From the athletic :"
" Weaknesses
Not a wild athlete in terms of quickness. Doesn’t completely lack twitch but will be a slightly below-average athlete by NBA standards. Skinny at 180 pounds and willing to play physically offensively, but I think he can get blown through physically at times on defense. The lower half is particularly a problem. He succeeded in the Big Ten playing against those enormous bigs who sit deep in drop coverage, but I worry a bit more about what he looks like against bigger, more switchable athletes in terms of getting that small amount of separation he needs to be effective.
Given those factors, how efficient can his play style be? Doesn’t take a ton of 3s, and when he does, they’re mostly open ones off the catch. Not a guy who generates 3s by moving off the ball, and his pull-up game is not terrific as it extends out from distance. On top of that, he doesn’t get to the line a ton. Largely plays physically on his attempts to get to his midrange jumper or on his drives to the rim as opposed to trying to go up through contact when attempting a shot at the basket. Actually fades away from contact on those shots and drew only three free-throw attempts per game. He gets displaced on his drives regularly. Tries to load up with two feet at times and gets knocked back. Really needs to get stronger through his lower half to be able to take more advantage of his play style.
He could also stand to improve as a ballhandler, though he’s not a terrible one. Does have a solid crossover that he can bust out. But it’s all about physicality for him. There isn’t a ton of change of pace on his drives. Often ends up driving very wide on his attempts because he doesn’t get people off balance to get from point A to point B. Not a live-dribble passing threat. I think he would benefit from controlling the ball better, and he’ll also need to read the back side of the defense more effectively to be a secondary ballhandling threat.
That lack of explosiveness is also a killer on the defensive end, but there are bigger problems. Ohio State seemed to not trust him late in games. Despite having a good frame and length, there is no disruptiveness to the way he defends. He doesn’t get his hands in there to make life more difficult. And because he doesn’t have a ton of lower body strength, it feels like drivers can kind of plow through him at times. Doesn’t get through screens well at all, and then doesn’t have the recovery speed to get back into the play. Feels like it’s a navigation issue more than anything. Gets clipped on them all the time. This is a significant problem given that he isn’t enormous.
On top of it, he’s not a great team defender. Thought his closeouts were bad. Often got caught between contesting the shot and being flat-footed. Missed rotations a bit too often. Ohio State was a drastically better defensive team when he was off the court. The Buckeyes gave up 104.4 points per 100 possessions when he was off the floor versus 109.9 when he was on it. Was often at the root of their breakdowns and was emblematic of how opposing offenses felt no level of worry that Ohio State was going to take them out of what they wanted to run. — Vecenie"
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