NBA Comparison: Shawn Kemp/David Robinson

Strengths: Tremendous physical profile (7’1”, 250 pounds) … Fits the profile of a physical freak and a "Generational center" … Figures to be among if not the top center in the league in his prime … Already has an NBA ready body, and a physique ideally designed for the game of basketball … Moves exceptionally well for his size … Runs the floor well and really excels in the transition … Plays physical, showing a willingness to bang and seek out contact … He’s capable of reliably hitting open jumpers, even developing a three-point game (34.3% on 1 attempt per game) … Has very good hands … Has good form on his shot, shooting 73.3% from the foul line … Knows how to score in a variety of ways: Around the rim, mid-range, and beyond (20.1 points per game) … Developing solid post moves and has exceptional footwork … Good in both pick and roll and pick and pop situations … While able to dunk in traffic with ease, he isn’t overly reliant on his physical gifts to score … Does a good job controlling the glass and the paint, averaging 11.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game … Very active on the offensive glass, good at getting tip-ins and put backs … Has a really quick second jump and follows his own misses really well … Does a good job defending without fouling (2.3 fouls per game) … Seems to be NBA ready from a mental standpoint … Was comfortable handling the work load night in and night out at Arizona … Pretty consistent player, giving good energy every minute he’s on the floor … Rarely had an off night. Made a huge impact in college from day one … Already looked like he could hang with NBA players the moment he stepped on the floor at in Tucson … Fits today’s NBA extremely well with his ability to knock down outside shots … Scored a majority of his points in the post, generally outclassing opponents with ease, with his huge size/talent differential. But has developing skills to operate both on the block and facing the basket. Has a lot of natural ability and his post game can advance tremendously if he’s given the proper instruction …

Weaknesses: Defensive awareness needs to improve. For a player with such elite physical gifts, his shot blocking ability is curiously average (though he seemed to improve as freshman season progressed). He should be able to improve upon this over time, given the proper coaching and desire … Needs to do a better job guarding against the pick and roll. Can sometimes lose his man … Needs to do better as a help defender … Can get flat footed at times … And seemed to look to preserve energy (and fouls) on the defensive end … While capable of scoring at all three levels, jumper (inparticular shot selection) still needs improvement … Tends to shoot it a bit short and at times can rush his shot … Needs to follow through and also look to improve his touch around the basket … Needs to do a better job of commanding the ball inside and establishing position. He’s so big and strong that he will be very difficult to stop from extablishing position at the next level once his strength peaks out and he fully understands utilizing position and getting low … Sometimes is a bit passive and can be lazy at times, though he played with a solid level of energy for the most part throughout his college career … Needs to do a better job contesting shots on the perimeter … Needs to do a better job scoring in traffic … If crowded, you can bother him and force him to take a difficult shot or turn the ball over … Will need to improve ability to handle double teams …

Notes: Expected to be the #1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft … Won both Pac-12 Player of the Year and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors … Measured 7’0 (in shoes) 220 lbs, with a 7’4.5 wingspan at the 2014 LeBron James Skills Academy …



Ben Parker 5/9/18

Strengths: Posesses can’t miss talent with the chance to develop into a generational big … Seven-footer with great coordination and fluidity … Great size and length with a 7’5.5 wingspan and 9’3 standing reach … Runs the floor well with great agility … Good strength level as well as body frame. Very good footwork … Can score from every spot on the floor. Shoots well from three with great rotation on his shot. Good free throw shooter, shot 82.1% over the Nike EYBL … Great athlete. Can play above the rim and is a very reliable finisher … Shot 60.2% from the field over the Nike EYBL. Can finish plays that no defense can contest. Great rebounder on both ends of the floor. Secures any rebound he can get a hand on … Great shot blocker and protects the paint. Alters shots that he doesn’t block and redirects the offense away from the paint. Does a great job of knowing when to leave his feet and when to stay on the ground to avoid fouls. Very good defender … Hedges screens and moves his feet well. Reads and jumps passing lanes incredibly well … Sees the floor well. Constantly communicates and directs traffic on offense and defense. Has great awareness, understands game plan and reads the game well. Knows where he’s passing before he receives the ball. Consistently finds the cutter. Plays a great high/low game when paired with another big man. Knows how to run the pick and roll/pick and pop … Unselfish and patient offensively … Has a solid foundation for a back to the basket game. Good touch on jump hook and very accurate around the rim. Shows a turnaround fade away in the post … Isn’t afraid of physicality and plays well through contact … Constantly attracts the defense’s attention. Reads double teams well … Good ball handling and passing ability for his size … Doesn’t have any major weaknesses …

Weaknesses: Ayton didn’t make the strides one would hope in his senior year … He did seem more focused towards the end of the season after losing his #1 player in class status nearly universally, but it appeared he got too comfortable sitting at the top spot for too long … He rarely played like he had anything to prove and was complacent offensively … He also turned down the opportunity to compete at the Hoop Summit, an event he had failed to impress at in past years … Tends to settle for jump shots and roams to the perimeter far too often … Can assert himself better as he can go through the motions … Sometimes goes through stretches where he isn’t involved with the offense … Must improve intensity and competitive nature … His jump shot is flat and doesn’t have ideal arc, most of his misses tend to take hard bounces off the rim … Post game is developing but still needs polish, doesn’t have any go to moves … Needs to understand playing aggressive without wearing emotions and picking up frustration fouls … Showed some ability to put the ball on the floor and drive but still resorts to jab stepping and settling for a shot … As an elite level high school bigman, the focus is always to challenge himself as there are plenty of nights where the competition level allows for complacency …

Outlook: Incoming Arizona freshman. Led Hillcrest to win TheGrindSession National Championship. Played in both the McDonald’s All American Game (Eight points and 11 rebounds (nine offensive)) and Jordan Brand Classic (19 points and eight rebounds) … When he stays engaged and plays at his best, he can’t be matched and can very well be the number one pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Evan Tomes 6/12/17

Strengths: Seven footer with great coordination and fluidity … Great size and length. Runs the floor well with great agility. Good strength level at this stage as well as body frame. Very good footwork … Can score from every spot on the floor. Shoots well from three with great rotation on his shot. Good free throw shooter, shot 82.1% over the Nike EYBL … Great athlete. Can play above the rim and is a very reliable finisher. Great rebounder on both ends of the floor. Secures any rebound he can get a hand on. Great shot blocker and protects the paint. Does a great job of knowing when to leave his feet and when to stay on the ground to avoid fouls. Very good defender. Hedges screens and moves his feet well. Reads and jumps passing lanes incredibly well … Sees the floor well. Constantly communicates and directs traffic on offense and defense. Has great awareness, understands game plan and reads the game well. Knows where he’s passing before he receives the ball. Plays a great high/low game when paired with another big man. Knows how to run the pick and roll/pick and pop … Unselfish and patient offensively … Has a solid foundation for a back to the basket game. Good touch on jump hook and very accurate around the rim … Isn’t afraid of physicality and plays well through contact … Constantly attracts the defense’s attention. Reads double teams well … Good ball handling and passing ability for his size … Doesn’t have any major weaknesses …

Weaknesses: Tends to settle for jump shots and roams to the perimeter at times. Can assert himself better as he can go through the motions. Sometimes goes through stretches where he isn’t involved with the offense … His jump shot is flat and doesn’t have ideal arc, most of his misses tend to take hard bounces off the rim … Post game is developing but still needs polish, doesn’t have any go to moves … Needs to understand playing aggressive without wearing emotions and picking up frustration fouls … Can get ahead of himself and mishandle passes … Can play with too much finesse when he has a mismatch and should be more physically dominant with his superior size and athleticism … With his coordination and athleticism I would like to see him put the ball on the floor and drive more, rather than just jab step and shoot … As an elite level high school bigman, the focus is always to challenge himself as there are plenty of nights where the competition level allows for complacency …

Outlook: Ayton is a high level talent who possesses incredible potential. He averaged a double-double in the Nike EYBL with 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 60.2% from the field. When he stays engaged and plays at his best, he can’t be matched and can very well be the number one pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Evan Tomes 8/12/16

Strengths: Bigman with immense potential due to a great combination of physical attributes and a strong focus and mental make up … A phenom who at 16 could already be a high level player at the college level … Has great size and a prototypical bigman’s frame, but what really separates DeAndre from the rest at this point is his footwork, absolutely sensational for a kid of his size … His elite athleticism and coordination allows him to finish in traffic, controlling his body in a way that made the NBA scouts (at the LeBron James Skills Academy) fall completely in love with him during the summer … He plays with a great motor, outrunning other bigs, has a good touch on free throws and shows glimpses of things he will be able to do once his body fully develops … Defensively he is a great rim protector, sometimes a little lazy on rebounds, but it’s very tough to score on him and even better is his defense on P&R, with his feet he would be every coach dream to have …

Weaknesses: It remains to be seen whether DeAndre is ready to be this good this early … So many young bigman preps in the internet age have peaked (at 15-16 years of age) and as soon as the hype hit, their development halted (Renardo Sydney, Derrick Caracter, Jeremy Tyler, the list goes on) … How well Ayton and his group of advisors are able to keep the distractions out, and continue his progression towards becoming a pro, will be crucial … The media attention is just beginning and losing the ability to be a kid at such a young age is difficult … It will be important for Ayton to learn how to say no, and develop the right work habits and learn what to focus on on a day to day basis maximize his abilities … Offensively he still has a lot of room for improvement, he takes advantage of his size and explosiveness, but will need to improve skills … Struggles some against players his size that are stronger than him as he doesn’t have many moves yet in the post … He still doesn’t always impact the game offensively (facing juniors and seniors) but I have no doubt he can become an impact player at the highest level. His current weaknesses are very much related to his immaturity and lack of experience in how to guard post players and avoid stupid fouls …

Outlook: The biggest challenge for him starts now, he needs to understand his ceiling and live his life like a normal teenager (as much as possible) but with his future goal well in mind, and use every day to improve and maximize his abilities … If he can accomplish that, we’re quite possibly looking at the #1 pick in the draft in 4 years …

Notes: Measured 7’0 (in shoes) 220 lbs, with a 7’4.5 wingspan at the 2014 LeBron James Skills Academy …

Rick Fois 9/25/14



December 24, 2014