Malaki Branham

[SeattleJazzFan]

It's time he gets his own thread.

Top 50 kid coming out of HS, nice size for a SG and has had three straight monster games vs some of the better teams in the big ten.

31 on 10-14 vs illinois
27 on 9-13 vs indiana
22 on 9-13 vs purdue

13 ppg, 50% FGs, 47% from three - albeit on limited attempts - 60% TS on the season. there aren't many major college frosh guard/wings who have been as good as Branham over the course of the season. sort of a throwback type kid - watching him reminds me of rip hamilton to an extent - just a killer from the mid range. more of a crafty scorer than an explosive scorer. i don't see why he shouldn't be able to develop into a guy who can be adequately prolific from three eventually.

Kid is no joke.

[clyde21]

Most likely a 23 guy

[SeattleJazzFan]

Most likely a 23 guy

2-3 year guy? you may be right, but as a frosh playing the way he has been of late and with those shooting splits, i'm not so sure he isn't a mid to late first guy right now.

[clyde21]

Most likely a 23 guy

2-3 year guy? you may be right, but as a frosh playing the way he has been of late and with those shooting splits, i'm not so sure he isn't a mid to late first guy right now.

yea, he's good, some people already talking about him as a lotto guy in 23, we'll see.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Branham continues to play lights out basketball for Ohio State.

plus this was fun:

Watch on YouTube

[Ruzious]

Branham continues to play lights out basketball for Ohio State.

plus this was fun:

Watch on YouTube

Wow, i was not expecting that. He's gotta be aggressive like that more often. No more deferring to EJ - take over games. At least shoot more 3's.

[MemphisX]

Getting closer to becoming a '22 guy now. A good tourney run will cement it...

[realEAST]

For me, I have him in a group of young guards along with Blake Wesley, Bryce McGowens and Trevor Keels, as a guys who I'd probably pick in 20s, and he just might be my most favorite one among them. I think he has best combination of skills and physical tools of all of them, and I think he is second youngest behind Keels.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Branham continues to play lights out basketball for Ohio State.

plus this was fun:

Watch on YouTube

Wow, i was not expecting that. He's gotta be aggressive like that more often. No more deferring to EJ - take over games. At least shoot more 3's.

The last six or seven games he has started to do just that. Took 16 shots in that game and he’s playing like he expects to be on Lidell’s level - not really deferring to EJ.

[Ell Curry]

Quiet against Michigan but still had 18. Made some smart reads.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Quiet against Michigan but still had 18. Made some smart reads.

It was a fairly quiet game, but only 11 shots to get those 18 points.

[jezzerinho]

For those who have watched more Ohio St than I, he seems to have a serious case of tunnel vision in those clips, passing up some easy feeds to bigs or passes out of the paint for open 3 attempts.

I'm getting from some posts above that this is a recent thing and before he was more reserved. Does he have any playmaking chops at all or is that something he going to have to be taught?

His handle and craft on drives to the rim are impressive and there's some nice midrange touch. The jumper is very flat and his touch at the rim is a bit of a mixed bag. But he looks very comfortable with both hands and he's got some good body control under contact.

What's his deal with the tunnel vision going back to early season?

[Hal14]

For those who have watched more Ohio St than I, he seems to have a serious case of tunnel vision in those clips, passing up some easy feeds to bigs or passes out of the paint for open 3 attempts.

I'm getting from some posts above that this is a recent thing and before he was more reserved. Does he have any playmaking chops at all or is that something he going to have to be taught?

His handle and craft on drives to the rim are impressive and there's some nice midrange touch. The jumper is very flat and his touch at the rim is a bit of a mixed bag. But he looks very comfortable with both hands and he's got some good body control under contact.

What's his deal with the tunnel vision going back to early season?

There's only 1 clip that's been posted in this thread. I wouldn't really base anything off just 1 play.

In that 1 play, sure, yeah maybe he has a little tunnel vision but it's hard to argue with the result - completely posterizing 2 big Michigan St. defenders to bring the house down.

I've seen a lot of Ohio St. Branham seems to pretty much always make the right play. Really good feel for the game, knows when to pass, when to shoot and when to drive. I wouldn't call him an elite passer, but he's pretty good. Definitely good enough for a non-PG, who's just an 18 yr old freshman. His passing his good, not great. His defense is good, not great. Size and athleticism are good, not great. His shooting is really good, but it's on lower volume. If he was elite in some of these areas, he'd have a case for going top 10. Right now, I have him no. 14 on my big board.

When you look at size, athleticism, age, skill set and production, Branham has a case for being right there in the same tier as Johnny Davis and Mathurin.

[jezzerinho]

I should have said I watched a couple of his recent games. He's interesting. Like a ton of other kids in this draft there's a chance they could be the real star this year, more so than many of the favoured kids. Heaps of uncertainty this year. Scouts will earn their corn on this one.

[SeattleJazzFan]

I should have said I watched a couple of his recent games. He's interesting. Like a ton of other kids in this draft there's a chance they could be the real star this year, more so than many of the favoured kids. Heaps of uncertainty this year. Scouts will earn their corn on this one.

i've compared him to rip hamilton in this thread, yesterday he was compared to rip by one of the announcers, and it's an easy, perhaps even lazy comparison to make as they are both guys who thrive in the mid-range. he definitely is what he is at this point (which is an 18 year old so even typing that out seems unfair), but yeah, he isn't much of a playmaker at this point in his basketball life. he's a scorer all the way. i do agree with Hal that he isn't a bad passer - but at this point creating for teammates simply isn't what he does. if he's putting the ball on the floor, he's looking to pull up from 10-15 feet or get to the bucket. having said that, he is very much an unselfish player, a willing passer and does a pretty good job of getting his own within the offense.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Branham with 23 in the elimination game. Kid can play.