borges: nba scouts weigh in on the huskies

[the Q]

Who is similar to Adama in the NBA? 6’9’with a refined inside game and not much beyond 15 feet. Not many i

Old adversary Montreal Harrell

 

[Yankees32123]

Adama and Jackson likely won’t be NBA guys unless they make seismic strides in the worst areas of their games.

Our best bets at future 1st round picks are Hawkins and Stephon Castle.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Pretty fair takes except for the one scout categorizing Sanogo as a mediocre rebounder. He is leading the Big East in rebounds. That's a good bit better than mediocre.

I didnt read the article but earlier this season Sanogo wasnt really rebounding. Maybe that scout saw him then because sanogo has been a monster on the boards and is also a much better shot blocker now too.

 

[djct1999]

Some team will give Sanago a serious look when it’s time. Jackson has nba athleticism but he needs so much work. His jump shot is beyond hideous but my guess is he will put in the work and figure it out. Very hard to pass on his upside as he has elite nba athleticism. I think Jackson eventually makes it. I really think we will see a much improved Hawkins next year. Needs to get stronger and work on his handle. I am surprised he struggled as much w the jump to major D1 but he is a puppy. The kid has nba length and should develop into first round talent. I was encouraged by the take on Martin. I really hope he gets a shot to stick. He is another kid I feel coaches would be reluctant to let go. Would be awesome to see him carve out a role.

 

[methodology]

Where is your top 50 list from?

Just curious what it was sourced from

ESPN list they do before the season

 

[the Q]

ESPN list they do before the season

Cool. Thanks.

I was just curious, plus some guys could have moved out of and onto that list now. But really interesting how many 2+ year guys there were either way

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Would love to see Sanogo become a playmaker with his passing and decision making. He moves well for his size. Outside of the shooting his best bet would be an inside 15’ Jokic.

Jackson has NBA athleticism, like the article said he needs to slow down. Also learn to use his athleticism to FINISH. If he can ever figure it out he has the talent to get drafted high despite his age IMO… but only if.

With Tyrese and Cole gone Hawkins had big potential to shoot up next year with the extra responsibility. Same could be said for Jackson as well.

 

[3rdbass]

Would love to see Sanogo become a playmaker with his passing and decision making. He moves well for his size. Outside of the shooting his best bet would be an inside 15’ Jokic.

Jackson has NBA athleticism, like the article said he needs to slow down. Also learn to use his athleticism to FINISH. If he can ever figure it out he has the talent to get drafted high despite his age IMO… but only if.

With Tyrese and Cole gone Hawkins had big potential to shoot up next year with the extra responsibility. Same could be said for Jackson as well.

Jackson also has to develop a jump shot which he has none. That is why you see those hideous 10 foot floaters in the game.

 

[Palatine]

I like the part where the scout calls Sanogo "a medocre rebounder." That is idiotic.

 

[Son of Robert]

Well, one upside is that Adama will be playing for us for another year or so developing a more complete game. Looking forward to him dominating the BIG EAST the next couple of years.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Some team will give Sanago a serious look when it’s time. Jackson has nba athleticism but he needs so much work. His jump shot is beyond hideous but my guess is he will put in the work and figure it out. Very hard to pass on his upside as he has elite nba athleticism. I think Jackson eventually makes it. I really think we will see a much improved Hawkins next year. Needs to get stronger and work on his handle. I am surprised he struggled as much w the jump to major D1 but he is a puppy. The kid has nba length and should develop into first round talent. I was encouraged by the take on Martin. I really hope he gets a shot to stick. He is another kid I feel coaches would be reluctant to let go. Would be awesome to see him carve out a role.

Everyone says Hawkins is young, just a kid, etc., but he's going to be 21 years old at the time of the draft next year. If he doesn't have a breakout year next year, like close to Bouknight caliber, NBA GMs are not going to come back and take him in the 1st round as a 22-23 year old junior or senior.

I know we're not used to this, this was more of a thing for our opponents, but it might be the case, at least for this group of players, that our good players are simply good college players and not very good NBA prospects. Kind of the opposite of Rudy Gay and Drummond whose game was much better suited to the NBA.

 

[Lynyrd]

Adama is intriguing … actually may be better suited for NBA than given credit

physically stronger (hard boned) than most players on the floor every time he steps on the court - the kind of guy you prefer a teammate bang against so you are not nursing bruises for a week
quicker than he appears; good footwork
posses soft hands for a big man with good touch around the rim; combined with footwork skills there’s no reason cannot develop midrange game
add to that mental toughness and you have a player that every team covets

Needs to improve decision making (passing out of post) and continue to work on stamina.

 

[AfgHusky15]

Adama and Jackson likely won’t be NBA guys unless they make seismic strides in the worst areas of their games.

Our best bets at future 1st round picks are Hawkins and Stephon Castle.

I think Adama and Jackson have higher odds of being drafted than Hawkins, especially Jackson.

Hawkins' handle is really poor. He is only shooting 34% from the field and he has had layup attempts where he has completely missed the rim. Yes he has great shooting form, and he will likely become a good shooter, but to say Hawkins has a better chance of being drafted than Jackson as we near the completion of this season is a poor evaluation of talent.

Jackson was on scouts' lists prior to the beginning of the season. Yes he has a ways to go to improve his offense, but he has made a sizable leap from his first year and so will be even more intriguing to scouts.

I guess next year we will have a better perspective as to who is more likely to be drafted.

Hoping both are drafted at some point, but for now Jackson is on NBA Scots' radars and Hawkins is not.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I think many of this year's freshman and sophomores have been set back a bit by the impacts of Covid - less practice, less games, way more grad/super seniors on their college rosters, etc. - over the past two years. These guys need a bit more time to season than frosh/sophs of pre-Covid times. Time will tell.

 

[Shamon30]

Whaley would be massively successful playing basketball in Japan. He's pretty much an ideal 5 for Japanese basketball.

 

[olehead]

Copy?

 

[HooperScooper]

Copy?

What?

 

[Ratso]

AJ would’ve won that stupid dunk dunk contest

 

[HuskyHawk]

Good article. Agree with all of it except Sanogo's rebounding, as everyone has noted. Worth mentioning that Sanogo gets those rebounds and he's often fighting Martin and Jackson for them, as well as Whaley. This is not an easy team to lead in rebounding.

Simple reality is Martin is all around good, but not great at anything. So maybe G-league or 2-way. Sanogo needs outside skills. He has time to build those still and I don't doubt his work ethic. AJ needs to learn to shoot and to just plain score, but has the best shot if he can actually do that. Hawkins has to get stronger (and stronger with the ball) and get that killer instinct. If he doesn't by next year, not sure he will.

As for older....yeah that affects first round picks. But older guys go second round and get contracts somewhat regularly. I haven't looked at the stats, but it seems like NBA teams are starting to realize that some guys develop later. If you are shopping for a rotational role player, you might well look at juniors and even seniors. You just don't expect them to become stars.

 

[husky429]

I think Adama and Jackson have higher odds of being drafted than Hawkins, especially Jackson.

Hawkins' handle is really poor. He is only shooting 34% from the field and he has had layup attempts where he has completely missed the rim. Yes he has great shooting form, and he will likely become a good shooter, but to say Hawkins has a better chance of being drafted than Jackson as we near the completion of this season is a poor evaluation of talent.

Jackson was on scouts' lists prior to the beginning of the season. Yes he has a ways to go to improve his offense, but he has made a sizable leap from his first year and so will be even more intriguing to scouts.

I guess next year we will have a better perspective as to who is more likely to be drafted.

Hoping both are drafted at some point, but for now Jackson is on NBA Scots' radars and Hawkins is not.

Andre was worse as a freshman than Hawkins. I'm not sure either will be drafted very high at this point... but this seems like an unreasonable take.

 

[August_West]

Old adversary Montreal Harrell

Yeah but no. He’s a freak .

 

[Chasm64]

I think Sanogo already has the 15 ft jumper, it just isn’t utilized. He’s made a number of them over the course of the season. He will need to expand out from there.
I also think Hawkins has better upside than Jackson offensively and it’s not even close.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Good article. Agree with all of it except Sanogo's rebounding, as everyone has noted. Worth mentioning that Sanogo gets those rebounds and he's often fighting Martin and Jackson for them, as well as Whaley. This is not an easy team to lead in rebounding.

Simple reality is Martin is all around good, but not great at anything. So maybe G-league or 2-way. Sanogo needs outside skills. He has time to build those still and I don't doubt his work ethic. AJ needs to learn to shoot and to just plain score, but has the best shot if he can actually do that. Hawkins has to get stronger (and stronger with the ball) and get that killer instinct. If he doesn't by next year, not sure he will.

As for older....yeah that affects first round picks. But older guys go second round and get contracts somewhat regularly. I haven't looked at the stats, but it seems like NBA teams are starting to realize that some guys develop later. If you are shopping for a rotational role player, you might well look at juniors and even seniors. You just don't expect them to become stars.

A professional scout is not going to care about stats. All they care about is skills (as well as other factors like potential, teamwork, etc.). So, even though a guy can lead his team in a category (i.e. rebounds) it does not necessarily translate to a scout concluding that he is great in that skill area. There have been plenty of college players with excellent stats that just can't translate it to the next level.

I personally think Sanogo has a chance to become a great rebounder at the college level but it may not translate to being even an above average rebounder at the pro level; where he is going to be average in terms of physical attributes. He needs to become more active and explosive in terms of second and third hops to secure rebounds. I think now he sort of feasts off of rebounds that he gets on the first and only rebound of the possession - and you can say that is because of his ability to get himself in a position to get rebounds but I think that in the NBA that would become less of a strength of his as the opposition players get bigger and faster/quicker. Just my two cents.

 

[olehead]

What?

Sorry, would someone be willing to post a copy of the article? Thanks.

 

[3rdbass]

I think Adama and Jackson have higher odds of being drafted than Hawkins, especially Jackson.

Hawkins' handle is really poor. He is only shooting 34% from the field and he has had layup attempts where he has completely missed the rim. Yes he has great shooting form, and he will likely become a good shooter, but to say Hawkins has a better chance of being drafted than Jackson as we near the completion of this season is a poor evaluation of talent.

Jackson was on scouts' lists prior to the beginning of the season. Yes he has a ways to go to improve his offense, but he has made a sizable leap from his first year and so will be even more intriguing to scouts.

I guess next year we will have a better perspective as to who is more likely to be drafted.

Hoping both are drafted at some point, but for now Jackson is on NBA Scots' radars and Hawkins is not.

So why can't Hawkins make a sizable leap too from freshman to Sophomore year? Also, Jackson still has no jump shot to speak about. He would be lucky to be un-drafted rookie in the G league right now.