rim efficiency via Cerebro, as do wings who attack the rim Asa Newell, Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Tyler Johnson, Tyran Stokes, Liam McNeeley; all in the Top-10:

One example of Active Hands in drop defense against PnR helps Derik Queen poke dribble away from the driver, Zoom Diallo, forcing a turnover.

Here’s an up-and-down sequence summing up the Derik Queen experience:

Opens the 2nd quarter with one big coast-to-coast Oreo cookies DQ blizzard to-go, where at first Queen shows off great timing and active hands by breaking up a bounce pass, once again forcing a turnover in PnR drop coverage, this time stunting at the ball-handler and falling back to guard the roller.

Queen’s ability to dribble the ball up the court is a positive, but when he forces the dribble through traffic, he makes the game more difficult for himself. Instead of setting up the offense, Queen spins into a tough fadeaway midrange jumper, and while creating this shot is no easy task, it’s certainly a shot the defense is okay with Montverde taking anytime.

Queen immediately sees his shot is off, timing up an offensive rebound by crashing the glass, resetting his footwork for the second jump, and putting back the layup in traffic.

Derik Queen’s size, strength, and instincts give him incredible advantages that should translate to the NBA level; focusing on perfecting what he does well instead of improving weaknesses outside of the role he needs to fill could help carve out a long NBA career, a two-way role in play-finishing and paint-protection. Developing ball skills to round out his game could make him more well-rounded, but learning and understand how and when to utilize these skills defines one’s feel for the game.

In a matchup against DME’s 7’2″ Center Thiam, Queen held his own in a size mismatch, flashing all of the ball skills and nice vision with a look-ahead pass, bringing the ball up, finding Cooper Flagg for an alley-oop, drilling a pull-up middy, and blocking a shot at the rim with good ball instincts, anticipation, timing.

Queen finds an open spot against the 2-3 zone, parks, catches, turnaround baby hook bucket:

Queen flashes baby hook shot prowess, and has good patience, timing, and footwork in the post, but can find himself in situations where a loose handle moving in traffic can lead to a turnover, tough shot in traffic, or offensive foul; one or two plays of trying to do too much outside of his current skill-set. Other times, one can see good touch on plays like a high-low post-entry pass out of double drag, but just as often negative possessions seem to occur from unforced errors.

A shot-creating point guard ala Chris Paul to Deandre Jordan back on the Lob City Clippers or Luka Doncic to Derrick Lively today could unlock and maximize Queen’s full skill-set as a rim-protecting rim-running play-finisher with soft hands, creating a positive feedback loop where the big man is rewarded on offense for his effort and tenacity on defense.

Curtis Givens
6’3″ Guard
Montverde Academy

• Smooth 3pt jump shot streaky scoring on and off the ball
• Clean finishing skills at the rim, middy pull-up game
• Runs pick-and roll and pushes pace quickly looking to score first and create second
• Tight ball control, good handle, sound body control, effective decelerating drives
• Nice timing, anticipation, ball instincts forcing turnovers on blocks and loose ball recoveries

Montverde’s Curtis Givens is a walking bucket with a reliable 3pt shot; the 2023 Hoopshall Classic MVP (13 PTS 6/8 FG 2 STL) shows good feel, handles, touch, speed control decelerating after burst to the rim, and good ball instincts timing up steals hopping passing lanes. In this year’s Hoopshall Classic Title Game, Curtis added a clutch shot in the final minute.

Against Oak Ridge, Curtis dropped in an efficient 10 PTS (4/7 FG) – 1 STL – 2 AST/1 TO with a catch-and-shoot three, a soft touch finish finger roll running pick-and-roll, a tough same-side reverse on the drive, good body control throughout with the start-stop layup, active hands and nice timing to jump a passing lane for the steal.

A tough shot-maker on threes and near the rim, with good ball instincts and ball skills, Curtis Givens may remind fans of Tre Mann or Cole Anthony with his shot diet, shot release, silky smooth P&R north-south middy-to-deep pull-up score-first approach.

Off the handoff from Newell, Givens takes the half-step advantage to drive through the tiniest of creases in the defense, making a driving lane out of thin air for the clean contested reverse at the rim.

Newell crashes the glass for a second chance board, kicks to Curtis Givens, who pumps the three, fakes the pass, and attacks the closeout, beating his man and creating contact with the big for a bump and tough soft touch spinning reverse.

Nojas Indrusaitis
6’5″ Guard
Brewster Academy

• Great off-ball mover cutting, rim-running, relocating around the arc
• Brings 3&D impact as a guard
• Sound fundamental footwork, dribble moves, clean driver through traffic
• Good vision and feel
• Hustles for loose balls
• Anticipation, timing, awareness on team defense

11 PTS – 2/3 3P – 6 REB – 3 AST / 2 TO in 20 MIN vs Calvary Christian

Nojas makes a pro move eurostep finger-roll through traffic and diving on the floor for a loose ball steal, nice outlet pass lookahead vision to find Elijah Crawford for a smooth up and under, jumping a passing lane for a steal and breakaway slam

Smooth-looking jumper on the pull-ups with 18 PTS – 5 REB – 3 AST against Montverde in the Hoopshall Classic tournament.

Dwayne Aristode
6’7″ Guard
Brewster Academy

• Knockdown 3pt shooter can score on and off the ball
• North-South athleticism with defensive timing, first step burst, and natural hops
• Scoring versatility with up-and-under reverses at the rim, deep range 3PT shooting, and fadeaway middy pull-up
• Good handle using behind the back dribble and first step to create advantage on drive

21 PTS 4/11 3P 4 REB 3 AST in 26 MIN vs. Calvary Christian

Zoom Diallo
6’4″ Guard
Prolific Prep

• Explosive north-south guard
• Fast, strong, quick first step burst, notable athleticism
• Good footwork, deceleration body control
• Strong finisher through contact, switches hands on drives like a running back
• Shooting touch at and around the rim
• Smart player with good timing on cuts
• Nice vision and decision-makingas a passer

Diallo zooms by his opponents with ease, flying past defenders with elite first step burst, accelerating and decelerating with impressive body control, moving off the ball for swift cuts and north-south attacks.

Zoom doesn’t just fly by you; he drives through you.

Don’t underestimate the strength of a man named after a burst of speed, who shows sound footwork and impressive proprioception, with his ability to envision and execute his own graceful athelticism in movements through space.

Zoom Diallo accelerates in the sidelines-out-of-bounds play off a screen, staying in motion which maintaints an advantage in momentum for a strong drive into the up-and-under finger roll finish.

Winters Grady
6’8″ Wing/Forward
Prolific Prep

• Catch-and-shoot 3pt off-ball threat
• Knockdown off-ball shooter running off screens, movement shooter
• Solid feel to attack closeout with pumpfake and pass to find open cutters

Against Riviera, Winters splashed in 23 PTS on 6/8 3P in 25 MIN

Winters Grady shot 4/7 from downtown in the Hoophall Classic, running off stagger screens and relocating for C&S triples:

Mikey Lewis
6’3″ Guard
Prolific Prep

• High feel, smart decision-making point guard, knows where to be and where to find his teammates
• Excellent anticipatory timing feel and footwork for relocation threes
• Deep range off-ball shooting gravity
• Incredible vision dishing out catchable passes
• Soft shooting touch, tough shot making, finesse finishing at every level
• Midrange game with floaters and pull-ups
• Great all-around offensive game; size may present challenges defensively

In the Hoophall Classic championship matchup between Prolific and Montverde, the St. Mary’s commit tossed in a tear drop FLOATA, zipped passes ahead in transition and to cutters, and knocked down the pullup middy and catch-and-shoot triple.

Incredible AND1 FLOATA here as Mikey Lewis attacks Asa Newell’s closeout with a through-the-legs hesitation dribble, change of pace acceleration intothe bump and finish one-legged runner while falling away from the rim, just an impossible shot that #0 makes look easy.

Beats two trapping/ICE defenders in PNR swarming the ball with a lofty touch pass to the roller, Aiden Sherrell finishes the play strong at rim after a strong screen. Ball-handler Mikey Lewis sees the trap coming, backs up with one step to keep his dribble alive and buy time for the roller to beat the tag from the wing and be left open at the rim, then drops a dime.

Shows off relocation timing and displays footwork fundamentals for C&S threes, running around screens, staying aware of his location on the court and where the ball is at all times.

Aiden Sherrell
6’11” Center
Prolific Prep

• Good timing, anticipation, and ball instincts protecting the paint as a rim-deterrent without fouling
• Length, height, footwork effective for switching and drop defense
• Team-first mindset looking for best shot rather than forcing up bad one, finds shooter (#0 Mikey Lewis) for relocation handoff triple after rebounding own miss

Against Riviera: 12 PTS – 8 REB – 3 BLK – 1 STL 4/8 FG – 2/2 AST/TO

Sticks with his man in drop defense tagging the roller, help defense protecting the rim blocking Asa Newell’s second chance post-up shot and Rob Wright’s driving runner in PnR:

Moustapha Thiam
7’2″ Center
DME Academy

• NBA Size, Height, Strength, Length
• Sound post-up footwork fundamentals, hook shot soft touch
• Good two-way feel and team-first decision-maker
• Anticipation, timing, ball instincts as rim-protector

Montverde hosted DME Academy the Saturday night prior to the MAIT, where Moustapha Thiam, DME’s 7’2″ center who ranks 20th in his class and has committed to play at UCF, impressed with his anticipation rim protection skills, sound post-up footwork fundamentals, soft touch finesse finishing on hook shots on the block, and good feel making team-first reads.

Thiam combining his size, skill, and instincts could lead to a long professional career in basketball. On this play, he uses his size, anticipation, vision to make a simple yet clean high-low entry pass that not all big men have the touch to make.

Ryan Jones Jr.
6’8″ Center/Forward
The Rock School

• Off-Ball play-finisher, especially on cuts and as C&S 3pt shooter
• Team Leader, Volume scorer on good shooting efficiency
• Active deflector, yet fouls just as often

15 PTS 8 REB 3 STL 6/12 FG vs Oak Ridge

Rating 4th overall in impact in the tournament by Cerebro’s C-RAM, Jones scored off the charts with per game averages of 21 PTS (63% FG% ) on 2.3 3PM (50% 3P%) and 5 REB in 3 games, racking up 2 blk+stl for every 2 fouls. Ryan scored 27 PTS in a W over Imani Christian, showing his play-finishing abilities as a catch-and-shoot 3pt threat and cutting off ball to the rim.

Dante Allen
6’4″ Guard
Riviera Prep

• Volume scorer, tough shot maker
• Good 3pt shooter, sound defender, 3&D impact
• Soft touch on shots near the rim

Dante Allen impressed with two-way impact, hitting 37% on 3.7 3PM over his 3 games in the tourney.

Against Prolific: 23 PTS on 22 FGA with 5 REB – 4 STL – 5 AST / 3 TO

Against Calvary Christian: 17 PTS on 15 FGA and 4 3PM – 3 AST – 4 REB

Despite some smooth soft touch deep high-arcing FLOATAs for Riviera guards Allen and Myles Fuentes (21 PTS), the vision of Fuentes’ brother Mason (9 AST/5 TO), and sound rim-protection instincts from their center Gustavo Guimaraes Alves (4 BLK), Dybantsa’s Prolific Prep team pulled away late.

****************
Video & Stat sources: NBA.com(video), Cerebro Sports(data), Montverde Academy(film), Maxpreps(heights)

The post Scouting the 2024 Hoophall Classic Title Game & Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament appeared first on Swish Theory.

This is the story of that play.

The Nate Situation

On February 8, 2017, the Delaware 87ers signed Nate Robinson from the pool of the available players.

“Robinson might be best known in Philadelphia as the man who robbed former Sixer Andre Iguodala in the 2006 Slam Dunk Contest.” – not every fan seemed thrilled by this signing

At almost 33, Robinson was a declining veteran that played only two NBA games with the New Orleans Pelicans the season before and was trying to fight to stay relevant and make his way back into the league after a brief experience with Hapoel Tel Aviv.

However, he still was a three times Slam Dunk Contest winner that enchanted the crowds and a 5-foot-9 inches player that played over 600 NBA games. This was something you didn’t see every day at the D-League level.

He debuted with the Sevens on 14th February against the Maine Red Claws, playing 18 minutes in a 20-point win.

After a 3-0 record since Robinson’s signing, on the 25th February 2017 the Delaware 87ers faced the Raptors 905 at the Bob Carpenter Center, their home arena from 2013 to 2018.

In this game, Robinson checks in for Aaron Harrison with 4:05 left in the first quarter.

At the 8:04 minutes mark in the second quarter, Nate gets the ball on the right wing from Shawn Long who immediately sets a screen for him. At this point, Walter Tavares, the giant Raptors 905’s defensive center, jumps off the screen and traps Robinson with EJ Singler’s help, clearly thinking their length would be overwhelming for the 5’9 guard.

Robinson, trapped in a corner unable to do whatever, with a fearless move, goes towards the only open gap between him and the paint. And that gap happens to be the opening between Tavares’ long legs.

Taking advantage of the high center of gravity of the Cape Verdean big man, Robinson dribbles through his legs.

The possession ends with Nate attempting a shot at the rim and a foul by CJ Leslie who starts shouting furiously to the referees.

But everyone is still in awe of what happened right before and the reactions in the stands are disparate: those who clap, those who laugh, others in shock.

This is the “Natemeg” (as a Reddit user named it): an unprecedented basketball move that required unusual physical features, courage and the creativity to even just imagine it. A true metaphor of Robinson’s career.

“They thought I didn’t take the game seriously because I was playing around and having a good time but I think that was my gift as in keeping my inner child and staying young, man, that was my gift to the world.”

Nate Robinson

Son of a Gun

There’s bewilderment and anger on the Raptors’ players’ faces. What just happened can’t be properly processed. 

What just happened falls in an undefined regulatory zone.

That move is potentially dangerous and probably shouldn’t be regular but it doesn’t break any rule.

Walter Tavares, “sacrificed” on the altar of Robinson’s show, complains without much conviction.

But at the end of the day that’s just an unfortunate lowlight in the middle of a dominant defensive season for Tavares. He averaged 2.7 blocks and 0.8 steals in just 23.6 minutes per game during that season with the Raptors 905.

Standing at 7’3 with a 7’9 wingspan, he towered above every opponent but he also showed a solid understanding and processing of the game combined with better ground coverage than you would expectet from your gigantic big man. A terrific mix that made him the D-League Defensive Player of the Year that season.

However it wasn’t enough to convince another NBA team to bet on him and on 10th November 2017, Tavares signed with Real Madrid for the rest of the 2017-18 season. As soon as he came back to Europe, he was one of the best defensive players around. He was the block leader and won Defensive Player of the year of the Spanish League already in 2017-18, an award that he has now won for 6 straight seasons.

He didn’t break out abruptly, becoming as impactful as he is now. He was 24 at the time and added pieces to his game through the years but the foundation for a high-level defensive presence was already there in the then D-League.

But there’s another consideration about his developmental curve and his lack of NBA success.

He found himself in the league probably in the period of the greatest aversion for big men. The Warriors meteorite hit the league a couple of years before and almost everyone was convinced the consequent small ball cloud would’ve provoked the extinction of the big man (while we now know they “found a way”). This certainly wasn’t the best environment for a 7’3 giant to thrive and for a team to invest efforts on such a player on the margins.

I’m convinced Tavares could’ve been a decent backup center in the NBA for a while in his prime, especially on a team with a defense based on conservative schemes. In addition to his obvious defensive skills, he has also been a 71% free throw shooter through his career (on over 1700 attempts across Europe, NBA and G League) while flirting with a 0.50 free throw rate and this skill would have certainly helped him stay on the floor for longer periods.

But at the end of the day, after going back to Europe and being that impactful from the start, Tavares likely had no reason to leave Madrid and his well-paid, starring role in exchange for a similarly paid, more uncertain NBA role.

The Gold Gadget

 “He gave the people what they wanted to see”

After the initial disbelief, that was the first thought Varun Raghupathi, the play-by-play commentator, had while calling that game in Newark.

Most of the 2,853 persons in attendance probably were there just to see “the Gadget”, who was already one of the most well-known and popular players that would ever play for the Delaware 87ers. 

“He seemed to know that half the crowd was there just to see him, so he was definitely trying to put on a show and entertain the people who came out for him”

In the middle of a bad game, ending at one for six from the field, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls and a -18 plus/minus, Robinson found a way to delight them with an unprecedented play.

Nate Robinson’s mix of superhuman athleticism, passion for Allen Iverson and his childish approach to the game made him a true showman of the parquet. KryptoNate jumping over Dwight “Superman” Howard, his legendary blocks on Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal, his dunk over Spud Webb. He often felt part of his well-written script; he was gifted with a cinematic perfection that is hard to explain.

But the story of the “Natemeg” is also telling about the growth of the NBA development league in the last years. The landscape has drastically changed since then. The 2016-17 season was the last season before the Gatorade sponsorship that lit the fuse of a new era.

In the last 6 season, the G League completed its transformation from a seeming sentencing for players on the margins to a powerful opportunity not only for players but also for staffs, executives and obviously for NBA teams.

Since the advent of the Gatorade sponsorship, the NBA implemented numerous tools to give teams a better control on “developmental” players and encourage the franchises to invest more into their affiliates. This made the League a true pool of talent with stronger bounds with the NBA and created a virtuous circle in which almost everyone involved, from the executives to the coaches and the players, is pushed to be better to reach the next level.

Some teams understood the power of a well-organized G League affiliate earlier, some later but the general trend has been undeniable. Indeed every NBA team will at last have a G League affiliate for the 2024-25 season (compared to the 22 teams of the 2016-17 season).

It’s also interesting to analyze the players who stepped on the court at the Bob Carpenter Center that day. The Raptors 905’s starting five was composed of John Jordan, Negus Webster-Chan, Antwaine Wiggins, Bruno Caboclo and Yanick Moreira with CJ Leslie, Brady Heslip, EJ Singler, Walter Tavares and Christian Watford completing the rotation. The Delaware 87ers lined up Russ Smith, Brandon Triche, Aaron Harrison, James Webb III and Shawn Long with Devondrick Walker, Danuel House, Nate Robinson, Carlos Lopez-Sosa and Roscoe Smith off the bench. Overall the only players that carved out a real NBA role were Danuel House, Nate Robinson (well past his prime at the time) and maybe Caboclo if you want to count him.

The Raptors 905 won the league that year and, in hindsight, they lined up Pascal Siakam and Fred Vanvleet for a certain number of games, but those two were just a 27th pick and an undrafted guard at the time. The 905 have probably been one of the first teams to believe in the D-League as a valid development path.

The increse of talent through the years has been striking. Nowadays basically every G League game is full of two-way players, valid rookies, NBA veterans and lately we’ve even seen a greater tendency to assign lottery picks to the G League. Six lottery picks from the 2023 Draft spent time playing there during this season. Amen Thompson, Taylor Hendricks, Jarace Walker, Jett Howard, Gradey Dick, Jordan Hawkins: they collectively played over 75 G League games so far.

Primary criticisms of the G League include how playstyle is too different from an actual NBA game and can lead to developmental short circuits, points I partly agree with it. But I also think it depends on the team taken into consideration. More teams are getting better at creating functional structures to support the prospects’ development. A recent example that comes to mind is how the Memphis Hustle rebuilt GG Jackson’s habits in the past months (and I think Jason Preston’s ability to set his teammates up really helped here).

However, in the face of exponential growth, there are still some weak points that affect the level of the product.

The turnover within the rosters of players that aren’t two-ways or NBA assignees certainly gives a dynamic shape to the league but also generates a series of issues. It is probably harder to build advanced offensive and defensive structures and this affects in first place the level of the game and secondly the development of the NBA players assigned to the affiliate teams.

The broadcasting coverage is another long-standing issue. The fragmentation of the television rights probably doesn’t help to create consistent interest around a team or certain storylines. The games freely televised by the G League on their YouTube channel are very difficult to find if you don’t know exactly where to look and the replays are available for a very short time. These things make the league difficult to follow for the average viewer and annoying to study for the analysts (who would be helped also by a better stats management on the official site).

Having the television rights concentrated in fewer hands, bringing back games streamed on a well-known platform like Twitch (the “Natemeg” game was streamed on Facebook for example) and making the replays available for longer times are solutions that would make the product much more consumable.

Moving on to a less technical aspect, the development of the league is clear even simply looking at the arena in which the game was played. At the time the then Delaware 87ers were playing in a college arena that didn’t enhance their brand. Now the Delaware Blue Coats play in the Chase Fieldhouse, a gem with a small capacity but characterized by large glass walls that make it one of the most fascinating arenas of the league in my opinion.

Epilogue

The “Natemeg” encapsulates a universe of different topics behind a curtain of spectacularity. It weaves together an iconic player on the wane but still able to amaze, the growing pains of a dominant international defensive player and the transformation of everything related to the NBA development league.

More elevated and compelling matters generally catch our attention but sometimes even just revisiting a single play can put things in a different light, telling us a long and interesting story.

The post Revisiting the “Natemeg”, the craziest play you didn’t know about appeared first on Swish Theory.

I watch an unholy amount of film; I’m what you might call a Sicko. So believe me when I say I’m not being hyperbolic. The 2023-24 Utah Jazz offensive process is one of the best I’ve seen from a basketball team. This is a roster with some talent, but I believe Hardy’s coaching is milking every ounce of that talent from the roster which is not always the case in basketball.

I normally judge offenses in four ways. I don’t have a weighted formula but these are the things I look at:

• Creativity of plays and their fit with the personnel
• Spacing concepts and cutting
• Execution of counters when first option is taken away
• Speed of action

An offense normally won’t tick all four of these in my mind. Sometimes this is because teams are simply loaded with talent and may not need to extend extra labour into their offensive process. Other times, we have to remember that practice only happens for a finite amount of time and coaching is hard. With this Jazz team, I firmly believe they tick all four of the things I look for regularly.

The pace stat is mostly useless to me; it’s just an indicator of how much a team runs. Speed of action is much more important and that’s not something that is tracked by any of the statistical services I have subscriptions for. It’s something I try and gauge from watching as much of a team’s half-court offense as possible. The Utah Jazz excel at all of this.

Statistically, you might not be blown away. This is an offense ranking 17th in offensive efficiency and 23rd in half-court efficiency. But the process is excellent and the Jazz are running some modern concepts and arguably setting some metas for how modern basketball offenses will work. It’s an ideal environment for developing players, so it’s no shock many are having the best spells of their careers in Utah.

Since December 7th, when Will Hardy called a Jazz performance, and I quote, ‘ A Masterpiece of Dog Shit’. The Utah Jazz are 8th in offensive efficiency and 11th in halfcourt offensive efficiency

I’ll get into more detail in the skeleton of this article, but Hardy and his staff have an excellent understanding of the way modern defenses are playing. Teams are loading up with nail help, and often using a ‘roaming’ center on a non-shooter or an offensive player they deem low usage. Hardy’s concepts exploit these, and their set plays help maximize a roster that is mostly made up of young players, some veterans, and players who other teams did not see value in. In a way, the Utah Jazz offense unites the roster and creates some fascinating questions about what they might do next in their rebuild.

Flare Screens

I’m going to give flare screens their own section in this article because they’re often Utah’s first read in the half-court. Normally, they are ‘top flares’ such as the one below.

They’ll push these at will, especially for Lauri Markkanen. Per Synergy, the only team that ends up with more shots off-screen is the Golden State Warriors. I will asterisk this with the fact Synergy will only track this if the off-screen play leads to an instant shot. Utah runs many more screens that don’t instantly lead to a shot. This is their most common. Nothing elaborate, but something easy and low maintenance for their best player. This matters. Only Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson attempt more shots off-screen per game than Lauri Markkanen.

Flare screens are probably the most important screens in modern basketball, especially in the context of the play above. Pistol action is by far the most common action in NBA basketball. Teams need to first cover the baseline but then be ready for the normal ‘chase’ action that follows when a player receives a handoff. To attempt to do this, teams will load up with nail help and slant toward one side of the floor. This quick top flare puts that to the test because it punishes any over-help, and Lauri’s prowess means they have to pay legitimate attention to it. This leads to less coverage of the initial pistol actions.

I mentioned in my rubric for evaluating offenses the importance of flowing into stuff quickly when the flare doesn’t directly lead to a shot. Utah does this well: think of the flare like an opening move in chess.

The Thunder cover things well, so the Jazz quickly flow into a middle pick-and-roll. This is largely where Collin Sexton‘s value shows because he’s an excellent and willing driver.

I liked the read below too, where Lauri Markkanen dives to the rim and disrupts the low-man help after initially not getting open on the flare screen.

Markkanen vacating the perimeter means there’s no nail help to disrupt Sexton, and he takes it to the paint for an easy score. This pre-action frees things up and creates lanes for players that maybe aren’t as good at creating them as the top stars in the NBA.

As always with Utah, the off-ball reads are crisp, like below.

Collin Sexton slips backdoor while the Rockets try and switch the action. To quote my good friend, Nekias Duncan- ‘The best way to beat a switch is to slip’.

Something unique about Utah is that their ATOs aren’t unique or special plays. They generally just run their half-court concepts but from a different angle with the out-of-bounds pass. The only exception I found on film was their Iverson set.

Here, the Jazz flow into the top-flare action from a ‘get’ action on the SLOB play. On this occasion, they use it to switch hunt and Keyonte gets a decent driving lane before Chet Holmgren happens.

I’ve mentioned counters and speed of action multiple times so far. I liked this double backdoor counter the Jazz used in their top flare progressions.

The two backdoor cuts open up a potential open side for a driver, but it also draws the help defense from the other side, which Collin Sexton punishes with that San Antonio Spursian lift from the corner.

In recent games, Will Hardy has felt more comfortable adding extra layers onto the Jazz’ core stuff. This opening play against the Denver Nuggets was a great way of using the flare screen as pre-action.

The Jazz run ‘Top Flare Reject Ram Spain Shallow Brush‘. It’s a mouthful but don’t panic. They don’t use the top flare as Denver has it scouted. Markkanen screens for John Collins and he enters a PNR with Kris Dunn. Collin Sexton also looks as if he’s going to screen KCP, but when KCP turns his eyes to the ball handler, Sexton sets a little brush screen for Lauri to pop for a three-pointer. Utah in particular loves brush screens, and you can see this basic concept is just a starting point for their offense. They’re beginning to add and flow into more stuff as the year progresses.

Top flares are Utah’s most common type, but they run the more traditional flare screens too. They do these both as freelance off-ball reads and as part of more intricate set plays. Here’s a basic off-ball Indiana read alongside an empty PNR, a Utah staple.

They’ll often use these as quick hitters for Markkanen, notably on an empty side. He’s good at cutting backdoor if they over-commit; that’s been a notable development of his in Utah.

As Lauri has been cutting more in Utah, teams respect that side of his game a lot more. This has been a notable change from his time in Chicago. Watch the play below as an example of how Utah uses that against teams.

We see the return of the brush screening concept as Utah runs ‘Stack Out Flip Flare‘ with a brush screen counter. The stack out is their go-to if teams are tightly defending Markkanen or Olynyk. Here they have Markkanen go off a flare screen after flipping the ball back to Collin Sexton. Note how far into the paint Toronto’s low-man is playing when Markkanen clears through the paint. He punishes this by setting a quasi brush-screen for Jordan Clarkson to pop open for a three-pointer.

Finally, just watch this play for an indicator of how annoying it is to defend the Utah Jazz when their five-out stuff is humming.

Lauri Markkanen starts the play by coming off a wide ball screen, then Collin Sexton flares for him as he’s ghosting the pick-and-roll. Admittedly, Dallas didn’t have the most fearsome defenders at the top of the key, but this just showcases how Utah dissuades nail help with constant screening and moving.

I also liked this intriguing read.

Utah goes into the elbow with the ball. It initially looks as if Markkanen is going to be part of a double screening action. Instead, Utah flows Markkanen into a top flare to an empty side. Watch Jordan Clarkson. Kenrich Williams is ball-watching so he screens Markkanen’s man which essentially creates a defacto switch that Markkanen can punish.

They may not have the talent level of other teams, but they out-work you and never stand in place. The flare screen isn’t all they do, but it’s the springboard for the majority of their half-court plays and it’s always in their arsenal, almost built into their overall DNA.

Blind Handoffs and Skip Passes

The blind pass isn’t necessarily a new tactic or phenomenon. The Golden State Warriors have used it for Draymond Green for many years as teams often would sit off him to cover all the back cuts and zipper cuts through the paint. There has also been ‘Blind Pig’ action. The way Utah and Miami have used this action is relatively unique. They’ll sometimes have Walker Kessler in the corner, which isn’t scaring a defense. But the blind handoff creates potentially easy openings into dribble handoffs. Take the play below as an example.

Utah moves the ball up the floor and Walker Kessler is spaced in the corner. When it comes down to it, even John Collins will get given space as teams don’t fully respect the shooting. Keyonte George drives and kicks it to Walker Kessler. Watch Jordan Clarkson sink to the corner as the pass is traveling to Kessler. This is the ‘blind’ handoff. It is designed to punish off coverage as Walker Kessler isn’t a natural spacer. It’s a way Utah can be five-out all the time and not become stale and predictable with their spacing concepts. On this occasion, it doesn’t lead to much of note, but I just want you guys to have the idea of this concept in your head.

Here they use the skip handoff as a get-out-of-jail-free card during part of something more exotic- Horns Chin.

The Houston Rockets were switching in this game, so the Jazz went to Horns Chin. Note how Walker Kessler is in the corner at the start of the play which means Sengun can somewhat play off him. The Jazz use this play to get Lauri post position on a smaller player, so Sengun tags across. If this was a shooter in the corner it would be more problematic at first glance, but Fontecchio dives to the corner and gets a really good look from beyond the arc. Switching is common with teams that are wing-heavy like Houston, and Hardy comes ready with the right plays to punish it.

This action isn’t perfect. Something I noted in the film was that this action became less fruitful if the Jazz are playing slowly.

Here, Utah isn’t running anything, so Kessler receives a cross-court pass. But because the defense wasn’t moved at all, the possession ended in chaos. The effectiveness of this mirrors the effectiveness of the Utah Jazz. If they’re moving and running stuff at speed, it’s genuinely a very effective spacing concept.

They’ll use this concept for Collins too. Below they mesh the skip pass concept with a pistol top flare.

The skip pass is their way of involving players that, respectfully, the defense isn’t paying much attention to. And as it will continue to be shown throughout this article, Utah meshes all their core stuff together.

This concept isn’t just reserved for non-shooters, they’ll often use skip passes to just keep the offense moving. Thinking Basketball did a great vid on this give-and-go resetting the dribble concept. But it’s a way for them to push for easy and quick offense and to not let defenses off the hook. There’s nowhere to hide in a sense.

I’ve mentioned layers, and Utah ran a blind pass concept in their recent game against the Houston Rockets. I’d label it ’77 Double Ghost Fake Veer Blind DHO’. A mouthful again, but simple and beautiful to watch.

Utah runs a double-drag variant, with both Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen ghosting their picks. Jordan Clarkson then looks as if he’s going to set a ball screen for Markkanen to come back for a catch-and-shoot (veer action). Only it’s all a disguise and Walker Kessler is used as a blind hub, and Clarkson darts for an open three-pointer. I’ve seen the ‘Double Ghost’ concept before, but this was a new variant and the fact that Will Hardy dialed it up in a key moment shows how well the Jazz execute the concept. Kessler in the corner isn’t threatening, but they can make it one with their actions and concepts.

Shallow Series

Now that we’ve dove into the Jazz main concepts (please keep them in mind), it’s time to dive into their most used set plays and reads. We start with the 77 Shallow series. This is a play-type that’s taken over this year. It’s like a cross-breed between a double drag and a Spain pick-and-roll. In this play, there are two ‘screeners’, with one of them sitting lower than the other. In a traditional double drag the screens are mostly parallel to each other and set. The lower screener in shallow action doesn’t set a screen.

Two back-to-back uses of it in the Rockets game are a good illustration of what it is, and what it does.

John Collins is the first screener, triggering the drop defense. Lauri Markkanen is the lower screener and he cuts across the drop coverage and pops open for a three-pointer. It means the pick-and-roll action is essentially 2v2 which is a win for the offense in an era of nail help defense.

They come back to it on the next play.

This time, the Rockets are somewhat ready for the action. Jabari Smith stays tight to Markkanen and Sengun is ready to defend the downhill action. Collin Sexton sees this and rejects the screen and Utah gets a great look from beyond the arc.

They’ll sometimes run these on an empty side, which takes excellent defensive communication to contain.

This is particularly terrible defense, which jumped out on Lakers film, but the concept is difficult to defend while switching on an empty side because Markkanen is good at sealing his defender when they try and jump ahead and cut to the perimeter to stop him. Here he just sneaks backdoor for a lob.

They’ll often disguise the 77 Shallow with a ram screen.

This ram screen essentially speeds up the proceedings in the play, Indiana was likely expecting a top flare. But this is a good showcase of why this play is effective and is becoming a staple in NBA offense.

If Markkanen’s screen was parallel to Kessler’s, the lowest defender could contain the drive and then the on-ball defenders could recover out to Lauri when he pops. Because Lauri is in that shallow position, it means the containing defense has to be perfect because Obi Toppin is then responsible for not surrendering the middle and also defending Lauri. Switching may seem like it works, but switches early in a possession can hurt you later on when you’ve got Bennedict Mathurin on Walker Kessler. The ram screen is a nice wrinkle that makes the play more effective.

I noted earlier that the only ATO concept I’ve seen them run that isn’t part of their base offense is an Iverson set. But even when they run that, they’ll often flow into the base offense as shown below.

Utah goes to the Iverson action for Collin Sexton. They’ll often have Markkanen set a ram screen for a guard to ghost out. On this occasion, Markkanen flips his body position and they go into their shallow play. The Hornets cover it relatively well but still concede a very good look to Lauri Markkanen.

They’ve also added an intriguing variant to their shallow series where the second screener veers out to free up a shooter.

Like with the blind DHO earlier, the Jazz go to this in crunch time which shows how much they like it. You learn the most about teams in these moments. Walker Kessler comes off the ram screen, Jordan Clarkson then loops around and sets a screen on Markkanen’s defender. Houston switches the cross-screen when Lauri lifts, but they lose contain and Collin Sexton drills the floater when Sengun recovers to Walker Kessler.

This play signals the dilemma of defending Utah. They had to pay so much attention to the off-ball stuff that Collin Sexton got an easy look on the ball. Sexton’s play has been excellent, and likely the main difference in Utah racking up wins in comparison to their early-season form.

Strong Series

Utah runs a lot of double-stagger screens. This again is largely down to the fact their best player is an off-screen flier. But it is also a very good way to keep everyone involved and consistently pressure defenses. One of the things that stands out on film is just how many different reads Utah has in their series. The execution is consistently pretty good and there’s much more variety than always having someone come off a double stagger.

Utah loves ghost screens, and here Simone Fontecchio ghosts the initial strong stagger and we see them return to the skip pass concept. It’s a nice way to ensure less traffic for a young guard like Keyonte George to have to navigate.

They also like to push for the ‘Strong Dribble‘ variant. This is where a player comes off the double stagger screen, receives a pass, and immediately passes it back to the ball handler. They’ll often use this against teams that want to stay attached such as below.

They run ‘Strong Dribble Pop‘. Note how they create a great driving lane for Collin Sexton with this action. It’s why he’s having such a profitable season.

They also incorporate their brush screens into this concept.

Markkanen draws all the attention. He sees that the third defender has cleared out, so he pulls his defender into another defender (brush screen). It would be more effective with a better shooter than Collins, but this is a very effective option they could go to at any time with how much attention Lauri draws.

I also like the ‘Strong Dribble Veer‘ option they use. It’s an effective switch-beater.

The play effectively allows the Jazz to pick matchups, and Fontecchio’s slip means that Luka Doncic is involved in a pick-and-roll action as the ‘big’ defender. Fontecchio then ghosts out for an easy three, which epitomizes the Utah Jazz.

They’ll also run far split cuts on these strong staggers if they see defenses sitting under.

Here, Utah runs ‘split cuts’. The first screener Clarkson is cutting backdoor, with Agbaji coming off a single stagger. It created an empty-side look when the Lakers were defending relatively far into the paint. Utah gets a good look on the play.

These strong staggers require a lot of attention when you’ve got so many reads. Utah does a great job teaching their players to make ‘face cuts’ across the weak side such as below.

Lauri Markkanen is isolated on the weak side while everyone else is involved with the double stagger, so he makes a cut across the middle of the paint for an easy jump shot.

I’ve mentioned meshing before. Here’s another example of it all coming together:

Utah runs a wedge screen for Collin Sexton, which is completely inverting the offense. It brings Lauri Markkanen to the top of the key and he comes off a top flare. While all this is happening, Collin Sexton cuts right into the teeth of the defense. Per a league source, Utah does a lot of off-ball movement work in practice. It shows on film.

Perhaps my favourite play in Utah’s strong series is the Fake Slice STS (Screen the Screener) set that they run, here’s what it looks like.

Utah inbound the ball to the weak side elbow. Kris Dunn then sets a slice screen (back screen from the wing) for Markkanen. The alignment of players here matters a lot. In this game, the Rockets were switching 2-4 but not 1-4 because Jalen Green is a small guard. This means Dillon Brooks has to be responsible for covering Markkanen backdoor. He overplays on the fake screen and Markkanen comes off another screener and drills the three.

Houston did an OK Job defending this play after the original advantage was created by the slice screen. Most of the time it’s harder to cover.

Utah dialed this up in overtime of the aforementioned Rockets game. This time the entry is a little different with Collin Sexton coming off a zipper screen on the weak side. Markkanen uses the fake slice screen and when 2 defenders come to him, Walker Kessler slips backdoor for an easy dunk. With Utah’s size, merely switching things isn’t always an option and they do a good job milking that fact.

The same happens here against the Pistons.

Two again go to Markkanen which is common. Some teams will come into games with plans to blitz the ball out of the hands of good shooters. The problem with this play is that your help defense is disoriented and it’s not always that simple.

Here’s what the play looks like if the slice screen isn’t rejected.

The Thunder cover the slice screen relatively well but still concede a decent look to Collin Sexton. Chet Holmgren also has to drop deep, so a skip pass to Kessler may have also worked. It shows the attention Lauri garners when he tries to cut backdoor.

Here is another example of things all meshing together.

Utah looks as if they’re going to run a strong double stagger. But the second screener and the man closest to the ball is John Collins. Instead of running the staggers, Sexton throws the skip pass to John Collins and they flow into a Chicago action which creates a numbers advantage, getting Markkanen a great look.

Here’s everything coming together differently in a recent game vs the Hornets.

The Jazz use the skip pass to John Collins to open the play as Nick Richards is in drop. Note on the weakside, Utah is trying to set the flare screen for Markkanen. His man jumps out to the corner to stop the flare, so Markkanen comes back. But watch John Collins. He veers towards the weakside after skipping the ball back to Collin Sexton and Lauri gets a great look. Here they managed to combine their skip pass concept, a flare screen, and their strong series. This is a particularly great off-ball read.

As I’ve mentioned, the good offenses mesh things together. It’s not like playing Madden where plays you call are independent. Your concepts and philosophies should mix with your set plays, and off-ball reads should shine through.

Elbow/Horns/Stack Out

Utah runs a lot of offense through the elbow. In a recent press conference attended by Philadelphia 76ers beat reporter Daniel Olinger, Will Hardy said of elbow offense:

It’s hard to know where to help from there … and from an analytical standpoint, the most valuable shots are at the rim and corner threes, and if you put the ball in the middle of the floor, you now have 2 corner players

Utah doesn’t always have two in the corner in their elbow sets, but they commonly create high percentage looks from them. Perhaps my favourite is when they run ‘Twirl Action’. It’s an off-ball screening action where there is a double stagger screen and a player cuts off or rejects the first screen, and the first screener then comes off the second screener.

Writer’s Note- Not all of these plays necessarily catch the ball at the elbow, but due to their nature I still consider them part of Elbow Offense. NBA Spacing has evolved and catching the ball just outside the perimeter in 2024 likely matches catching it at the elbow in 2014.

The Jazz get the ball to Kelly Olynyk near the elbow. Jordan Clarkson cuts baseline and rejects the double stagger screens, with Ochai Agbaji coming off the screen for an easy look from beyond the arc. It can be difficult to defend on an empty side, so mixups are common.

Utah is also good at pushing into something else if the initial action doesn’t create an instant shot.

Cam Reddish forces Jordan Clarkson further out from the paint, so the Jazz go into a middle-pick-and-roll. Note Kelly Olynyk also setting a flare screen alongside the PNR (Indiana Action). This is likely considered a win for the defense but it’s still a pretty good look which shows how playing against the Jazz can be confounding.

Utah has counters upon counters in their offense.

This time the Jazz run ‘Stack Out Chin Twirl’. Jordan Clarkson cuts backdoor when Josh Green very aggressively tries to deny him the cut towards the ball handler. Dallas then top-locks Kris Dunn so the Jazz again go to a quasi-brush screening action to get John Collins a lob attempt. Though top-locking Kris Dunn is an odd decision, it’s just likely Dallas had twirl scouted and wanted to top-lock the final part of the action. But Utah was ready.

They also love to run ‘Peja’ or ‘Rip’ actions. These involve someone back screening before coming up for a shot or a dribble handoff.

Jordan Clarkson sets a back screen for Collin Sexton while Olynyk has the ball at the elbow. When Clarkson sees he’s still top-locked, he cuts backdoor and gets a good look. OKC isn’t the team to run this against given their tendency to want to swarm the paint, but against teams with more of an outside-oriented approach, this play could be very effective.

I’ve mentioned the word meshing a tonne in this article; let’s look at another example of it.

Utah gets Jordan Clarkson the ball at the elbow. Keyonte George then sets a back screen for Lauri Markkanen. The defense doesn’t do an amazing job covering it, but Jordan Clarkson instead hits Walker Kessler and goes into the ‘Blind’ dribble handoff option that’s part of the Jazz half-court offense. This was particularly effective because the Peja action occupied the low men and created an easy look for Jordan Clarkson.

Utah will also often use the elbow as a sort of safe space in their half-court stuff.

The Jazz go to Ram Ghost, but Keyonte George opts to pitch the ball to Kelly Olynyk. George then comes off a flare screen for an open three. This is an easy concept that I feel they should go to more often. The top flares don’t often come with any kind of pre-action but this is extremely effective.

Here’s another layer they added in a game vs the Charlotte Hornets.

Charlotte has Markkanen come off a ram screen and ghost it. The ball then is pitched to John Collins in the elbow. Collin Sexton sets a sort of freelance flare for Lauri Markkanen and comes up to receive the ball. Markkanen is tightly defended so to quote NFL lingo, it’s ‘free yards’ for Collin Sexton and easy labor. They then flow into a Spain pick-and-roll. On this occasion, the Hornets switch everything, but it puts Brandon Miller in a bad position against a very accomplished lob threat in John Collins.

They come back to it on the next play.

This time, note Miles Bridges tags into the paint more than he did on the first play. This time, Simone Fontecchio leaks out as the back screener. After some good ball movement and screening, Collin Sexton nails an above-the-break three-pointer.

Conclusion

Overall, I’ve been blown away by the Utah Jazz offense this season. Running offense is extremely hard, but Utah is one of those teams that are mastering the details other teams miss. They put a hell of a lot of time into perfecting their off-ball movement, and it means that they’re able to somewhat overachieve on the offensive side of the ball.

I’m not into many coaching cliches, but one I’ve seen trotted around is ‘You can stop plays but you can’t stop principles’. I don’t think it’s a bad quote but I feel it misses the point. Principles are everything, but your principles can be elevated by how tough your plays are to stop. The Jazz give their players live reps, as they don’t have many specific packages for out-of-bounds plays.

To revisit the earlier things I look for in scouting offense, it’s very hard to tick the boxes of all four. For the most part, the Utah Jazz do this. It’s a creative scheme using some unique and very new concepts, and it’s well executed with speed and has enough counters for the defense to know that stopping the first action may often mean little.

Regardless of the direction Utah chooses to go in, Will Hardy has proven himself extremely capable of maximizing a rebuilding squad. It wouldn’t surprise me if Hardy became one of the greatest coaches of his generation.

The post The Set Plays and Concepts Fuelling the Utah Jazz Resurgence appeared first on Swish Theory.

Teams: Montverde, IMG, Columbus, Brewster, and Sunrise Christian

Standout Players:

Cooper Flagg, Cam Boozer, Asa Newell, Elijah Crawford, Rob Wright, Darius Acuff, Donnie Freeman, Cayden Boozer, David Castillo, Elijah Elliot, Derik Queen, Jase Richardson, Liam McNeeley, Dwayne Aristode, Randy Smith

How many future NBA lottery picks can you spot in one photo?

Fun Fact, hoop heads: Jason Richardson and Carlos Boozer both have two sons currently playing for Columbus basketball; that’s two Richardson sons and two Boozer sons all on the same high school team in Miami, for those keeping track at home.

Feel old yet?

A strong-shouldered forward with feathery shooting touch like his NBA All-Star dad, the 6’9″ Cam Boozer quickly become a household name in draft circles as a Top-3 2026 prospect, with this Montverde-Columbus marquee matchup featuring another potential Top-3 prospect (in 2025), Cooper Flagg, just to name two of many exciting prospects in this contest.

Cooper Flagg’s game stretches the word ‘versatility’ to its limits. Doing it all on both ends of the floor, Flagg flashes elite touch, feel, and vision, a natural scoring creator constantly looking for the best shot for his team whether that be setting up shooters on drive-and-kicks or self-creating a good look for himself.

Boozer exploded in the second half, playing with more intensity and focus, powering through opponents, pushing the pace on lookahead passes, and gliding off ball for well-timed cuts, play-finishing rim-rolls, and in-rhythm pick-and-pop jumpers.

Asa Newell, a 6’10” forward who fills a rim-rocking rim-protecting rim-runner role creating vertical gravity for Montverde, shows incredible two-way potential with NBA size, length, active hands, and energetic motor that produces deflections, shot contests, blocked shots, and nasty highlight play-finishing moments throwing down highlight slams.

Rob Wright stepped onto the court Friday night ready to take care of business, not leaving the building until he had swished more FLOATAs for Montverde than every other player in both games combined that day.

Cayden Boozer, Cam’s brother, ran point to a tee, fulfilling classic playmaker duties with touch passes, highlight play feel, and good feel decisiveness on when to score and when to create for others.

Like his pops used to do, Jase Richardson flashes bouncy rim-rocking hops and soft shooting touch with a bucket-getting swagger, swishing high-degree-of-difficulty shots from a left-leaning elbow pull-up middy to a fadeaway AND1 FLOATA.

MVA’s Derik Queen stands strong and tall, overpowering opponents for boards and putbacks, muscling in rim-roll play-finishes, giving his all every play he’s out there. While the finesse footwork can come and go for someone who sometimes moves like a bull in a china shop, that backdown dropstep slam and counter-move hook shot can look effortless when it hits.

Frenetic energy, two-way feel, active hands forcing deflections, impressive start-stop body control for decelerating drives, and tough midrange pull-up shotmaking round out a high floor as a defender, playmaker, and shotcreator for Elijah Crawford of Brewster, a bulky yet zippy point guard who generally looks in full control on both ends when he’s not losing control in moments where it’s too late to hit the brakes.

IMG’s Darius Acuff came out with the win over Brewster, making shots in the clutch, cruising to a smooth 24 PTS – 4 STL – 4 AST afternoon where Acuff scored effortlessly from all three levels on driving contested finishes at the rim, pull-up and catch-and-shoot treys from downtown, and free points from the pinstripe.

Donnie Freeman, Acuff’s teammate, got plenty of buckets of his own for IMG, flashing all of the developable ball skills, good feel decision-making, and impressive timing for someone with legitimate NBA size, wingspan, and two-way impact. Prospects with the height and length to defend multiple frontcourt positions who show capability in every offensive area, who don’t hurt their team on either end, who flash on-ball self-creator upside tend to be the most coveted prospect types by pro teams.

Sunrise Christian Academy’s high-octane backcourt of division one commits Elijah Elliot and David Castillo pushed the pace early and often, creating big 4pt and 5pt swings with Elliot deflecting everything in sight, forcing turnovers off pick-six steals, and finding a leaking out Castillo for transition threes and fast break flushes.

Stats Analysis

To evaluate the stats from the Sunshine Classic’s standout players, we can utilize Cerebro Sports’ data to compare different impact metrics kept track by Cerebro, allowing us to visualize findings like the best Scoring Creators by comparing players’ pure scoring prowess (PSP) and floor general skills (FGS) to find high feel good decision-makers, the players who most consistently create the best looks for themselves and others.

Good play-finishing skills, two-way feel for the game, positive length metrics are always coveted in the NBA; developing plus-defense and dribble-pass-shooting ball-skills into reliable scoring versatility and two-way team-first impact can take a potential nba rotation player connector to the status of all-around star, seen by the rise of Tyrese Haliburton.

Which prospects can be relied on the most as offensive engines for team-first shot creation?

Cam Boozer and Donavan Freeman rate strongly here as both scorers and creators, in a similar range of output this weekend as Cooper Flagg and guards Rob Wright and Darius Acuff.

Elijah Crawford flashed elite playmaking skills setting the table, tied with Rob Wright for best floor general skills rating, as Liam McNeeley leads the group in scoring after a lights out shooting performance from downtown.

Zooming out, we can compare overall impact (C-RAM) and defensive statistical impact (DSI) to show the players who impact winning the most from the handful of games in the 2023 Sunshine Classic.

The visualization below graphs the most active defenders on the x-axis compared to overall impact on the y-axis, revealing how much the defense component adds up towards each player’s total two-way impact in these games.

Donovan “Donnie” Freeman stands out once again due to his instinctual defense and overall impact from efficient scoring at all three levels, impressive indicators for someone already donning NBA height and wingspan length.

******

2023 Nike EYBL Scholastic Sunshine Classic Day 2 Standout Players

******

#32 Cooper Flagg, 6’9″ Forward, Montverde Academy

vs. Columbus
23 PTS
8 REB
7 AST / 3 TO
3 STL + 2 BLK
9/17 FG – 5/6 FT
(31 MIN)

vs. Sunrise Christian
12 PTS
12 REB
5 AST / 0 TO
2 BLK
4/10 FG – 4/4 FT
(20 MIN)

vs. IMG
13 PTS
4 REB
2 AST / 3 TO
5/11 FG – 3/3 FT
(31 MIN)

Watching Coop Flagg hoop can only be compared to seeing a cartoon octopus chef cooking up breakfast in the kitchen.

With 8 legs at his disposal, this hash brown slingin’ mollusk can flip an egg, sizzle some bacon, grill the onions, boil a little rice, bake a tortilla, sprinkle on spices, grab the Cholula hot sauce from the fridge, and drizzle a little honey on the final product that is the perfected breakfast burrito, all at the same time.

How else can one describe Flagg’s swish army knife versatility from his defensive instincts to offensive malleability?

Cooper Flagg will defend a guard and switch onto a big before blocking a drive in help;
score off the post-up mismatch on the block with a spinning FLOATA;
break out for a coast-to-coast pull-up elbow middy;
ignore the screen for a driving up-and-under reverse;
push for a transition drive-and-kick 3pt assist;
crash the boards for a flyby putback slam;
pull-up for a fadeaway jumper;
deflect everything in sight;
score efficiently from the field and the line;
switch onto anyone and everyone he can find;
time up cuts, rebounds, and blocks with ease;
and make good team-first decisions with the ball.

The Maine Event will drill tough shots anywhere, anytime, with the ability to dribble, backdown, and pull up from any spot.

In the 2022 Sunshine Classic, Flagg posted the highest impact rating compared to his peers via Cerebro’s C-RAM (+10.7) after an off-the-charts defensive statistical impact rating of 119 due to averaging 3.7 BLK + 2.3 STL over three games.

A year later at the same event, Cooper posted a Top-5 rating with +9.0 C-RAM and 83 DSI rating, staying active defensively by averaging 1.3 BLK + 1.0 STL over those three games, posting 5 Stocks (STL+BLK) against Columbus alone.

Flagg rounded out his impact with good all-around team-first play, posting a below average 69/100 PSP rating as a scorer, yet showing good feel as a decision=maker with a 75/100 FGS rating and 74/100 ATR finishing, metrics via Cerebro Sports.

Montverde’s coaching staff matched up Cooper against Jase Richardson in the Columbus game, a huge length mismatch favoring Flagg, which locked up Richardson most of the night. Fans could see Jase visibly frustrated with Flagg’s go-go gadget arms swarming every move, but the opposing team making this part of their gameplan is out of respect for Richardson’s threat of sparkplug scoring and smooth shooting touch, even if it dares top prospect Cam Boozer to beat them.

Flagg constantly looks to set up his knockdown shooters like Rob Wright and floor-stretching wing #30 Liam McNeeley, who dropped 16 PTS on 4/4 3P in 22 MIN against Sunrise Christian and 20 PTS on 5/8 3P in 27 MIN against Columbus, flashing feathery touch as a knockdown perimeter shooter, posting an off-the-charts 110/100 3Pefficiency rating via Cerebro.

Measuring all the skills and two-way feel Cooper Flagg possesses can be hard to compare with so few players coming before him being as versatile on both ends of the floor, let alone one side of it; embodying the word versatility with super-deflector shot-swatting defensive superpowers balanced by a diverse offensive shot diet and table-setting desire to seek out teammates while looking for the best shot for his team, Cooper walks into the NBA as the ultimate modern plug-and-play player with sky-high two-way range of potential due to the combined sum of everything he already can do on the hardwood.

Andrei Kirlenko would serve as a fine example of the type of versatile big wing impact defender and team-first decision-maker Flagg could model parts of his game after, as the cerebral defensive playmaker carved out a long career locking down the opposing team’s best player in any position 1-4 while blocking, passing, switching, rebound-crashing, cut-timing and closeout-attacking drives with team-first vision to drive into the paint, draw defenders, and look to kick.

Cooper becoming a primary offensive scoring engine on top of that floor-stretching rim-running play-finishing talent could pave a lane towards future stardom.

#12 Cam Boozer, 6’10” Forward, Columbus

vs. Montverde
20 PTS
8 REB
5 AST / 8 TO
4 STL + 1 BLK
6/13 FG & 7/10 FT
(30 MIN)

A powerful yet graceful dancing bear 6’9″ forward who rocks rims on rolls through the paint, shows soft touch on the jump shot, looks ahead for outlet passes, and glides through defenses on off-ball cuts, Cam sure plays like a Boozer.

In the Montverde matchup, Boozer came out with more intensity in the second half, focusing on powering through people, showing sound handles on the ball, lookahead vision as a playmaker, and leaving huge impact as a rim-finishing play-finisher, even blocking a Flagg driving layup in help defense before finding his brother Cayden on the break off the turnover.

His outlet passes to jumpstart fast breaks were plentiful, even featuring a highlight coast-to-coast live-dribble behind-the-back dribble corner kick 3pt assist!

Boozer flashed all the developable dribble-pass-shoot ball-skills with strong finishing power and good off ball movement timing. This powerful 6’10” hammer who nails deep range jumpers projects to be an offensive force at the highest levels, excelling in similar areas to his NBA All-Star dad, while showing natural scoring creator tendencies for team-first shot creation.

Cam posted the 6th-highest overall impact rating in the event with 8.9 C-RAM, practically tying Cooper’s overall rating. Boozer was more effective as a scorer with a 79/100 PSP rating in the matchup, slightly more impactful defensively with an 87/100 DSI, while mostly matching Flagg in Floor General Skills and At The Rim effectiveness (75 FGS and 70 ATR)

Cam Boozer and Cooper Flagg sit atop future NBA Draft big boards for a reason; big wing/forward plus-defenders who can be relied on as halfcourt offensive creators, connectors, and play-finishers tend to be impactful winning basketball players.

The Good
Scoring at all three levels on and off the ball
Pick-and-pop, catch-and-shoot, relocation threes
Vertical gravity rim-running and well-timed paint-cutting
Drawing fouls with brute strength, sound footwork, solid handle
Clear vision, passing ability, grab-and-go playmaking chops looking ahead on fast breaks
Filling out the box score on both ends like a Shawn Marion or Aaron Gordon multi-faceted turnover-forcing play-finisher

The Bad
Losing control. Whether it be his own strength, the dribble, body and ball control at times – focused effort on spatial awareness, gaining the proprioception feeling of understanding one’s own body movements in space, could work wonders
First half lacked energy and focus compared to second half, but played opponent even from that point in a tough matchup

#14 Asa Newell, 6’10” Forward, Montverde Academy

vs. Columbus
13 PTS
5 REB
3 AST / 3 TO
1 STL
6/9 FG
(31 MIN)

vs. IMG
18 PTS
5 REB
1 AST
1 BLK
1 STL
8/12 FG – 2/3 FT
(24 MIN)

vs. Sunrise Christian
12 PTS
2 REB
6/9 FG
(16 MIN)

In the 2023 Sunshine Classic, Asa Newell ranks T-7th overall in Cerebro Sports’ comparative impact rating (+8.1 C-RAM), flying around to rack up blocks and shot contests while scoring efficiently by running the floor, posting an 81 PSP rating in Cerebro’s scoring measurement, finishing with respectable ratings as a defender (67 DSI) and at-the-rim finisher. (67 ATR)

Oddly uncredited for any blocks against Columbus, the 6’10” Asa Newell showed out with swarming defensive focus, active waving hands breaking up passing lanes, arms straight up deterring opponents from the rim, awareness deflecting everything in sight, even timing up shot contests from marquee matchup Cam Boozer to spark an early 20pt lead for MVA.

Montverde even scored instantly off the opening tip, as Asa Newell won the jump ball by tipping it forward for the easy 2-on-1 mismatch breakaway layup to strike first.

Offensively, Newell shows team-first decision-making feel as a connector, especially impressive for someone with his NBA-level height and length as a 6’10” big/forward with plus wingspan, like watching a young Larry Nance fly up and down the court.

Newell’s two-way impact as a big/forward was felt right from tipoff, never faltering throughout the night, with an early steal leading to the first of many Rob Wright FLOATAs.

One possession, Newell anchors the defense in the paint with back-to-back blocks, but is called for a foul on the second.

In the slowmo clip below, Newell shows sound backdown footwork fundamentals with the dropstep and post-move finish over Cam Boozer.

Time and time again, Newell would deflect a ball, break away on the outlet, and score easily and effectively running from rim to rim in transition, timing up off-ball cuts through the paint for dunker spot jams, and outhustling opponents off forced turnovers by beating them to their spots to spark those very same fast breaks with incredible body and ball control.

Asa Newell stays running the floor, moving defensively, attacking the rim on one end and protecting the rim on the other.

#1, Elijah Crawford, 6’1″ Point Guard, Brewster Academy

On 11/30 against Sunrise Christian, Stanford Commit Elijah Crawford went off from midrange and in the paint, creating pull-up jumpers and looks at the rim for himself while driving and kicking to teammates as a natural point guard scoring creator.

Elijah’s impact is felt on both ends every possession from a motor that never turns off.

vs. Sunrise
16 PTS
5 AST / 2 TO
6 REB
1 STL + 1 BLK
6/11 FG – 4/4 FT
(23 MIN)

The next day, Brewster’s Elijah Crawford energy stood out again in the early friday game against IMG.

While Crawford’s Brewster team lost the game down the wire, Crawford’s effort was felt consistently on both ends. The bulky 6’1″ point guard uses his strong size and zip-zap athleticism to make you feel him everywhere, every play, all at once.

vs. IMG
7 PTS
6 AST / 6 TO
5 REB
1 STL
(28 MIN)

Elijah Crawford will stop sprinting suicidies mid-game after the spinning top from Inception’s closing scene stops spinning.

Flying around both ends of the floor, deflecting loose balls with active hands while pushing the pace off forced turnovers, looking for teammates at every turn, Elijah stayed in full control of the game showing traditional point guard skills in a bulky frame and impressive start-stop deceleration, reminding one of explosive guards like Russell Westbrook, Baron Davis, or Deron Williams.

Plus-defender positive decision-making point guards carve out NBA careers, just ask Tyus Jones and his brother, Tre.

If Crawford had finished better at the rim, or if his receivers could handle high-speed passes a little better in the first half, his team could have easily pulled out the victory in a game so tight that every possession mattered. 

Elijah showed strong two-way feel for the game, reading and reacting well with good ball instincts, with great vision constantly looking to create for others, diming the pass of the day with the overhead two-handed lookahead bounce pass for the fast break flush, dishing a driving jumping skip-pass to an outside shooter across the court, hitting the dunker spot and roll-man with beautiful wraparound pass assists, and sticking with Acuff well at times defensively, making life difficult.

Controlling the game on both ends, Elijah sparks a 5pt swing sequence with a mean chasedown block on Acuff leading to a catch-and-shoot transition three for himself, drills an early tough pull-up elbow jumper after stopping on a dime like Westbrook on the coast-to-coast drive in transition, crosses up his defender in ISO for a gliding running hook, makes separation on drives, stays pushing the pace, and jumps passing lanes for deflections.

This dynamic two-way playmaker reveals great proprioception, flying around on and off the ball while mostly staying in control and aware of his own body’s movements, locations, actions on hesitations, cuts, drives, faking angles to attack gaps and create scoring opportunities for himself and teammates, perennially looking for the open man.

Crawford’s overall impact rating of 6.5 C-RAM was comparable to his IMG adversary Darius Acuff (6.6). Elijah’s strong playmaking skills were on full display, tying Rob Wright for the highest Floor General Skills rating of the event (77 FGS), as Elijah’s hustle could be felt throughout, resulting in a 70 DSI rating.

The Good – Strong point guard with great stop-start decelerating body control explosiveness, decision-making feel, vision and passing chops, feels like he’s impacting and in control of every play the entire game

The Bad – Makes it to the rim yet missing close layups, can slip out-of-control pressing the accelerator pedal too hard, throw passes with too much heat on them, sometimes leading to unforced turnovers on drives and passes. Focused practice could help develop finishing touch at the rim, deceleration controls for changing momentum, and softer passing touch.

Brewster’s #3 Dwayne Aristode produced all around, flashing good decision making, two-way feel and good timing while filling out the box score against IMG: 15 PTS – 13 REB – 4 AST / 2 TO – 1 STL (6/10 FG – 3/6 3P) in 30 MIN

Aristode’s play stood out on the stat sheet, posting a 67/100 rating defensively in Cerebro’s DSI, scoring a solid 77 PSP rate, shooting well from beyond the arc with an 84/100 3PEfficiency rate, and finishing in the paint with an 89 ATR rate at the rim.

Brewster’s #4 Nojus Indrusaitis showed clean shooting form finding his rhythm as a scorer knocking down 3/8 3P from downtown off ball screens and kickouts, breaking away for fast break flushes, staying active off the ball constantly moving around, looking for opportunities to cut, flash, and dish against IMG: 16 PTS – 2 AST / 3 TO in 31 MIN

Indrusaitis’ best ratings were found in a D&3 role, posting a 69 DSI rating and 64 3PE rating, via Cerebro Sports.

#5 Darius Acuff, 6’2″ Point Guard, IMG Academy | & | #10 Donavan Freeman, 6’9″ Forward, IMG Academy

vs. Brewster
24 PTS
4 STL
4 AST / 4 TO
8/16 FG – 4/6 3P – 4/5 FT
(29 MIN)

vs. Montverde
12 PTS
4 AST / 4 TO
5/16 FG

A self-creator rim-attacking traffic-weaving north-south force who keeps an eye open to create for others, Darius Acuff is a walking bucket, straight cash money shooter, here on a mission to put the ball in the basket.

Darius rated well amongst other starting guards in the tournament, rating 6.6 C-RAM overall. Acuff impressed across the board, with strong two-way impact as a plus-defender, clean deep range shooter, smooth individual scorer, and team-first decision maker; a true scoring creator who looks to set himself or teammates up with a good shot every time down the floor. Darius posted ratings of 72 PSP as a scorer, 77 DSI as a defender, 70 FGS as a playmaker, and 82 3PE as an efficient perimeter shooter, revealing impressive all-around winning impact as a connector who doesn’t get beat on either end.

Acuff is a phenomenal finisher at the rim, looking unstoppable driving through the paint as he avoids all the towering trees cars and logs flying at him like he’s George Costanza setting the high score on a pizza arcade Frogger with the perfect combination of Mountain Dew, Mozzarella, and just the right amount of grease on the joysticks.

Flashing good feel dishing to others, Acuff showed willingness to attack the rack with a scorer’s mentality, look for contact to draw fouls once there, and finish with soft touch or look to kickout, coming through in the clutch for IMG to go up 4 late in the game, twice, by splashing a triple and swishing two free throws to ice the game against Brewster.

Darius’ shooting touch stays on point with stepback swishes from deep, the free throw line, and the field, especially on finger rolls at the rim, though few if any floaters were made in the IMG-Brewster game by any player.

Team shot creation, individual scoring, two-way feel to force turnovers and create easy scoring opportunities in transition, with superb touch from the rim to beyond the arc, Darius Acuff shows real promise as a scorer, shooter, and playmaker.

#10 Donavan (Donnie) Freeman, 6’9″ Forward, IMG Academy

vs. Montverde
20 PTS
9 REB
3 AST
4 STL + 1 BLK
8/16 FG – 3/4 FT
(27 MIN)

vs. Brewster
16 PTS
12 REB
3 AST / 3 TO
3 STL + 1 BLK
6/8 FG – 2/3 3P
(31 MIN)

6’9″ forwards with grab-and-go mentality, realistically developable dribble-pass-shoot ball skills, and good two-way feel don’t grow on trees; Donnie Freeman makes winning plays on both ends with intriguing scoring creator potential on the ball.

Talents as promising as this tend to be some of the most coveted prospect types in the draft, like Devin Vassell or Mikal Bridges, players who have nearly every tool at their disposal. The development of these prospect types depends on the situation they end up in, like water bending to the glass that holds it or turtles only growing as big as their bowl lets them

Freeman posted the highest overall impact of the event with 12.5 C-RAM, along with off-the-charts defensive output of 110 DSI after racking up 7 steals and 2 blocks over a 2-game stretch. Donavan’s scoring effectiveness is noted in his 87 PSP rating as an individual scorer, 78 3PEfficiency rating as a floor-stretching forward, and 83 ATR as a rim finisher in the paint.

Not enough film was taken of Donavan Freeman, a legitimate NBA prospect with bankable aspects to his game that should translate to every level he reaches going forward.

It’s not every day a prospect as tall as Donnie can create his own shot, dribble on the drive, finish at the rim, stretch the floor from deep, and use his height and length effectively to be an absolutely disruptive defender.

Against Brewster, Donnie Freeman showed smooth scoring chops along with dribble pass skills, notable for his height, featuring a mean stutter rip drive and dribble drive rim-finishing capabilties.

After a great hustle play by #14 Felipe Quinones, #10 Donnie Freeman throws down a breakaway slam.

Right before that, Freeman pull-ups up for a clean middy.

Soon after, Donnie makes a good connector pass to the open man, and draws a foul on the floor, later hitting a contested catch-and-shoot triple.

6’8″ IMG forward #11 Khani Rooths shows tight handle for his size and strong rim-rolling vertical gravity finishing plays, too.

#1 Rob Wright, 6’0″ Point Guard, Montverde Academy

vs. Sunrise Christian
11 PTS
6 AST / 0 TO
2 STL
3 REB
5/6 FG – 1/2 3P
(15 MIN)

vs. IMG
11 PTS
5 REB
5 AST / 1 TO
2 STL
4/12 FG – 3/3 FT
(31 MIN)

vs. Columbus
18 PTS
5 REB
4 AST / 5 TO:
1 STL
6/12 FG – 2/5 3P – 4/4 FT
(31 MIN)

Some hoopers were just born to run point.

With 15 assists over 6 turnovers in 3 games, Wright racked up a pristine 2.5 AST/TO ratio, rounding out a good 77/100 Floor General Skills Rating via Cerebro’s playmaker metric. Grabbing 5 steals in this stretch helped Rob round out an 83 DSI rating, while he rated solid as an individual scorer at 69 PSP with soft finishing touch and a sound 70 3Pefficiency rate.

Whatever offensive role you need your guard to fill, Rob Wright is here to fill it.


Hit the roll-man off the handoff? No sweat.

Drill the catch-and-shoot corner three? Splash.

Step into a pull-up trey in a scramble? Easy breezy.

Attack the closeout with the shot, dribble, and pass? Fo’ free.

Swish floaters in pick-and-roll over drop coverage? Like it’s nothin’.

Hockey assist kickout to the open shooter three passes away? Here ya go.

The future Baylor point guard makes running an offense look easy, drilling threes and floaters off and on the ball, looking to create for others at all times, taking the open shot when it’s there and looking for the best shot for his team every time down.

Active hands, phenomenal feel, sound timing helps Wright break up passing lanes to force turnovers for steals.

Soft shooting touch on runners, catch-and-shoot threes, and pull-up jumpers with deep range on high efficiency from the line and downtown provide extremely promising indicators of future scoring success at every level.

Not to mention, he’s clearly a fan favorite of Montverde’s student section:

#2 Cayden Boozer, 6’5″ Point Guard, Columbus

vs. Montverde
10 PTS
4 AST / 3 TO
1 STL
3/7 FG & 3/4 FT
(22 MIN)

Big point guard, impressive playmaking ability, consistently looks to set up teammates.

Two-way feel with plus size and length for your position are bankable traits at ever level.

Great vision, nice body control, good decision-maker with crafty passing touch.

Cayden Boozer shot the lights out from deep with a 92 3PEfficiency rating on the night, flashing natural point guard skills even with a relatively low 62 Floor General Skills rating, and impressing as a defender with good size for his position helping force turnovers and generate a 70 DSI rate.

Watch him set up a pick-and-pop to big bro with the hook pass, hit the short roller with a smooth bounce pass, and then…

WAIT

WAS THAT A BOOZER TO J RICH JR. NBA STREET GAME-BREAKING DOUBLE ALLEY-OOP?!?

#4 Jase Richardson, 6’3″ Guard, Columbus

vs. Montverde
9 PTS
3 AST / 4 TO
1 STL
4/6 FG
(27 MIN)

Jase Richardson flashing smooth ball skills, especially as a lefty bucket-getter with soft touch tough shotmaking talent, impressed in feel for the game and as a a walking NBA Jam highlight machine, all similar traits to his father, the OG J Rich.

In an off-night from deep, Jase did his damage in the midrange and the paint, running off handoffs and screens looking to put the ball in the net.

Showing ball control, body control, vision and shooting touch on the driving spinning AND1 FLOATA, the elbow left-fading pull-up middy (off the stutter rip drive and kick from Cam Boozer), spinning into swishing runners, drawing fouls on bump-and-shoot drives, hitting teammates after drawing extra defenders, reveals scoring creator potential.

Columbus guard #3 Randy Smith made winning plays throughout, forcing steals, pushing pace, corner vision kickouts.

Randy’s two-way impact as a plus-defender forcing turnovers for a 78 DSI and knockdown shooting ability hitting at an 83 3PE clip didn’t go unnoticed, making plays to create scoring transition opportunities for his team.

(*Columbus guard Benny Fragula also made notable impact with his 7.1 C-RAM rating top-15 for the event in a 3&D role with marks of 88 3PE and 94 DSI.)

#25 Derik Queen, 6’10” Forward, Montverde Academy

vs. Columbus
9 PTS
5 REB
1 STL
4/8 FG
(9 MIN)

vs. Sunrise Christian
14 PTS
7 REB
3 AST / 2 TO
1 STL
6/7 FG
2/2 FT
(21 MIN)

Derik Queen posted the 3rd highest impact metric of the event (+8.9 C-RAM), revealing effectiveness as a play-finishing scorer (92 PSP), around the rim play-finisher (86 ATR), and active defender (69 DSI)

A hulk-like play-finisher with soft receiver hands to help catch post-entry passes and dunker spot dumpoffs, 6’10” big/forward Derik Queen brings uber athletic swarming energy, infrequently insane intensity, solid post-up footwork and nice hook shot touch.

For someone his size, however, racking up just 1 BLK + 2 STL against 10 personal fouls over a 3-game stretch is a red flag for defensive awareness and effectiveness at forcing turnovers without fouling. Utilizing sheer strength, sound footwork, active hands with better timing and less reaching could improve results.

Against Cam Boozer’s Columbus squad, though, Queen seemed to force things, losing control of power/handle/footwork, looking a little less coordinated in the post compared to cleaner paint production in the IMG matchup the night before, where Derik dominated the paint to the tune of 25 PTS – 13 REB – 1 BLK shooting 11/14 FG and 3/3 FT in 25 MIN !

#10 David Castillo, 6’1″ Guard | & | #5 Elijah Elliot, 6’2″ Guard
Sunrise Christian Academy

David Castillo
vs. Brewster
14 PTS
3 REB
1 AST / 1 TO
3/8 3P – 3/3 FTf
(23 MIN)

Kansas State commit David Castillo flashed knockdown floor-stretching duties with rim-running vertical gravity, outrunning the opponents over and over on fast break outlet opportunities, looking to score on quick pace

Castillo’s 84 3PEfficiency rate via Cerebro Sports reveals his catch-and-shoot knockdown ability, shooting 36% 3P% making 2.5 3PM over two games against Brewster and Montverde.

Elijah Elliot
vs. Brewster
7 PTS
6 STL (!!!)
4 AST / 1 TO
2/4 FG – 3/3 FT
(31 MIN)

FAU commit Elijah Elliot was everywhere all at once, flying around like a mad man forcing turnovers, pushing the pace, looking to find others on fast breaks.

Elliot’s 6 STL outing led to the 2nd-highest defensive statistical impact rating of the tourney behind Donavan Freeman, with Elijah posting a 102 DSI. Vision looking to create for others on display with a 72 FGS rating.

sources:

film, words, and data visualizations from @BeyondTheRK

data via Cerebro Sports

box score stats via mvasports.com
(https://mvasports.com/sports/national-interscholastic-basketball-conference/schedule/2023)

The post Scouting the 2023 Sunshine Classic appeared first on Swish Theory.

Born as a combo forward, Horry channeled, shaped his disruptive energy into a controlled power forward endowed with quick processing ability that shined at providing whatever his teams needed to compensate for what their stars lacked—a terrific recipe for a long and successful career.

However, it isn’t his skillset that made him such an interesting, magnetic player.

With his 7 rings, he is the most winning player of the modern NBA but was never considered a first-tier player throughout his career. This intersection of factors made him a polarizing figure in the collective imagination. On one hand, a segment of fans consider him a legendary player with almost superhuman qualities. On the other one, some just consider him one of the luckiest players ever.

Moreover, Horry forged his legend hitting important shots in crucial moments throughout his whole career. There’s certainly a luck component in his story and all the rhetoric about the clutchness can be cloying. But Horry’s “big shots” tell us a clear thing: He could stay on the floor in the most important possessions of a season. That’s not given, but rather a sign of how he didn’t have major flaws that opponents could exploit and play him off the floor.

So novices and romantics are bewitched by his “clutchness” and swagger. Some viewers discredit and despise him for what he represents in “Ring Culture.” Amid all this noise, Horry the player can become blurry.

What I asked myself was, simply: “what was he like on the floor?”

CRIMSON BLOCK BOB

After a decorated career at Andalusia High School ended with the Naismith Alabama High School Player of the Year award, Robert Horry committed to Alabama and enrolled as a freshman in 1988.

He went through a steady development and by his senior season he was the clear defensive anchor of the team and a solid offensive player, while Latrell Sprewell was the first offensive option.

During his career at Alabama, Horry looked like a prospect who would’ve become a Draft Twitter darling nowadays. He was a lanky, lengthy 6’9/6’10 forward who excelled as a team defender, could check players on the perimeter, and had a solid base of connective passing and shooting. And he looked like a White Men Can’t Jump (that ironically premiered during his senior season and its trailer was shown during the games’ broadcasts) or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character with his swagger and that sick fade haircut.

His defensive potential was obvious. He was consistently running up and down the court, defending centers and forwards, pressing full court on smaller players, rotating and deterring shots, flying around sending attempts into the stands. He wasn’t the most refined or the physically strongest defender but his energy and instincts mixed with his anticipation and great hand placement made him an overwhelming defensive presence.

Horry was a true stocks generator: he averaged 3.5 blocks and 1.5 steals during his senior season. Obviously, blocks and steals aren’t everything, but his numbers give an idea of the level of his disruptive defensive nature and overall dynamism. 

For reference, Shaquille O’Neal had 157 blocks in the 91-92 season, while Horry had 121. They were the only players in SEC history to finish a season with at least 100 blocks at the time.

(Yes, that’s Shaquille O’Neal blocked by Robert Horry)

Just for reference to further understand how special these numbers were, he still is Alabama’s all-time leader per career blocks at 286 in 134 games.

However, at Alabama, he was required to do a lot of the post-up stuff that was considered the bread and butter of every respectable power forward at the time. With his thin frame and his relatively weak lower body, this kind of traditional playstyle didn’t suit him.

Also, he wasn’t only a disruptive defensive force, he was also known for his unruly behavior. Indeed, he wasn’t always able to keep his temper in bounds and was prone to excessive fouls and complaints.

The towel thrown to Danny Ainge that marked the end of his brief and forgotten Suns experience or the infamous hip check on Nash (maybe he still had some resentment towards the Suns?) are two clear examples of his excesses on the court. However, maturing he became way more controlled than his early years.

At this point, we had begun to see Horry in his flexible, energetic defense. His offensive role was more unclear and would eventually be defined in the NBA.

HORRY, THE ROCKET

After his Senior season ended with a loss against North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Robert Horry was drafted with the 11th pick in the 1992 draft by the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets were headlined by All-Stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Otis Thorpe and were coming from a chaotic season in which they replaced coach Don Chaney with his assistant and Rockets legend Rudy Tomjanovich.

As a rookie, he immediately claimed the Rockets’ starting small forward spot in place of Buck Johnson who signed with the Washington Bullets as a free agent the previous summer.

Horry clearly was perceived as a defensive-first player early in his professional career. He had pretty simple tasks on offense but was probably lucky to find on his path a coach like Rudy Tomjanovich who believed in his perimeter potential anyway and didn’t try to confine Horry into a more traditional frontcourt role. Tomjanovich played a major role in shaping his offensive game in those early years.

While on defense he had important duties as a free roamer starting with covering the less dangerous forward on the floor, on offense Tomjanovich built for Horry an easier role founded on his energy and dynamism. He was contributing mostly through opportunistic scoring, cutting, and crashing the offensive glass with continuity.

Watching the tape I heard a comment from the broadcaster that expressed efficaciously what was Horry’s role in the Rockets’ offense at the time:

“Every time Olajuwon apparently is in trouble, Robert Horry is his bail-out guy, he’s always moving, slashing to the basket, cutting”

In 1994, Horry still played mostly as a small forward next to Otis Thorpe and Hakeem Olajuwon. Having a 6’9 lengthy defender at small forward alongside two other true big men raised the Rockets’ defensive floor. Indeed, they were second per defensive rating in 1993-94 at 101.4 in the regular season. And if we want to summarize that team, they were a defensive juggernaut almost completely dependent on Olajuwon on offense.

As a sophomore, Horry was already a well-established starter and played 33.8 minutes per game in the playoffs. It’s impressive how he was able to carry the burden of such a large and meaningful role that early in his career. It’s incredibly rare to find a sophomore able to do it on a contender.

A GLIMPSE OF FUTURE

This game-winning shot against the Magic in 1995 is just one of the many clutch shots that created Horry’s legendary fame and this single possession tells us a long story about the 1995 Rockets.

Hakeem Olajuwon, defended by a young Shaquille O’Neal, receives the ball in the low post with a well-spaced offense around him, draws the double-team, and kicks out to Robert Horry on the left wing for the game-winning spot up three.

That was their new reality.

But let’s start from the beginning.

It’s always hard to repeat success after winning a championship and the Rockets learned it in the first half of the 1994-95 season. After being undefeated in the first 9 games of the season, they went 20-16 and realized something wasn’t working anymore. Soon after a bad loss against the Clippers, the worst team in the league, they traded for Clyde Drexler who was on an expiring deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and explicitly expressed his interest to join the Houston Rockets.

On February 14, the Rockets sent Otis Thorpe, Marcelo Nicola, and a first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for the 32 years old Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray.

Drexler is a University of Houston alumn as well as Hakeem Olajuwon, a reunification was strongly desired by the longtime friends.

“I can’t wait for the first game, I really can’t. He’s the best player in the league, and it’s been a dream of ours ever since we left the University of Houston to play together again.”

Clyde Drexler to the Associated Press

Otis Thorpe was a meaningful part of the team that won the ring the season before and drastically changing your structure on the run requires a lot of courage. But that move paid off and put them and Hakeem on another offensive level.

The 3-point line, which was 23 feet 9 inches at its farthest point in ‘93/’94, was moved to 22 feet before the 94/95 season, and this allowed Tomjanovich and his Rockets to became one of the very first teams in NBA history (along with the Magic they faced during those Finals probably) to fully take advantage of three-pointers and not attempt them just as an extemporaneous solution.

They went from a .191 team Three Point Attempt Rate in 1994 to .267 in 1995, an important shift in their shot distribution.

They turned from a team with a traditional, tough, physically imposing playstyle with two bigs to a futuristic setting that allowed them to deploy several 4-shooter lineups around Hakeem Olajuwon.

Horry was the key to this evolution.

At this point, after a couple of seasons with limited attempts and results, he had become a reliable shooter that could knock down enough spot up threes to force defenses to pay attention to him.

Moving on from the 2-big structure and putting Horry at power forward, in a kind of primordial stretch-4 role, increased significantly the Rockets’ offensive ceiling. Otis Thorpe was a great player, an All-Star, but his lack of a long-range shot hurt the spacing and limited their offensive ceiling.

Horry was also crucial because he was an acceptable defender against many power forwards. During the ’95 Playoffs run, he was the primary defender of Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman, and Horace Grant. Karl Malone was the exception. Against the Jazz, the Rockets were spending other less relevant players like Chucky Brown or Pete Chilcutt on a physical freak like “The Mailman,” while Horry was permitted to float on the other forward with the license to rotate and help at the rim.

The Rockets set the NBA record per attempted and made threes during the 1994-95 season. They attempted 21.4 threes per game and 22.7 per 100 possessions in the Regular Season. These numbers went up during the 1995 Playoffs: they attempted 22.0 threes per game and 23.6 per 100 possessions, making them at a 39.1% rate. These are more threes than what the Spurs attempted in their legendary 2014 run. We have to take into account that the three point line was closer to the rim in 1995 but that’s an incredible accomplishment anyway.

Teams just weren’t structured to cover that much ground defensively. And limit Hakeem Olajuwon with that much space around him was simply impossible. For example, the Spurs were a great defensive team and Robinson was arguably the best player in the league to try to stop them defensively but they were regularly lining up too many big bodies.

Ironically this was probably the most modern version of Robert Horry. At this point of his career, he was an agile help side defender with a 0.423 three point attempt rate. That’s the profile of someone that would thrive in today’s league, a profile with its outline seen in first-year player Taylor Hendricks, for example.

HORRY, THE LAKER

In 1996, Horry became the Rockets’ “sacrificial lamb” to meet Charles Barkley’s request to be traded to Rudy Tomjanovich’s team.

His forgotten experience with the Suns lasted only 32 games and ended with the infamous “Towel-gate” and a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I hated Danny Ainge, I’m not even gonna lie. I hated him. We beat them so many times when he was in Phoenix when I was with the Rockets. Mario Elie is one of my good friends, and in one of the playoff games, he took the ball out – Danny Ainge was a pitcher – he hit Mario in the face with the ball on purpose.”

Robert Horry on the Big Shot Bob Podcast

The duo composed of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal was pretty much identical conceptually to the Drexler-Hakeem duo. With Phil Jackson and his triangle, they probably even had a more traditional approach than the ’95 Rockets.

Does this possession remind you of the Olajuwon-Horry synergy?

In addition, Horry was a great performer for the Triangle Offense. The “triple post offense” is a position-less kind of basketball and ideally, every player on the floor should be able to play every fundamental position of the offense.

Horry’s skillset and versatility allowed him to play pretty much in every position of the offensive schemes. He excelled as the “weakside wing” thanks to his cutting and his intuition for offensive rebounds. His shooting and passing were well suited for the Key, Wing, and Top of the Key positions. The Post position generally was occupied by Shaq but he could be a decent performer on the run or when the triangle was changing the side of the court.

An example of the Lakers’ “Triangle” initial setting.

In this kind of offense, it was crucial to be able to throw decent passes to the post player, the vertex of all three of the triangles. Horry was a great entry-passer from every non-post position on the floor. He clearly developed this (once?) fundamental skill throwing thousands of passes to Hakeem Olajuwon.

In his Lakers experience, he wasn’t an actual starter anymore but still generally was part of the closing lineup.

He also proceeded in his transition into a more “traditional” power forward. He was bigger and his upper body looked stronger, though also made him less agile in space. This development was probably intended to make his life easier against the big power forwards of the early 00s.

He had more duties as a rebounder and as a screener; he wasn’t strictly a spot up shooter but he was allowed to put the ball on the floor if needed. That was probably the context where he had the most diversified offensive usage during his career.

Even the stats give us an idea of how his role changed compared to his Rockets seasons. His rebound percentages, his free throw rate, and his stocks percentages all saw a positive trend. What you would expect from a combo forward transitioning to a more strictly big man role.

His rebounding was on full display during his seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. He used to set strong box-outs, with good technique and crafty use of his elbows on the edge of the rules and was pretty quick to recognize the angle of the ball after the rebound.

The matchup with Chris Webber was emblematic of his type of rebounding. Webber (an awesome, underrated player in my opinion) was more of an athletic rebounder, his box-outs weren’t always on point and Horry’s gave him trouble. In the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Horry averaged 11.1 rebounds per game with a 23% defensive rebound percentage compared to his career playoff average of 16%.

During his Lakers’ tenure, his game was refined from experience while his legs still had fuel left. In the early 00s, with the evidence of his pivotal role along Shaq and Kobe, his incredible ability to fill the gaps left open by the stars of his teams, the real x-factor of his career, became striking.

HORRY, THE SPUR

Robert Horry signed with the San Antonio Spurs in July 2003, at almost 33 years old, on the wane of his career. He couldn’t offer much more than 20 minutes per game consistently, he was slower and mostly a spot-up shooter at that point of his career.

However, he was a perfect piece in Gregg Popovich’s basketball idea, which has always been founded on ball sharing and individual processing, and still managed to have an impactful role for at least further 4 seasons.

“He does everything well. He can defend. He can run the floor. And — as we all know — he can hit big shots. We’re excited to add a player with his skills, experience, and leadership to our team.”

R.C. Buford commenting on Horry signing

From a skillset standpoint he was pretty much always the same but this was probably Horry’s most cerebral version. He made up for his athletic shortcomings with a high level of understanding and anticipation. He rarely committed major mistakes and his execution was almost flawless.

He was fundamental on Popovich’s chessboard to allow him to change identity on the run, going from the bigger starting lineups with two bigs (Nazr Mohammed first and Elson, Oberto later) to the lineups with Duncan at center. 

Ten years apart from that game-winning shot against the Magic, Horry made probably his most iconic shot in Game 5 of the 2005 Finals against the Detroit Pistons, a series-swinging moment that represented the ideal crowning of his career.

That game is a prime example of the late Horry and his overall (inexplicable?) nature.

He struggled defensively for three quarters against Ben and Rasheed Wallace’s physicality and provided a limited offensive contribution. Then he scored a three pointer, suddenly woke up from his torpor, and dominated the 4th quarter through rebounding, shooting, and attacking the always more pressing closeouts.

“He’s just Mr. Intangibles, he’s everywhere and you must pay attention because he keeps things alive under pressure on your offensive board”

Hubie Brown during the broadcast of Game 5 of the 1995 NBA Finals

BIG SHOT BOB, REASON & EMOTION

Trying to capture Robert Horry’s true essence is a challenge that puts a strain on the rational, analytic basketball viewer. His figure goes beyond what can be measured and quantified and can raise questions and doubts about our vision of basketball.

As we saw in this article, the majority of his success can be explained without the need to use vague, mystical terms like “clutchness.” Considering his skillset and his key tactical role, it’s easy to understand why he was so crucial for his teams despite his generally unimpressive raw numbers. And his futuristic ability to fill the gaps of his team (isn’t it what we generally require to power forwards nowadays?) that made him a desirable target for competitive teams completes the big picture here.

However, even the most rational observer can’t ignore the fact that he seemed to have a different drive, a different inner motivation (boosted by his increased relevance on the chessboard?) when the pressure was higher. He apparently had an internal flame that blazed the most whenever the lights shined the brightest, something more appropriate for a psychology essay than a basketball article.

And this part of his figure is probably what made him one of the most legendary, special, and loved “normal” players in NBA history.

The post FILLING GAPS – A Retrospective on Robert Horry appeared first on Swish Theory.

This funny tactic forces the player setting the screen to either try and quickly set a second screen or to abandon the screen entirely and reset the action. The former often results in a moving screen violation because Caruso is already in movement as the second screen is set, attached to the hip of the ball handler; the latter shaves valuable seconds off of the shot clock. If the screen is legally set, Caruso’s hop allows him to get better position on the play and quickly negate any advantage created by the screen. 

Caruso’s hop is one of many examples that illustrate how defenders use something called cognitive athleticism to become playmakers, bending opposing teams to their will on the defensive end of the floor. Much like their offensive counterparts, defensive playmakers are adept at controlling the action around them to maximize each possession and prevent the other team from running their sets effectively. Yet despite defensive playmaking’s indispensable importance to winning basketball, the impact of its major component – cognitive athleticism – has largely gone under the radar. 

I want to explore why that is and illustrate how we can get better at recognizing cognitive athleticism’s impact on defense and defensive playmaking specifically. To do that, it’s essential to first discuss: the inherent difficulties in quantifying defense; what the goals of good defense are and how those are, at times, misaligned with the statistics that attempt to measure them; and how untracked or unique defensive traits that have an outsized impact on defense are often difficult to pin down or reproduce in data. 

Finally, I’ll examine what cognitive athleticism is, how it manifests, how it allows players to raise both the floor and ceiling of a good defense, and how we can get better at identifying it. I’m going to illustrate this largely through the lens of two players that demonstrate, in my estimation, elite levels of this athleticism – Alex Caruso and Nikola Jokic. 

The Problem with Quantifying Defense

The basketball world has gotten increasingly obsessed over the years with collecting and organizing data in ways that can accurately estimate the impact of individual players or lineups of players on winning games. You know, the “VORPs and schnorps” Zach Lowe loves to talk about. These various metrics are not perfect, nor are they intended to be, but significant strides have been made with offensive metrics in particular, such that they tend to provide a fairly accurate picture of who is doing good things on the offensive end and how they are doing it. Lagging far behind, however, are defensive metrics. Zach Kram at The Ringer had a great article last year about the inherent issues in attempting to create accurate defensive statistics, which is highly recommended reading. The gist, though, is that defense remains extremely difficult to quantify in any consistent and meaningful way, and the best path to learn a player’s impact on defense is still the long one: watch an exorbitant amount of film and develop a deep understanding of what is happening on the floor on each possession. For the foregoing reasons, highly impactful defensive players have always gotten a lot less shine than their offensive counterparts, if they are even properly identified at all. 

The art of defensive playmaking has remained especially underappreciated. When we discuss elite playmakers, for example, the context is always on offense. Players like Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, or Luka Doncic have the remarkable ability to survey the basketball court and efficiently process the movements of their teammates and opponents in real time. They master every angle, every eyeball shift, every foot movement to create just the right amount of space for an open shot or deliver a pinpoint pass at just the right moment. You’ve heard announcers and analysts alike rave about how these players always seem a step ahead of the defense and how they create unique advantages with that precognition. That same prescience – the ability to know what will happen before it happens – is the key skill with which players can become impactful defensive playmakers. As illustrated by the initial example involving Alex Caruso, defensive playmakers use cognitive athleticism to create game-altering defensive events that can completely transform a team’s defensive aptitude. To understand its importance, it is essential to understand what good defense is and what it looks like.

The Goal of Defense

At the risk of insulting your intelligence for a second, I want to lay out defense at the granular level in order to demonstrate that cognitive athleticism is at the heart of every good defense. As we know, basketball is a simple game: put the ball in the other basket and prevent the other team from putting the ball in your basket. Conceptually, then, winning a basketball game comes down to maximizing each possession and creating more possessions for your team while limiting possessions and making them inefficient for the other team. 

At its core, the goal of any team or player on defense is to end the opponent’s possession without surrendering any points. There’s various defensive events that can occur or be generated to help accomplish this objective, and the following major ones are currently tracked: turnovers, steals, offensive fouls, deflections, contests, blocks, and rebounds. Each of these events have varying defensive value:

• Turnovers: turnovers encompass multiple defensive events, such as steals or drawing offensive fouls, but also things like stepping out of bounds or bad passes or recovery of a loose ball. Turnovers are very valuable because they end the opponents’ possession without sacrificing points and often lead to transition opportunities or the accrual of fouls. 
• Steals: these are consistently the most valuable defensive events because they immediately end the opponents’ possession, sacrifice no points, have a demoralizing component, and often create a transition opportunity on offense. Over the last decade plus, offenses have scored 1.04 points per possession in transition versus 0.87 points per possession in the half-court. Additionally, with the new take-foul rule in place that grants a free throw plus possession for a foul in transition, steals will likely become even more advantageous on average.
• Offensive fouls: drawing a charge or illegal screen are the most common offensive fouls. Individually, they are generally not quite as valuable as steals because they don’t create transition opportunities, but their value can exceed steals as the opposing team gets into foul trouble and generates free throws (1.3 points per possession on average).
• Deflections: deflections disrupt opposing offenses, eat up valuable time, and often lead to steals and offensive fouls. 
• Contests: getting hands raised in front of a shooter can be valuable to alter shots or discourage players from taking them in the first place, and can also result in blocks.
• Blocks: blocks force a missed shot and can be especially valuable when the rebound is secured immediately afterwards. Blocks are also demoralizing and can be an effective way to coerce teams into taking less efficient shots.
• Rebounds: these end the opponent’s possession without sacrificing points and often lead to transition opportunities. 

While these tracked defensive events are often markers of a good defense, the statistics themselves do not always have meaningful probative value, as previously illustrated in Zach Kram’s article. Instead, understanding how these tracked events are generated is often more important than the event itself, and that is where cognitive athleticism manifests.

For example, you might have two players who generate a high number of steals and therefore rate favorably on various defensive metrics. Assume Player A generates steals because he consistently anticipates passes and intercepts them due to good positioning and anticipation, while Player B generates a lot of steals because he gambles on the perimeter and is often successful in getting possession of the ball due to his long arms. While both players generate steals, Player B sacrifices good positioning to do so and may create multiple disadvantaged possessions for his team between acquiring each steal. Defensive metrics struggle to capture this important distinction; all we see is that a steal was generated. 

Additionally, there are many defensive events that are not tracked at all or cannot reasonably be tracked, making the effects of cognitive athleticism even less visible to the untrained eye. A player who is consistently in the right position to create opportunities for defensive events, for example, may never generate a single steal, deflection, block, or turnover and yet can still be a quality defender. That’s because the impact of a player on defense is far more complicated to determine than simply looking at a box score. You have to understand the details of each and every possession – the offensive scheme, the personnel executing it and their effectiveness in doing so, the defensive scheme, the defender’s role in that scheme, and how effective all five players are at executing – which all must be taken into account. It’s a monumental task that requires both sophisticated basketball knowledge and a lot of repetition, and no one person has the bandwidth to do this across the entire league. Thankfully, there are physical and mental traits that can help us prognosticate a player’s aptitude and tendencies on defense across a variety of situations. Just as the trained eye can sense that certain offensive players are or will be gifted playmakers, we can identify gifted defensive playmakers by learning what to look for. 

Defensive Athleticism

Every player leverages three types of athleticism when they play basketball: hard, soft, and cognitive – as illustrated and discussed by Thinking Basketball’s Ben Taylor.

Hard and soft athleticism, often described as physical tools, are essential to be effective on both sides of the floor. In the defensive context, players who have long limbs, can jump high, can change direction and speed quickly while maintaining balance, are mobile and also immovable, and/or can be highly active for long periods of time are typically more likely to have a consistently positive impact on defense.  

That’s because defensive activity most commonly occurs in reaction to the opponent. And while defensive schemes are often pre-planned as a result of good scouting and coaching, players are put in positions to react to the others currently on the floor in order to maximize the team’s defensive impact against that unit. For example, players involved defensively in a pick and roll action react to the screen: the on-ball defender attempts to navigate the screen and regain defensive position on the ball-handler, while the screener’s defender either blitzes the ball-handler, or drops back as the screener rolls, or does whatever else may be called for by the defensive scheme and the offensive action being executed. Hard and soft athleticism are especially helpful in reactive defense, as they can minimize recovery time and allow for quicker rotations to diminish any advantages created by the offense. 

Cognitive athleticism, on the other hand, allows defenders to flip the script. Instead of just reacting on defense, defenders use cognitive athleticism to become proactive, anticipating the future to create defensive events. Cognitive athleticism is commonly referred to as “feel” or, more clumsily, as “basketball IQ,” though it has little to do with intelligence. Rather, according to Ben Taylor and SIS Hoops’ Evan Zaucha, cognitive athleticism is made up of four parts: pattern recognition, spatial awareness, anticipation, and cognitive load. Each of these combine and overlap to help a defender generate a “feel” for defense that allows them to accurately forecast what the offense is going to do and when. These same four parts apply for offensive playmakers as well. 

Pattern recognition is the ability to identify plays or actions and the tendencies of the personnel running them. While there are certainly players who naturally excel in this area, all players can develop their pattern recognition through repetition of actions and diligent film study. Prescient defenders will often know a play call before it is executed, an opposing player’s favorite spots to shoot, or what hand or side they favor on a drive. Players that excel in pattern recognition consistently study different players and actions so they can access that information in real time during a game. Here’s a simple example the internet had way too much fun with: 

And here’s Alex Caruso describing Jayson Tatum’s tendencies to JJ Redick: 

Spatial awareness is often described as court vision. It’s knowing where everyone is on the floor at all times and where they are going to be in the near future. This knowledge can help an offensive player know how fast to throw a pass or when to accept or reject a screen. Defensively, it allows a player to identify optimal positioning or recognize and call out an impending breakdown in a rotating defense. Caruso exemplifies this concept with his impeccable timing and positioning on this sequence:

Anticipation is the ability to expect or predict something that has yet to happen. This cognitive ability allows an offensive player to throw a pass to an empty spot on the floor that will soon be occupied by his teammate. Defensively, players use anticipation to know where they need to be positioned to intercept a pass that hasn’t yet been made to an off-ball cutter, or to avoid getting screened, or to swipe a hand at an opposing ball-handler: 

Finally, cognitive load is akin to mental stamina. It’s a player’s ability to maintain their processing speed throughout an entire game or series without significant dropoff. Just as physical conditioning is required to play sustained NBA minutes, great defensive playmakers require consistent exercise of their cognitive athleticism to maintain their prognostic bandwidth:

The havoc that Caruso creates every possession he’s in the game is a testament to this conditioning. Every second that he spends blowing up a screen, or negating a created advantage, or deflecting a pass, or getting between the ball-handler and their intended target, translates into less time to score and a less efficient offense for the opposing team. Basketball players play best when they are in rhythm; Caruso makes sure his targets never get comfortable by anticipating their every move. Caruso also impacts winning by erasing his teammates’ mistakes and allowing them to play more aggressively within a given scheme because of the additional margin for error that he provides with his elite blend of hard, soft, and cognitive athleticism. His 1st Team All-Defense award was well-deserved this last season.  

Cognitive athleticism can also help defenders who don’t possess more traditional physical athletic traits and are often overlooked or undervalued as a result. Nikola Jokic is a great example of a player whose defensive impact is difficult to pinpoint with available metrics and who does not pop off the screen on that end of the floor. Jokic is lanky, but he’s not especially bouncy or quick. He does, however, use his incredible cognitive athleticism to his advantage, using spatial awareness and anticipation to plod right into the correct positions at the right time, and using his pattern recognition to vocally quarterback the defense for his teammates. His coach, Michael Malone, describes how Jokic’s cognitive athleticism impacts his team’s defense:

Malone is right: a lot of this stuff isn’t readily apparent using the eye test unless you know what you’re looking for, nor does it appear on any stat sheet, so box-score-based defensive analytics cannot reliably predict it. Consider these two sequences where Alex Caruso guards Devin Booker; Caruso becomes an agent of chaos on defense for nearly 30 seconds, anticipating Booker’s every twitch and tendency to cause him to take two low-quality shots, but there’s no recorded defensive stat to reflect that reality:

That doesn’t mean the impact is not felt. Having an elite defensive playmaker on an NBA team roster can keep almost any team afloat defensively. Having two can completely transform it. The best recent example of this is the 2021-22 Chicago Bulls who, despite deploying the defensively milquetoast Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, had a league-best defensive rating when Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball, both of whom are elite defensive playmakers, shared the floor with them or when both of them were on the floor with any other lineup. With them off the floor, the Bulls had the worst defensive rating in the league. Not only did they flip the script on defense, their defensive playmaking and pinpoint passing juiced Chicago’s transition offense to league-best efficiency in points per possession on transition opportunities. 

Identifying Cognitive Athleticism 

But far too often, however, the impact of cognitively athletic defenders is not adequately recognized by large parts of the basketball community. A center with hard and soft athleticism that racks up blocks, for example, may be commonly viewed as defensively impactful because he pops off the screen. But if he’s chasing blocks while being out of position, or if opponents get into the paint at a higher rate because he’s not rotating correctly, the impact metrics can sometimes be overstated or deceiving. A center who is constantly in the right spot or rotating with precision may not get the opportunity to block as many shots because opposing players are deterred from ever getting to the paint in the first place, which is far more conducive to winning but harder to pin down on paper. Having an awareness of these factors can help us understand why both people and defensive metrics are so split on the defensive impact of players like Nikola Jokic, or why the little things Alex Caruso does often go unnoticed or underappreciated for so long. 

Next time you watch a player on defense this season, try and focus on identifying traits of cognitive athleticism. Or when you scan for the aforementioned defensive events, identify how the player generated the statistic. For example, when a defensive player gets screened, look for their footwork and positioning before, during, and after a screen is set. When a player gets a rebound, watch that player’s timing, positioning, anticipation, and box-outs that lead to the rebound. Were they just lucky, or did they create the defensive event through their proactivity? As always, metrics and statistics can be incredibly useful in evaluation, but they should primarily be used as tools to generate good questions rather than provide definitive answers. If a player generally thought to be a poor defender rates highly in one or across multiple defensive metrics, that should pique your interest, and vice versa. Don’t just take numbers at face value, investigate them. 

As we learn to recognize how cognitive athleticism manifests on defense, we’ll be able to better identify good defenders at all levels of the sport. Perhaps someday soon we’ll have metrics that can accurately measure how well a defender anticipates a pass or avoids a screen, but until then, as Tom Thibodeau loves to say, the magic is in the work. 

The post The Mind of a Defensive Menace: Cognitive Athleticism’s Impact on Defense appeared first on Swish Theory.

This piece is for Remembering Some Guys, players who shaped our interest in the sport. Players here spark possibilities, whether through unrealistic pathways or unusual playing styles. Sometimes it’s important to sit back and cherish.

Emiliano – Jonathon Simmons

A barber impacted my vision of basketball.

It sounds weird, right?

Jonathon Simmons‘ story is an example of perseverance. After a vagabond collegiate career ended with Houston, being talented in haircutting, he considered attending barber school and getting a barber license. But he gave basketball a last shot and paid the $150 fee to attend the Austin Toros’ local tryout. He shined among the 60 participants and from there started the rise that brought him onto an NBA court after two seasons in the then D-League.

There’s a particular Regular Season game that stuck with me and made me realize how great his journey was: the Spurs win at the Oracle Arena on the 2016-17 opening night. Simmons had 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists and put his explosiveness on full display. I vividly remember his LeBron-esque chase-down block on Stephen Curry in transition and the poster on JaVale McGee with 5 seconds left, his autograph on the game. He clearly was never a prodigious player but he was a spark of energy and athleticism for an aging team like those Spurs.

Jonathon Simmons was probably the first player that made me realize the game isn’t just about the brighter stars, he made me appreciate the G League, its stories of success, and the guys that are trying to overcome difficulties and beat the odds. The NBA and sports in general (especially in the past) have accustomed us to a superheroic narration of players but even a barber can change things.

Charlie Cummings – Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

The artist formerly known as Chris Jackson is a trendsetter across multiple sports, and you may have never even heard of him.

His on-the-floor impact was secondary to his off-the-floor exploits. After beginning his career in the NBA, Jackson converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf a la Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. This was the first big public step he made in a profoundly impactful life outside of just playing basketball.

Abdul-Rauf was the first player in the NBA to protest the National Anthem, refusing to participate in what he believed was oppressive behavior and choosing to instead recite an Islamic prayer during the anthem. For his courage, the NBA fined and suspended him, and effectively blackmailed him into stopping this very peaceful protest. It’s a conveniently forgotten instance of the league, which now openly embraces such protests, putting down a man for what he believed in. Considering what we know now, was he so wrong to say he felt oppressed just by the sight of the United States flag?

His public stances earned him nothing but ire from the public. Not only did his employer actively disagree and try to shut him down, but local radio jockeys in Denver went into a mosque and blared the Star-Spangled Banner (trash song, does not bang) as a retort to Mahmoud. After his career ended, MAR moved back to his home in Mississippi. After a time, his home was burned down in what was ruled an arson. Though suspects were not formally charged, KKK graffiti painted on the house previous to the burning strongly points to a culprit. In a stunning turn of events, the Mississippi police did not prosecute themselves in favor of a Black Islamic man. Yet he never relented in his convictions. Very few people would refuse to fold in the face of such danger and criticism, but Mahmoud did.

Though certainly not a footnote, Abdul-Rauf also openly struggled with Tourette’s Syndrome. Not only did he take his diagnosis in stride, he said it empowered him to be better. A truly inspirational human being in every sense of the word.

On the floor, the man was flat-out dynamic. For a time he was one of the most electric offensive players in the league, with blinding speed and a lethal pull-up jumper. Proto-Steph Curry comparisons have been drawn, and they are reasonable when you see the hell he put Michael Jordan through (yes, that Michael Jordan) trying to keep pace:

If Mahmoud had played in an era of increased offensive spacing and encouragement to shoot from deep, who knows how high his star would have risen? But regardless of hypotheticals, in this house, we acknowledge Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf as one of the most important players of all time.

Now, go watch Stand.

Corban Ford – Monta Ellis

Just over a decade ago, on the afternoon of December 29th, 2012, one man stood in front of assembled cameras pre-game, and not only boldly compared himself favorably to an arguable top-5 shooting guard of all time, but then cemented his comments by informing the captive media audience that, aside from a few little championship rings and a couple of scoring titles, it was really he who “have it all”.

Folks made fun of that line almost the minute it left that player’s mouth, and it only got worse late that year in the playoffs, when his Milwaukee Bucks were swept with ruthless efficiency by the Miami Heat, behind Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, (that shooting guard that sparked the comparison in the first place) and Chris Bosh. Suffice it to say it didn’t age well. Say “have it all” to a person who knows NBA history and they will probably offer a chuckle. Say it to me and I will know you mean the great Monta Ellis without a moment’s hesitation. And I won’t think it’s a laughing matter.

Sure, the lack of all-star appearances and championships don’t look super great in retrospect, and sure, maybe he was more a “top 10 shooting guard of the 2010s” than he was “top 10 shooting guard ever”, but Monta Ellis to me epitomized what it means to play basketball your style and lay it all out there, warts and all, unapologetically (setting the stage for my Russell Westbrook love later), while also being confident enough (and maybe even slightly delusional enough) to strut your stuff and put your game right up against anyone’s.

With that being said, Ellis was no scrub. The man has career averages of 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists over nearly 850 games. He was a key component of the 2007 “We Believe” Warriors squad, he had a fun season suited up alongside Brandon Jennings with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he also had some memorable years assuming the primary scoring option responsibility alongside an aging Dirk Nowitzki on some fun Dallas Mavericks units in 2014 and 2015. He was electric in transition, could get hot from mid-range (and occasionally from deep), and did just enough playmaking that you could run him at the point and not feel horrible about your offense’s prospects.

Yes, Ellis wasn’t the best shooter from long range (career 31% from three). Defense was…well let’s just say it was a word Ellis knew, and he lost his fastball very quickly once he left Dallas as his nuclear athleticism faded. Also no, he was in fact no Dwyane Wade, not in 2012 or in the years following. He doesn’t have a hall of fame resume, and it’s easy to down his efficiency numbers and lack of playoff success. I don’t care. Ellis showed me that basketball can be played in a different way than the consensus might suggest, and that is fine. This wonderful game is big enough for all styles to fit in. And yes, in my opinion, Monta really did have it all. And that, my friends, is good enough for me.

@BeyondTheRK – Mickael Pietrus

Who is the greatest role player in Orlando Magic history?

Guarding Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals after singlehandedly outscoring LeBron’s Cavs’ bench 83-66 for an entire playoff series, Mickael Pietrus was the ideal role player for that 2009 Orlando Magic team, solidifying D&3 on the wing coveted by Head Coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith around the unstoppable Hedo Turkoglu – Dwight Howard pick and roll with Richard Lewis lurking beyond the arc and Jameer Nelson getting his buckets in between.

Pietrus’s profound perimeter defense, high-volume three-point floor spacing, and dynamic rim-attacking dribble drive dunking ability brought clean balance to the two-way force of the rotation.


Mickael offered strong, smart wing defense with length, quickness, and timing to help him guard any position 1-3 and even some small fours, the ability to knock down an open three on the other end, and enough handle to create a little wiggle room on his own.

Air France showed up on the biggest stage.

Against Kobe’s Lakers in the NBA Finals, Pietrus guarded Bryant tight, making the game slightly tougher than normal, contesting tough jumper after tough jumper.

When the Magic beat the Lakers in Game 3, Mickael Pietrus combined with Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and Dwight Howard to score 78 PTS on 63% FG%, setting the NBA Finals FG% record at the time for a half as a team (75% FG%) in Orlando’s first individual NBA Finals game victory in the team’s franchise history.

Against LeBron’s Cavs, Pietrus outscored the entire Cleveland bench himself over an entire playoff series 83-66! Over those six games, Mickael launched six threes a game, posted a super efficient 51-47-75 shooting line, finished paint-and-spray kickout good ball movement opportunities off Dwight post-ups and Hedo/Rafer drive and kicks in pick and roll, specializing on the three balls, corner pocket.

Pietrus quickly won over Magic fans by making life difficult for the opposing team’s best players, throwing down high-flying highlight jams while contesting Kobe in the Finals and splashing in threes against Paul Pierce’s Celtics and LeBron James’ Cavs for epic photo opportunities on Orlando’s route to the Finals, featuring my phone background for most of high school:

A rookie 11th pick drafted to fill an immediate role, Courtney Lee won the starting 2-guard job during that 2009 Finals run, bringing good feel, coachability, and fundamentally sound two-way team-first play, someone who could pick up opposing guards and hit catch and shoot threes.

Yet, Mickael remained a more dynamic option off the bench; the 26-year-old was closer to his athletic prime, flashing more north-south burst and vertical leaping ability, while still stretching the floor from deep and offering similarly sound defense against the other team’s best perimeter player.

In the 2008-09 regular season, Lee played 25.2 minutes per game (MPG) over 77 games, starting 42 of them; Pietrus played 24.6 MPG over 54 games, starting 25 of them.

Lee shot 40% 3P% on 2.6 3PA, Pietrus knocked down 36% 3P% on 4.1 3PA.

Both shot around 47.5% on 2s and scored around 9 points per game while defending the other team’s best guard or wing with positional versatility as two 6’6” wings who impact the game with top-notch defense first, catch-and-shoot threes second, and attacking closeouts third.

In the playoffs that year, the rookie Lee played 26.2 minutes per game, starting 16 of 21 outings, yet shot only 27% 3P% on 2 3PA, while the 6th-year player Pietrus averaged 25.8 minutes, starting 0 of 24 contests, and hit a blazing 38% 3P% on 4 3PA.

Air France embodied the heart of this Magic team, filling a role an inexperienced squad needed at the time. Pietrus wins fans over at every stop with his exciting NBA Jam style of play.

Consistent energy, dynamic athleticism, two-way impact with shooting confidence, and feathery floor-spacing touch is exciting at every level of basketball.

Spending the first five seasons of his career in Golden State, Mickael played a part in another special one-year flash-in-the-pan run in NBA history.

In 2005-06, the Dallas Mavericks made the NBA Finals, a team led by Dirk Nowitzki that lost to D Wade’s Heat. In the 2006-07 playoffs the following year, that Mavs team earned the #1 seed in the regular season, yet ended up being knocked out in the first round, becoming the third #1 seed ever to lose to an #8 seed in a playoff series.

The “We Believe” Warriors earned their name off the two-way toughness and thrilling up-and-down play of Baron Davis, Monte Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Andris Biedrins and Al Harrington leading a Golden State team to the playoffs and becoming the third eighth-seed in NBA history to eliminate a first-seed in the playoffs, following the Denver Nuggets in 1994 and the New York Knicks in 1999.

These late 2000 Magic teams featured four former We Believe Warriors: Adonal Foyle, Jason Richardson, Matt Barnes, and Mickael Pietrus

In an always riveting game of “name some guys”, there are tons of fun options for the greatest Orlando Magic role player.

Rafer Alston showed up in the right place at the right time, filling in for an injured Jameer while unlocking even more playmaking, defense and three-point shooting for a team that couldn’t have enough of it around one of those dominant inside forces game of basketball has ever seen in prime Dwight with the ace up the sleeve of an unstoppable halfcourt set when Hedo and Dwight would run the two-man game.

JJ Redick, Ryan Anderson, J Rich, and Q Rich all brought fan-favorite floor-spacers, with The Polish Hammer Marcin Gortat going from the best backup big in the league to a high-paid rim-rolling starter. Bo Outlaw, Darrell Armstrong, Pat Garrity, and 3D Dennis Scott are some early fan favorites.

There’s just something about the swaggering confidence that Air France plays with, his dynamic ability to look like he belongs on that court with any star at any time because he could affect the opposing star defensively, stretch the floor for his team from deep, and create his own shot when needed by attacking closeouts with the dribble drive vertical attack dunking at the rim and soft touch on short-range pull-ups.

Mickael Pietrus is a fan favorite at every stop because he does the little things that fans appreciate: hustle, heart, dunks, and threes; exciting two-way play that helps his team on both ends.

Lucas Kaplan – Vince Carter

When the Toronto Raptors finally, rightfully, welcomed Vince Carter back after a decade of animus in 2014, it was a true watershed moment for NBA sentimentalists, the kind an ever-algorithmed league is now less capable of producing. It was fantastic. It also slightly annoyed 14-year-old Lucas.

I was already, frequently, the lone Nets fan amid a sea of blue and orange. I grew up and went to school within walking distance of MSG, but my father, for various reasons, had abandoned his lifelong Knicks fandom by then. I was a free agent, and the New Jersey Nets were also on local television.

As best I can tell, the current mainstream narrative of Vince Carter’s career tends to emphasize his burst onto the scene in Toronto – the dunk contest! – and his career eventually unfolding across an NBA eon, his 22 seasons the most ever. But what happened in between? Well, he was a Net, and a great one at that, a 24/6/5 guy who rose to 26/7/6 in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, there’s no reason to reflect on Carter’s Nets career all that much. Yes, the epic posterization of Alonzo Mourning, who VC punched as often as the sun rises, lives on. But those Jersey teams are justly remembered* for their back-to-back early 2000s Finals runs that came prior to Carter’s arrival. Nothing all that memorable happened with VC as a Net – they won a couple of playoff series with a shallow roster in a weak-but-not-weak-enough Eastern Conference.

*as much as New Jersey Nets teams can be remembered

So I, only a Nets fan because Vince Carter was on local television hitting long-range bombs and dunking on people in 2006, as opposed to whatever Eddy Curry and the Knicks were doing at the same time, was just a tad bit dismayed when the Raptors honored him. Carter was my hero. If Raptors fans didn’t appreciate him, and the Nets would always be Jason Kidd’s franchise thanks to an era I was too young for, then Vinsanity would only be truly special for me.

Obviously, much has happened over the last 15 years. I am no longer eight years old. Besides playing it, my relationship with basketball has been more recently been influenced by the talent boom of the pace-and-space era that really got me into loving hoop – like, wanting to know how teams could defend a pick-and-roll – that culminated with those 2016 Finals, a collective point of demarcation.

Part of me is hesitant to revisit those Carter years that began it all. I don’t want to acknowledge the ceiling-defining limitations of his game, a handle just a bit too sloppy, decision-making just a hair too slow. I don’t want to remind myself how putrid those Nets rosters were outside of Kidd, Carter, and Richard Jefferson, my first Big Three. 

And then I remember that being right doesn’t matter, especially in basketball, a concept my eight or 14-year-old self, who were both sure Vince Carter was simply the best, would scoff at. It’s a concept I still have to remind myself of, and VC helps me do that. There is inextricable beauty in the way New Jersey Vince combined athleticism and hand-eye coordination, the way he floated through the air and tossed up finger-rolls and hook shots from a bygone era. In his best moments, Carter looked like a Monstar that had perfected basketball; they looked simultaneously impossible and effortless.

Deeeep threes and clutch moments, of which there were many, are what I will most remember from Carter’s time as a Net. And he often combined those two traits, especially when facing his former team in Toronto, where he was the most hated player of any NBA fanbase, ever; until LeBron’s Decision:

The most hated man in the NBA going back to enemy territory and doing that! Could you imagine the years of content-baiting and endless discussions centered around those moments if a star did that today?! Perhaps the truly seasoned NBA fans will remember those killshots like the back of their hand, but to me, it feels like they’re on the verge of getting lost in history. I can’t let that happen. For the first time in a long time, I realize that Vince Carter the New Jersey Net was special, and not just to me.

The players who made you fall in love with basketball will always matter, and it’s honorable to preserve their legacies. Why else do we invest all this time and energy? Just don’t tell us what made them the best. Tell us what made them special.

Corey Rausch – Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace was ahead of his time. Not just because he embodied personality and gave us the ubiquitous “Ball Don’t Lie.” The floor spacing big man was something that the league was not truly ready for. When someone like Dirk Nowitzki, an obvious contemporary, went to the outside he was incorrectly labeled as soft. No one would dare say something similar about Sheed.

From 2001-2009, Wallace attempted 3.9 triples per game and shot 34.8 percent. While that is certainly paltry by today’s standards, it was revolutionary at the time. Even better, once he arrived in Detroit, it was his unique game that springboarded the team into the title they would win that season. Yes, they had Chauncey Billups’ shotmaking, Ben Wallace generational defense, and Tayshaun Prince all-time block. But Sheed was the final piece. He could play elite defense but still fit next to Wallace on the offensive end.

After he arrived in Detroit the Pistons posted the best defensive rating in the league by more than seven full points per 100 possessions. It was unfair. But everything about Rasheed Wallace was. He had to give a little of it back with all of the technicals he earned (317, third most of all time). Somehow though, you could never be mad at him for it.

Wallace changed the vision of what a star could be for me. It did not have to be scoring, though he was more than capable. He was a stout defender, a strong rebounder, and a valued teammate. But the numbers rarely mattered. He was there to pick his spots, hold others accountable, and win. The team posted a 289-147 (66.3 winning percentage). Every time a big shoots from behind the arc, “SHEEEEEED” still rings out in my head.

Josh Url – Muggsy Bogues

I was the short kid until my sophomore year. While I literally looked up at most people I didn’t really “look up” to many. Except for Muggsy Bogues

Muggsy Bogues was the shortest player in NBA history at just 5’3” yet he played for 14 seasons!

He is the reason I love passing and defense. He is the reason I think the highly unlikely is not impossible. He is the reason I love basketball.

Matt Powers – Jamaal Tinsley

While basketball has been a lifelong passion of mine, that has not always included the NBA. But a few players along the way had an impact that exceeded that of the sport. Despite being already mostly forgotten as a zero-time All-Star without a ring, perhaps no player has been more meaningful to me than Jamaal Tinsley.

The creative side of basketball has its champions like Magic and Nash, but I am convinced Tinsley has as good of a passing vision as any. At only a listed (and unlikely) 6’3’’ and lacking a consistent outside shot (career 30% from three, less than 1 per game), Tinsley was able to start 400 games at point guard for mostly successful teams. He compensated for his limitations not just with creativity, but weaponized creativity. He combined table-setting with advantage-seeking like no one I’d seen before, particularly thriving in the chaos of transition or on broken plays.

Tinsley seemed capable of anything, putting up mega stat lines like a 12-point, 15 assist, 9 rebound, 6 steal, 5 block game and a 19 point, 23 assist, 11 rebound, and 5 turnover game in his first month as a rookie. I was hooked. The possibility of this single player, unimpressive in stature but able to access any angle to get past the giants, meant I no longer knew the limits of what was possible on the court. I treasure the uniqueness of personality expression on the basketball court, with every player ultimately also expressing themselves within the artistry of the game. Tinsley made sure I never forget that.

The post ROUNDTABLE: Remembering Some NBA Guys appeared first on Swish Theory.

2024

Jayden Quaintance

I went into this camp as a strong believer in Quaintance’s skill set, and I left absolutely blown away. Quaintance has consistently been one of the best players in every single setting that he has played in despite being 15 years old during this past high school season. He was one of the best players with Overtime Elite this year, was an All-Star at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, and was an integral part of the USA’s FIBA U16 team this past June.

Quaintance is an absolutely dominant athlete. He possesses an unparalleled blend of movement skills for a 6’10” big and knows how to effectively use them on both ends. His agility for his size is something to marvel, as he is able to jolt side to side on downhill drives and defend well in space on defense. This agility comes together with his strong frame and upper body to give him excellent play strength, as he is able to aggressively bump defenders while moving downhill. Quaintance is able to switch between power and grace on his drives, as he can go to one or the other or a blend of the two depending on who is defending him. All of these miraculous tools are unlocked by his solid handle for a big, as he has consistently shown lots of comfort as a ball handler in big space. At times in this camp he even brought the ball up against full court pressure, and there were moments of him splitting double teams to get the ball across halfcourt. If he can continue to display comfortability with keeping his dribble against ball pressure from many directions, his half-court scoring ceiling would raise even higher, as handling high amounts of gap pressure and double teams can be a major struggle for many of the league’s best centers. 

Another skill that can truly unlock his full potential is his jumpshot, which is currently a work in progress. He only shot 25% from three (2.3 attempts per game) and 60% from the free throw line in Overtime Elite, but it is important to note that Overtime Elite uses an NBA three point line. There were times where Quaintance would set a ball screen and pop into space for jump shots, and it appears that he is truly trying to round out this part of his game. Another part of his game that will continue to be a work in progress is his screening and pick and roll game. Quaintance projects to be an elite roll man going forward, as he is a springy leaper with a big catch radius who already loves playing with downhill momentum. As Quaintance continues to get more and more reps, he will certainly pick up some pieces of screening minutiae, which will make him even more effective as a screener long term.

While Quaintance has immense offensive upside, his defensive upside may be just as high. Quaintance will carry a ton of lineup flexibility in the future, as he has the potential to play all pick and roll coverages and protect the rim in help defense. He is able to hedge with his agility and length, has the potential to be a good drop defender as he continues to learn positioning, he can backpedal when playing at the level of the screen, and he even has the potential to switch onto ball handlers. His movement in space is truly one of a kind for a young big, as he is able to contain drives and recover when he does get beat. Ground coverage is another incredible strong suit of Quaintance, as he is able to play help on drives and still close out to the perimeter without being out of the play. Quaintance blocked at least three separate three point attempts in the games I watched, including one play where he went under a screen and still jumped in time to block a pull-up three. 

The scheme versatility that Quaintance brings to teams is very rare, as he does not handicap lineups from running ideal modern schemes like other bigs often do. Quaintance can be a team’s defensive anchor and will adapt to his supporting cast, though he always will have the baseline of being an incredible primary rim protector. His load time as a leaper is unbelievably quick, allowing him to react quickly and to make it hard to throw his timing off. Speaking of his timing, Quaintance has showcased great jump timing in many settings, as he is able to jump second and still get up in time to erase shots at the basket. His length is certainly another factor here, as he is able to reach up and deflect shots with his very long arms. Finally, Quaintance is comfortable jumping off one foot or two feet, giving him elite potential as a roaming help defender and pick and roll defender. The league’s best help defenders often jump off of one foot while the best pick and roll defenders specialize in two footed leaping, and Quaintance is able to effectively do both.

Sam Springer

Despite Springer being unranked on all major recruiting outlets, he consistently looked like one of the better and more productive players at the camp. Springer is a 6’7” wing who possesses all of the traits that mid-major and even some high-major programs look for. He is an absolutely knockdown spot-up shooter, and had moments knocking down threes while trailing in transition. He can also hit shots from outside while creating from a standstill, though he often does not create much separation off the dribble. Instead, he specializes in off-ball play, whether that be through knocking down open shots, cutting to the middle of the floor for mid-range opportunities, or decisive off catch drives. He has a high set point on his lefty jumper, making this shot hard to contest when fading inside the arc. 

Springer also serves as a stabilizing player on defense, as he consistently executes his assignment while communicating every action. I would project him into a primarily off-ball role, where he can execute smart rotations while sniffing out actions all around the floor. I would not have Springer guard quicker guards, though he is a solid recovery leaper off of one foot in case he does get beat off the bounce. Instead, I would have Springer guard spot-up threats or even wings that prioritize strength, as Springer seems to be able to match contact on drives. His one foot leaping gives him another boost in low rotations, as this leaping style naturally minimizes load time, allowing the player to get in the air much quicker. 

Finally, Springer does lots of the little things that teams look for. He is a solid rebounder on defense and is always looking to throw outlet passes to teammates. His playmaking seems to be fairly anticipatory, though there were moments of him missing a help defender and turning the ball over. He also seems like a great teammate overall, as he was constantly uplifting the players around him and looking to get everyone involved. 

Dayton Williams

For my last eye-catcher of the 2024 high school class, I decided to go with 6’4” guard/wing Dayton Williams. Williams has lots of tools to build on right now, as he is a very lanky and flexible ball handler who can create advantages on a variety of drive angles. He makes wide drive angles work with his off-arm usage and ability to convert on scoop layups with his left, though there are times where I would like for him to take tighter driving angles. He is more than capable of doing this and did at times during this camp, though he seems to be a bit contact averse at times. This is a common issue among young basketball players, and I believe that this is something that will improve with age. Williams’ wide handle allows him to create tons of separation in an instant, and he seems to especially love the super wide left-right crossover. He seems like a very aware interior passer off of his drives, as he had great moments pulling help defenders out of position to free up teammates in the dunkers spot. Overall, Williams seems to have lots of driving tools to build on, though he is also extremely left-hand dominant on these plays. This is another common issue among young players, though it is one that many players have struggled to fix.

As for his outside shooting, he shot fairly well at the camp in the games I viewed, though it seems like results have been inconsistent in other settings. It seems that there is something to build on as he has a fairly high set point and a consistent follow through. His touch at the rim is also pretty solid as well, which is another positive indicator for Williams’ shooting going forward. Finally, his willingness to shoot off the dribble jumpers is another positive indicator for future success, as he has a fairly fluid pull-up when given space. 

On the defensive end, Williams is able to use his length to make plays that others can’t. His frame allows him to effectively play passing lanes while not being thrown too far out of position, and he seems very comfortable playing in rotations. He can occasionally deter shots with his solid one-leg verticality, which is fairly valuable considering he profiles as a wing or guard. Finally, he is an extremely active rebounder on both offense and defense, which is a skill that lots of schools are always searching for.

2025

Jasper Johnson

If you like creative improvisational ball-handlers that have no issues creating their own offense, Jasper Johnson is the player for you. Johnson is one of the more creative on-court prospects I have ever seen, as he is always trying something new to create a bucket. Whether that be an odd pick-up, a new step pattern, or a new way to get into his patented lefty scoop, Johnson is consistently successful with his creative on court style. Jasper is the master of unpredictability at the high school level right now, as he has a seemingly bottomless bag of counter moves and elite change of pace capabilities. Jasper’s touch is also something to behold, as he can be seen making logo threes or even lefty skyhooks. It must be pretty mesmerizing guarding him, as it’s impossible to predict his next move yet he is also so good that there is no way to actually stop whatever he decides on doing.

His shiftiness can be partially attributed to his lanky frame and ball control, as he has an extremely wide handle which allows him to shift defenders further out of the way. His ball control with his left hand is incredible, as he is able to quickly get into soft one hand scoops immediately after his final dribble. This ball control also helps him out on the perimeter, as he is able to execute essentially any move you can think of with ease. This frequently gives him access to driving lanes, but he also generates lots of pull-up shooting windows. Jasper has a smooth lefty jumper with a lower set point which allows him to effectively shoot from deep range. He can get into his pull-up off of a variety of moves, and he is comfortable using it after freezing his defender.

On defense, Jasper is capable of guarding wings and guards due to his long frame. His long wingspan helps him rack up lots of deflections, and he is adept at getting wraparound steals when he gets beat off the dribble. He is also a springy leaper which pairs well with his long wingspan, as he is able to rise up to erase shots at the rim on occasion. Jasper has lots of potential as a havoc creator on defense, though he may have issues with screen navigation going forward due to his frame. However, I believe he will be able to compensate with length and improved technique, which could make him a true impact player on the defensive end.

Azavier Robinson

Azavier Robinson was easily the quickest player at this whole camp. His incredible lower body flexibility allows him to get into explosive positions, and his first few steps allow him to consistently leave defenders in the dust. There are not many players at the high school level who are able to get lower on their drives than Azavier Robinson, which essentially allows him to duck under defenders to access difficult driving lanes. He is also amazing at decelerating, as he can immediately stop his momentum to generate more scoring opportunities. In transition, Robinson can shift his defender one way and blow by them within a blink of an eye. Robinson is a walking paint touch when you combine his quickness with his deep bag, which is extremely valuable as rim pressure automatically generates efficient offense. His drives always open up teammates for easy scoring looks, and Robinson has shown lots of comfortability with making flashy interior passes and kickouts. 

Robinson’s vertical leaping is also incredible, as he is able to fly off of two feet and convert shots at the rim. His hang time and body control allow him to create finishing angles that not many others can, and he is able to convert on these with a myriad of double clutch layups. Robinson tends to jump with a lack of mercy for his opponents; other players shy away from contact, whereas Robinson wants the contact. He wants to put his opponents on a mixtape, and he has been successful with this numerous times.
His jump shot is also something worth betting on, as he has extremely smooth mechanics and is very comfortable creating space for his shot. He has some advanced footwork patterns on his drives that allow him to get into clean stepback looks, and he seems to be comfortable shooting off the catch as well. His off catch drives have the potential to be absolutely lethal as time passes, as he is very comfortable getting into explosive positions with his back leg to attack closeouts.

Robinson is also an absolute pest on defense, as his elite core strength and lateral quickness allow him to stonewall drives from even the quickest guards you can find. He has extremely active hands on defense, and he is always looking to make a play on the ball. If he ever takes a gamble, he has the tools to effectively recover on this end to still make a huge impact. Robinson has incredible moments getting up off two to make plays on the ball, as he is prone to get a highlight block every once in a while. Robinson projects to be an immensely impactful point of attack defender at any level he plays at, as he has the frame and quickness to get around screens while having the lateral quickness and footwork to stay in front of drives.

Kaden Magwood

In one of the first drill segments I watched, Kaden Magwood’s confidence and energy immediately stood out. He was confidently going at everybody in this drill, as he would confidently take pull-up jumper after pull-up jumper. There was a point where he missed a tomahawk dunk in transition, dropped down and did pushups on his own volition, then in the very next rep he converted on that same tomahawk dunk attempt. Magwood didn’t look like he just wanted to be there, he looked like he wanted to dominate every matchup he played against.

Magwood is an amazing scorer from all three levels who can also make plays for his teammates off of his own creation. His creativity can be seen in all aspects of his game, as he is an extremely shifty ball handler with a super deep bag of moves to beat his defender. He has a very wide dribble style and loves using wide crossovers, which allows him to get to the rim or into his pull-up. He has a very high set point on his jumper, and he consistently gets lots of elevation in the mid-range. His jumper mechanics are very good for fadeaway jumpers, as the elevation and high release point allow him to shoot over defenders that play up on him. He is also a deadly accurate outside shooter, whether that be off the catch or off of the dribble.

Magwood is also a competitive defender who tries on that end, and he has the lateral movement to stay in front of his matchups. He could be seen consistently walling off drives and making a play on the ball. His lateral movements, hand-eye coordination, and tenacity should make him a strong point of attack defender at any level he plays at. He was also active in rotations and always making the right help defense play, though there were moments of spacing out a little bit. Regardless, Magwood should be a successful off-guard defender who can slide onto tough matchups when asked to do so, and I certainly trust him on this end especially when you consider his offensive output.

Trent Sisley

Sisley is another player who I was a bit familiar with going into this camp, and he certainly stood out in this setting. Sisley could be seen consistently making net-positive plays on both ends of the floor as a versatile forward, which is an archetype that I am a massive fan of. Sisley has an extremely adaptable offensive game as he can play a myriad of roles depending on his supporting cast. He has a great baseline of solid fluidity and touch, and he is a great player off the catch. He always has moments as an outside shooter, and he can hit easier looks off the catch or more difficult ones off movement. Sisley typically keeps the ball moving as well, and he can even hunt mismatches when given one.

His offensive game may have stood out to me first, but he is no slouch on the defensive end. At 6’8”, Sisley is a solid mover on defense and always makes the right rotations. He may not be the most explosive leaper, but he times his rotations well to deter easy shots at the basket. Sisley can effectively guard forwards, though I may not have him guard traditional centers just yet. He has the potential to execute soft switches in late clock situations or make all necessary low rotations, and I believe that coaches will be pleased with his skillset on this end.

Moving forward, I am a big believer in Sisley’s potential to run DHOs with pull-up shooting threats. He will likely be covered by forwards at the next level, and I can see a world where he can easily generate scoring opportunities by faking DHOs and driving by slower forwards. These looks can also lead to him getting open threes, as he can pop off the screen into open space. Overall, Sisley’s well-rounded game can fit on any team that he will play with and I would bet on him to have a long successful career in professional basketball.

Nicholas Randall

Coincidentally, Nicholas Randall profiles into a similar role as Trent Sisley as a versatile forward. Randall was probably Jayden Quaintance’s best matchup at the camp, as there were times that Randall could mimic Quaintance’s physicality to prevent him from getting easy scoring looks. Stopping Quaintance is no easy job, but Randall did about as good as anybody could. He is an impressive lateral mover for a forward, and he excelled in help rotations when playing as the low man. Randall is a good leaper with versatile takeoffs and can time up shots around the basket very well, allowing him to be a good strong deterrent. Whatever role a certain lineup may lack, Randall has the capabilities to step into most roles that he may be asked to play. 

On offense, Randall has a very scalable ancillary game. He does not need the ball to be effective, as he is able to shoot it from outside and cut to the basket for layups or dunks. When he is asked to handle on ball reps, he has the ability to put his shoulder into defenders on drives and can make shots with his soft touch. He is not the most flexible player in the world, but his straight line drives are effective and he can even pull-up from mid-range if given space. Finally, Randall is an improving outside shooter off the catch with clean and consistent mechanics.

Randall profiles into a role that has him setting screens, rolling to the basket, and occasionally making plays off the short roll. It remains to be seen how he will make plays in this area, though I think he has lots of potential to successfully execute winning plays in these situations. His touch should also unlock some scoring opportunities in floater range, and he also has the potential to pop into open space depending on the pick and roll coverage he is facing. I also expect him to be setting many off-ball screens, where he can easily slip to the basket for scoring opportunities or free up teammates for clean looks. Randall has a skill set that every team in the country covets, and I am fascinated to see which path his recruiting ends up taking. 

Austin Sperry

Like some of the other guards I have talked about throughout this piece, Austin Sperry exhibits incredible on-court creativity. Sperry is always using small nuanced movements to free up those around him, and he has many passing deliveries mastered. Behind the back passes in transition or over-head backwards passes to players roaming in the dunkers spot, Sperry is always making a play that leaves many fans in the stands speechless. This creativity translates very well over to his ball-handling, as he has many out of the box dribble combos to free up looks for himself at all levels. Ball control is certainly a marquee skill for Sperry, which shows up in his ball-handling and also his crafty finishing around the rim.

Sperry is also an amazing pull-up shooter who can get hot in an instant. He generates so much lift on his jumper, which lets him free up windows that may not otherwise be possible to shoot from. His shot is mechanically pure and he is able to get it off from range, and he has lots of potential as a movement shooter from outside. Another clear standout trait of Sperry’s is his great feel for the game which he always showcases on both ends of the floor. He has great scoring feel as he effectively gets to his spots, and his court mapping is truly incredible. His constant awareness and understanding of where the other nine players on the floor are at all times is a rare skill, and it helps him become a true master of offensive manipulation and unpredictability.

His feel also shows up on the defensive end, as he plays with a great anticipatory style and can make plays in a variety of different situations. His athleticism also stands out on both ends, as he is an explosive leaper and can cover ground effectively. This ground coverage helps him a lot on closeouts, where he also showcases his solid decelerative tools. Sperry’s combination of feel and physical tools gives him a solid foundation to build off of, and I am fairly confident in Sperry’s overall defensive development moving forward.

2026

DeZhon Hall

Despite being one or two grades below many of his counterparts, DeZhon Hall was a constant standout at this camp. Slashing guards have been a bit of a theme on this list, and Hall is a player who certainly fits into this criteria. Hall is an impressive downhill player in the halfcourt, as he has excellent stride length and overall burst. Deceleration is another strong suit for Hall, as he is able to hit the brakes on the end of his drives to throw off defensive timing. This deceleration carries over to his change of pace play, allowing him to reset drives and pull out some of the counter moves he has in his bag.

However, what truly unlocks Hall’s driving game is his ability to convert pull-up jumpers. Combining elite rim pressure and budding pull-up shooting gives the defense an ultimatum, where they essentially have to pick their poison when defending Hall. His shooting seems to be more streaky than consistent, as he constantly flipped between cold and hot shooting stretches. There were multiple times where Hall was dropping pull-up after pull-up which made him absolutely unstoppable, as when that shot is going you essentially are conceding free points either way. Shooting off forward-moving momentum is a struggle for lots of players, but this is something that DeZhon Hall seems very comfortable with. He is able to organize himself to get clean looks off the dribble, where he is extremely confident as a mid-range and outside shooter.

Defensively, Hall has the potential to be a positive player as a versatile guard defender and defensive playmaker. Hall had lots of moments at this camp applying high amounts of ball pressure, and his overall quickness allows him to do this. There are times where he will get beat off the dribble, but this ball pressure also naturally generates turnovers on less confident ball handlers. Transition defense is another strength of Hall’s, as he is able to make recovery plays on open breaks using his speed and explosive vertical leaping. 

Gabe Weis

Movement shooters with a combination of solid height and fluidity provide latent value in modern basketball, and every team is trying to get their hands on as many of them as possible. These players are typically selected high in the NBA draft due to their lineup versatility, as they often work to ease up the difficulties from other roles. In comes Gabe Weis, who seems to be one of the better players in this mold in the 2026 class. Weis’ combination of touch and self-organization off of movement is fairly rare, and this combination makes him an absolutely lethal movement shooter. When you also consider that Weis is fluid and coordinated enough to attack closeouts off the catch, it becomes easy to see his long term offensive potential. 

Adding onto his impressive offensive arsenal, Weis is a legitimately skilled shotmaker inside the arc, as he is comfortable hitting fading jumpers or floaters. These shots help open up easier drives for Weis, where his impressive stride length and touch finishing allow him to get all the way to the rim. There are moments of improvisational counters from Weis, which is another sign of incredible upside on the offensive end. Playing in a fast paced system could help unlock Weis’ full offensive skill set, as more transition play will help him get more open looks from outside but also easier drives against crossmatches.

Weis is kind of a jack of all trades type of player on defense, as he combines solid length and athleticism with good feel. Teams that covet tertiary rim protection and length will appreciate Weis’ skill set on defense, though I could see a world where he is miscasted into other roles on other teams. I would not have Weis on a player that comes off many screens, as many players with Weis’ frame often struggle to get around screens and effectively lock and trail moving players. Weis should prioritize help defense at the nail, low rotations, tagging roles, and occasionally stopping dribble drives from primarily spot up wings or forwards. 

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You don’t have to look very far back to find examples of ill-fated pre-draft college seasons resulting in incomplete evaluations come draft day. How many teams regret passing on Jalen Duren and AJ Griffin just one year later? My guess would be quite a few. College basketball is great, but it’s limited. A season really only offers one context, from role to health or surrounding talent. Every cycle we talk about how context matters in projecting forward future NBA roles, so it would make sense that seeing prospects in additional pre-draft contexts gives a clearer picture. 

The only issue with that is, where do you even start? Pretty much every prospect plays high school basketball, but only some of those games come on TV, and some of those games are in the Overtime Elite league, which is like high school, but also not, but also has some actual high school teams playing in the league. 

Then we get to grassroots basketball, more commonly (and I think incorrectly?) referred to as AAU. There are three major shoe circuits, with each having their own events throughout the summer and a few inter-circuit events sprinkled in along the way. On top of the enormous amount of teams scattered across multiple leagues, team rosters and jersey numbers can be more difficult to find than you expect.

All in all, those hurdles make the prospect of scouting pre-college basketball feel a little unapproachable. As I began my yearly summer catch up this year, I figured it was time to finally, truly, dive straight into the wilderness. The result has been a newfound love for youth basketball, though that did come with a few hurdles along the way.

The goal of this piece is to help people who are looking to understand youth hoops find it all a little less overwhelming, while hopefully helping you skip a little legwork. We’ll go through a few of the things I think are foundationally important to understanding the general landscape, and a few helpful resources for when the process becomes confounding.

High School Basketball

At its most basic level, high school basketball is pretty straightforward to understand. The vast majority of schools look a lot like the schools the general public grew up in, large student bodies and a competitive sporting environment. The difference between public and private school in basketball terms is about the same as it is in the real world: they are very similar, with private schools having a few more (financially driven) opportunities.  

The biggest private schools play their own national circuit, NIBC, as a way of garnering greater national exposure. The highest end private schools are littered with NBA talent, but teams like Duncanville, Camden and Wheeler are public schools with three of the best prospects in the class. Top flight private schools or academies have a competitive advantage in their depth and national presence, but the high end talent is relatively spread out over both public and private schools.

Full games are generally easier to find for high school vs grassroots, though the bigger academies like Link or IMG have an embarrassment of riches in that department. For public schools, almost every district has a team that records every game to put on YouTube. If you are lucky, that team has prospects, and now you’ve lost an entire evening to the doldrums of AAAA North Texas high school basketball.

GEICO High School Basketball Nationals

The GEICO Nationals tournament is the best of the best, consisting mostly of private basketball academies like Sunrise Christian and Montverde. Public schools are able to receive an invite, but laws differ from state to state regarding public schools playing national competition or against private academies. 

As a general rule, this is the high school basketball holy grail. At no other event will you find such a dense collection of NBA talent, and the games are aired on National TV (and later uploaded to YouTube via helpful third parties). It’s a great event, one that showcases future lottery picks every season.

State Champions Invitational

The State Champions Invitational is a newer event that was created to showcase state-champion public school programs on a larger scale. Inclusion is still dependent on the aforementioned state laws on national competition, but the event is always stacked with high-end talent. These games are aired on ESPN and their family of networks, but are more difficult to find in the Youtube ether. Hopefully, as the event gains more attention and a larger public audience, that changes.

Overtime Elite

The reputation of Overtime Elite precedes itself with a billing as the next great basketball developmental program. While there are continued questions as to OTE’s future viability as a pre-draft destination (especially when compared to more established, pro-oriented programs like the G League Ignite and the NBL Next Stars), their viability as a pre-college developmental environment should not be questioned. 

Their site is clean, they have basic and legible stats, and their games are often available on Youtube or Amazon Prime, with a direct from the game box score. That kind of accessibility is unfounded in this space, and something that gives OTE a leg up in the high school basketball world.

Grassroots Basketball

Oh, the unknown. Grassroots basketball is a bit of a black hole at times, but with each passing year a new resource pops up to make things a little bit brighter. The scene is dominated by three major circuits, where teams play against each other in circuit events throughout the summer. 

There are leagues for nearly all ages with 17U meant to consist of players entering their senior year of high school, though some players choose to play up a year (and in the case of AJ Dybantsa, dominate while doing so). Sometimes the only tape you are able to find on Youtube is two years old from when they played 16U, but film is film, I will not discriminate. 

There are quite a few independent teams that are not a part of either shoe circuit, but will commonly play events like Who Wants The Smoke where they match up against shoe circuit clubs. Which circuit is which matters really only in what teams will play at which event, trying to find worthwhile value in comparing competition or talent level feels unproductive. Each league has their fair share of talent, though one may get more attention than the rest. 

Really, what matters most is what teams play on which circuit. Each circuit has their own nuances in structure but when you boil it down, film is still film. Thankfully selectbasketballusa.com made a helpful list of the teams in each league shown below.

Nike EYBL

The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League has long been seen as the cream of the crop, and for good reason. Their track record of producing NBA talent is unparalleled in the space, and while it has become more competitive that track record of dominance is noteworthy. This year, eight of the top ten RSCI recruits played on the EYBL circuit, with top pick contenders Ron Holland, Matas Buzelis, Isaiah Collier, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Omaha Biliew and many others. The roster is deep.

Adidas 3SSB

The Adidas 3 Stripe Select Basketball circuit is well established with a lineage of NBA talent. While not as publicly discussed as EYBL, 3SSB has a deep roster of high major talent led by T10 recruit Ja’Kobe Walter, with Dink Pate, Baye Fall, Reed Sheppard, TJ Power and (personal favorite) KJ Lewis. Overall, a solid league with decent tape accessibility, though their official site does leave much to be desired. 

Under Armour UAA

The Boys Under Armour Association is the final leg of the well known circuits, with 3ssb being its closest comparison. Led by potential lottery pick Stephon Castle, UAA boasts yet another deep roster of potentially impactful freshmen like Caleb Foster, Elmarko Jackson, Blue Cain and more. Unfortunately, compared to the other leagues team/roster info can be incredibly difficult to find. On the plus side, the Middlesex Magic youtube page is a treasure trove of tape, like finding an oasis in the desert. 

New Balance Pro16

The New Balance Pro16 league is the newest of the four circuits, and while they may not have as much established, highly ranked prospects, the competition remains strong. Gehrig Normand and Dylan James are the two RSCI T100 prospects on the circuit with a growing collection of future prospects. Internet resources remain limited but are comparable with the bigger leagues.

Resources

Now we have established the general framework of the leagues we are working with, it’s time to dig a little deeper. Youth basketball is a mess of individual leagues and conferences, finding places with consolidated information is a must. Knowing who to watch, what teams they are on, the numbers they wear and the teammates they have is a more complicated task than it seems.

RSCI Rankings

This is a fairly obvious place to start. This may not be breaking news, nearly every top draft pick is a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school. The rankings are by no means a be-all-end-all, Keegan Murray wasn’t ranked and ended up the fourth overall pick (!), but it is a great starting point. If you look at late risers like Jeremy Sochan and Patrick Williams or sophomore studs like Jaden Ivey and Bennedict Mathurin you will find them ranked in the Top 100 entering college. It’s a long list, but it is chalk full of NBA players throughout it. If you are beginning to create your watch list, the RSCI Top 100 is the place to start. 

MADE Hoops Power Rankings

This is a stupendous resource. The site has a paywall for future class rankings, but their 2023 rankings are public. The actual rankings themselves are nice, but the real draw is that the board lists not only the high school team for each prospect, but the grassroots team as well. That kills an enormous amount of leg work searching google for players and teams, and gives you a great starting point on what high school and grassroots teams should be at the top of your watch list. Great stuff. 

The Season Ticket

Now that you have the players you are looking to see and the teams they play on, The Season Ticket site, and more specifically The Circuit (a subheading on the site) is just about a one-stop -shop for rosters, team schedules and rankings for all age groups, both high school and grassroots (you can even sometimes find a box score!). You can dive into any league you want, though EYBL and 3SSB rosters are the most filled out. 

Finding actual team rosters with numbers and game dates is awesome. It can be incredibly hard to pin down what games players played in, the times they took place, and the teams they played against. Once you pick your team, there should be more than enough here to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. 

Cerebro Sports

Cerebro is a basketball site with Mark Cuban as a public investor and the infamous draft twitter stylings of the illustrious Prospect Development Web. There is an enormously steep paywall for individuals attempting to use the platform, but the free resources available are more than worth an initial email signup.

You are able to see the five most recent events for each player, which is incredibly helpful for international and OTE prospects (where an entire season is listed as one event). For US based high schoolers, the stats are a little more hit and miss, with some prospects showing stats for over 20 games and others less than 10. 

You are able to see the Top 10 performers for each event, but you can’t just search for an event, you have to select it through a player’s profile. This can be a little tricky at times, but is worth a few extra clicks in order to see the bigger picture of top performers for any given event. A very cool tool, but one that requires some corporate overhead to make the cost worthwhile. 

How Context Changes Stats

This is a more general bullet point to end off the section, but an important one to consider when looking at statistical output in high school and grassroots basketball. The first thing, and most consistent across levels, is that teenagers are not good three point shooters, and they often have a more difficult shot diet than they will in the league. 

Shooting in the low 30s on good volume in high school is a good thing, very few players (with the necessary athletic gifts) are able to score efficiently on jumpers as a 17-year-old. This is why AJ Griffin never should have fallen out of the top seven on draft night, but I digress. 

The difference between high school and grassroots is not a cut and dry one. Grassroots teams tend to play at a higher pace with a more free-flowing style of game with high school representing a more structured context. Statistically speaking, that added pace can affect numbers to a degree, but team context plays a much larger factor. 

Sean Stewart was the best player on the Florida Rebels, but at Montverde he was the sixth man the majority of his senior season. Omaha Biliew was the only high-profile recruit at Waukee his senior year, but played for Mokan Elite with fellow T100 prospects Cameron Carr, Trey Green and 2024 five-star John Bol. Playstyle differences matter, and each context tells you something unique in that regard, but you have to know the difference in on-court role and context to see it.

Searching for Tape

This is the single most stressful part of pre-college draft scouting. Finding quality tape, ideally for free, is a more difficult task than it may seem. Struggling to find full games for prospects was the largest barrier to entry for me: there is nothing I hate more than being in the mood to watch tape, only to waste precious time trying to find it. My philosophy when scouting is to maximize the time spent watching tape, and it is hard to do that when you’re searching for a needle in a haystack.

I decided to take a different approach this summer, getting ahead of my actual tape watching and accumulating film for as much of the RSCI Top 100 as possible. The process was a long and arduous one, but I have been able to find full games for every single prospect in the Top 100, with most prospects having a full game of high school and grassroots.

I have hyperlinked the games I could find in the below excel sheet, just click on the team name on the far right and dive straight in. A quick note: I tried not to link the same game twice for prospects on the same team and sprinkled in condensed videos when I ran out of full game tape. If you are itching for more of a certain prospect (or the link for the player is a shorter video), look for other prospects that played on the same team, you should find what you’re looking for.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aiQO8DqFD9zT47gdtQrj7oo8cbqsrZlJrkC3a5NeWeo/edit?usp=sharing

YouTube

YouTube, the one and only. There is no other place with free youth basketball tape, but you do need to know how to search. Finding actual game tape is not as easy as typing “Ron Holland Full Game” into your search bar (though with better video titles and captions, it could be!), you will need to be smart about your searches. I’ll go through a few helpful rules I try to follow when searching for games.

Know Your Date Ranges

Grassroots games take place over the summer before a prospect’s senior year, meaning all videos should be roughly a year old. Very rarely are games uploaded months after the fact, so it is pretty safe to assume the NJ Scholars video uploaded in April is not the tape you’re looking for.

High school basketball takes place during the year, so those games should all be less than a year old, and going back a year will take you into the previous season. That can be fine, for both grassroots or high school, if the prospect you are trying to watch was actually on the team the year prior. 

Know What Prospects Look Like

Jersey numbers are a figment of your imagination. They will be listed on the circuit or on other sites, but they are rarely consistent (particularly in grassroots). My personal best practice: google image search “[player name] [team name]”. 

I will look for jersey numbers they’ve worn, if they wear a t-shirt, if they have a recognizable hairstyle, general build, anything to help. If you’re in doubt, search a highlight video and compare movement styles. Sometimes good tape takes a little digging.

Start Specific

Youtube searches are a finicky business, and using too many keywords can be overly exclusionary. With that said, sometimes searching “Dennis Evans Hillcrest Basketball” takes you directly to the video you are looking for. Start specific, and eliminate keywords as you go, until you get down to “[team name] basketball”.

Know When to Keep Scrolling

This one is a little on the finicky side, but sometimes scrolling a little longer is all it takes. There are so many different age groups and years of competition to sift through, and it was very common for quality, full game videos to be buried 50 videos deep in a search. If you are still seeing videos with the team name you searched, keep going. 

Try Google

This one is kind of weird, and honestly I am not sure it “works” from a search engine perspective, but going into the Google videos search bar and looking for games helped me find a few that I just couldn’t seem to get on YouTube. There are at least no “recommended” videos you have to skip past when scrolling. 

BallerTV

The single best publicly available accumulation of high school basketball games, BallerTV is certainly worth a look in your search for tape. The pricing isn’t spectacular, but they do allow you to purchase individual events. You’ll get access to teams that are harder to find (like Dennis Evans on Team Inland) and inter-circuit matchups you won’t find elsewhere. The interface isn’t as smooth as your typical streaming service, but the juice is worth the squeeze if you purchase one of the more star-studded events. 

Twitch

Twitch is the single best place to find EYBL tape, you can find the entirety of Peach Jam on there now, but it is only for the 2023 year (next year’s class). Streams air live on the platform and are available to watch for an extended period of time after, but not an indefinite one. 

Sifting through the different streams and the games within them can be tedious, but that is a small price to pay for a literal metric ton of prospect tape. You just have to do it in a more timely manner than a midsummer cram session.

Parting Thoughts

High school and grassroots basketball is awesome and overwhelming simultaneously. There are more names than you could ever keep track of, yet people seem to do it all the time? Following the ins and outs of future high school classes is an enormous task, and that enormity can make the space feel unapproachable. 

You don’t have to live and breathe grassroots hoops to gain value from watching it, or even joy. Basketball is still basketball, and finding quality tape of players throughout their development journey and in differing contexts is invaluable. Hopefully with a little framing the greater picture of youth basketball is a little clearer. Sometimes to make a circuit work you just have to connect a few dots.

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