Draft Prospect: JJ Hickson

[Marcus Bryant]

http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/jj_hickson.jpg

Full Name: James Edward Hickson
Position: Forward
Height/Weight: 6-9 / 242
Birthdate: September 4, 1988
High School: Wheeler HS
College: North Carolina State

NBA (http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/J.J.Hickson.html)
NBADraft.net (http://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/jjhickson.html)
DraftExpress (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/J.J.-Hickson-1239/)

[AFBlue]

JJ Hickson staying in the draft and hiring an agent.

I know no one has posted about this kid, but the more talent that stays in this draft the better it is for the Spurs.

On Hickson, he's an active and athletic big man with a good all-around game. He's still a year or two from being an NBA-regular, but he's got the goods to be a solid PF.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Draft Report: J.J. Hickson


J.J. Hickson is a throwback classic power forward who isn’t a high-flying athlete but has a strong 80’s NBA body.

He gets wide in the block before the catch with a low center of gravity. His hands are average, but he doesn’t give up on the play on fumbles and gets gritty.

He does a great job of getting position on his man in all areas of the post but particularly in setting up a baseline take. He gets called for an inordinate amount of fouls trying to get positioning in the post, but it’s easier to tone it down than the reverse.

He isn’t a great athlete, but he has a quick first step especially going baseline.

He sometimes lets defenders nudge him too far under the basket towards the baseline or out towards the perimeter.

Hickson creates some space for himself in the mid-post with a nice reverse pivot.

He’ll reverse pivot, get his man in the air, and go into him for an and 1 in the low block.

His pivot work is sophisticated with awesome spin moves, balance, and patience in the post. He has those Hakeem-caliber spin moves, hesitation, anything to get space. Beyond the technique and talent, Hickson is a tremendous worker.

He doesn’t have very many vertical moves with the ball and can’t do much with his face-up game beyond his jumper. His handle is decent but doesn’t do much and gets out of control and runs over defenders.

Hickson occasionally makes his mind up to do a certain move well before he does it even when the situation no longer calls for it; for example, he once caught the ball all alone in mid-post, faced up, and did a jab step without a defender anywhere near him.

On a similar note, Hickson sometimes would be overplayed up high in the post and was given the baseline for a clear path to the rim but wouldn’t realize it, or even worse, not take advantage of it. Playing in the post is such a grind as it is, where every basket is earned, so Hickson must become more adaptable and take what the defense gives him.

He has extremely impressive body control when getting fouled and finishing in the air; he could even be classified as more effective when he gets fouled in the air.

Hickson has good lateral speed going from block to block as the ball reverses.

In the early stretch of the season, Hickson would get uncomfortable and turnover prone when doubled in the post, but he improved substantially in the way he handled those situations as he got more experience. Because he was doubled and had opposing defenses collapse on him nearly every time he touched the ball, even beating quality NBA defenders will prove easier in comparison.

Later in the year, he was even using a drop step against a post double team that ended up with a two-handed flush. His drop step is powerful and difficult to defend.

He has a nice fadeaway jumper out of the post when he goes middle. He also has a little hook shot, but that shot is routinely flat.

Hickson’s comfort using the glass doesn’t extend very far, and he’ll need to spend a lot of time working on this shot to get that killer mid-post game.

Hickson isn’t especially skilled when not in the post, average in the high-post and perimeter. His movement is a little apathetic and backdoor cuts are rare occurrences. He will need to develop these other areas of the game in order to be a contributor on offense when the ball doesn’t run through him on the post.

In a game late in the season against Duke, Hickson caught the ball at the elbow, made a little shot fake to create a lane for himself, and drove to the basket for a nice layup - a complex move he didn’t make earlier in the year.

He wasn’t used on the pick and roll very much, but he rolls to the basket with really solid footwork when he does, and the quality of his mid-range jumper makes him good on the pick and fade.

Hickson’s jumper wasn’t used frequently at NC State, but he should be a consistently effective shooter when left alone. He has really soft touch, good lift, a high release, and although it’s a long range of motion, there isn’t any wasted movement.

It isn’t as much of a problem on the pick and roll, but he is a phantom screener when setting a pick off-ball.

The best aspects of his game do not come in transition, but he’ll work hard and run where he can.

He is explosive to the rim when he has some clear space but can’t really finish with dunks on people or in traffic; this is where he uses that great body control to finish lay-ups.

He doesn’t have the greatest passing abilities but is good on the re-post and improved throughout the season. He is developing and would occasionally get assists on the give and go.

On the offensive glass, he has bad balance elevating and also brings the ball down to his gut to gather himself instead of keeping it high. Making up for the lack of athleticism and fundamentals is a great motor and nice timing.

Like he is on offense, Hickson is largely technique based on defense. But he’ll get an occasional block although he will below average for a power forward in this part of the game.

He frequently loses his balance guarding the post and doesn’t always hustle back to the defensive side of the floor in transition.

Hickson is a decent show defender out on the pick and roll, but he has lackluster lateral quickness defensively.

Perhaps most importantly and something that can potentially be improved is that he is unable to get as long on the defensive end the way he does offensively.


http://realgm.com/src_fromtherafters/189/20080614/draft_report_jj_hickson_of_nc_state/

[TheProfessor]

From Ford's "Who's Hot, Who's Not" article a few days ago:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=DraftNotes-080610

J.J. Hickson, F, NC State
It shouldn't come as a huge shock that Hickson has wowed a few people in early workouts -- he's a very skilled big man who has an NBA body. Plus, he had an excellent freshman season.

"He's just incredibly strong for his age," Suns GM David Griffin said of Hickson after he worked out for the Suns. "He has a naturally thick body. He can bang on the perimeter, and he's also got a pretty quick face-up game."

We've had Hickson pegged in the 20s for the past several months, but I'm starting to hear more buzz that he could move into the teens if he continues to have strong workouts.

Hickson has worked out for the Suns, Sixers, Sonics and Blazers so far.

[Mr. Body]

I didn't realize how lousy NC State was this year. Finished the season with 9 losses. What happened there?

[Marcus Bryant]

N.C. State forward J.J. Hickson announced Sunday that he has signed with an agent and will remain in the June 26 draft, thereby ending his collegiate eligibility.

link (http://www.charlotte.com/bobcats/story/671898.html)