The 88th ranked player in the 2021 High School class, KJ Simpson has been on a tear to start his sophomore season. The former Pac-12 All-Freshman won his conference player of the week to kick off this season and has become the leader of a Buffaloes team that has upset multiple top teams. Simpson is averaging 18.3 ppg through the first 6 games of the season, including 23 points against Tennessee and 30 against Texas A&M. His scoring, playmaking, and quick reflexes defensively have made him an early season standout, and a player to watch on the draft boards looking ahead.

Offense

Simpson spent the majority of his freshman season as a scoring guard off the bench. However, he has now been given lead guard duties with the Buffs and has shown his creativity as a playmaker. Averaging 3.9 assists a game so far this season, his assist numbers don’t show just how good KJ is at manipulating a defense. A blur going downhill, Simpson applies a ton of rim pressure and is able to find open teammates on the wings because of it. He excels in the PnR and is great at finding pockets to pass to the roller. His creativity as a passer opens up offense for him and his team and often leaves the opposing defense tilted.

KJ struggles with converting at the rim, at just 47% last season, and 53% so far this season. However, he shows plenty of craft when going downhill. Simpson is often a blur, sometimes just dribbling past the first line of defense. He then is able to counter help defenders and bigs, getting around them and finding open space. Simpson has an assortment of dribble moves, and his close-to-the-body handle allows him to wiggle into tight spaces. He can finish with either hand on either side of the rim. He also has a decent jump-stop floater that he uses if he can’t find space.

His ability to get to the rim should bode well for him becoming a good rim finisher. He is still very skinny, and could benefit from some added weight to help him absorb contact. But, until Simpson is able to convert at a high clip at the rim, this will continue to be an issue in his game.

Simpson has always been a capable shooter, but has really made an effort to attack from deep this season. He is shooting 33.3% from deep, but has shown his versatility from deep, hitting shots off the dribble, off movement, and stationary. He’s shown his ability to hit 3s from all around the arc, and even hit a few threes from over 30 feet out. His form is a bit odd, and could use some tweaking, as he shoots with a split foot set and loads the ball directly in front of his face. He could also benefit from getting looks in a more spaced offense. However, with some mild work on his jumper, KJ should be able to punish teams from deep regularly.

Defense

Simpson is primarily a POA defender, as he leads the Buffs’ press defense every game. He is able to stay in front of his man and puts a lot of pressure on ball-handlers. When off-ball, KJ is great at reading passing lanes. He reads the ball-handlers eyes and jumps gaps at the last second. This leads to plenty of transition looks for Simpson. His long wingspan (although not officially measured), benefits him. Paired with his quickness, Simpson often finds himself in passing lanes that many players wouldn’t expect him to get to. He is occasionally over-aggressive on these reads, or shoots the gaps too early, however KJ has seemed much more disciplined defensively this season, something that could be attributed to his leader role with the Buffaloes.

KJ has the flaws of many small guards. He is unable to switch onto bigger players and often gets outmuscled by bulkier guards. He can be attacked on mismatches with more skilled wings as well. However, he excels at being slippery defensively. KJ is great at dodging multiple screens and reattaching to his matchup. This attribute ruins the flow of the opposing team. His screen navigation is great, and with his off-ball awareness, makes him one of the better small defenders in the class.

Conclusion

Unranked in the last ESPN top 100 for the 2023 NBA Draft, KJ Simpson should expect to move up the boards with his recent performances, especially if he is able to continue his hot streak during conference play. His defensive instincts, scoring ability and creative passing are a unique combination that few guards have. And even fewer have been able to showcase it like Simpson has. By continuing play at this level, KJ could be getting looks come combine and draft time.

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Sidelined by turf toe in his Junior year, Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser is a National Player of the Year candidate. The two level scorer was looking like a first round pick last season prior to injury, which saw him sidelined for the Cougars’ Elite 8 run. Now, he returns as the main piece of the Cougars as they look to make a championship run under Kelvin Sampson. As the top dog of the team, the bright light is shining on Sasser. With improvements to his production, he could likely be one of the first Seniors off the board come June.

Offense

Prior to injury, Sasser was struggling around the rim, shooting just 42.1%. However, this was on just 25 attempts, and he was looking to get to the rim significantly less often than in the past (4% of his plays compared to 14% his sophomore year). In the year prior, Sasser shot a respectable 58.5%, one that he is probably more likely to replicate this season. However, this is still a weak point for Sasser offensively. He is a bit contact averse around the rim, leading to a lower free throw rate. However, driving and getting to the line isn’t where Sasser does the most of his damage. The majority of his rim makes come off attacking closeouts or in transition anyway, as Sasser often elects to be a jump-shooter instead.

And rightfully so! Over 60% of Sasser’s total shot attempts as a Cougar have come from behind the arc, and for good reason. He’s a career 36.4% 3 point shooter, and was shooting 43.7% from 3 prior to injury last season. His quick release makes it hard for defenders to contest him. His ability to shoot off the dribble as well as his ball-handling combine to create a deadly deep-range scorer. Sasser shot 46% on catch and shoot 3s and 40% on off the dribble 3s, showing he can beat a defense from deep in a multitude of ways.

Sasser also gets plenty of reps as a playmaker in Houston’s offense and has shown a willingness to make the right pass. Not a great playmaker, Sasser is still able to run the PnR effectively, and could probably be more effective if he is able to improve around the rim. Playing with a strong screener and lob threat like Jarace Walker could open Sasser’s playmaking up this season, as Houston’s front court is more talented than in previous seasons.

Defense

A gritty Houston defense can definitely attribute to the energy of Sasser’s defense, but after 4 years of Kelvin Sampson, it probably becomes second nature. Sasser excels on his instincts defensively, disrupting PnRs by navigating through screens and reading passing lanes before they even open at times. Sasser does a great job of interrupting the flow of the other teams offense. Either knocking balls loose on drives, helping onto players to disrupt their movement or blocking off passing lanes.

As an off-ball defender, he glues onto his man and fights through screens well. Houston likes to switch, especially with their small size so Sasser has experience guarding up, albeit not great at it. He is often beat by longer or quicker defenders, however his 6’7″ wingspan does help him engulf other guards. At the very least, Sasser can be expected to hold his own defensively against guard players.

Conclusion

In his first game of the season, Sasser scored 21 points on 50% shooting from the field and from deep. He showed off his defensive intensity against a poor Northern Colorado team, swarming them from the jump, leading to 4 steals. Becoming a better scorer inside the arc will be key for Sasser, but it is a jump-shooters league at the next level. As long as the 3 continues to fall, and Houston continues to run through Sasser, he could likely become a National Player of the Year, and earn a roster spot in the NBA next season.

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Defense 

 At 6’7” with a 7’3” wingspan and nimble feet, Walsh is an elite mirrorer at the point of attack. He can slide with quicker wings and swallow them up with his length, and has great recovery speed when he does get beat.

Walsh also has a strong upper body, and is able to leverage this strength to bump ballhandlers off their rhythm when they seem to get a step on him.

Off the ball, Walsh is a mixed bag; he’s a high motor and timely rotator with active hands and length to disrupt would-be scorers. However, he seldom uses his 41” max vertical leap to contest shots above the rim (only 16 blocks in 1,205 pre-college minutes, per Cerebro database). He often swipes at the ball or attempts to take a charge even when he’s in position to challenge a finisher going up. Although he’s not quite as good of a vertical athlete in traffic as his measurables would suggest, Walsh should look to become more assertive as a secondary rim protector.

Driving

Walsh is able to make up for his pedestrian first step off the dribble with his incredibly flexible lower body. While his handle is somewhat basic at the moment, he uses wide crosses and sharp changes of direction to get by his defenders. His flexibility allows him to conceal the final destination of his dribble move until the last moment, unlike stiffer players. He accesses shin angles that are preposterous for a player as tall and long as Walsh. Once he’s able to create a lane for himself, Walsh’s elite stride length is hard to stop:

You’ll notice that most of these positive clips feature Walsh operating with plenty of space. When he’s tasked with creating with multiple defenders in the vicinity, Walsh’s flaws become more evident. His handle is too loose to navigate consistently in close quarters, often losing the ball when faced with defensive pressure. His coordination is an improvement area, as he’s often out of control when dribbling in tight spaces. He’ll need to tighten his handle to reach any sort of creation upside.

Though he’s not the flashiest passer, Walsh is very effective passing off of his own gravity. He has good feel for when he’s successfully drawn two defenders to the ball, and how he can manipulate their positioning to open up a scoring opportunity for a teammate. 

Jordan is at his best attacking in transition, where his long stride length and runway vertical leap are able to shine. He should be a lethal grab-and-go threat for Arkansas this year.

Shooting 

Walsh hasn’t been especially accurate from 3 to date (26.5% in his high school career per Cerebro). His energy transfer is fairly smooth, but when under duress, his lower body mechanics are often compromised. He’ll undoubtedly need to improve his accuracy as a shooter, but he isn’t shy pulling up from deep, even off the dribble. Walsh’s ambition from behind the arc is a good sign for his shooting projection:

Conclusion

Jordan Walsh has several enticing traits that suggest an NBA wing is in here somewhere, but it’s not as clear what that player will look like. Does his handle improve enough to be anything more than a closeout attacker on offense? If not, will his shot be good enough to make him a tenable off-ball player and stay on the court for his defensive impact? No matter how you slice it, Walsh’s pitch relies on significant in one area or another; still, he offers intriguing potential as a wing stopper with various offensive development pathways.

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