OT: Hollinger Scouting Report on AJ

[jibsey]

He was. He has a little bit better release and footwork, but ultimately the shot is just too broken to shoot a good % consistently. Fixing your shot is a 3 year project at minimum in the NBA... there just isn't enough coaching in college to completely overhaul a shot like he needs.

This makes sense. The kid is a hard worker and with that coaching he could get it done but he has athleticism that no one can teach.

 

[HooperScooper]

He has it somewhere in him. This one looked pretty good.

 

[Brochacho]

I feel like shooting isn't that big of a deal. When he gets to the NBA he will have time to completely reconstruct his form without having to go to class, etc. Not apples to apples but Brook Lopez made three 3s in his first 8 NBA seasons. He made 702 in his most recent 7 seasons. I think a NBA team can teach Jackson too. He can do plenty of things you can't teach and the draft is a crap shoot anyway. I could see a team with a reputation of developing players and a late first (Boston, Memphis, Milwaukee perhaps) taking a shot at stashing him on the bench for a couple of seasons and seeing if he could figure it out.

 

[TheChamps990411]

61 attempts is a very small sample for 3pt. That number has very little bearing on his actual shooting skill. (3pt shooting % in NBA becomes sticky at 750 cumulative attempts. That number is not even 10% of the way there.) He started out hot and then went 8/35 (23%) over the last 16 games of the season. The 36% counted for us, but it doesn't count for much when evaluating his actual shooting ability or projectability of his shot.

And to be honest, my confidence in his shot is very low. I do find it miraculous when it goes in. He's not wrong. Love a lot else about his game and seemingly as a person. But the jumper.

People keep talking about 3pt shooting and bad form but his layups and runners around the basket are pretty horrible looking too. He has lead hands around the basket. Its bizarre how unnatural he is with the basketball when taking any shot yet hes so natural and explosive with everything else. If he even had Newtons offensive game he`d be a top 5 pick right now because hes so gifted. I dont believe for one second that he has been lazy or hasnt worked hard enough on his shot i just dont think he has it in him. Hes going to work as hard as anyone but i think his shot is going to really keep him from having an impact in the nba. The road to the league is littered with super athletes who simply didnt have the skills needed to establish a career. This is one time i would like nothing more than to be wrong.

 

[bmayuc]

The three point shooting - whatever.

The question I have never understood is how does someone who is 6'6 and a 45" vert not just get a hip by people and explode to the rim and force people to foul him.

We've all played with guys that just have "the knack" of getting to the rim, using their body, understanding angles... and others who don't. For whatever reason, his passing vision and anticipation are not matched by the composure and savvy to create an angle and take it strong to the hoop.

If I'm his coach and he shoots that 13 foot tear drop, I would throw every chair in the gym in frustration. Take another dribble. If they play you, throw the lob. If they don't, DUNK ON THEIR AZ$

 

[superjohn]

The three point shooting - whatever.

The question I have never understood is how does someone who is 6'6 and a 45" vert not just get a hip by people and explode to the rim and force people to foul him.

We've all played with guys that just have "the knack" of getting to the rim, using their body, understanding angles... and others who don't. For whatever reason, his passing vision and anticipation are not matched by the composure and savvy to create an angle and take it strong to the hoop.

If I'm his coach and he shoots that 13 foot tear drop, I would throw every chair in the gym in frustration. Take another dribble. If they play you, throw the lob. If they don't, DUNK ON THEIR AZ$

Last game he shot a floater from like three feet behind the ft line and made it. In all my years of watching basketball don't think I've ever seen that before.

 

[Huskybass]

Last game he shot a floater from like three feet behind the ft line and made it. In all my years of watching basketball don't think I've ever seen that before.

He is the most unorthodox offensive player I have ever seen. That said, he can win you a game without scoring.

 

[caw]

He's like Draymond but as a SF/SG. Just a strange player to judge based on one viewing.

 

[SwingDog]

Reading this thread, I’m in the minority (or alone) here, but I think his form looks noticeably better this year than before. Not great, but not the disaster that it was when he got to Storrs.

I would agree in that although his release isn't pretty, and never was, his follow-through is better. With that, I would expect better accuracy. Also, I'm not crazy about his teardrop/floater.

 

[3rdbass]

That's sort of the point though. Everyone defending his shot points to that 36% from 3 last year, but based on how he's come out this year that was a high water mark (not to mention almost every one of those was wide open and, obviously, from college distance).

I love AJax. Watching him play for UConn is thrilling and I think he's going to decide more than a few games for us this year. But his lack of shot is a bigger minus than his athleticism is a plus in a league full of athletic freaks. It's too late for it to happen in a UConn jersey, but he should have probably broken his fundamentals completely down at some point and just started from scratch.

Again, this is not a knock on him. I think he's one of the best all around players in college bball this year. I just think that a lot of you downplay the gigantic handicap that is his lack of shot in an NBA that has never valued that more (which is why I think Clingan is overhyped as an NBA prospect at this point as well, but that's an argument for another thread).

Your AJAX assessment is spot on and why I think Hawkins has a spot at the next level with his shot and D. I disagree on Clingan. He is only a fresman and looks more polished and agile than any of us predicted.

 

[jibsey]

AJAX did something last game that he could build on as far as 3 point shooting. I mentioned this before and it was a step back one motion 3 when the clock was winding down. Now he had no choice and no chance to think about anything, but to avoid a defender and get the shot off he did it without stopping. It looked like Curry does sometimes getting the shot off ultra quick. Back step, up from the dribble into the release, splash. Maybe it was just luck who knows but if I were him I would try it again.

 

[Icehawk]

Would Rodman have a spot in today's NBA game? I gather they are fairly similar in being A+ defensive players but not much offensively. I know jack about NBA so this is a real question.

I seem to recall reading an article last year talking about AJ's HS play and that he was a scorer there? I'm with everyone pretty much, the dude can get into the lane but he just jump stops and then makes a weird floater or dumps it. No finish.

 

[PAHusky]

Your AJAX assessment is spot on and why I think Hawkins has a spot at the next level with his shot and D. I disagree on Clingan. He is only a fresman and looks more polished and agile than any of us predicted.

You may be right about Clingan and I'm probably being too tough on him. I've read reports that he has good touch on his jumper and knocks down some threes during warm ups - can anyone confirm? The development of his game may come next season like it did for Sanogo this year. Maybe DH told him to focus on dominating in the paint like he has.

 

[Icehawk]

There's footage of DC hitting 3s and his form looks pretty good on the FT line (I'm chalking his terrible % to freshman nerves).

 

[dannyHAM]

There's footage of DC hitting 3s and his form looks pretty good on the FT line (I'm chalking his terrible % to freshman nerves).

In the open practice he must of hit 10-12 3s in a row. I know it was practice, and no one was guarding him... BUT it looked very pure and natural to me.

 

[jibsey]

I think that if AJAX works on his shot he could easily get to this:

Steph Curry Makes Absurd Full Court Shots — Sports Illustrated

Steph Curry Makes Absurd Full Court Shots

apple.news

 

[superjohn]

I think that if AJAX works on his shot he could easily get to this:

Steph Curry Makes Absurd Full Court Shots — Sports Illustrated

Steph Curry Makes Absurd Full Court Shots

apple.news

Or he could just have someone doctor/edit the video the same way Curry did.

 

[Hype Cat]

AJax lost confidence in his shooting ability last year and is hardly making any of the spectacular drives to the hoop like he was accustomed to doing. I hope that changes soon.
On the upside his contributions on D are tremendous. He’s ALL OVER the floor. His confidence in the freshman in getting them the ball has made them all shine. Their inexperience makes it hard for them to read his passes and the floor like he does, but wait til he’s in the NBA. Can you imagine another AJax on the floor with him? Talk about a human highlight reel.