VJ Edgecombe is a sensational athlete with a solid level of base skills, but areas that he still needs to develop if he wants to be an All Star in the NBA.

Offense

VJ Edgecombe is a fast, aggressive downhill slasher who thrives in transition and early offense. When he can attack closeouts or catch defenders off balance, he gets to the rim with force and speed. If he finds a seam in the defense, he can accelerate in a near straight-line and has the explosiveness even off of one leg to finish strong. VJ is very explosive in space. He gets up fast and explodes for some highlight dunks.

Edgecomb has good, but not great handles. His first step is strong, and he can beat defenders with short, direct moves. He uses crossovers, hesitations, and spins effectively when attacking a seam, but doesn’t have the kind of shake or deception to consistently break defenders down in isolation. His handle is compact and functional and he can string together multiple moves, but he is not as advanced as some of his peers like Dylan Harper or Jeremiah Fears.

VJ could also use better counter moves, if his initial move doesn’t work he either still throws up a layup or spins on his pivot. Only seems to use a limited set of moves, doesn’t really even use many escape dribbles to set up an easier shot or hostage dribbles to hold his man at bay and survey his options. Likes to make a quick move and just get to the hoop and figure out how he is going to pass or score along the way.

In the paint, he’s physical and fearless, using his strength and body control to absorb contact and finish through it. He’ll lower his shoulder and power through defenders or contort midair to get his shot off.  He also, has good footwork, can use a mix of Eurosteps, step throughs, and manages to slither through traffic at times to create scoring angles and he has the strength to absorb or initiate contact and score, uses shoulders to create an angle and hold off defenders. However, his touch is inconsistent, particularly when he’s crowded. He doesn’t yet have a reliable floater or short-range jumper, and when he can’t get all the way to the rim, his efficiency drops. He can have a tendency to just jump up into defenders at time and can shoot contested layups and can be a bit stiff running into someone and then trying to lean back and score with the space he created.  Would benefit from further developing his runner, 10 foot jumper, or something for when he has a step, but needs to score earlier.

As a shooter, VJ is streaky but has a solid foundation to build on. He’s capable of hitting spot-up threes and can knock down pull-ups off one or two dribbles, especially when stepping into them in rhythm. His form is fairly compact, but his release can vary, he sometimes rushes his shot or drifts, especially when pulling up off movement or at odd angles. His footwork can get sloppy, and he doesn’t always square up cleanly.  However, he shows promise here and when he drives, he has the ability to stop on a dime, which is impressive given his speed, so if he is able to smooth out his midrange jumper off the dribble, it would be a major weapon.

Edgecomb’s off-ball movement is active, whether running around designed actions, cutting to the hoop, or relocating on the three point line to create a better passing angle or better spacing. In transition, he sprints the floor and puts pressure on the defense, either running to the rim or spacing out for a trail three. He also reads defenders well for backdoor cuts and quick slips.

As a passer, Edgecombe “checks all the boxes,” but is still a bit more reactive than anticipatory.  He can sense double teams and does a good job hitting the open man. He can hit the roll man, find cutters, or swing the ball when needed, but he’s not creating passing windows or manipulating defenders. Good passers both off the live dribble and when stopped, and can make all of the necessary passes, crosscourt, inside, outside, skip passes, to his roll man, etc. Would call his overall vision and passing good to very good, but not great or elite.  And while he has decent touch, he can be loose with accuracy. He occasionally forces passes into traffic or misreads help defenders, resulting in turnovers.

When VJ gets sped up, his decision-making suffers. He can jump without a plan or try to force a shot through multiple defenders, leading to wild finishes or giveaways. He also has moments where he mishandles the ball or tries to go too fast before securing the catch.

On the glass, he’s an active offensive rebounder. He crashes hard from the wing and can rise quickly for tip-ins or second-chance dunks. His quick second jump and strong hands make him a threat around the rim, especially against smaller guards.

Overall, Edgecombe is a strong all around offensive player.  He has good awareness and can be seen pointing and directing teammates.  His athletic tools and aggression make him a dangerous scorer and creator, but he still needs to refine his handle, improve his touch, and grow as a decision-maker to expand his offensive role in the NBA.

Defense

Edgecombe’s defense is built on elite tools and effort. He has quick feet, long arms, and strong instincts, giving him the potential to be a high-level on-ball and team defender. He moves well laterally, has good change of direction both north to south and east to west, and can absorb contact without getting knocked off balance.

At the point of attack, he’s disruptive and engaged. He plays low, keeps his chest in front, and uses his hands actively to poke at the ball or tip passes. He does a good job anticipating crossovers or spin moves and rarely bites on fakes. He can switch across guards and wings, using his strength and agility to hold up against a variety of matchups.

His closeouts are generally sharp and aggressive. He can cover ground quickly and contest shots with his length, but he occasionally over-commits or flies past shooters. When locked in, he can recover and still contest from behind or rotate to cover mistakes, but his timing and discipline still waver at times.

VJ is a very switchable defender, who on any number of screens by his man simply switched and guarded the ball handler.  However, while he is a multi-positional defender, he’s not quite a two level defender yet, at least for big men who can play the post. Even decent NBA prospects like Houston’s Jojo Tugler were able to bully him for good position and score relatively easily. Credit to VJ for fighting them and trying to make life hard (no lack of effort), but his 185 pound frame isn’t ready for it. His post defense was either him forcing a turnover or the opposing big wing / big man scoring what felt like 80% of the time.

Off the ball, Edgecombe is a playmaker. He jumps passing lanes, digs down to disrupt post entries, and rotates well from the weak side. His quick hands and instincts allow him to poke or grab the ball away for steals and deflections.  Any type of cross court pass is basically baiting Edgecombe to anticipate and break on the ball and take it the other direction.  He’s great at turning turnover into instant offense.  Though he does gamble a bit too much either jumping at passes or swiping for steals and making himself vulnerable to countermoves, which can leave him out of position, though he can at least try to recover quickly thanks to his burst and anticipation.

Edgecombe is an active team defender who communicates, rotates, and brings energy. He’s willing to help and switch, and his ability to cover ground lets him take on a roamer role at times.  And he’s generally smart about tagging rollers or helping down low when bigs rotate. However, he can be overeager, biting on backdoor cuts, helping too early, or drifting out of position trying to make a play.

VJ has shown flashes as a rim protector, especially in transition or when rotating from the weak side. His vertical pop and timing allow him to block shots, but he’s not a true shot blocker or primary rim deterrent. In the post, he competes but lacks size to hold up against stronger wings or bigs. He’ll fight and contest, but can get sealed off or moved easily. He doesn’t give up on plays, but physically, he’s more of a guard/wing stopper than a switch-everything defender at this stage.

On the defensive glass, he’s active but not dominant. He’ll track down long rebounds and fight for position, but doesn’t always box out. Bigger players can move him under the rim, and he sometimes leaks out early looking to run in transition.

VJ is little bit of a frustrating player defensively. Really seems to have most of the tools specifically could be a great wing defender. And when he’s locked it engaged it’s really bright to do a very good job. But it time just seems like he’s going through the motions or gets too caught up, trying to anticipate a steal or make a big play.  I also don’t love how Edgecombe could get caught on or go under screens at times. Has some good clips fighting too. Difficult part is Baylor switched or ran zone enough, just not as much tape on him navigating screens as I would like.  Maybe a skill he needs to learn in the pros.

Overall, Edgecombe could be high-impact perimeter defender with the potential to be versatile and disruptive. With added strength and more consistency off the ball, he could be a plus defender who racks up steals and is generally switchable to a point.

Note: I do have some worry like I did with Jaden Ivey coming out of school that VJ plays such a hard, physically aggressive style despite not being overly large himself that he could deal with injuries, especially early in his career as he learns to pick his spots better

Kon’s film is fascinating in that he has some very clear strengths and weaknesses and becomes a bit of a Rorschach test for what evaluators value in a player.

Offense
Kon Knueppel is one of the purest shooters in the draft. He has a lightning-quick release with pristine mechanics—compact, repeatable, and  fearless mindset where he is almost completely unfazed by contests. Whether he’s spotting up, coming off movement, or catching a kickout, he’s a consistent knockdown threat. He’s especially deadly in rhythm, needing only a fraction of a second to set his feet and get his balance to fire off an accurate shot. His footwork, balance, and ability to square up on the move allow him to shoot effectively from a wide range of angles and locations.

Kon is very comfortable shooting off one or two dribbles, particularly using a dribble to create rhythm or escape dribbles, but his efficiency declines when trying to create off extended dribble moves.  Similarly, you would hope Kon would be a better midrange shooter and be able to use the threat of stopping and hitting a 17 footer as a weapon to further help his drives, but his lack of separation, means he is shooting a lot of contests midrange shots that he’s not yet able to hit with nearly enough consistency.

Off the ball, Knueppel is constantly moving. He’s an extremely savvy cutter and relocator who reads defenders exceptionally well. He manipulates screens, fakes cuts, and instinctively changes direction to create separation. If a defender cheats over a screen, he’ll slip underneath for an open look. He’s also opportunistic and after offensive rebounds or on broken plays, he quickly finds soft spots in the defense and relocates for spot-up threes. That awareness leads to a surprising number of easy looks off chaos. This constant motion and his shooting ability creates gravity, forcing them to stay connected to him, which opens up space for teammates.

However, Despite his strength, he’s only a semi-willing screener. He makes contact and slips into space, mostly to free himself. He’ll screen for primary creators like Flagg, but rarely sticks in the screen to generate real separation for others.

Knueppel’s handle is functional but not advanced, and for now he is mostly a straight-line driver. While he’ll mix in the occasional crossover, spin move, or changes his pace a bit (albeit from a snail’s pace to a turtle’s pace), they generally do not create a lot of separation. Knueppel lacks burst and his drives are slow, but he does display good footwork and strong body control. He also always has the threat of shooting, so he is able to use pump fakes and more subtle fakes (e.g., head nods and even minor twitches) to get defenders off balance and open a lane

When he drives inside, he mostly relies on his strength, thicker frame, and touch. He’s a below-the-rim finisher with average length and minimal verticality, but he uses his wide frame to shield defenders and create angles. He’s capable of absorbing contact and even makes good use of contact to bump defenders and create some space to get off a shot inside.. Against single coverage or in space, he can be almost surprisingly effective. But in traffic or tight quarters, his limitations show, as he struggles to elevate or finish over length, and he’s not a threat to explode through help defenders.

There are flashes of post-game and mid-post scoring ability, especially against smaller guards and wings. He’s willing to bang and use his strength to carve out space, then either shoot over the top or make the right pass when doubled. He showed flashes of post up well even against bigger guards like Houston’s projected 2nd round pick. Milos Uzan (still in the draft as of this write up), showing patience and feel.

Knueppel’s feel extends to his passing. He’s not a primary creator and doesn’t collapse defenses, but he makes sound, quick reads. He’s especially effective within the flow of the offense; swinging the ball, feeding the post, or hitting a roller. He throws accurate entry passes and can deliver simple lobs or skip passes when defenders rotate. Occasionally, he’ll make an anticipatory pass or manipulate a defender on the break taking a purposeful dribble to force them to make a decision before whipping a quick pass to a teammate. His vision is somewhere between basic and plus, he’s not a savant, but even if his vision is better than his numbers suggest, he is limited by his inability to collapse the defense and is still more of a situational passer in the flow of the offense or when the defense is off balance.

Kon is very careful with the ball, limiting his turnovers. His most common turnovers that also have implications for his future success comes from trying to create off the dribble. He can lose control in traffic or get stripped when attempting a counter move. Otherwise, he generally takes care of the ball with the the occasional errant pass, or offensive fouls when he tries to carve out space, or stepping out of bounds with his backfoot when getting ready to drive from the wing.

As a rebounder, Kon is strong and had decent height and ability to track the ball, helping him get some boards.. He’s not explosive or especially long, so he won’t clean the glass among the trees, but he is willing to box out and put a body on opposing players, which lets him contribute in team-rebounding schemes. And while he can handle the ball, he’s also not much of a grab-and-go threat and he will typically secure a board and look to get the ball to a guard rather than push it himself.

Overall, Kueppel is a potentially elite shooter and decently well rounded offensive player who makes good decisions.  However, he has some real limitations that will probably limit his overall ceiling or at least the potential offensive role (and ability to be a primary ball handler) at the next level.  With that said, his core strengths and savvy play make him a potentially valuable weapon.

Defense

Knueppel’s defensive game is built around awareness, positioning, and toughness. He’s a smart, disciplined team defender who communicates, rotates well, and who shows strong anticipation and the ability to read and anticipate the offense. His instincts are good, and he makes quick reads; covering for teammates, tagging rollers, rotating down low to cover bigs, and even doubling opportunistically. He’s a vocal defender who sees the floor well and who points and directs traffic, even talking with his teammates after plays are over.  He occasionally picks off passes, using his awareness and timing to jump passing lanes and while his physical traits prevent him from being a steals maven he does generate a decent amount of deflections through anticipation.

However, while he has some good instincts and a strong motor, Knueppel’s lack of athleticism limits his margin for error. He has average lateral speed, limited leaping ability, and below-average burst. As a result, even small mistakes,, like a half-second of ball-watching, can lead to backdoor cuts or late contests. He doesn’t have a lot of these lapses, but he also can’t afford many.

Despite that, his lateral speed is limited but not tragic and his change of direction is better than expected. He moves his feet well east to west and takes smart recovery angles to try to get back in front of ball handlers  Even when he is helping and rotating down low and then needs to sprint back out to this man, he’s able to push off of his foot in that direction pretty quickly, and take a good angle, but is simply limited by his foot speed. The only moment his limitations become really obvious is when a player gets him moving at full speed chasing him vertically and then pulls a quick step back, where Kon’s momentum can keep him moving the original direction.

Kon also has wide shoulders, a low center of gravity, and good functional strength, so if he is in front of the ball handler, he’s able to absorb contact and maintain position thanks to this strong base. This helps him prevent quicker players from turning the corner on him as easily and forces tougher finishes just by being in the right spot.  Watching a guard or normal-sized wing jump into him and throw up a wild shot a bit surprised he didn’t move is always a bit funny.

These same tools help Kon to defend the post somewhat credibly, using his strength to hold position against bigger players.  He’s going to have trouble guarding up on a regular basis with his limited length and jumping ability.  However, in a switch if he comes over to help, he does well when he can position himself behind the opposing big and push them away from the hoop.  But if an opposing big catches the ball in he paint, he can only watch them score or try to commit a hard foul.

Navigating screens is a bit of a mixed bag for Knueppel.  He actually does well fighting through screens when needed and doesn’t automatically duck under or switch. His is better than you’d expect for a thick wing, as he takes good angles and doesn’t get completely caught or stuck. But if he loses even a step, it can be tough to recover, especially against quicker guards.  However, to his credit, in situations where his big man (fortunately for him normally Malauch) does switch to his man, he does a great job quickly rotating to switch to their man instead of just standing in no man’s land.

Knueppel’s closeouts are fundamentally sound. He contests well and rarely bites on fakes. His limited leaping means he often contests without leaving his feet, which helps avoid fouls and limits blow-bys. Still, his contests can be less effective if he’s forced to cover a lot of ground given his middling speed and lack of springiness and overall length.

When beaten, he gives good effort and uses good angles to try to get in the right spot to contest the shot or at least cause some congestion inside. And again, if his teammate rotates over, Kon will immediately cover the helper’s man. His rotations aren’t always successful due to his limitations or the speed of the offense, but they’re usually correct.

One other area where I have to give him, a lot of credit is always leaving everything on the court.  It’s really common for me to see what looks like a bad play from a prospect, but their team is up by 25 points so they may be coasting a bit in a blowout.  You don’t see that with Knueppel.  Even if Duke is up by 25 he is still sprinting out of every shooter and running through every screen like his life depends on it

Knueppel has the ability to be a solid system defender who will perform better in a strong team context instead of trying to cover for mistakes of you poor defensive team where his deficiencies would be further extenuated.  But he competes hard, plays smart, and uses his strength and feel to compensate for his physical limitations.

Ultimately, have you ever watched a prospect and marveled at how your evaluation of what you are saw seems to different than some of the other analysts?  I agree that Knueppel makes his money in the NBA from his offense, but after deep diving into the tape, I found him to be less versatile than expected offensively, but also better defensively.  He lacks speed and he’ll need to adjust to the league. He may have some embarrassing lowlight plays his rookie year, but he makes smart decisions, changes direction well, has a strong motor, rotates well, and uses his width, strength, and low center of gravity to frustrate ball handlers.  His speed is an issue.  But he’s not a statue.  Feels like once he adjusts to the league, he’ll be fine defensively.

Tre Johnson is potentially the most complete shooter in the draft class, but still needs to develop a number of other parts of his game to reach his ceiling.

Offense

Tre Johnson projects as one of the top pure shooters in the class. He can knock down threes with NBA range whether shooting in rhythm, off the dribble, off movement, or from a standstill. He is constantly looking to create space for his step-back. He has the ability to get his balance quickly even off movement and he has a very quick release.

Johnson is constantly looking to set up his shot, whether running the the three point line in transition, punishing defenders who “cheat” on screens as he darts back the other direction, or repositioning himself if his defender hedges to help on defense so he is positioned to receive a pass and drain a shot quickly.  Johnson is also very strong setting himself up for his shot with a quick dribble to get his rhythm or utilizing an escape dribble if a defender flies at him or bites on a pump fake.  He also excels at walking defenders into screens, changing pace to get open, and sprinting into catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Johnson’s isn’t especially fast, but has solid quickness and good handles. He can utilize crossovers, escape dribble, behind the backs, hesitations, change his pace, and has a strong step back. He show the ability to string together moves, which he often needs to be crafty and to create an opening for his jumper. If anything, could use some improvement on his footwork, adding elements like a strong Eurostep to help create opportunities towards the hoop. However, despite his ballhandling, he can struggle to gain any separation and is almost too reliant on bumping defenders to create a sliver of space for his pull up. At 190 pounds that could be less effective in the NBA.

When Tre does get inside, he’s not especially explosive. Johnson uses his compact frame to absorb contact and create space with shoulder bumps and has enough strength to create some space and use his body to try to shield defenders from the ball so he can get an angle to score.  However, he’s a below-the-rim finisher who lacks great bend or fluidity, and quick or explosive jumping ability, or hangtime. Additionally, while he has decent touch on runners and layups, it’s a bit mixed and inconsistent.  He doesn’t quite have the great touch of guys like Harper and even CMB who manage to use spin and hit some higher degree of difficulty shots inside. And he tend to avoid contact while shooting inside (and outside) and doesn’t appear to draw a lot of fouls.  Overall, he really struggles in congestion.  Tre just doesn’t have any trait that really helps him score inside when it gets crowded.  He will benefit a lot from developing more of a runner.  But I can also see the potential in the NBA with more spacing.

As a passer, Johnson shows flashes of real touch and vision.  Honestly, the touch and vision of some of his passes really impressed me compared to some of the other shooters/scorers I have watched who have similarly low total assists.  He can make sharp passes off the live dribble, hit cutters, and deliver skip passes. He’s particularly comfortable throwing shovel passes, lobs, and well-timed leads to teammates. Despite this he can get extreme tunnel vision, especially when keyed in looking for his shot. He gets a lot of teams shading him and sending double at him even when he is just looking to shoot (not turning the corner towards the basket). However, he doesn’t punish teams for this by consistently finding the open man. Any number of players I went back and paused and teams had two defenders fully on him and he had open three point shooters he just ignored while pump faking or stepping back to take his own shot.  The passing flashes are encouraging, but unlocking more consistent reads could raise his ceiling significantly.

Tre is not much of a rebounder, as he doesn’t have the length, athleticism, leaping, or even really the timing to be great. Most offensive and defensive rebounds were outside of the key or bounded off a couple of players. When he gets defensive rebounds though, he can  turn and push right up court.

His turnovers were fairly limited for someone with so many touches and drives.  Most were spread across different types of mistakes;  a few mishandled dribbles, some miscommunications, occasional forced passes, and getting caught in traps along the baseline. Impressively, despite being the primary offensive engine.  If anything, he probably needs to clean up his judgement a bit on cross court passes that will be trickier in the NBA.

Defense

Defensively, Johnson raises more questions. He doesn’t always seem to play with full effort and can play upright at times, though this might be partly from carrying such an oversized offensive load. Tre oddly doesn’t play like he is 6’6” and often looks smaller on tape.  He doesn’t seem to have especially long arms (note: his wingspan is 6’10.25, so this is stylistic to how he plays and not actually based on his actual wingspan) or quick / explosive jumping ability, which makes it hard for him to contest shots if the offensive player gets some cushion, such as on a step back or if Tre goes under a screen to far or is simply running out to the line

Tre can struggle guarding the perimeter partially due to defensive deficiencies and partially due to effort.  He often takes poor angles navigating screens or when defending in isolation, and doesn’t fight through contact. His screen navigation is particularly weak. Even on a weak DHO, just sort of slows down and stops fighting.  Or in some cases just takes such a horrible or wide angle to avoid the contact that he’s completely taken out of the play. He takes some really bad angles overall. There are times he almost just trails his man and then stops instead of getting back into the play. 

And as strong as Johnson can play bumping people on offense, he seems to get bumped back or knocked off balance easily on defense.  Whether it’s balance, strength, or center of gravity it’s night and day.  I am hesitant to call him contact adverse given he will use his body to dislodge defenders, but he does seem to try to avoid a lot of other contact leading to a low free throw rate, bad angles on screens, and generally shying away from contact on defense or rebounding.

However, he does appear to have pretty decent lateral speed and ability change of direction both north to south and east to west, but just doesn’t move fast enough or have enough length or spriginess to really take advantage of it.  While a bit slower north to south at times it  appears to be from poor footwork as opposed to not being able to change direction or slow restart ability.  Tre also just bites on enough fakes and counter moves, that while he is not slow to change direction he can be far enough out of the play that he just can’t get back in and make a difference, especially with his inability to recover.  In other words, while he does have some physical limitations he also has some tools that could help him become a passable defender if he more fully commits and improves his defensive decision making.

Tre has some awareness of helping, tagging down, and rotating, but overall, doesn’t really provide much congestion inside or ability to switch up and guard even bigger wings.  Tennessee hunted him relentlessly in their SEC tournament win over Texas.  Which is not great when a potential top 5 pick can be hunted in college.  Additionally, his closeouts helping on the perimeter are especially problematic, he struggles to recover if beaten, lacks the explosion to contest effectively, and often gets caught committing too hard to try to contest the shot.  All of his other issues are magnified on these close outs, he can’t contest very well so has to commit and if offensive player pump fakes or drives by him, he just can’t catch up.

There’s a clear discrepancy between how strong he plays offensively and how easily he gets bumped off balance or displaced on defense. He also avoids contact on this end — failing to rotate, contest, or bump drivers — and generally doesn’t provide resistance inside. While he shows flashes of decent lateral mobility and change-of-direction ability, he bites on fakes, takes poor angles, and is often caught trailing with no ability to recover.

Tre’s awareness seems to vary, at times, he does seem to be rotating and helping and hustling to track his man. But on other plays he seems completely unaware of screeners, will stand in no man’s land, and loses track of his man. He really makes some baffling decisions that it is hard to just write off as him coasting a bit on defense. Sometimes Tre just loses his man while ball watching. It echoes a bit of what we saw on offense with not passing enough despite having some good ability.

Johnson does have active hands and shows some ability to generate steals;  mostly from loose balls, intercepting soft passes, or gambling to try to jump into passing lanes. While he occasionally jumps a route and turns defense into offense, his lack of length and leaping limits his impact in these scenarios.  And like with other problematic aspects of his defense, if he gambles for a steal and misses it, he’s just out of the play.

Ace Bailey is one of the more polarizing players to watch.  He’s the epitome of a player where your evaluation can change if you are the type of person who looks for a prospects best moments and imagines what he could be if he could replicate those consistently or one who wants to see high awareness and some consistent level of skill now.

Offense

Ace Bailey has a smooth, high-release jumper that looks very projectable. When he catches the ball and shoots in rhythm, especially on quick actions or trailing plays, he has great form and is already a very efficient shooter.. His shooting off one or two dribbles, including escape dribbles and step-backs, is impressive. He’s particularly dangerous when he can catch and rise quickly, taking advantage of his size and high release to get clean looks, even under pressure.

This is sort of Bailey in a nutshell, he thrives when he can make quick, decisive moves. Whether coming off a screen, trailing in transition, or making a straight-line drive into a pull-up, he’s much more effective when the play is quick and simple.

However, he struggles when asked to create off complex or extended dribble moves. His handle is loose and he’s mostly a straight-line driver at this stage. And while he has some flashes of crossovers or hesitations, they aren’t very functional and don’t create much separation, even against slower defenders. The loose handles aren’t a surprise for someone so young and big. But Bailey could struggle to create at least early on in NBA.

Bailey has good size and long strides that help him get downhill quickly, but he lacks shake, the ability to change pace effectively, and any real elusiveness. His spin move can be a weapon when it creates an angle, allowing him to finish with touch using his length. But if it doesn’t work, he doesn’t have many counters and often settles for a fadeaway, which is not yet a high-efficiency option. for Bailey. And if he can’t get to his shot, he can jump or get trapped and throw up a wild shot or throw the ball away.

While he can score inside with space thanks to his long arms and solid vertical pop in space, but in traffic he struggles. His touch is inconsistent, especially when crowded, and he is pretty stiff and lacks fluidity when navigating tight spaces. He often relies on trying to shoot over defenders instead of using his length creatively to extend or finish around them.  Loses his balance inside with any real congestion or length And his narrower frame makes it harder for him to shield defenders away from the ball, though this could change as he fills out over the next few years.

Off the ball, Bailey flashes good instincts. He runs hard in transition and can be a weapon either getting behind the defense for dunks or spacing out to the three-point line. He’s also opportunistic, picking the right moments when his man is cheating over or hedging to cut behind defenders for easy dunks or lay-ins. When he can find a soft spot in the defense (does well against zone) and can take a pass off movement and can go right into his jumper, he’s very effective.  Again, quick and decisive movements.

However, his movement slows in the half court without designed action. He’s willing to run plays, but when things break down, he tends to stand still. He’s not a black hole, but there’s not much in the way of relocation, screening, or secondary movement. He also doesn’t set good screens, often slipping out early and making minimal contact.

In the post, he struggles to establish position and isn’t much of a physical presence. He mostly looks to get to his fadeaway, which can be a weapon, but doesn’t generate much pressure on the defense. He rarely backs defenders down and doesn’t generate easy looks in the paint.

As a passer, he’s very basic. Most of his reads come after picking up his dribble or under duress, usually swinging it to the side or hitting the screener. He doesn’t create off live dribbles and lacks vision. Some of his passes show touch, but others are way off target, slow, or telegraphed, leading to turnovers. He can get sped up easily, resulting in wild shots or bad decisions, including jumping with no plan and throwing poor passes.

Overall, he is not very decisive, almost seems to move in slow motion at times as he seems to be processing the court and makes decisions a second or two too late.  This will have to improve in the NBA or he will mostly be limited to an off ball threat.

His rebounding is inconsistent. He uses his length and effort to track down boards, but often doesn’t box out and can have rebounds knocked loose or bobbled due to his lack of strength. Still, he can  is a grab-and-go threat in transition, where his speed and long strides are dangerous.

Defense

Bailey’s defensive appeal starts with his physical tools. His long arms and quick strides allow him to cover a lot of ground and create havoc on defense at times. He gets steals by jumping passing lanes or knocking down passes at the point of attack. As a shot blocker, he’s shown flashes, especially on the weak side or when closing out late to contest threes. He has the tools to disrupt shooters even after making a mistake.

In transition, Bailey really creates congestion with his length and can recover quickly. He’s also shown a willingness to rotate and help, though his timing and decision-making are inconsistent. He can over-help or rotate early, leaving shooters open or allowing backdoor cuts. The same tendency shows up on the glass, where he often overpursues rebounds he can’t reach, giving up second-chance opportunities.

On the perimeter, Bailey has good lateral quickness and recovery speed, and his long arms allow him to contest even after being beaten. But his effort closing out isn’t consistent, and his footwork is poor, as he can take strange angles, lose balance, or even trip himself. His lateral agility is decent, but north-south changes of direction are harder for him, mostly due to footwork and balance issues though he is able to compensate to some degree with his length and springiness.

When he’s locked in, Bailey shows flashes of being able to stay in front of ball handlers and use his frame to contain drives. He has some potential to defend pick-and-rolls, as he’s quick enough to switch onto guards or wings and be the type of long, switchable defender that is critical in the league right now.  And his wingspan can disrupt passing lanes or help him to effectively trap ball handlers. But he often takes bad angles.  And worse, he can really struggle with screens. Bailey  has the speed to move around them, but can get caught up and take poor angles or make bad decisions allowing his man to get a clean look. Can also anticipate the screen and try to lean into it or get caught up anticipating it and let his man just shoot the open jumper.

Bailey does a surprisingly good job playing post defense, despite having a skinnier frame. He does not give up position easily add with his length and long arms and spring is able to contest a lot of shots and make life difficult.

Overall, just like with his offense, Bailey can flash tantalizing potential.  However, his decision making and inconsistent effort are problematic. He just completely lose his man at times. A few plays I was frustrated to see that he is just guarding absolutely nobody and doesn’t even seem to realize it until the man he should be guarding is scoring.  He gets caught up on or seemingly confused on even some softball screens and he can have a lot of trouble locating his man at times and you can see him spinning around looking for someone to help out on until an open man scores

Offense

Nique Clifford brings a good mix of size, fluidity, and feel to the offensive that he is able to blend with a versatile skillset. Nique is a capable ball-handler with a diverse arsenal of moves, such as crossovers, spins, hesitations, and changes of pace dribbles that allow him to create offense from different parts of the floor.  However, he lacks some elusivity and isn’t always able to use his handles to create separation. I have some concerns that he had success in college as more of a “tough shot maker” than a space creator which doesn’t always translate well to the NBA where that space becomes even tougher to create.

Nique’s jumper is a mixed bag. Clifford has a bit of a mechanical release and a slow shot that’s far less effective when rushed or off the dribble. The one off-the-dribble shot that does seem to work for him is his step-back, particularly when used against bigs in switch situations. His effectiveness in catch-and-shoot situations is better, as he gets into his shot with balance and consistency when given time. However, NBA defenders may force him into quicker, less comfortable shots unless he can speed up his mechanics.

As a scorer inside, Clifford is more about finesse. He’s not an explosive vertical athlete, but has decent hang time and some decent fluidity to create angles and find windows to score. However, he does have some issues in general with his functional strength, and here his ability to finish through contact is inconsistent. While he had some And-1s after getting fouled, when he’d run into a player and get a sliver of space or if they walled up and he needed to finish through the ensuing collision, he seemed to lose some accuracy.

Another potential red flag is how reliant he is on his right hand. On left-side drives, he regularly spins back to his right or forces right-handed finishes, with very few left-hand layups. His reverse layup is a bit of an exception, but overall this right-hand dominance is a concern, particularly for a senior.  Maybe this is just my Marvin Bagley PTSD speaking (gets the Kings’ fan 1000 yard stare), but I’d prefer to see any player, but especially one his age be more comfortable scoring with either hand.

Nique does have excellent footwork, which helps him both as a driver and a shot creator in the midrange.  However, again, even those midrange shots tend to be pretty well contested and don’t always come with he separation you’d like to see from a 5th year senior going against a weaker level of competition.

Clifford is savvy moving without the ball and can be used in various actions, including cutting, screening, popping out for shots, or attacking off DHOs. He shows a high understanding of offensive flow and is good at reading and reacting to the defense and finding the soft spot as a sort of versatile Swiss army knife.

His rebounding adds extra value on both ends, as he has strong hands, and consistently crashes the glass, particularly on the defensive end. He’s a strong grab-and-go threat, and his team often relied on him to start the break. Defensively, he’s also willing to put a body on someone and box out, which always brings a smile to my face.

Clifford is also a fundamentally sound passer.  Nique has strong vision and read of the court and makes accurate passes. He does tend to be a bit safer and not amke many risky or fancy passes, but plays a fundamentally sound game and just hits his roller, swings and skips the ball, drives and kicks out, or pushes up court. He also has good anticipation and the ability to take a pass and immediately whip it to the next player for a better shot  He also has height to see over defense and see passing lanes and is good at sensing double team, which helps him find open players and avoid some sloppy turnovers.

While he’ll occasionally turn it over with the occasional misread or forced pass, the majority of his mistakes are more about spacing issues or teammate errors than bad processing.  The biggest concern that causes most of his turnovers is his inability to consistently create separation. This led to him picking what felt like at least one travel per game, throwing desperation passes, or simply getting stripped. NBA-level defenders will likely exacerbate this problem unless he makes a major improvement to his ability to create space.

Defense

Clifford’s defensive profile is …um.. let’s just say less optimistic. While he has length and a solid motor, his physical tools, such as his narrow frame, average lateral speed, and limited functional strength often limit his ability to create defensive impact.

Clifford’s issues start with his screen navigation. He struggles to stay attached and often gets completely taken out of plays by even modest contact. His momentum tends to die upon contact, as he doesn’t have the strength to fight through or the presence to take smart recovery angles. He’s not a complete disaster on screens, but it stood out and was definitely a bit of a red flag.

On-ball, his narrower frame, average lateral speed, and lack of functional strength make it easy for players to turn the corner on him and score easily inside.  Additionally, Nique’s charge of direction is fairly slow, especially north to south and he can struggle to recover from counter moves as he doesn’t always take good angles, which is surprising given his high offensive feel.  But offensive players don’t always need counters, some plays quicker guards and wings just turn on the jets and blow by him and Clifford lacks recovery speed and is often flat-footed limiting his his ability to get back into the play and make an impact after he’s beaten.  In fact, he sort of has a tendency to trail the play after getting beaten and doesn’t always make an impact (felt like I was watching Zach LaVine).  Although, some of this could be a factor of his heavy offensive load.

When he does manage to stay in front of drivers, he can also struggle to absorb contact, getting knocked off his spot or even knocked down multiple times during games. While he gives effort and shows a good understanding of where to be, his tools sometimes limit his impact.

Clifford is much better rotating and providing help for his teammates or playing a good team defense. He understands help assignments, switches with intent, and uses his length and anticipation well. He gets his hands on passes, rotates to contest shooters, and uses timing and length to block shots, particularly from the weak side. Though he’s not explosive, his anticipation and fluidity help him be a disruptive secondary defender.  Despite this, on closeouts, he can sometimes need to sell out to try to stop a shot due to his limited tools or struggles to change direction once his momentum is committed, allowing straight-line drives or quick counter moves for easy buckets and step backs.

Clifford is not a threat to switch onto big men as he lacks the strength to hold his ground in the post.  He is willing to help inside and has long arms that can create some extra congestion. But again the lack of strength or explosion makes it hard for him to have too much of an impact.

Clifford generates a high number of steals by jumping passing lanes, digging on drivers, and swiping the ball from unsuspecting handlers. He’s at his best in a free safety role where he can roam and read the game, rather than being asked to lock up scorers.

Offense

Cedric Coward was a three-level scorer at the collegiate level, but it’s unlikely he’ll replicate that role in the NBA given his athletic and skill limitations. Coward’s offensive game starts with his shooting. He’s a good spot-up shooter who gets his balance and get into his shot quickly and has a high release point, making it tough to contest. He’s especially effective in catch-and-shoot situations and shows some ability to shoot on the move, although his off-the-dribble shot is much more inconsistent.

Coward has a compact, quick release, and is accurate when given space. However, when matched up against length, such as in his game against Iowa, he had a tendency to short-arm some shots under pressure, suggesting potential concerns with NBA defenders. Coward moves decently without the ball and relocates at times, but often positions himself where he wants the ball (in the corner, posting up, or at the top of the key) and doesn’t display high-level activity unless he’s involved in a set action like a DHO.

Coward’s handle is functional but limited and are mostly straight-line drives with a few basic moves like a crossover or other moves, but they are not very elusive. Since he doesn’t create much separation, he often relies on bumping defenders to carve out a sliver of space to get off his shot. Because of this, most of his offensive possessions revolve around either a spot-up three or a post-up. So his ability to create may come down to how elite his three point shooting can be in the NBA. Good enough to be a good role player? Perhaps. But is he jab stepping or shooting on the move or off the dribble versus an NBA team with any consistency? I’m concerned this feels like more of a stretch.

When he does drive inside, Coward is more of a below-the-rim athlete, especially in traffic or congestion. While he has some fluidity and length, he’s stiff in traffic, doesn’t jump especially high or with great hangtime, and struggles with touch around the rim when met by longer defenders. He can finish against smaller or weaker competition, but against size and length, his finishing becomes erratic. He lacks hang time, explosion, or the strength to power through contact in tight windows.  And from a standstill, such as off an offensive rebound, he doesn’t have the pop or tools to go right back up in any sort of traffic.

Coward did show some post ability in college, particularly using his size and strength to bully smaller wings. However, this was potentially a product of the level of competition, and while to some degree his functional strength should translate to the NBA, it’s questionable whether he will be able to bully NBA defenders with the same consistency. In the pros, his post-game projects as a highly situational tool (such as off of a switch when he’s matched up with a guard) and not necessarily a go-to play that coaches will run for him against a set defense.

Coward is a good rebounder thanks to his strength, hands, and coordination. He’s capable of securing boards on both ends and can push the ball upcourt off defensive rebounds.

As a passer, Coward is unselfish and functional. Most of his assists come from basic reads, such as swinging the ball along the perimeter, hitting post entry passes, or making simple passes off a cut. Occasionally, he’ll flash with a nice post kick-out or skip pass, but overall his vision appears average and his passing touch is inconsistent. He can normally get the ball where it needs to go, but he can miss the shooter’s pocket or force his big man to have to give up some position to adjust and catch the ball.

Coward keeps turnovers relatively low. Most came from shaky ball-handling, such as losing his dribble under pressure or picking his dribble up early and then getting pressured throwing the ball away.  He also had a few offensive fouls while battling for position. He’s not reckless, but he’s not a dynamic creator either.

Defense

Coward’s defense is a mixed bag. Despite solid physical tools, such as his length, strength, and lateral speed, his on-ball defense on the perimeter looked surprisingly shaky. He often played upright and narrow and took some poor angles and jumpy footwork, which allowed ball-handlers to drive around him. Given his tools, this was a disappointment, though some of it may be coachable.

He’s a much better help defender. Coward shows good anticipation and is quick to rotate, often making impressive weakside contests and blocking shots at the rim or on jumpers. He uses his length well, and his timing on these plays stands out. He’s strong enough to bang inside and smart enough to contest without fouling too much.

Coward’s screen navigation was hit-or-miss. He’s agile enough to get skinny and slip through some screens, but when caught cleanly, he can get knocked off balance and lose his ability to recover. He’s more effective defensively when he can build momentum. When he’s sprinting to contest, he gets up well and uses his length to bother shooters. But when he has to change direction north-south or recover from a hedge or stop, he’s less explosive and can be late or ineffective.  He was frozen on a couple of step backs where the offensive players generated plenty of room for a clean look.

He does add real defensive value is as a playmaker. He racks up steals through deflections, digging down on drives, stripping his man, and jumping passing lanes. His combination of length and anticipation makes him disruptive and helps generate fast breaks for his team.

Note: Coward suffered a season ending shoulder injury that required surgery to repair just 6 games into the 2024-2025 season

Offense

Will Riley is a young whose flashes of athleticism and shooting touch are intriguing, but whose offensive game is still largely a work in progress.

Riley is mostly a straight-line slasher with a strong first step and good acceleration. He can go from a slow dribble or standstill and burst quickly towards the hoop, but he otherwise has a very basic handle and can attempt a crossover or spin, but they’re don’t typically help him to actually advance the ball or beat defenders. If Riley can’t beat his defender with speed, he struggles to create separation.

If Riley can’t get to the hoop, he doesn’t have much of a midrange game at the moment.  He has a nascent step back jumper, but at this stage it is more theoretical as it doesn’t really go in much. He will also try to turn his back to the basket and post up, but doesn’t really have the strength of move defenders or the moves and footwork to be crafty inside, so it normally just leads to a tough fade or step back

When Riley does get inside, the results are a mixed bag.  The first thing that stands out is he has poor functional strength. Riley bounces off people inside and can miss some seemingly easy layins due to contact that disrupts his touch. However, he also has good speed, length, and can jump quickly to get an advantage and score.  However, he really struggles to finish versus length or congestion. He is a bit stiff without much bend although he has some fluidity with his arms. So when he can’t use some of his natural tools to get a good look, he doesn’t have good counters or answers and can put up some really bad shots.

Riley is a good shooter with a high release point and shows good touch when stationary or shooting in rhythm. However, the mechanics can break down off movement or off the dribble, as he struggles to square up and loses accuracy on the move.  He shot can also be a bit stiff at times.  And a few times he had to adjust to get his balance and it slowed down his release allowing the defense to contest.  But overall, he’s strong from the outside.

Additionally, Riley is an active off-ball mover. He’ll cut, relocate along the perimeter, and crash the offensive glass. His hands are reliable, and his quick second jump makes him a threat for putbacks and dunks.

He is just an ok rebounder who is better offensively than defensively.  He crashes the boards well on offense when there is a seam.  On defense, he mostly get balls that bounce out to the perimeter or fall right in his area largely uncontested.  He can get to the ball quickly, but doesn’t really have the strength or fight to rip the ball away from bigger players.

As a passer, Riley is solid. He’s unselfish and makes lots of passes to cutters and bigs, especially when he senses a double team or help coming in rotation. He can also make some kick outs, skips, ans baseline passes to the opposite corner when he drives. At a minimum his passing is certainly functional enough to fit as part of an NBA offense

His turnovers fall into three broad categories: First, poor passing judgment or accuracy. He made a few poor throws and either overestimated his abilities or missed the target badly.  Second, he can over-dribbling, which can lead to him getting stripped or committing travels and offensive fouls. And finally, he has a tendency to get sped up under pressure.  And when trapped or pressed, his decision-making can decline, leading to rushed or sloppy mistakes.

Defense

Defensively, Riley flashes tools and effort, but his impact varies with his matchups and physical limitations.

Riley has good lateral speed and is able to guard even quick perimeter players.  He covered Braden Smith at times in the Purdue game and did a credible job. He can play pretty far back off players.  Has hops and length to close the gap quickly on shots, but still may not be able to get away with that on the NBA. However, he’s is great at contesting shooters, as he has the speed, quick jumping, and length to react quickly and get a good contest.

Riley also demonstrates a strong ability to rotate and help and then still get back outside to offer at least a good contest.   However, his footwork and technique could use some refinement at times.  He doesn’t always take great angles which can leave him vulnerable to counters and blowbys.  Additionally, his lack of strength can get him caught in screens at times, but he mostly does a nice job as he can get skinny or quickly run under them.  And even if he gets hit, he can accelerate quickly coming off them to get back to his man   He also has good recovery speed to help cover for mistakes and get back in play to try to contest shots at the rim or from midrange.

One issue that hurts Riley on defense is he has a thin frame and lacks functional strength.  Players can get outside his frame to either turn the corner or get an angle to score inside.  Also they can bump him as they drive inside to get space to score. And in response if Riley prepares for contact and tries to push back, he makes himself vulnerable to counters like spin moves that players used to get some easy buckets at the hoop.  The question is how his frame will develop and how much strength he can add as he gets older 

Inside the arc, Riley’s effectiveness drops. While he has length and timing to contest shots, he lacks the size and physicality to offer much resistance in the paint. He’ll often try to avoid contact and instead swipe or contest from the side. Against stronger wings or bigs, he tends to get bumped off balance or drift away from the action.  To be clear, I don’t think he’s contact averse, as he will bump and be physical with guards and wings, this is specific to dealing with big me in the paint.

Off-ball, his awareness or focus can waver. He gave up several backdoor cuts and looked a step late recognizing some actions. He’s not low feel or consistently bad, but just sped up a bit. He’s very fast and at times his body can move faster than his processing. Hopefully as game slows down for him he can make better decisions and more of an impact.

He does have the tools to generate steals, using his length and speed to poke balls loose or shoot into passing lanes, but he oddly just didn’t seem to get many.