Summary

April 2020

• Aggressive, score-first combo guard with an upward trajectory overall.  A good 3-point shooter with a quick trigger and a relentless pursuit for buckets.  Potentially explosive scorer.

• Quick, tight handle with a nice burst to get his head and shoulders by the defender.  Good speed with the ball and a strong finisher in the open court. 

• Gives consistent effort and energy on both ends.  Plays with a lot of toughness.  A capable passer who shows flashes, but struggles with accuracy and decision making. 

• Skilled penetrator.  Still developing his decision making and game in the paint and around the basket.  Attacks the rim with great aggression.  Strong motor. 

• Transferred from Clarksburg High School in Montgomery County to National Christian, where he competed at a high level against a national schedule. 

Statistical sampling from the 2019-2020 high school season.  Note the national competition.

Physical/Athleticism

• Good overall athlete

• Athletic build

• Fast muscle twitch fibers

• Sufficient strength

• ~6’3” wingspan

• Blow-by acceleration and has a nice burst of speed

  • Can get from the perimeter to the basket in very quickly

• Undersized for a combo guard

• Terrific endurance

• Sharp, forceful movements

• Very good hand-eye coordination

• Solid body control

Offensive Qualities

• Score-first guard with a quick trigger

• Potentially explosive scorer who is capable of putting up 30+ points

• Very aggressive; seldomly falls out of attack mode

• Attacks the rim with intensity; a very capable penetrator

  • Gets into the lane with frequent success

  • Prefers to go left, but may to force it at times

    • Capable of going and finishing right, but often comes back to the left

  • Has a tendency to get himself in trouble when driving to the basket without a plan

    • Runs into the bigs after leaving his feet and must force a low-quality shot

      • Will benefit from developing a consistent floater/runner

• A capable finisher in the open court

• Very comfortable operating in transition

  • Focuses predominantly on the basket and not as much on the whole floor

• Able to finish in traffic and with some contact depending on the size of the defender

  • Should continue to improve his understanding on how to use his body to draw the foul, which will enhance his efficiency as a scorer

• While not showing much playmaking ability in terms of creating for his teammates, he is certainly capable and will benefit from playing with more shooters and better finishers

• Can struggle to create space for quality shots against longer athletic defenders

  • Will benefit from developing a step back to couple with his ability to get his head and shoulders past the defender

• Does not command the offense, but can learn to improve greatly in this area

  • Will benefit from learning to be more effective at different paces

    • Prefers to play fast

• Functions more in a one-on-one setting; does not utilize the pick & roll as often

  • Adding this to his game will only give him another weapon to an already stockpiling offensive arsenal

• Improving overall offensive skillset; his best ball is ahead of him

Shooting

• Although his percentages don’t support it, he is a good shooter who will continue to improve, as should his shot selection

  • Important to note – undoubtedly would shoot a better overall percentage with an improved shot selection

• Displays excellent catch and shoot abilities when he has time and can set his feet

• Shoots it well from 3 (see points above for more context)5

  • 36.6% on almost 7 attempts per game in the 6 games stats were taken

• Has very good range; will shoot it from deep with confidence

• Maintains solid concentration on the target

• Form/mechanics: left-handed shooter

  • Has a nice, compact shot without a whole lot of movement; has it “grooved”

  • Elbow is less than 90-degrees, but keeps it well tucked in

  • Slightly unsquared to the basket

    • Right shoulder hanging out just a bit

    • Both feet marginally pointed to the right

  • Shoots a set shot when he has the time, especially from 3, but will shoot a jumper when necessary

  • Release is from the chin/mouth level; motion begins more from his chest

  • Nice follow through

• Shot selection – overall, not the best.  However, the selection should improve within a more structured setting

  • Vast majority of his shots come from behind the arc or around the basket

    • Half of his shot attempts (41 out of 82) were from 3 in the 6 games examined

    • Will shoot from all around the arc

    • Mixes in an occasional 15-foot pull up

  • Likes to stop and pop from 3 in semi-transition situations, keeping the D off balance

  • Shoots this shot pretty comfortably but, this being one of the more difficult shots in basketball, he will need to work on consistency

  • Takes some ill-advised 3s

  • Tends to force shots at the basket

Dribbling

• Has a strong, tight handle; quick with the ball

• Dominant left-handed ballhandler

• Quick first step and effective moves that allow him get by his defender on the perimeter

  • Good change of pace and a nice studder step

• Shows the ability to pat it in the middle of traffic with quick low dribbles using his fingertips to avoid reaching hands

  • Also pats it well in the backcourt against pressure

• Good speed with the ball; maintains good control at top speed

• Occasionally gets dribble happy in the half court setting

• Stays low with the ball

• Handles man-to-man full court pressure well

• Good ballhandler in the open court who, at times, makes defenders look like dribbling cones

Passing

• Shows potential as a passer through:

  • Deceptive look-offs and threads through traffic

  • Finding shooters in cross-court positions

  • Occasional drive and kicks

• Passes predominantly with his strong hand

• Can struggle against trapping pressure

• Puts good zip on the pass

• A bit inaccurate with placement and delivery off the dribble

• Needs to work on this aspect of his game as a guard who has the ball in his hands in the half court and spearheads the transition game

Defense

• Team plays more zone than man

• Plays harder on the defensive end when guarding man-to-man

  • Like most, tends to relax a bit when playing zone

• Solid, energetic man-to-man defender

  • Plays up in your face, nearly body on body, depending on his man’s abilities

  • Defends with his feet, often without fouling

    • Keeps his man in front

• Not always willing to step in with his body and take a charge around the basket

• Decent rebounding guard

Basketball IQ

• Uses sharp, tight angles off the dribble

• Has natural scoring instincts

• Subpar court awareness

  • Tends to unsuccessfully attempt to dribble through the defense

  • Does not always see the entire court

  • Puts himself in difficult positions against trapping pressure

  • But does feel his defender well with the ball in his hands

• Still maturing in his decision-making

• Shows a lot of promise with moving without the ball, but needs to be in an offensive that supports such movement

Disposition/Presence

• Plays with confidence

• Really like his toughness

• His demeanor says, “I’m going to keep coming”

  • Persistently aggressive

• Good energy; plays hard on both ends

• Encourages teammates

• Communicates on both ends of the court

• Has a competitive edge to his game; a go-getter