B-BALL BreakDown: Brandon Ingram

[Slava]

Watch on YouTube

[Sedale Threatt]

I've met this guy, and he's kind of a loon. But I dig his videos. I really like Brandon's game. He just needs to physically mature, get more experience and shot repetition. He'll do a couple of move a game where I think, that's a money shot for this kid. He's just so long.

[danfantastk32]

Nice vid. Thanks for the share.

Lotta good moves there. I agree with the narrator. Just gotta give him some time to 'all grows up'. When he does, he has the skills, the athleticism, and the length to be a great player.

[Landsberger]

His game is going to be less about scoring and more about all-around play IMHO. He's got the frame and athleticism to be a defensive stopper and is adept enough at handling the ball to be a point forward. The comparisons to Durant are not accurate. I don't see him being a 30ppg player. I do see him filing the box score like an early AK-47 type or Shawn Marion.

He needs some strength and experience to get there. I really like his court awareness on both ends. That's an innate trait that will make the rest of his development a lot easier.

[Pythagoras]

His game is going to be less about scoring and more about all-around play IMHO. He's got the frame and athleticism to be a defensive stopper and is adept enough at handling the ball to be a point forward. The comparisons to Durant are not accurate. I don't see him being a 30ppg player. I do see him filing the box score like an early AK-47 type or Shawn Marion.

He needs some strength and experience to get there. I really like his court awareness on both ends. That's an innate trait that will make the rest of his development a lot easier.

That was kind of my view of him coming out of college. I watched Durant in college, and I remember thinking he was one of the most talented natural scorers I had ever seen. Watching Ingram, I just didn't see the production or game that would suggest he would be a 30ppg Durant type scorer at this level. I kind of viewed him as more of a 20-8-3 guy with elite defense...

Now having said that, D'angelo has completely blown my expectations as a scorer away. That guy looks like he can be a 25ppg scorer in his prime, which I didn't see coming. I thought he would be more in the 18 - 20ppg range, kind of like Chauncey Billups. I clearly underestimated Russell's offensive potential, and so now I'm hesitant to cap Ingram's.

[Landsberger]

His game is going to be less about scoring and more about all-around play IMHO. He's got the frame and athleticism to be a defensive stopper and is adept enough at handling the ball to be a point forward. The comparisons to Durant are not accurate. I don't see him being a 30ppg player. I do see him filing the box score like an early AK-47 type or Shawn Marion.

He needs some strength and experience to get there. I really like his court awareness on both ends. That's an innate trait that will make the rest of his development a lot easier.

That was kind of my view of him coming out of college. I watched Durant in college, and I remember thinking he was one of the most talented natural scorers I had ever seen. Watching Ingram, I just didn't see the production or game that would suggest he would be a 30ppg Durant type scorer at this level. I kind of viewed him as more of a 20-8-3 guy with elite defense...

Now having said that, D'angelo has completely blown my expectations as a scorer away. That guy looks like he can be a 25ppg scorer in his prime, which I didn't see coming. I thought he would be more in the 18 - 20ppg range, kind of like Chauncey Billups. I clearly underestimated Russell's offensive potential, and so now I'm hesitant to cap Ingram's.

I don't see that level of scoring from Russell..... at least I hope not. He is not going to be an efficient scorer at this level because he has issues creating high percentage shots for himself. I see him as more of a volume shot scorer that has streaks of high scoring ability but I don't see him consistently shooting over 45% unless he takes some big steps forward in his ability to create easy shots for himself.

This offense was supposed to be made for him yet he's either not found his rhythm or maybe it's not. He's hovering around 40% even after a huge shooting game. Comparatively, Randle and Clarkson have had a much easier time getting higher percentage shots and their shooting % is trending up nicely.

As I've said before here, I'm less optimistic about Russell than I am about some of the other younger guys. I think he has the potential to be a solid 2 or combo guard but I think he will have issues excelling at PG at this level.

I'll be kind here.... he's got an even longer road ahead to be even an average defender at this level. Unfortunately effort is what seems to be holding him back the most. To be fair, I don't see any of the younger guards having a good grasp of the fundamentals of on ball defense.... maybe it's not being implemented yet by the staff.

[Pythagoras]

His game is going to be less about scoring and more about all-around play IMHO. He's got the frame and athleticism to be a defensive stopper and is adept enough at handling the ball to be a point forward. The comparisons to Durant are not accurate. I don't see him being a 30ppg player. I do see him filing the box score like an early AK-47 type or Shawn Marion.

He needs some strength and experience to get there. I really like his court awareness on both ends. That's an innate trait that will make the rest of his development a lot easier.

That was kind of my view of him coming out of college. I watched Durant in college, and I remember thinking he was one of the most talented natural scorers I had ever seen. Watching Ingram, I just didn't see the production or game that would suggest he would be a 30ppg Durant type scorer at this level. I kind of viewed him as more of a 20-8-3 guy with elite defense...

Now having said that, D'angelo has completely blown my expectations as a scorer away. That guy looks like he can be a 25ppg scorer in his prime, which I didn't see coming. I thought he would be more in the 18 - 20ppg range, kind of like Chauncey Billups. I clearly underestimated Russell's offensive potential, and so now I'm hesitant to cap Ingram's.

I don't see that level of scoring from Russell..... at least I hope not. He is not going to be an efficient scorer at this level because he has issues creating high percentage shots for himself. I see him as more of a volume shot scorer that has streaks of high scoring ability but I don't see him consistently shooting over 45% unless he takes some big steps forward in his ability to create easy shots for himself.

This offense was supposed to be made for him yet he's either not found his rhythm or maybe it's not. He's hovering around 40% even after a huge shooting game. Comparatively, Randle and Clarkson have had a much easier time getting higher percentage shots and their shooting % is trending up nicely.

As I've said before here, I'm less optimistic about Russell than I am about some of the other younger guys. I think he has the potential to be a solid 2 or combo guard but I think he will have issues excelling at PG at this level.

I'll be kind here.... he's got an even longer road ahead to be even an average defender at this level. Unfortunately effort is what seems to be holding him back the most. To be fair, I don't see any of the younger guards having a good grasp of the fundamentals of on ball defense.... maybe it's not being implemented yet by the staff.

Wow, I respect your opinion, but I strongly disagree. I think Russell absolutely has the skillset, and the early production, to suggest he can be an efficient 25 ppg scorer at this level. His shot is fluid, he can get it off over anybody, and he can get into the lane with great craftiness. Offensively, he very much reminds me of a young Paul Pierce with his shooting/craftiness (blashphemous, I know).

I'm not going to trash Clarkson or Randle, because I like both guys and think they were both great picks. That said, neither guy is anywhere near as talented as Russell offensively, and quite frankly I'm blown away you made the comparison.

[Landsberger]

That was kind of my view of him coming out of college. I watched Durant in college, and I remember thinking he was one of the most talented natural scorers I had ever seen. Watching Ingram, I just didn't see the production or game that would suggest he would be a 30ppg Durant type scorer at this level. I kind of viewed him as more of a 20-8-3 guy with elite defense...

Now having said that, D'angelo has completely blown my expectations as a scorer away. That guy looks like he can be a 25ppg scorer in his prime, which I didn't see coming. I thought he would be more in the 18 - 20ppg range, kind of like Chauncey Billups. I clearly underestimated Russell's offensive potential, and so now I'm hesitant to cap Ingram's.

I don't see that level of scoring from Russell..... at least I hope not. He is not going to be an efficient scorer at this level because he has issues creating high percentage shots for himself. I see him as more of a volume shot scorer that has streaks of high scoring ability but I don't see him consistently shooting over 45% unless he takes some big steps forward in his ability to create easy shots for himself.

This offense was supposed to be made for him yet he's either not found his rhythm or maybe it's not. He's hovering around 40% even after a huge shooting game. Comparatively, Randle and Clarkson have had a much easier time getting higher percentage shots and their shooting % is trending up nicely.

As I've said before here, I'm less optimistic about Russell than I am about some of the other younger guys. I think he has the potential to be a solid 2 or combo guard but I think he will have issues excelling at PG at this level.

I'll be kind here.... he's got an even longer road ahead to be even an average defender at this level. Unfortunately effort is what seems to be holding him back the most. To be fair, I don't see any of the younger guards having a good grasp of the fundamentals of on ball defense.... maybe it's not being implemented yet by the staff.

Wow, I respect your opinion, but I strongly disagree. I think Russell absolutely has the skillset, and the early production, to suggest he can be an efficient 25 ppg scorer at this level. His shot is fluid, he can get it off over anybody, and he can get into the lane with great craftiness. Offensively, he's very reminds me very much of a young Paul Pierce with his shooting/craftiness (blashphemous, I know).

I'm not going to trash Clarkson or Randle, because I like both guys and think they were both great picks. That said, neither guy is anywhere near as talented as Russell offensively, and quite frankly I'm blown away you made the comparison.

No problem. I go on what I've seen not on what I want to see. He's having issues creating and making high percentage shots. He could change it he might not. His shooting percentage has not improved. It may or it may not. I'd love it if he turns out to be a 25ppg guy that shoots 47% but nothing he did here or in college suggests he can be that efficient. He's young for sure and it can change.

I didn't compare JC directly to Russell. Most here seem to be one or the other and see it as a competition of some sort. Clarkston is a great piece but he's not a centerpiece by any stretch either.

We've got a good young core. We need to let them play together a while longer to see what we have truly gotten over the last few years.

[lake_show]

That was kind of my view of him coming out of college. I watched Durant in college, and I remember thinking he was one of the most talented natural scorers I had ever seen. Watching Ingram, I just didn't see the production or game that would suggest he would be a 30ppg Durant type scorer at this level. I kind of viewed him as more of a 20-8-3 guy with elite defense...

Now having said that, D'angelo has completely blown my expectations as a scorer away. That guy looks like he can be a 25ppg scorer in his prime, which I didn't see coming. I thought he would be more in the 18 - 20ppg range, kind of like Chauncey Billups. I clearly underestimated Russell's offensive potential, and so now I'm hesitant to cap Ingram's.

I don't see that level of scoring from Russell..... at least I hope not. He is not going to be an efficient scorer at this level because he has issues creating high percentage shots for himself. I see him as more of a volume shot scorer that has streaks of high scoring ability but I don't see him consistently shooting over 45% unless he takes some big steps forward in his ability to create easy shots for himself.

This offense was supposed to be made for him yet he's either not found his rhythm or maybe it's not. He's hovering around 40% even after a huge shooting game. Comparatively, Randle and Clarkson have had a much easier time getting higher percentage shots and their shooting % is trending up nicely.

As I've said before here, I'm less optimistic about Russell than I am about some of the other younger guys. I think he has the potential to be a solid 2 or combo guard but I think he will have issues excelling at PG at this level.

I'll be kind here.... he's got an even longer road ahead to be even an average defender at this level. Unfortunately effort is what seems to be holding him back the most. To be fair, I don't see any of the younger guards having a good grasp of the fundamentals of on ball defense.... maybe it's not being implemented yet by the staff.

Wow, I respect your opinion, but I strongly disagree. I think Russell absolutely has the skillset, and the early production, to suggest he can be an efficient 25 ppg scorer at this level. His shot is fluid, he can get it off over anybody, and he can get into the lane with great craftiness. Offensively, he's very reminds me very much of a young Paul Pierce with his shooting/craftiness (blashphemous, I know).

I'm not going to trash Clarkson or Randle, because I like both guys and think they were both great picks. That said, neither guy is anywhere near as talented as Russell offensively, and quite frankly I'm blown away you made the comparison.

Completley agree. His shot is so smooth it's insane. Offensively... I think you're right.

[lake_show]

I think we're strating to see ingrams strength be an issue. He's already a stellar defensive player but when he gets into the lane he struggles to get up a good shot because he can't really power his shot through the contact. Or, even getting into the lane he doesnt seem comfortable using his body to protect the ball. He's all arms right now. Gotta get him some cheese burgers.

Defensively he's great tho.