James Bouknight

[Stillwater]

hes done

[jman3134]

Cramps?

[DCasey91]

Is it wrong to say skinny Jamal Murray is his comp?durability too. Both are all star type talents from the eye either way.

Lavine just looks taller (Long as hell 6”5” or something is up lol).

Either way could be the draft steal. 20+ppg scorer basically as soon as he’s acclimatized. This draft is loaded

[EvanZ]

Is it wrong to say skinny Jamal Murray is his comp?durability too. Both are all star type talents from the eye either way.

Lavine just looks taller (Long as hell 6”5” or something is up lol).

Either way could be the draft steal. 20+ppg scorer basically as soon as he’s acclimatized. This draft is loaded

Why not just say Jeremy Lamb?

[SmoothLefty21]

I see ESPN/Draft Express has Bouknight all the way down to #17. That's a bit confusing, especially after watching Mike Schmidt's interview with him where they went over film. Bouknight is one of the more polarizing players this year, people love him or are indifferent. #17 is absolutely insane though.

I still have him as the #2 off-ball guard after Jalen Green going in the 6-10 range. I think the hill I'm most willing to die on this draft is Bouknight vs Moody and Keon Johnson. I'm in on the Zach LaVine type of comps while being underwhelmed with Moody.

[EvanZ]

Because he didn't go deep in the tourney. These people are lemmings.

[SNPA]

I see ESPN/Draft Express has Bouknight all the way down to #17. That's a bit confusing, especially after watching Mike Schmidt's interview with him where they went over film. Bouknight is one of the more polarizing players this year, people love him or are indifferent. #17 is absolutely insane though.

I still have him as the #2 off-ball guard after Jalen Green going in the 6-10 range. I think the hill I'm most willing to die on this draft is Bouknight vs Moody and Keon Johnson. I'm in on the Zach LaVine type of comps while being underwhelmed with Moody.

I’ve seen the highlights that scream LaVine too, he looks like a superstar scorer in some film. But his assist to turnover ratio is bad and his three point shooting this year isn’t good (FT still good). I bet teams are wondering if he is Lavine or more Crawford. He’ll go higher than 17 but 6-10 I can see GM’s being scared. At worst IMO he is a microwave 6th man.

[SmoothLefty21]

After he returned from left elbow surgery his shot was a mess, I think he shot only 27% from deep once he came back. I don't know if he lost his legs or if the surgery bothered him overall or what but I don't think you can read too much into this season's 3PT%. UConn also used him as a PnR ballhandler more frequently (and their offense stunk) and he took more forced/bailout threes at the end of the shot clock. I'm not worried about his jumper at the next level. He shot 35% from deep as a freshman and his form is good but needs polish, especially his footwork.

AST:TO, definitely a concern. As you said he may only be a microwave 6th man. His potential as a playmaker is a question mark but the same goes for Moody, Keon, etc. He can make basic reads right now. UConn had no consistent shooters and played two traditional bigs--their floor spacing and pace was something awful.

It's tough to compare someone like Bouknight, who was by far his team's best scoring option and was the intense focal point of opposing gameplans--Maryland and Creighton straight disrespecting UConn's supporting cast to contain Bouknight--with guys like Moody and Keon who were simply cogs in their offense. Stuff didn't run through them, opposing teams didn't sell out to stop them. Envisioning Bouknight in an NBA offense with space, room to operate, etc...I think he's going to open a lot of eyes next year.

[Sea2003]

Bouknight is an interesting prospect. Kinda reminds me of Lavine. I think he's a top 10 prospect.

[TheBunk]

I can't imagine watching film on this guy and being like "hmmm...i'm not sure"

[EMG518]

I can't imagine watching film on this guy and being like "hmmm...i'm not sure"

I wouldn't take him top 20. I think there is a real possibility he won't be good in the NBA.

[clyde21]

i mean I have Bouknight 14th, so I don't think 17 is that crazy, Bouk projects to be a strong scorer in the NBA pretty clearly but a lot of the ancillary stuff is missing, his assist rate for a guard with his usage is pretty terrible, has a negative A/TO ratio, is shooting 29% from 3 this year and defensively he's pretty meh for a guy with his athletic profile.

i'm not gonna fight anyone who has him top10 either, tho, the functional athleticism is real and he'll be a legit 3 level scorer in the NBA, but his role in the NBA will depend on how his other skills develop. if they don't, he's likely a Jordan Clarkson bench scorer type as his best role.

[SmoothLefty21]

Read on Twitter

[MemphisX]

Read on Twitter

Must be the skin tone

[jman3134]

This really is no surprise. Chemistry is a thing, but when you miss a big portion of the season, it can sometimes mess with the team dynamic.

With that said, his weaknesses were on full display in the Big East tournament and the NCAAs, where he played a ton of hero ball. It was mainly a mental thing though. Super elite talent and worthy of top 10 on eye test imo, but the in-game personality profiling are what I would be looking at if I am an NBA team.

[SmoothLefty21]

With that said, his weaknesses were on full display in the Big East tournament and the NCAAs, where he played a ton of hero ball.

This is why I'm high on him, those last few games don't concern me because he pretty much had to play hero ball. UConn's offensive system is basic and their supporting cast on the offensive side of the ball was inconsistent and often quite poor. Them asking Bouknight to go 1 on 5 was often their best offensive option, sad as that may be. They did nothing to get him easy looks. He will never see the type of defensive attention in the NBA that he saw down the stretch of this college season.

[jman3134]

It really wasn't their best option - Bouknight forced it instead of creating for his teammates. It was the opposite way around. And I am a fan of James. It was just awful IQ. Drive and kick to open shooters. A few of their usual scorers had bad games, but RJ Cole did not touch the ball nearly enough.

JB spent more time arguing calls than getting back on defense. It was pretty awful. Increased spacing will be good for him, but when the game is on the line, will he go 1 on 5 again in the NBA?

[BoyzNTheHood]

Hero ball is a huge red flag to me. The talent is undeniable, but he'll definitely need to change his mindset to become more of a team guy unless he's willing to put in the work to practice the tough shots he takes like Kobe did.

[Stillwater]

Hero ball is a huge red flag to me. The talent is undeniable, but he'll definitely need to change his mindset to become more of a team guy unless he's willing to put in the work to practice the tough shots he takes like Kobe did.

sixth man type imo with need for a lot more work on shot selection and % , right now overrated by most media outlets probably

[NYCbeadyrae]

Bouknight is going top 7, maybe top 5. In front of scouts yesterday he hit 19 straight 3s and cleared a 63 inch box. There’s no way he’s getting out of mid lottery. If they want devin Booker he is the closest thing.