Games:
Memphis 90, Tulane 78 (2/11)
Dayton 75, Duquense 59 (2/13)
Colorado St 66, New Mexico 68 (2/21)
It's been awhile since I've had the chance to sit down and scout some games, due to the content nature of the NBA trade deadline. With the All-Star break, I decided to catch some of the mid-major players that are flying on radars.
DaRon Holmes, big, Dayton
29 points (10-18 from the field, 0-4 from 3, 4-7 from the free throw line), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists (2 turnovers) in 34 minutes
Offense: Dayton deployed Holmes in a variety of ways. Typical with college big men, especially dominant ones, Holmes posted up quite a bit. In the process, he re-positioned himself to identify the right angles to not only find himself in a good catching window, but to finish the entry pass as well. Holmes identifies doubles well, veering out to either get into a driving action or to find an open perimeter teammate.
Dayton slots Holmes near the top of the key in Delay/Elbow actions — utilizing him as the connector of the offense with his passing, screening, and downhill attack. In the process, he illustrates good 0.5-second decision-making to either dribble, pass, or shoot off the catch.
He doesn’t posses a ton of vertical pop, but he still finds his way to the bucket with good footwork, touch, and contact absorption. Beyond the paint, his touch is questionable — the biggest element to monitor going forward. He was 0-4 from 3 and 4-7 from the free throw line. Nonetheless, his shooting willingness was encouraging to notice — especially as he’s shooting 3’s at a 37.7% clip this season (on 2.7 attempts per game).
Defense: Holmes is such a technically sound defender. He has a knack of knowing where to be in terms of help defense, covering space as the ball shifts around within the offense. Again, not super explosive, but his anticipation to disrupt with his quick hands is on point to generate defensive events, allowing him to deter the rim well too. Unlike most college big men, he’s a solid grab-and-go rebounder as well, something that should bode well in pinches at the next level.
He's also very capable of defending out on the perimeter, as Dayton had him slotted near the level in ball screens. He closes out well, and if drivers try to gain a step on him on the perimeter, he does well force them towards the baseline.
In this watch, I didn’t really realize how slender he was for a big man. As a result, he had moments where he couldn’t get the best positioning in post situations.
Offense + Defense one play
David Jones, wing, Memphis
23 points (8-12 from the field, 4-5 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line), 10 rebounds (5 offensive), 4 assists (3 turnovers), 2 steals, 1 block in 36 minutes
Offense: The most impressive facet of Jones’ performance here is the scalability of his offense. He didn’t force anything or do much hero-ball impersonations. Instead, he let things come into the flow. He drilled 4 of his 5 three’s, most in the catch-and-shoot variety — side note: love how he lets his teammates know he’s open by having his arms straight-up, especially when he’s on the weak-side. He found his way to the basket by attacking closeouts and cutting into the passer’s vision. He kept possessions alive with his offensive rebounding (5 offensive boards, 10 total). It was the kind of outing, especially offensively, where his NBA role was a bit more clear and ideal.
Defense: The Tigers pressed the Tulane offense quite regularly, slotting Jones at the top of it with a 2-2-1 structure. In the process, he illustrated his feistiness and his activity — really wreaking havoc with his ball pressure and deflections. He always found his way in the mix for defensive events, finishing with 3 stocks in the game. Whether it was in transition or in low-help positioning, he demonstrated good verticality when contesting drives.
Offense + Defense one play
Sion James, guard/wing, Tulane
12 points (5-11 from the field, 1-6 from 3, 1-3 from the free throw line), 9 rebounds, 5 assists (2 turnovers), 3 steals in 39 minutes
Offense: Sion James is a fascinating off-guard prospect. His jumper is efficient, shooting a career-best 38.9% from 3 on 3.8 attempts per game. His mechanics are pretty compact, yet stiff — as he struggled from beyond the arc in the midst of a closeout. As a drive, he shifts gears well to offset a limited bag of dribble moves. He blends physicality and craft on his drives when getting to the basket, illustrated in his gather step and his finishes. His playmaking shines as a next-action initiator and a ball-mover in transition or within the flow of the offense.
Defense: James is a rock-solid defender, relying on physicality and his instincts to impact that side of the floor. He’s ambitious going for blocks when helping. He avidly crashes the glass in order to ignite transition offense — 7 of his 9 rebounds came defensively. He possesses sound anticipation when deflecting passes and generating turnovers.
Offense + Defense One Play
Donovan Dent, guard, New Mexico
16 points (4-10 from the field, 1-2 from 3, 7-9 from the free throw line), 3 rebounds, 3 assists (2 turnovers), 1 steal, 1 block in 36 minutes
Offense: The orchestrator of New Mexico’s offense, Dent is a slick passer and ball-handler that can dissect the defense with his driving attack as a finisher or playmaker. He applies a ton of rim pressure, but struggled a bit finishing around the rim — even with good contact absorption. However, he did leverage it into trips to the free throw line. He only took 2 three-point attempts, and he’s a low volume shooter in general (1-2 from 3 this game, 1.3 attempts per game at a 38.9% clip). His mechanics aren’t terrible, he’s just reliant on his driving attack — definitely a development to monitor, as Dent gets closer to the professional stage.
Offense one play
Defense: Dent didn't take on the Isaiah Stevens assignment all that much, as Jaelen House was the primary defender on him. However, Dent showed some intriguing flashes as a perimeter defender. He navigates screens well and can absorb contact. For a smaller guard, he's a good shot-blocker, primarily shown in closeouts -- averaging 0.7 blocks in his collegiate career.
Other Notes:
Jaelen House, New Mexico guard. House, the son of former NBA player Eddie House, is the spirit leader for the New Mexico Lobos. He plays with oodles of energy and swagger. Offensively, he's a bit too trigger happy and out of control with his tough shot-taking. However, he keeps the ball on a string with a sweet handle. Defensively, he a feisty defender. He's a solid screen navigator that also bites a bit too much off the ball. Nonetheless, his energy stays up on that side of the ball, which could be his calling card down the road.
Nique Clifford, Colorado State wing. I was anticipating the Clifford watch, but he struggled really finding his groove offensively -- shooting 1-9 from the field (0-4 from 3). He made up for it with his energy though. He crashed the glass for 11 rebounds -- a good positional rebounder averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. He's a steady perimeter defender as well. Was very impressed with the screen navigation and block off the in-bounds play below:
JT Toppin, New Mexico forward. JT Toppin wasn't much of a focal point of New Mexico's offense. He struggles with post finishes, his primary outlet of offense in this game. He possesses interesting tools as a "small-ball" big defender -- good physicality and contests (though could have a bit more discipline). Definitely a name to keep an eye on for the 2025 or 2026 cycle.
Koby Brea, Dayton wing. The senior wing for Dayton is a sharpshooter -- shooting 48.7% from 3 on 5.8 attempts per game. He connected on 4 of his 5 triples in this game, playing off Holmes' gravity quite well. With his size (6'6") and his scalable shooting (55.1% on catch-and-shoot 3's), he's worth a flyer on an exhibit-10 deal. Could be someone that thrives in the G League, given the structure of most offensive systems.
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