Jordan Brand Classic: Scouting NBA draft prospects
Due to budget cuts (a theme in the grassroots world this year), the Jordan Brand Classic was significantly compressed this year compared with years past. Both the regional and international games, which were beloved by NBA scouts and draftniks alike, were canceled, and just one day of practice was conducted, compared with the usual two. This lessened the intrigue of the event to a degree, and the turnout of NBA scouts. It may have also been reflected in the relatively smaller crowd that attended the game, which was partially due to the absence of a marquee halftime performer, as in previous editions.
It didn’t help that injuries and withdrawals took a bite out of the roster as well, with the likes of R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Keldon Johnson and Jalen Carey unable to participate.
Nevertheless, this was a good opportunity to get eyes on a number of players who weren’t invited to the McDonald’s All-American or Nike Hoop Summit events, which we covered in Atlanta and will cover in Portland this upcoming week. Emmitt Williams and Nassir Little were deservingly named co-MVPs of the game, but barring a late injury or withdrawal, neither will continue on to the Hoop Summit despite the fact that their energy, competitiveness and versatility are sorely needed.
For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on players we didn’t cover in detail in Atlanta and/or won’t have an opportunity to see again in Portland, such as Bol Bol, Tyler Herro, Darius Bazley, Jaylen Hoard, Cam Reddish, Romeo Langford, Tre Jones, Andrew Nembhard and Keldon Johnson.
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Jonathan Givony
✔@DraftExpress
https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/983118273968529409
Final boxscore from the @JordanClassic. 44 points on 23 field goal attempts for LSU commit Emmitt Williams. Pretty sure every basket was a dunk. Insane how much energy he plays with. UNC bound Nassir Little was fantastic as well. Both guys were named co-MVPs.
7:03 PM - Apr 8, 2018
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Ayo Dosunmu | 6-foot-6 | PG/SG
Committed to Illinois
Proving to have significant long-term potential that may take him some time to fully realize at Illinois, Dosunmu showed NBA scouts two very different versions of himself in Brooklyn. On Saturday, he had some spectacular moments in the scrimmage, but on Sunday he struggled considerably in the actual game, scoring 5 points on 7 field goal attempts with 5 assists and 2 turnovers in 16 minutes.
A late bloomer physically, Dosunmu continues to grow seemingly every time we see him. He measured 6-foot-2 barefoot the first time we saw him in 2016, but now claimed to be 6-foot-5 without shoes in an interview we conducted with him on Saturday, which doesn’t appear improbable just from eyeballing him in person. He also has a long wingspan (measured 6-foot-8½ last summer) and a wiry frame that should fill out nicely in time, especially considering his late growth spurt.
Dosunmu has proven to be a capable scorer in many different settings (23 points per game in the Nike EYBL last spring/summer), but he stands out first and foremost with his defense. He has elite tools to emerge as a multipositional stopper at the college level and beyond, and he plays with a huge chip on his shoulder that makes him extremely difficult for opposing point guards to handle due to his size, length, quick feet and outstanding motor. He puts pressure on the ball impressively and gets in the passing lanes frequently, looking capable of checking bigger guards and even some wings the way players like Elfrid Payton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander do.
Dosunmu is far from a polished player offensively, with a streaky jumper and ball-handling skills that aren’t really refined yet in half-court settings. He shows nice potential here too, though, being ultra-aggressive while looking to change speeds powerfully in the open court and making a living getting to the front of the rim and free throw line. He’s stronger than he looks, despite being just 178 pounds (“and a half,” he informed us), and has real toughness attacking big men with his strong first step and finishing through contact. The evolution of Dosunmu’s jumper will likely play a big role in the number of years he spends in college under Brad Underwood. His release point is low, especially shooting off the dribble, and he doesn’t always get the best results, although he’s far from a non-shooter, hitting 49 of 142 3-point attempts (35 percent) in 51 games we have data on over the years. The fact that he’s also made 80 percent of his free throw attempts during that span leaves a lot of room for optimism regarding his development in this area long term.
Sporting a near 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in those 51 games, Dosunmu has plenty of room to improve his decision-making skills if he’s to play the point guard position he’s currently projected at -- something he showed in Brooklyn, as well, at times, by forcing the issue. He’s got time to figure these things out, though, having just turned 18 recently, and he will be in an ideal development situation at Illinois playing for a coach who is known for giving players significant freedom in a free-flowing, up-tempo offense.
Emmitt Williams | 6-foot-7 | Power forward
Committed to LSU
Williams’ high school season was derailed in October by sexual assault charges that were subsequently dropped after authorities declined to pursue prosecution. In an interview at the Jordan Brand Classic, Williams further denied any wrongdoing.
Williams scored 44 points (breaking a LeBron James record) on 22 of 23 made field goal attempts without getting to the free throw line once. Virtually every point was scored on a dunk, with Williams seemingly trying to rip down the rim on every finish. The low-level intensity of his peers, and this game on the whole, contributed to his stat line, but there’s no denying the energy level and hunger Williams plays with, something that was vividly felt in the scrimmage the day prior as well. He is an impressive athlete, with long, powerful strides in the open court and vertical explosiveness that make him a potential highlight reel around the basket. Standing somewhere between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7, Williams is undersized for the power forward position he mostly occupies, but he has good length and a tenacious motor that help compensate for whatever he’s missing in pure height. Opponents (primarily Bol Bol, Shareef O’Neal and Darius Bazley) were seemingly afraid of putting a body on him during the game, allowing him to wreak havoc on the offensive glass and cut to the rim for wide-open finishes with impunity. While other players looked tired, he never ran out of energy, looking for any opportunity to continue to put points on the board like he was competing in a playoff game, while his classmates were in all-star cruise control mode.
While Williams’ 44-point game certainly jumped off the page, his performance the day before in the scrimmage may have been even more notable from an NBA standpoint. He started things off by knocking down a number of spot-up jumpers, showing an improved 3-point stroke that bodes well for his long-term development, which we also saw in the drills. While his release is slow, his mechanics are pretty sound, leaving plenty of room for optimism regarding his evolution in this area. He also did a nice job defensively, switching onto guards, wings and big men alike, and finding similar results regardless of who he was tasked with defending. The fact that he has quick feet, long arms and incredible toughness and intensity gives him great potential on this end of the floor and may end up proving to be his calling card to carving out a long NBA career.
He seemingly has a perfect understanding of his strengths and weaknesses and what he’ll need to do to make it at the next level. Many NBA GMs we communicate with tell us frequently that they are actively seeking role players in Williams’ mold, and if he continues to make strides with his jump-shot, he’s unlikely to find himself in Baton Rouge for very long.
Shareef O’Neal | 6-foot-10 | Power forward
Committed to UCLA
The son of basketball royalty, Shareef O’Neal wasn’t invited to McDonald’s and has yet to make his USA Basketball debut, but he's undoubtedly someone who will be on NBA teams’ radars from the moment he steps on campus at UCLA. Part of that is due to his physical tools, as he has a lot to work with, standing 6-foot-10, with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and a wiry frame that will fill out considerably in time. He looks, moves and plays like someone who has considerable talent at his disposal, as he moves well, with quick feet and impressive bounce, and he's capable of knocking down 3-pointers, handling the ball in the open court and making plays around the basket.
O’Neal is more prospect than player at this stage, as he didn’t perform very well in the actual game, putting up 8 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists and 3 turnovers on 3-of-9 shooting in 15 minutes of action. He airballed a free throw at one stage, drawing chuckles from those in the crowd who were old enough to grow up seeing his father, Shaq, do the same on occasion in the NBA. Part of that had to do with the fact that he was nursing a hand injury, but inconsistency has always been one of O’Neal’s defining characteristics as a player. He’s far more focused on the offensive end of the floor than he is on using his considerable tools to make his presence felt defensively or on the glass, specifically in terms of leaking out in transition on any opportunity and hovering around the perimeter. O’Neal has a stroke that suggests he can become a very good shooter in time, but he’s not there yet at this stage of his development, knocking down 46 of the 189 3-point attempts (24 percent) we have in our database and 63 percent of his free throws. Scouts who are most familiar with him question his motor and toughness, but no one disputes his talent level, which will surely put him in the mix as a draft prospect early in his college career. Having just turned 18 earlier this year and still growing until recently, O’Neal has plenty of time at his disposal to find more consistency with his game and wouldn’t be the first big man to develop a little later relative to his peers.
Nassir Little | 6-foot-6 | Small forward
Committed to North Carolina
After one sleepy scrimmage, Little exploded in the actual game, putting up 24 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes of action, winning co-MVP honors after winning MVP at McDonald’s. Much to the delight of the crowd, he challenged Cam Reddish to a highly entertaining back and forth one-on-one duel, which he clearly won. The potential No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, Reddish seemingly wanted no part of Little after getting his shot blocked or contested cleanly on a number of occasions and being barreled through repeatedly en route to the rim, forcing Reddish to foul. A relative unknown just a year ago, Little has blossomed into a clear-cut top-five player in this high school class, giving some much-needed depth to a somewhat underwhelming group in terms of competitiveness and fit in the modern NBA game. The fact that he shot 41 percent from 3 during his high school season (37-of-90 in 24 games) bodes well for his development in that area, as he’s already a multipositional defender, a terrific straight-line driver and an absolute handful in the open floor. The development of Little’s half-court handle, passing and off-the-dribble shooting will be the main things NBA scouts will be tracking next year at North Carolina, but the improvement he’s made over the past 12 months is extremely encouraging.
