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This youngster (Oct '06) is popping off. Currently #5 on my Freshmen list. What do people think of him?

He’s okay. Too short and little to be a serious prospect

Good college player, dime a dozen NBA prospect.

azcatz11 wrote:He’s okay. Too short and little to be a serious prospect

For an 18 year old his frame is exquisite. Not sure what you’re looking at. His shoulders are already capped. This kid is going to be a bull.

BigGargamel wrote:Good college player, dime a dozen NBA prospect.

I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss him like this.

one of my favorite players in this class. Smoothest point guard I've seen in quite some time. Currently 2nd point guard on my board. It's funny people bringing up his size after simping on Reed Sheppard all last year. He's a good defender despite it. His shot is my only concern.

He has insane body control.

He moves so oddly that defenders can't help but foul him (which gives him a good bit of upside) but his jumpshot is completely busted and he has no future in the league at less at than a 37% three point shooter on high volume.

Obviously the 87% FT% shows he could have good touch, but man, that form is so awful.

Excited to watch him tonight.

His combination of speed and handle creativity is special to me. Gets to the rim pretty much whenever he wants. Good finishing touch with both hands. Despite a still developing frame, he's finished with contact well and overall plays with much more physicality than you would expect just looking at him. Really good pull up shooter going to his left. Knows how to use his body along with his handle to create space. The FT% gives you belief the 3 pointer could come along at some point. Defensively I think he's really smart and has great hands. Standout dig defender and has been since HS. Active and smart on the weakside too whether it's splitting the difference and getting steals but also not afraid to crack down and be physical in the interior if he's the low man.

There are nits you can pick just like with all these guys though. The process shooting off the catch is really slow and at times will turn down open looks. Prefers his left hand pretty heavily and seems to be more dynamic going that way. Vision seems much better as well. Haven't tracked it but just based on what I've seen a lot of his turnovers are going to his right vs pressure in the pick and roll or driving right without vision of where the next play is. Jump passes get him in trouble a well. In general too he's a guy that seems to have belief that he can attack in pretty much any situation and find a solution which will put himself in some really tough spots.

All things considered though, I think there's an easy upside argument to put him top 5 in this class and maybe top 3 after Flagg and Harper.

Seems good.

azcatz11 wrote:He’s okay. Too short and little to be a serious prospect

Hmm wonder if you still think this.

somehow i still haven't seen this effer play. not since HS anyway. i remember him being little, but he's listed at 6'4" - if he's close to that with the way he's producing, he has to be in play for top 10. that FT rate tho. and his excellent FT% gives some hope for his three point shooting which is okay, but seems to be the elephant in the room (along with his size) right now.

i just realized he's also one of the youngest OADs in the class. just turned 18 in October. there is a lot to like.

SeattleJazzFan wrote:somehow i still haven't seen this effer play. not since HS anyway. i remember him being little, but he's listed at 6'4" - if he's close to that with the way he's producing, he has to be in play for top 10. that FT rate tho. and his excellent FT% gives some hope for his three point shooting which is okay, but seems to be the elephant in the room (along with his size) right now.

i just realized he's also one of the youngest OADs in the class. just turned 18 in October. there is a lot to like.

Didn’t know about his age. Big plus.

Kid plays bigger than his frame.

Heard someone mention a college Dame. I can actually see it. He’s a gamer. Rises in big games and moments.

Just got done watching the game. He looks so young on close ups lol but he has serious game. He's thin but not weak, really fast with good ball skills.

This all comes down to his jumpshot. His movement is so bizarre that he's unguardable if he fixes that horrible shooting form.

Finally caught a full game, very, very fun to watch. His speed reminds me of Jeff Teague back in the day when he would just go 0-100 instantly. Better handle than Teague, though. I think the shot will improve, not sure where I'll have him relative to other non-Harper PGs by the end of the year, but for now clustered with Fland.

babyjax13 wrote:Finally caught a full game, very, very fun to watch. His speed reminds me of Jeff Teague back in the day when he would just go 0-100 instantly. Better handle than Teague, though. I think the shot will improve, not sure where I'll have him relative to other non-Harper PGs by the end of the year, but for now clustered with Fland.

I think that's reasonable. I'm inclined to have him above Fland but that might just be personal preference. He feels a bit more boom-or-bust to me. Ceiling is very high but his style of playing seems to me like it requires him to be good enough in a primary role or else there are better options out there to play starter minutes. At the top of the draft, though, I'm inclined to gamble on his ceiling.

Fun question: how much lower do you have Philon compared to Fland and Fears? Philon is fascinating to me. Such an under control player and so smooth with the ball inside the paint, and he's probably the best defender among the three. But the shooting is obviously a question mark and he might lack a bit of the ‘non-stop creation’ ability that especially Fears has. So I personally still have him lower than these two for those reasons but damn if he isn't making a strong case for himself.

edit: Oh, and let me promote an underrated YT channel I recently came across: https://www.youtube.com/@cashiggy3219

If you don't have the time to watch full games of some players, you might be able to find good videos on them on this channel (I love that they not only show boxscore events but actually add some footage you'd never come across in highlight videos or even some scouting videos, including on defense – gives you fairly quickly a good feel for the player and that helps me decide who to focus on more extensively).

The-Power wrote:

babyjax13 wrote:Finally caught a full game, very, very fun to watch. His speed reminds me of Jeff Teague back in the day when he would just go 0-100 instantly. Better handle than Teague, though. I think the shot will improve, not sure where I'll have him relative to other non-Harper PGs by the end of the year, but for now clustered with Fland.

I think that's reasonable. I'm inclined to have him above Fland but that might just be personal preference. He feels a bit more boom-or-bust to me. Ceiling is very high but his style of playing seems to me like it requires him to be good enough in a primary role or else there are better options out there to play starter minutes. At the top of the draft, though, I'm inclined to gamble on his ceiling.

Fun question: how much lower do you have Philon compared to Fland and Fears? Philon is fascinating to me. Such an under control player and so smooth with the ball inside the paint, and he's probably the best defender among the three. But the shooting is obviously a question mark and he might lack a bit of the ‘non-stop creation’ ability that especially Fears has. So I personally still have him lower than these two for those reasons but damn if he isn't making a strong case for himself.

edit: Oh, and let me promote an underrated YT channel I recently came across: https://www.youtube.com/@cashiggy3219

If you don't have the time to watch full games of some players, you might be able to find good videos on them on this channel (I love that they not only show boxscore events but actually add some footage you'd never come across in highlight videos or even some scouting videos, including on defense – gives you fairly quickly a good feel for the player and that helps me decide who to focus on more extensively).

I've only caught one Alabama game and he didn't make a huge impression, other than he seemed small and the offense seemed more organized with him. I'll definitely catch him more since I am a graduate of roll tide itself.

You can tell he's made a study of Damian Lillard. I like the smooth change of speeds and his ability to score at three levels. I worry about his adjustment to the size and athleticism of NBA defenders.

Catchall wrote:You can tell he's made a study of Damian Lillard. I like the smooth change of speeds and his ability to score at three levels. I worry about his adjustment to the size and athleticism of NBA defenders.

I don’t. I think the space and pace will help him more than the size and athleticism will hurt him.