Jaime Jaquez Jr.

I like Jaquez and really want to get caught up in the hype. The models clearly like him.  He had a fantastic statistical profile and played for a top program.  They all tended to view him as at least a rotation player and maybe even a plus starter.

On offense, I an almost get there.  He’s deceptively quick, extremely savvy, and is a physical player who would punish other players in a way reminiscent of David Roddy before him.  Jacquez is also a solid ball hander, who plays with a herky jerky style that keeps players guessing, though he doesn’t have the greatest handles or array of moves and relies on a lot of fakes and jabs to get free.  He also loves to turn his back to the basket and the second the opposing player pushed against him, he’ll execute a quick spin and get to the hoop.  the problem is when his initial move doesn’t work, he generally resorts to just pounding the basketball and trying to bully his way inside.  It worked in the NCAA, it won’t work as well in the NBA.  Jaquez also has a passable shot, but it will need some work, as he leans back at times and doesn’t always get his legs into his shot, especially when he is rushed.  Jacquez is also a good passer, who is a three level passer and utilizes bounces inside, hits cutters, throws crosscourt, executes lobs all from any angle you can imagine.  He’s great at sensing pressure coming and reading the defense to make quick, anticipatory passes.

Defensively is a bit of a different story.  Jacquez will almost have to guard up in the NBA, as he’s just really slow moving north to south and not that impressive with his lateral speed either.  He has a good motor and would try to hustle outside to contest shots, but often would just be late or would put his hand up while still standing on the ground.    When he did jump and sell out, he was extremely vulnerable to fakes and drive bys as he simply doesn’t have the ability to recover quickly.  Now he’s savvy and a good team defender.  But his physical limitations will be felt even more on the defensive side of the ball.

Ultimately, I wanted to rank him higher (especially with whispers he could go in the first round).  But I have a couple of issues with Jaquez.  First, he just wasn’t that efficient.  33rd percentile on spot up, 45th on cuts, 29th in the post, and 45th shooting off the dribble. I don’t mean to lean too hard on Synergy stats and I realize that Adam Bona (UCLA’s center) was paint bound and Jaquez could face some crowds, but I’d love to see a Senior be more efficient.  Second, I think defense will be a real issue.  Even if a team uses his quirky style creatively on offense (Grizzlies are pros at this), can he guard NBA PFs?  Would he just get hunted?  Can he move quickly enough to challenge shots?  I liked Roddy last year, but am struggling more with Jaquez.

I can still see an NBA role for Jaquez.  And I think he makes sense in the late first or early second round.  I am not quite as bullish on him as some others.  But I could see him carving our a role.  Aspirationally, he could chart a similar path as a bigger Šarūnas Marčiulionis or Joe Ingles.  Neither was the fastest and Ingles in particular was more of a big wing, who could guard up and managed to survive on the perimeter with Gobert behind him, but he was also a 41% three point shooter.  The downside here is that Jaquez could also be playing overseas in a few year or sitting on UCLA’s coaching staff.