Scouting Reports for the 2022 Recruiting Class
This is a pivotal recruiting class for Coach Spiker and the Dragons, as the Cam Wynter / James Butler era has come to an end. With 7 open scholarships the coaching staff really had to do some roster building with a combination of freshmen and transfers.
The following are scouting reports for all 7 of the incoming scholarship players. This will be followed up with a companion podcast where we talk about the roster, how each of these players fits in with this years team and beyond.
Rating: 3.5
Scouting Report: Justin is an athletic point guard that plays with a great balance of scoring and creating. He is dynamic with the ball in his hands as he can get into the lane or all the way to the hoop using his quick first step and myriad of dribble hesitation moves. Where he really excels though is with his court vision and passing. He can dominate stretches of a game without even scoring the ball. Justin is prolific at finding the open man regardless of whether it's a pick and roll, drive and dish or finding a cutter for an open layup. At times he is a little careless with his passes but the good passes far outweigh the bad.
On offense he is a three level scorer but needs to be more consistent at all three levels. Both his mid range and three point jump shot are streaky. Some of this may have to do with his occasional questionable shot selection as he's not afraid to put up shots from NBA range or pull up with a hand in his face. He elevates well on his jumper and his mechanics are decent so he should be able to get more consistent without making drastic changes to his form. At the rim he finishes on layups pretty well but primarily with his right hand, he struggles to convert with his left. He also needs to get stronger in order to finish better with contact. What really sets him apart from other point guards though is his springy leaping ability. If he finds himself with an open lane or ahead of the pack in transition he is going throw it down. His leaping ability also comes into play on defense as he likes the chase down block especially in transition. On that side of the ball he has potential to be a good defender with his lateral quickness and leaping ability. His technique just needs to improve and learn to not bite on fakes.
Rating: 2.5
Scouting Report: At 6-6 Kobe has ideal positional size and a versatile skill set for a wing. What stands out most about his game is he leaping ability, as he can hammer home some impressive dunks when he gets a clear path to the hoop. While he can do a little bit of everything well, no part of his skill set really stands out above the rest. His shooting form is solid with a high release point and high arc, but his release is a little slower than you would like to see. As a result he struggles to create his own shot and sometimes passes up open looks where the defender is closing in on him. That being said he is unselfish, doesn't force many shots and really picks his spots. Around the rim he can convert with either hand, but needs to get stronger in order to finish in traffic more regularly. Kobe can also score attacking the hoop, whether it be on a runner or a euro step around a defender for a layup. He also moves without the ball well, either positioning himself for open shots or cutting to the hoop for layups.
With the ball in his hands he can take his man off the dribble with a variety of moves (cross over, behind the back, spin, behind the back) but he does need to tighten up his handle some as he can get stripped driving into traffic. He is not especially fast and tends to play at his own pace, not letting the defense speed him up. Besides his scoring, his passing and rebounding are other strong aspects of his game. He attacks the glass from the wing utilizing his leaping ability but could box out more frequently. He possesses solid court vision as he does a nice job finding open teammates but he will throw an occasional lazy or dangerous pass. Kobe also flashes some very highlight worthy plays. We are talking step back jumpers, acrobatic layups, two hand tomahawk slams in transition. For him to reach his full offensive potential though, he will have to speed up his release, be more consistent with his jumper and get his shots off in tighter windows. Defensively he has all the physical tools but lacks discipline and needs to improve technique.
Rating: 3.5
Scouting Report: Shane first and foremost is a shot maker who can create his own looks or move without the ball to get open. His jumper is smooth with a quick, high release and he doesn't hesitate to fire shots up. These traits allow him to shoot right over defenders but with that ability he does force some shots. His shot selection did however improve drastically from his junior to senior year. He can pull up, step back or simply catch and shoot from anywhere on the court, out to college three point range. Where he could improve his shot is on wide open looks as he doesn't knock them down at a much higher frequency than a well defended shot.
Other than his shooting he can score in other ways as well. Shane showed the ability to hit runners in the lane or get all the way to the hoop for layups. Much like the other freshmen he also needs to get stronger to finish more consistently with contact. He can also finish above the rim when he gets out on the break or by finding an open lane and cutting to the hoop for a dunk. Besides his scoring he can also create for his teammates off the bounce and possesses good vision. Most of the time his passes are on target but he can get careless with the rock at times. Shane handles the ball well enough to bring the ball up even against a press but he didn't look fully comfortable doing so and struggled when trapped. He would need to tighten up his handle to play point guard at the next level but with his skill set he is better suited as a shooting guard anyway. Defensively he has potential to be a lockdown defender with his length (6-11 wing span) and springy leaping ability, but he's nowhere near his full defensive potential yet. His technique needs work as he doesn't utilize his length to stay in front of his man but he does do a nice job contesting jump shots.
Rating: 2.5
Scouting Report: Garfield is a high energy forward that is strong on the boards and plays with a lot of effort on defense. He has decent enough length and leaping ability but he excels at rebounding due to his constant jockeying for position and boxing out. Defensively he will block some shots but he really does a nice job of staying vertical with his jump and keeping his hands straight up to contest shots (reminiscent of James Butler) . While he moves well for a player his size, he can't change direction quickly enough to defend guards. Offensively he seems a little limited at this point. Most of his points are scored in transition, off teammates dishes, or offensive boards. He does work well in the pick and roll and was able to score rolling to the hoop. Garfield did flash the ability to hit jump shots as well, including from three point range. Those jump shots were few and far between though, as he only shot 2/6 from behind the arc for the whole season at Odessa. In the post he has a drop step and a bit of a clunky spin move but again didn't show enough of that. He is a hustler though and will dive on the ground for loose balls.
Rating: 3.0
Scouting Report: What stands out most about Cole is his defensive presence around the hoop. He is a rim protector and blocks a lot of shots in help defense. While he has decent length and athletic ability, it's his instincts and timing that make him such an effective shot blocker. Cole also utilizes both hands to block shots, using the hand that gives him the best angle on the block. Even when he doesn't get the block he often times will alter shots. While he excels at blocking shots in help defense he is less effective guarding in the post. Opposing players can bump Cole back to get a little space and throw off his jump timing in order to shoot over top of him. Adding bulk would be beneficial for him in order to hold his ground in the post a little better. Cole is also a really good rebounder, seemingly grabbing every board his area, as he really gets after the ball, boxes out and fights for position.
Offensively Cole does most of his work inside and has soft touch around the rim. In the post he demonstrated soft hands as he caught everything thrown his direction. His go to move in the post is a drop step and he utilizes it to either get a layup or setup a hook shot. At his level he drew a ton of double teams in the post so he often didn't have much time to make many moves. When double teamed he demonstrated the ability to pass out of it and showed off some solid court vision finding open teammates. Cole can also score out of the pick and roll, rolling to the hoop for buckets. Most of his points are scored around the rim, but he will shoot from three or put up an occasional mid range jumper. This area of his games needs improvement though as he didn't knock down his jumper with enough consistency. He also flashed his ability to put the ball on the floor. There were a few occasions where he brought the ball up the court but as soon as a defender got near he would pass it away. There was only one occurrence over many games I saw where he faced up and beat his man to the hoop for a layup.
Rating: 2.5
Scouting Report: Even though Yame isn't really a point guard, his passing is the most impressive aspect of his game. He's an inventive passer with outstanding vision that creates a lot of scoring opportunities for his teammates (3.1 APG) Off the bounce he does a great job of drawing multiple defenders to him before finding the open man. Besides his passing Yame is also adept at attacking the hoop. He's shifty / crafty with the ball in his hands, but he needs to tighten up his handle overall, as he will occasionally lose his dribble in traffic. Yame also finishes around the hoop well but with his right hand only. He would rather put up a layup attempt at an awkward angle with his right hand, then take the easier layup with his left. Yame can finish through contact and in heavy traffic but again only with his right hand.
While Yame isn't a knock down three point shooter he does shoot it at a solid 35%, but hopefully he can improve that with more reps. At 35% the defense has to respect his shooting enough that it allows Yame to use a head fake hesi to blow by his man and get into the lane. Where I would like to see the most development in his game is really just him playing with more consistency. This correlates to him turning the ball over less, hitting open three pointers and putting points on the board every game. If you look at his game splits from State Fair you'll see his point total fluctuates up and down with a high of 19 and a low of 1. Defensively Yame plays hard and uses his length to stay in front of his opponent but will bite on fakes.
Rating: 3.0
Scouting Report: Jamie is a lefty combo guard that can score with or without the ball in his hands. Without the ball he does a nice job of finding open spots and will quickly launch catch and release threes. With the ball he can pull up from midrange or beyond the arc. He can also get all the way to the hoop and finish or utilize a floater. His shot selection needs work though, he puts up a lot of very difficult shots. While he has the ability to hit difficult shots, he'd be more consistent with his jumper if he took better shots. Jamie also seems to struggle some with his awareness of help defenders. There are times where he beats his man off the dribble, gets into the lane but just doesn't seem to feel the help defender and ends up with heavily contested shot or a turnover.
Besides his scoring Jamie can also run point. He has no problem bringing the ball up and makes quick decisive passes to avoid traps. While he doesn't make a lot of spectacular passes, he seems to make the right pass more often than not and doesn't turn it over often. When he gets in the lane he shows an aptitude for finding the open man on the perimeter or hitting cutters to the hoop. He handles the ball and passes well with both hands. Jamie uses a quick first step, change of pace and a variety of moves to take his defender off the dribble. Defensively he is an aggressive on the ball defender that for the most part does a nice job staying in front of his man. Where he struggles some is getting around screens and occasionally he will reach or go for the steal putting himself out of position. On help D he can generate steals in double teams.