Rui Hachimura

[verbal8]

Kevin Broom's YODA rated Hachimura as the 5th best prospect.

On the other hand, Dat2U's tier system ranked him as "deep bench" guy in the 25-43 range.

Most mocks had him going in the 12-19 range.

Are Kevin Broom and CCJ, secretly the Wizard's shadow GM committee?

[verbal8]

Good to see they did their due diligence:

Read on Twitter

This is pretty concerning. I get that you don't always get a work-out with a guy who you end up drafting, but I would think at least talking to a player is a no-brainer. Especially since they had him highly rated compared to the consensus, that meant going into the draft, there was a very high chance of him being the pick.

[I_Like_Dirt]

The Spurs wanted Hachimura, and they passed on Clarke. Interesting.

Yeah, too bad they don't know much about talent identification.

I mean, the Spurs drafted Milutinov over Nance and Harrell. They aren't perfect and do seem to pass over some of the hustling rebounders. I don't see it as a reason to dislike Clarke necessarily. It probably speaks well of Rui if true. I think both guys were solid prospects in their own right.

[payitforward]

That is kind of funny.... I knew Nance was going to be good, but Harrell? No way. I didn't think he had much game. Definitely wrong that time!

[queridiculo]

I wish Hachimura all the best, seems like a good kid to root for, but at the end of the day the pick is once again symptomatic for the lack of imagination that has plagued this franchise forever now.

Let's say Washington did have him as their 4th highest prospect, did he really grade out that much better than the guys they had on their board 5 through 10?

This was a one player draft, not buying the hype on Morant, so this would have seemed like a perfect opportunity to move down and pick up another prospect along the way.

Hearing Sheppard brag about other teams wanting to move up to snag Hachimura sounds more like an indictment than an endorsement to me.

The Hornets wanted him? Fine, PJ Washington is still on the board. Defense and rebounding are two things our interim GM mentioned about his selection, Washington projects better at both on top of being a superior athlete.

Say you're married to the forward slot, there's still Doumbouya, Okeke, Williams and Clarke available all ranging from young potential, to workmen like and seasoned.

Solid prospects, nobody would have murdered the Wizards over picking one of those guys in the late teens. Heck, moving down to the 15-19 range to select Clarke probably would have been the best value Washington could have hoped for with a single pick.

Little risk, high potential for reward going with this guy if defense and rebounding really is so important.

That's what I don't understand about the Hachimura pick. What exactly is the Wizards plan, add enough guys so that you can continue to lose games 124 to 118?

I wasn't a fan of Bol Bol as a lottery pick, but if you told me Washington came away from this draft with Clarke, Bol Bol and Schofield I would have been impressed.

[Wizardspride]

Good to see they did their due diligence:

Read on Twitter

This is pretty concerning. I get that you don't always get a work-out with a guy who you end up drafting, but I would think at least talking to a player is a no-brainer. Especially since they had him highly rated compared to the consensus, that meant going into the draft, there was a very high chance of him being the pick.

Once again:


Washington did not personally interview or work out Hachimura during the pre-draft process. Team officials, however, attended his agency pro day and interviewed his coaches at Gonzaga. Before their spring reconnaissance, the Wizards scouted Hachimura during his three years in college, and interim president Tommy Sheppard’s connection goes back even further to a Basketball Without Borders camp.

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

Kevin Broom's YODA rated Hachimura as the 5th best prospect.

On the other hand, Dat2U's tier system ranked him as "deep bench" guy in the 25-43 range.

Most mocks had him going in the 12-19 range.

Are Kevin Broom and CCJ, secretly the Wizard's shadow GM committee?

Who is Kevin Broom and what does 'YODA' even stand for?

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

Good to see they did their due diligence:

Read on Twitter

This is pretty concerning. I get that you don't always get a work-out with a guy who you end up drafting, but I would think at least talking to a player is a no-brainer. Especially since they had him highly rated compared to the consensus, that meant going into the draft, there was a very high chance of him being the pick.

I think you're being a little dramatic.

Why is this 'pretty concerning'? What would talking to Hachimura have proven? What did not talking to Hachimura pre-draft suggest?

If Hachimura was their target the whole time, like Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and R.J. Barrett were the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Knicks, respectively, and they were confident in what they were getting, then why would it be necessary for them to talk to him?

The way I think of it, a meeting with Hachimura was avoided, as to not tip off any other teams who may have been interested in him, that he was who they were targeting at 9...after all, he was highly rated by them compared to the consensus.

Highly rated, highly coveted.

[queridiculo]

Kevin Broom's YODA rated Hachimura as the 5th best prospect.

On the other hand, Dat2U's tier system ranked him as "deep bench" guy in the 25-43 range.

Most mocks had him going in the 12-19 range.

Are Kevin Broom and CCJ, secretly the Wizard's shadow GM committee?

Who is Kevin Broom and what does 'YODA' even stand for?

https://kevinbroom.com/2012/06/28/the-draft-according-to-yoda-45/

[Shoe]

Hachimura is a future all-star. It's time to Root for Rui.

[DCZards]

I wish Hachimura all the best, seems like a good kid to root for, but at the end of the day the pick is once again symptomatic for the lack of imagination that has plagued this franchise forever now.

Let's say Washington did have him as their 4th highest prospect, did he really grade out that much better than the guys they had on their board 5 through 10?

This was a one player draft, not buying the hype on Morant, so this would have seemed like a perfect opportunity to move down and pick up another prospect along the way.

Hearing Sheppard brag about other teams wanting to move up to snag Hachimura sounds more like an indictment than an endorsement to me.

The Hornets wanted him? Fine, PJ Washington is still on the board. Defense and rebounding are two things our interim GM mentioned about his selection, Washington projects better at both on top of being a superior athlete.

Say you're married to the forward slot, there's still Doumbouya, Okeke, Williams and Clarke available all ranging from young potential, to workmen like and seasoned.

Solid prospects, nobody would have murdered the Wizards over picking one of those guys in the late teens. Heck, moving down to the 15-19 range to select Clarke probably would have been the best value Washington could have hoped for with a single pick.

Little risk, high potential for reward going with this guy if defense and rebounding really is so important.

That's what I don't understand about the Hachimura pick. What exactly is the Wizards plan, add enough guys so that you can continue to lose games 124 to 118?

I wasn't a fan of Bol Bol as a lottery pick, but if you told me Washington came away from this draft with Clarke, Bol Bol and Schofield I would have been impressed.

Don’t disagree with the trade down philosophy. But when you’re dealing with 30 NBA teams and at least that number of different scenarios you really have to be an insider to know for sure what the Zards were being offered in a trade down, and if it was the kind of trade down that they—or any of us—would find acceptable.

Yes, reportedly the Hornets wanted Rui but all the Hornets really had to offer to the Zards (at least in this draft) was the 12th pick and their 2nd round pick (#36). Would that have been enough to pass on Hachimura, a player that the Zards, Hornets—and apparently some other teams—really wanted? I don’t think so.

It could turn out that the Zards ended up with just as good of a haul without trading down. Hachimura is a player they had rated highly and they got him. Some draft experts had Admiral Schofield rated as a possible late first round pick. The Zards got him with the 42nd pick. (I think Admiral is going to be one of the steals of this draft. But we’ll see.)

And the PG the Zards signed from Va. Tech, Justin Robinson, is on some lists as one of the top 4 or 5 undrafted players. He’s essentially a second round quality pick up.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

How about this for a comp for Hachimura ?

Otto Porter !!


What about....

Rudy Gay ?



How about ...

Juwan Howard ??

[TGW]

Japanese Rui fan posted some great highlights (and lowlights) of Rui's games:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb-vnfNYvSUTRSAR4y6sEmA/videos

Like others have said, he has tantalizing strengths, and glaring weaknesses. The positive is that offensively, he'll be ready to contribute immediately. He can score at all levels, and he'll be efficient doing it. He also plays with a high motor, and will definitely come to camp in shape. He finishes above the rim and has an excellent touch 18 feet in.

However, his issues on the defensive end are obvious. Defensively, he gets abused, whether it's guarding his man in the post or switching off on small guards (he got destroyed by Pepperdine's point guard, Colbey Ross repeatedly) and he struggles with rotations. That will keep him off the court during the closing of games. Offensively, he'll put his head down and just run over people...he'll consistently miss the open man in the high-post and tends to hog the ball and take bad shots.

Overall, he's a solid player. Needs a lot of work on the defensive end.

[prime1time]

People may not agree with me, but I simply don't see how with current NBA spacing and teams tendency to switch everything, Hachi won't be a problem. It should come as no shock that the Spurs were really interested in this kid.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2809276-rui-hachimura-is-home-at-lastark

Few blew the final whistle on Gonzaga's basketball practice more than 20 minutes ago, but Rui Hachimura hasn't stopped shooting. Few, Gonzaga's head coach, has moved from the floor to the stands to talk with a scout from the San Antonio Spurs. And Hachimura, who'd been tipped off to the scout's attendance before practice, is giving the pair plenty to discuss.

One minute, he's calling for the ball from well beyond the college three-point line to show how his catch-and-shoot game could extend to NBA range. The next, he's dribble-driving hard into the key only to slam on the brakes, throw himself in reverse and swish a fadeaway jumper. And now he's taking off from damn near the free-throw line and gliding to the rim with such grace that a casual observer could conclude that this dunk is effortless.

He's just starting to scratch the surface. At Gonzaga he faced double teams and multiple defenders in the paint consistently. NBA has way more spacing. His skill and nuance in the post right now make it necessary to send help if you get caught with a guard or small wing on him.

Last year was probably kind of awkward for him because he just added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason. It takes time to learn how to use your strength properly. Strength is overlooked as an NBA skill because most of the strong NBA players have no body control. That won't be the case with Rui. When he starts to attack from the outside, he'll be able to use his long strides and wingspan to both get by the initial defender and then finish over the help defender.

Think about this, his first season at Gonzaga he was learning the language.

Basketball verbiage was another hurdle, but he slowly caught on. Few estimated Hachimura’s level of understanding was 20 to 30 percent by the end of his freshman year, 60 to 70 percent last year, and “now he’s clipping along at 90 percent.”

Last season, Hachimura was the Bulldogs' sixth man, averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game. He wasn't a star yet, but when he was on the court, he used the most possessions (24.0 percent) of any rotation player and had the team's second-highest offensive rating (120.2), according to KenPom.com

So to recap his first two years he spent just learning english. Between his second and third year he added 15 pounds of muscle, won the SF of the year and was a consensus all-american. This will be the first offseason that he can legit focus on only basketball.

[prime1time]

How about this for a comp for Hachimura ?

Otto Porter !!


What about....

Rudy Gay ?



How about ...

Juwan Howard ??

The Otto Porter comp makes no sense. Otto was rail thin. Rui's built like a tank. The Rudy Gay comparison is more apt, but is doesn't capture defining essence of Rui which is hard work and determination. Knowing what you know about Rudy Gay and how his career has gone what happens if you put Rudy Gay in Rui's shoes? Does Rudy take the SAT 5 times? Does Rudy learn English in 2 years? Are Rudy Gay and Rui similar physically? Yes, but their mentalities are completely different. And there games are completely different. Rui as a sophmore with a 24% usage rate was significantly more efficient than Rudy Gay. Then in his junior year, with an even higher usage rate and significantly more playing time, his efficiency increased. As far as the Juwan Howard comparison goes, he was before my time.

[doclinkin]

With his highly proficient mid-range game and equivalent size and currently deficient defense Rui reminds me most of a discount Carmelo Anthony. A skilled scorer who will have to be remarkably efficient on the offensive end to make up for his shortcomings at the defensive end. Hibachi Hachi hot.

On the upside though. Distinct from Melo Rui seems to delight in physical play and by all accounts is a motivated worker off the court. Melo had an opposite vibe, reaching his peak early then coasting and never adjusting to a changing league.

To me it’s this physicality and motor that are the most hopeful traits of this talented player. Aside from his athletic gifts, under Mark Few and his big man factory, Hachimura has learned low post moves that are skillful and reliable but out of fashion in the current era. He added this skill set in a short time. In the NBA Few players utilize a back to the basket game. So fewer players practice and compete against it. We have seen in these playoffs though that reliable interior scoring and a deadly midrange game become significant weapons to stall out the teams that rely on a streakier pace and space strategy. And with the long offensive rebounds available with 3pt attacks a quick midrange jumper that goes in is a nifty consolation prize for a missed 3FG.

I have no problems with Rui’s offensive game and upside. He’s going to be fun to watch. By the account of Mark Few and teammates he is adding new things to his game all the time. And as big and athletic as he is, he’s going to get even stronger and even more of a bully at that end of the floor.

Flipside is: he doesn’t have a team game. Tunnel vision to the basket. So he will attack a crowd instead of passing. He reacts quickly and can power thru or leap over or work around many defenses before they react. But. Predictable means defensible. Against the bigger NBA talent and faster/savvier defenses he’s going to turn the ball over more on double teams and pick up offensive fouls on charging calls. He will show exciting games early until the scouting reports come out on him.

No awareness of where he should be on defense means when he struggles on offense his coaches will pull him, since he will seem lost or useless at both ends for a minute.

The key then lies in his willingness to work with his teammates and develop necessary skills. His defense is fixable. He’s got some habits of posture and footwork that can be cured in one offseason to make him a useful defender even if his awareness is lacking. With his frame and athleticism he can accidentally defend well just with a wider stance, active feet, lateral speed drills and busy hands. Elastic band work on his shuffle drills and a coach who tells him to straighten his back when he gets in his stance will help.

With his advanced footwork on offense developing so quickly, there’s no doubt in my mind he could become an excellent defensive rebounder. He seems to be a visual student so I’d have him watch film on old school rebounders to pick up tips and I wish there was still a proper Big Man Camp to send him to. He says he patterned his game after Carmelo after he saw him on video. Well he did a damn good job of mimicking him. Can he pick a role model on defense? People keep telling him he could be Kawhi. He says he’s started watching film of him and likes the way he plays. So okay. He’s picking a good model to study.

But to say he has room to improve on defense is to say he has most of the tools necessary in his instincts to bang and desire to work.

Defensive awareness can come with time. Repetitions. Live ball experience. Especially playoff minutes. If we were the Spurs and had Popovich guiding him I’d say this kid has allstar potential. We aren’t and don’t. So his internal drive and work ethic are going to be critical in determining his top end.

I’m also half concerned with his wide eyed naïveté in all things America. And that his skill at basketball was not necessarily borne of a love of the game, or certainly wasn’t since he was a kid. Is improving as a baller going to be a drive for him that transcends distractions?

Chiefly the worry is this. He’s been Big Man On Campus in Spokane. But this is a different kind of Washington. The weapons grade thotties of the Chocolate City no doubt have him on wire guided targeting software. Many times a powerful work ethic has evaporated under the body heat of infernally hot temptresses (or temptors, I dunno) enticing players to stay a little longer. This kid was happy just walking around New York seeing fast food and people who weren’t Japanese. Brown skin. And that’s before he lands fame and an NBA salary. He’s going to see all the skin of whatever color intrigues him. Heh. I’m actually worried for the guy.

Still. DC isn’t Atlanta. Here there are countrymen from Japan. Ambassadors from Benin. Opportunities to meet third culture multi ethnic folks of all sorts who have struggled with some of his same concerns. Maybe feral pussy is not going to prove deadly to his game. Never know. He’s definitely going to have an interesting learning curve on whatever game he chooses to focus on.

[prime1time]

Japanese Rui fan posted some great highlights (and lowlights) of Rui's games:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb-vnfNYvSUTRSAR4y6sEmA/videos

Like others have said, he has tantalizing strengths, and glaring weaknesses. The positive is that offensively, he'll be ready to contribute immediately. He can score at all levels, and he'll be efficient doing it. He also plays with a high motor, and will definitely come to camp in shape. He finishes above the rim and has an excellent touch 18 feet in.

However, his issues on the defensive end are obvious. Defensively, he gets abused, whether it's guarding his man in the post or switching off on small guards (he got destroyed by Pepperdine's point guard, Colbey Ross repeatedly) and he struggles with rotations. That will keep him off the court during the closing of games. Offensively, he'll put his head down and just run over people...he'll consistently miss the open man in the high-post and tends to hog the ball and take bad shots.

Overall, he's a solid player. Needs a lot of work on the defensive end.

I feel like you are overstating his defensive struggles. He's not Demarcus Cousins. The suggestion that you'd keep Rui off the floor in close games is silly to me. Keep him off the floor in favor of who? Does Luka Doncic go to the bench in close games? Does JJ Reddick go to the bench in close games? Also, for every clip of a small guard "abusing" Rui, there's footage of Rui seamlessly moving his feet and contes the shot. Personally, I feel like his biggest challenge was playing learning to play with all of the muscle that he added. Look at this video from his sophmore year. Does this look like a guy who'd be taken off the court at end of games because he's too slow footed?

Watch on YouTube

From his junior year

Watch on YouTube

Look at 1:42 and 2:48.

Watch on YouTube

Here's the pepperdine game you mentioned.
So you have plays at 10 seconds, 14 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 56 seconds, 1 minute, 1:18, 1:44, 2:30 and a bunch of others. Any player that can shoot from the oustide, put the ball on the floor and have an array of finishes Rui will struggle against, but so will the rest of the league. Rui won some switches and lost some switches. He needs to work on his defensive fundamentals. But to suggest that he "wouldn't be on the floor" is an extreme take. Would we rather have Dwight Howard there? Or Thomas Bryant? Or Ian Mahimi? Once Rui learns not to go for fakes and rely on his 7'2 wingspan he'll be fine.
1:52 - player scores but Rui demonstrates great feet and lateral quickness. 2:26 - Rui on the wing again

Watch on YouTube

1:03 - Rui on the switch

Watch on YouTube

33 seconds, 4:02

He does have a problem with not passing, but again let's put it in context. His usage rate was 28.3%. His purpose on this Gonzaga offense is to score. Rui isn't JR Smith or Nick Young, he's coachable. If the coaching staff points out that he needs to pass the ball in certain situations, would he not? When determining player aptitude, something like that is a minor issue because it is so fixable.

[prime1time]

It'll be interesting to see how Brooks coaches Rui. People hate on Brooks as a coach but I like him. He makes rookies earn everything. I'd be perfectly fine if Brooks takes it slow with Rui and forces him to get playing time by doing the small things, playing good fundamental defense and rebounding. Gonzaga treated Rui as a pure scorer. His super high usage rate is indicative of that. Hopefully we turn him into a complete player.

[payitforward]

Hachimura is a future all-star. It's time to Root for Rui.

Not just the above, btw:

1. In the present, Hachimura is an all-star of the future.
2. In the future, Hachimura will be an all-star of the present.
3. In the future-perfect, Hachimura will have been an all-star of the past.
4. In the unseeable distance, it's all up for grabs.

And...

I have just trademarked "Root for Rui." Don't ever try to use it again, or you will hear from my attorney. No, not just "hear from" but "feel the wrath of my attorneys," yeah plural -- you better believe it.

Btw, my attorneys are the principals of Garrison, Schofield, Mathews & Robinson. Ted is scared stiff of those guys.

[payitforward]

As I write these words, this image is being distributed to Wizards fans around the world as part of Ted Leonsis' new "Don't Call It Gambling" initiative -- a key part of his innovative "Double Bottom Line" strategy.

Each participant in the non-gambling event may pick a number with 1 to 7 digits. The contest winner will have chosen Rui's uniform number. To increase possible participation, the result may include symbols from Calculus.

Rui himself is said to favor the number 365 to memorialize not the days in a year but his friend Brandon Clarke's 36 point, 5 block game. It is assumed that this is a sympathy choice on Hachimura's part, as the game is said to have been the main cause of Clarke's drop in the draft. Experts who simply couldn't accept that someone not Rui would be able to post such a result concluded that Clarke had been using mirrors -- which are not allowed in the NBA.