Jalen Gaffney - Ceiling/Floor

[Palatine]

He developed into a solid player as a freshman. He looked a little slow but I think that was just him processing the game. As he becomes more instinctive, acts more thinks less, he should gain a step. He will never be Kemba, AJ quick but he should be plenty quick to be a very effective player. And he has the tools to a coach-on-the-floor leader which would be very valuable

 

[Kenny11]

I think people are really underrating Gaffney. By junior and senior year he's going to be one of the best PGs in the Big East and the best PG we've had since the Shabazz/Boatright years

I said his ceiling is lower than current jalen Adams but still very good. Now that you mentioned him, i think boatright’s level is the right ceiling level for him, though they are different types of players.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I like to call him “plain vanilla “ as a PG
but for a freshman playing within himself was what the team needed for success last year.
As he progresses more will be expected.
I’m interested to see exactly
how Hurley uses him given the assumption that Cole is the PG.
I suspect he will get significant minutes at the 1 as well as the 2
Going into the season with two competent experienced PG’s is a luxury I can’t recall.

 

[husky429]

His handle right now is alarmingly bad for a lead guard. 0 shiftiness or creativity. He needs a major upgrade.

If that happens, I think he has a chance to be a tremendous asset to this team. Maybe never a great scorer, but a high % opportunist, and a guy who makes the entire team run smoothly with tons of assists and smart ball movement and communication.

 

[boog204]

I see Austrie... Solid player, will make good decisions, but will always lack that something to make him really good. I know he's just a freshmen, but I feel like a true guard's handle is something that you just have at this point. And he's a bit behind in that aspect.

Just looked up Austrie's stats and he was basically 7 and 2.5 his junior and senior year with pretty mediocre shooting (32% from 3.) I think Gaffney can be a little better than that as a complimentary guard. I do not think he's our point guard when we're "back" as a legit power in two or three years.

 

[HuskylnSC]

What have you seen thus far to indicate this?

I expect he will be the only 2019 to play 4 years giving him the opportunity to be the best 2019 recruit in college

 

[AfgHusky15]

Boneyard Fam, you crazy lunatics.

I'm interested in seeing what people think expectations should be for Jalen this year. He seems to have the widest delta between folks who love his game and those who really doubt him.

My take - I was very high on Jalen as a recruit, but he seemed to come into the year very raw and with low confidence. No doubt his ankle injury set him back - Its tough to be a PG and take charge without the time to prove yourself, and you could really tell that early in the year. The first few games he was just painfully hesitant. With that said, and despite some really atrocious turnovers from time to time, he was a pretty steadying influence in the second half of the year, and has the ability to really find an open man if given space. I think he also showed glimmers of being a good shooter if he has the space.

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Positives - I think he is a good shooter, despite what the stats say, he can pass it if given space, and he started to make a few "splash" plays later in the year as he got healthy and gained confidence on the floor. He has a pretty good "feel" for passing lanes and his vision and pass-ahead ability show this. He has the respect of his teammates, no question.

Negatives - His handle is really weak for a lead guard, and he struggles to blow by initial defenders or even initiate the offense against a really strong defensive bulldog. Lots of picked pockets, open court turnovers and stalled possessions due to this and it will be the real key for him developmentally. He struggles to finish around the rim, but there was some development here as the year went along. Finally, a lot of this is tied to his confidence - if you are getting your pocket picked or KNOW you might, its really hard to feel good on the court.

Takeaway - I think Jalen's progression is one of the biggest question marks or upsides for the team this year. I will admit that I am skeptical in his overall skillset as a lead guard, as he has major strides to make in his skill package. Luckily, we will not be completely reliant on Jalen to be the man at the point, but if he can step up his game over the summer, having another dynamic player in the backcourt, especially one with size, could be a real game-changer and take us from that "others receiving votes" area to top 20.

Realistic expectations - I think that Jalen will play 15mpg as a backup to RJ Cole. I think that his best case this year is like young Craig Austrie - solid, unspectacular, makes open shots and free throws, etc. If he can play with more confidence and produce maybe 6ppg and 3apg while upgrading his defense I'll be ecstatic.

Wonder what you all think?

This is a spot-on analysis. I agree that his shot is better than his stats show. Gaffney had the lowest FG% on the team (yes lower than Alterique's) and had the 2nd lowest 3 pt FG%. However when he has his feet set he shoots it better.

All of our recent great PGs Kemba, Bazz, Boat, and Jalen were able to hit the 3 off the dribble, but Gaffney really, really struggled shooting it off the dribble.

Most of us were expecting him to impact the game more with his athleticism but that rarely showed this year, I think he only had one dunk the whole season. He also displayed below average lateral quickness. His handle is also below average for a PG.

I actually think he is more of a natural shooting guard. Shooting with his feet set is his best asset.

I don't know how he will turn out 2-3 years from now, but he really needs to improve his handle and his ability to finish layups at a higher rate in order to take his game up another level going into next year.

 

[AntG168]

Saying Gaffney will be Austrie is nuts to me. If he can improve his handle and creativity he's an NBA player

 

[Shine33]

Saying Gaffney will be Austrie is nuts to me. If he can improve his handle and creativity he's an NBA player

Yes to that but I also think just him filling out more in terms of muscle strength will allow him to take huge leaps in the sense of being able to showcase what he can already do but can’t do at the moment against stronger competition. By his senior he will be VERY good.

He prob won’t be the same type of scorer but I feel he can bring a Scottie Reynolds type composure to our team. Remember him from Nova? Gave us nightmares. Not an NBA player. Not lightning quick. But smart and strong and determined to win

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Yes to that but I also think just him filling out more in terms of muscle strength will allow him to take huge leaps in the sense of being able to showcase what he can already do but can’t do at the moment against stronger competition. By his senior he will be VERY good.

He prob won’t be the same type of scorer but I feel he can bring a Scottie Reynolds type composure to our team. Remember him from Nova? Gave us nightmares. Not an NBA player. Not lightning quick. But smart and strong and determined to win

correct. as to next season, check his arms and upper body out in the fall, I expect them,as well the rest of him to be more mature, ie stronger. as far as last season, well there is the small matter of his bad foot at the beginning, and his bad thumb at the end. ballers! knowhaimsayin? luv dis guys reasonable potential. and then there's the brain part -off the charts.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I see Austrie... Solid player, will make good decisions, but will always lack that something to make him really good. I know he's just a freshmen, but I feel like a true guard's handle is something that you just have at this point. And he's a bit behind in that aspect.

Just looked up Austrie's stats and he was basically 7 and 2.5 his junior and senior year with pretty mediocre shooting (32% from 3.) I think Gaffney can be a little better than that as a complimentary guard. I do not think he's our point guard when we're "back" as a legit power in two or three years.

He was as good as a freshman as Austrie was as an upperclassmen. I would be shock if he doesn’t far exceed what we saw last year in the future.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I don't think he has come out of his shell yet, but he isn't going to get 4 years to do so. This year is a make or break season for him. I have high hopes for him though!

 

[boog204]

He was as good as a freshman as Austrie was as an upperclassmen. I would be shock if he doesn’t far exceed what we saw last year in the future.

Huh? He was 4 and 2 on a mediocre team in the AAC. Austrie was 7 and 3 on a final four team.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

Yes to that but I also think just him filling out more in terms of muscle strength will allow him to take huge leaps in the sense of being able to showcase what he can already do but can’t do at the moment against stronger competition. By his senior he will be VERY good.

He prob won’t be the same type of scorer but I feel he can bring a Scottie Reynolds type composure to our team. Remember him from Nova? Gave us nightmares. Not an NBA player. Not lightning quick. But smart and strong and determined to win

...didn’t reynolds drop 40 against us his freshman year?

another alpha guard. gaffney is a completely different type of player.

 

[Huskybass]

I don't think he has come out of his shell yet, but he isn't going to get 4 years to do so. This year is a make or break season for him. I have high hopes for him though!

Curious as to why you think he won't get 4 years to develop and lead the team? I think that's exactly what will happen.

 

[mauconnfan]

Huh? He was 4 and 2 on a mediocre team in the AAC. Austrie was 7 and 3 on a final four team.

I don't know how many people hammered CV and AG mid season for incredibly bad shooting percentages and find a way to overlook 33/26% last year? And I hate to say it but he looked a lot like he did beginning of the year towards the end of this past year in 5-6 games. Do I think there's something there, absolutely I like the kid. But I am not sure when he will be the impact we require to be a contender in the Big East. May be next year but that would have to be a huge improvement, could be years 3 & 4. May be just that really good guard coming off the bench most of his career I can't tell from last season. It does scare me that quick guards had their way with him on both ends of the court. Good defensive guards made him start the offense too far out and he couldn't get a step on them. Quick offensive guards went by him fairly easy although I will admit to seeing an improvement with his feet in that area.

The question marks in the backcourt have me nervous for next year but this is a process and in DH I trust. The one thing we did well to stay in games was play defense and that was led by CV and AG. According to many Cole isn't real quick but he's solid we will see. But we need to defend the ball as well or better, and without Akok they need to keep guards in between them and the basket as much as possible. BA is solid off the bench on D that helps but it will be interesting.

 

[JB75]

I wasn’t really impressed with Jalen this year. Even tho he was only a frosh, I thought he’d show me a little more -especially since he was getting a healthy dose of minutes while AG was figuring things out. With that being said, he cud turn out to be a nice, safe, Cautious player who comes in and settles things down but he deff doesn’t wow me. He could be a steadying influence- who knows, maybe he makes a big jump in his sophomore year- I just don’t see it yet. I do kno one thing tho , we are gonna miss that ball hawking D that Gilbert gave us- CV at times too.

 

[ToolzieFan]

Saying Gaffney will be Austrie is nuts to me. If he can improve his handle and creativity he's an NBA player

I like Gaffney fine and think he has the ability to improve quite a bit. But I have to ask - what makes you think he could be an NBA player? I hope you're right. I just don't see that yet.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Curious as to why you think he won't get 4 years to develop and lead the team? I think that's exactly what will happen.

He will if he gets better every year I agree. If he stays in his shell so to speak someone will be playing over him imo.

 

[Huskybass]

He will if he gets better every year I agree. If he stays in his shell so to speak someone will be playing over him imo.

He had an uphill battle last year as a freshman with an ankle injury and AG starting for half the season. All of that will be gone next season, although he will certainly have to earn his minutes with Cole in the picture. The way I see it playing out is that he is Cole's understudy at least for next year and will eventually get a chance to start and shine as a senior.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I agree here, I could see a

22mpg, 8.7ppg, 4.1apg, 42% fg, 38% 3pt

In between floor and ceiling is "at rim height."

 

[Shine33]

...didn’t reynolds drop 40 against us his freshman year?

another alpha guard. gaffney is a completely different type of player.

Yeah I don’t think Gaff will ever drop 40 in a game or hit his numbers in terms of points but I think he can do a lot more offensively on the scoring end than what he’s been able to show thus far. I think he can average at least 12ppg by senior year if he adds enough strength

 

[Shine33]

I think Gaff is more an alpha guard than people here expect. I just think he needs to be stronger and more comfortable and then he’s gonna take a huge leap as a leader and a scorer. He won’t be a shabazz level scorer but he will demand respect as a scorer too imo. Especially by senior year