MAL commits to UConn! | Page 2 | The Boneyard

MAL commits to UConn!

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Just asked my man about makai...

Some on here have questioned why he's ranked so high. His answer is because makai is a worker on the defensive end with a great great great motor, never stops. Makai is also an elite finisher with his right hand similar to jalen (though jalen is more of a guard you beats you with an elite first step, elevates and uses his length... Makai is more crafty in a Chris Paul kind of way in the lane). Makai also has a pretty crafty handle.

Makai needs to become a better shooter and display better vision. Obviously shooting can be improved (like we hope for from jalen this year!) and I think he'll learn to look for teammates with maturity. Makai has the advantage of the tutelage of two elite guards in alterique and jalen and of course our man KO.

I guess makai is definitely athletic, but not a high riser. He's more crafty with the ball with a great motor. Almost the opposite of Jalen in that Jalen is an elite high flying athlete with a huge wingspan, both of which he uses to his advantage, but he's not going terribly shifty or crafty because he hasn't needed to be.

first commit. Consensus 30-40 rank and it might go up some after his great summer. Can anyone complain?
 
Hell yeah!!! Welcome aboard MAL!
 
just to rehash draftexpress' august scouting report on MAL, here

Makai Ashton-Langford, 6' 2”, Point Guard, 17.8 years old, USA, Class of 2017

1470398654.jpg

adidas.com


Strengths
-Nice physical profile for a lead guard—good size and frame at 6' 2” 185 lbs. Long arms, big hands.
-Smooth athlete who can change speeds with force. Dynamic in transition. Uses basic crossovers that are set up by crisp footwork. Impressive body control. Plays a herky-jerky style predicated on keeping the defense off balance. Mixes in advanced combo moves.
-Does most of his damage in the paint – 6.6 FTA per 40. Can get to the rim without a ball screen versus average defenders. Likes to drive hard left. Can use his frame to keep smaller defenders on his hip.
-Inconsistent touch but he's capable of finishing with floaters before getting to the back line of the defense. Tools allow him to finish from different angles in traffic. Willing to use either hand at the rim.
-Shows occasional flashes as a passer out of ball screens or drive and dish/kick situations.
-Not a threat to make jumpers consistently at this stage, but his shot isn't broken. Should be able to improve in time. Can create space off the dribble.
-Has the tools to be an excellent on ball defender. Quick hands and feet with the frame to contain penetration. 2.2 steals per 40 minutes. Can play with more consistent intensity on that end but the potential is certainly there.

Weaknesses
-Had very little positive impact playing a small role on a loaded Team Harden – 2.0 PER in 12 minutes a game on 4 of-12 shooting and 0-of-5 from the free throw line.
-More combo than point guard at this stage. Plays a wild brand of basketball. Score first lead guard who gets tunnel vision while on the move. Throws a lot of jump passes. Kills his dribble regularly, especially when he's met by a secondary defender. Forces up wild floaters. Can improve his approach significantly.
-Needs a lot of possessions to get into a rhythm and score efficiently. Doesn't give you a ton if he's not playing on the ball.
-Really struggles to make shots from the perimeter consistently allowing defenders to sag off and take away the drive, which baits him into even more tough shots than he already takes. Super inconsistent mechanics. Gets too cute with fadeaways, leg kicks and big body turns. Doesn't always finish his shot with a hard snap of the wrist. 25.3% from three on 83 attempts over 72 games in our database.
-Can improve his shot creation versus high level defenders. While fairly advanced, his handle can get a bit high and loose at times versus pressure. Kills his dribble, pivots around inside the arc and either takes a tough shot or gives it up.
-Doesn't always finish at the level his tools would suggest. Can improve the touch on his floater. Has some good ideas around the rim with speed finishes or inside hand finishes, but he's not all that adept at converting versus high-level length and athleticism consistently.
-Defensive effort comes and goes. Offense fuels his defensive effort. Doesn't always sit down a stance or move his feet like he's capable of. Can take a lot more pride in stopping his man.

Outlook
Despite a forgettable Adidas Nations, there's still quite a bit to like about Ashton-Langford's blend of physical tools, penetrating ability, defensive potential and somewhat improvable shooting stroke. Ashton-Langford is certainly a high major guard who could eventually develop into a legitimate NBA prospect. With that said, the Worcester, Massachusetts native still has a long way to go in terms of his feel for the game, decision making, shooting stroke and defensive intensity. Simply put, Ashton-Langford needs to learn how to play, especially as a lead guard, and if he's able to do that, he becomes much more than an occasional bucket getter who should, in theory, be able to lock up.
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husky429 said:
Just asked my man about makai...

Some on here have questioned why he's ranked so high. His answer is because makai is a worker on the defensive end with a great great great motor, never stops. Makai is also an elite finisher with his right hand similar to jalen (though jalen is more of a guard you beats you with an elite first step, elevates and uses his length... Makai is more crafty in a Chris Paul kind of way in the lane). Makai also has a pretty crafty handle.

Makai needs to become a better shooter and display better vision. Obviously shooting can be improved (like we hope for from jalen this year!) and I think he'll learn to look for teammates with maturity. Makai has the advantage of the tutelage of two elite guards in alterique and jalen and of course our man KO.

I guess makai is definitely athletic, but not a high riser. He's more crafty with the ball with a great motor. Almost the opposite of Jalen in that Jalen is an elite high flying athlete with a huge wingspan, both of which he uses to his advantage, but he's not going terribly shifty or crafty because he hasn't needed to be.

first commit. Consensus 30-40 rank and it might go up some after his great summer. Can anyone complain?
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If he's crafty and has a gripe but gets around and is always down then he's crafty and just my type.



(He's craftyyyy)
 
James said:
just to rehash draftexpress' august scouting report on MAL, here
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Any idea how many games they watched to get this analysis? At these type of events defense is not a staple... and his previous coach at Cushing (forgot his name... famous guy that just retired...) called him the best perimeter defender around. I think kids with a high level of intensity rather than physical gifts tend to do poorly at these kinds of events. Someone like HamD with lower skills but elite athleticism shines, whereas a "herky jerky" style, grind it out defender, might not know how to assert his style of play.

I agree he needs to work on vision and shooting.
 
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husky429 said:
Any idea how many games they watched to get this analysis? At these type of events defense is not a staple... and his previous coach at Cushing (forgot his name... famous guy that just retired...) called him the best perimeter defender around. I think kids with a high level of intensity rather than physical gifts tend to do poorly at these kinds of events. Someone like HamD with lower skills but elite athleticism shines, whereas a "herky jerky" style, grind it out defender, might not know how to assert his style of play.

I agree he needs to work on vision and shooting.
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they saw him plenty @ adidas nations in practice time, scrimmages, and actual games. that comment about hamidou is just weird, he isn't kevin huerter as a shooter but plenty skilled in pnr and transition. skilled≠great shooter
 
James said:
they saw him plenty @ adidas nations in practice time, scrimmages, and actual games. that comment about hamidou is just weird, he isn't kevin huerter as a shooter but plenty skilled in pnr and transition. skilled≠great shooter
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I don't mean that he's not skilled, poorly phrased on my part. Just that he's working on some fundamentals to get to the next level of play. Things like tightening his handle, shooting, passing vision. He is plenty skilled at finishing, finding seems in transition, etc. I'm thinking compared to NBA players, not your average college player, since that is where he's likely to go. He doesn't have the skill to perform in the NBA just yet... at the college level he could easily be one of the best in the country year 1 if he keeps working hard.
 
Awesome Ollie gets another pg and don't forget Ollie was on the bench in 2011.
 
Great news and a job well done!

Remember 2 years ago when beyond Boat, we didn't have anyone we could trust handling the ball? Ollie has made sure we won't be in that situation again. If we add Hami, we will be in guard heaven.
 
Scoe said:
Awesome Ollie gets another pg and don't forget Ollie was on the bench in 2011.
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The scout PC board doesn't seem to think Ollie has done anything with any guards. They seem to think it was all calhoun's doing
 
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Huge get, obviously.

While the draftexpress writeup isn't so positive, at the very least we have a top 40 guard who can be an energizing presence off the bench, behind Adams and Gilbert, and hopefully develop into a stud on his own.

We're basically set at the 1-2 positions for the next 2 years, and leaves room for Diallo at the 3.

Additionally, Ollie continues building his recruiting cachet. We're not fading into oblivion on the recruiting trail, at least at the guard position.
 
Ollie is exactly what this program needs right now. Energizing coach who really gets behind the program, and is proud to do so. Really popular guy in CBB, talked to a couple people a couple weeks ago and they said Ollie was among the best coaches in America. Talked to Sterling Gibbs a few weeks ago and he said he really enjoyed playing for him
 
Matt1010 said:
Who cares? No need to waste your time reading the PC boards anyways.
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I was very, very tempted to go over there today for the first time ever after the MAL news broke, but then I thought I have better things to do (like watch The Kardashians with my wife before she goes in to work tonight).
 
If we do add HamD (I trust Oz on this one still), he would play the 3? So Jalen if he stays, 'Rique, MAL, would split between the 1 and 2. Right?
Tenspro2002 said:
Huge get, obviously.

While the draftexpress writeup isn't so positive, at the very least we have a top 40 guard who can be an energizing presence off the bench, behind Adams and Gilbert, and hopefully develop into a stud on his own.

We're basically set at the 1-2 positions for the next 2 years, and leaves room for Diallo at the 3.

Additionally, Ollie continues building his recruiting cachet. We're not fading into oblivion on the recruiting trail, at least at the guard position.
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Don't forget that they're thinking NBA draft... We're thinking college-level contributor. Sure he would get eaten alive in the NBA but can modest improvements over a few years with his shooting, etc. help us to win championships? Hell yah
 
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husky429 said:
If we do add HamD (I trust Oz on this one still), he would play the 3? So Jalen if he stays, 'Rique, MAL, would split between the 1 and 2. Right?
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If Hamidou commits and we get no other guards/wings in 2017, our depth chart probably looks like this for the 2017/18 season:

PG: Jalen (Jr), Alterique (S0), MAL (Fr)
SG: Hamidou (Fr), Vital (So)
SF: Larrier (Jr), Jackson (So)
PF: Durham (So), Diarra (So)
C: Enoch (C)

This doesn't mean that Vital will get as much playing time as Alterique, or more than MAL, nor that Hamidou will see most of his minutes at SG. It's just a look at the primary positions of the guys we'd have on the roster with the overview being "we have a lot of backcourt looks we can throw at teams."
 
MattMang23 said:
I was very, very tempted to go over there today for the first time ever after the MAL news broke, but then I thought I have better things to do (like watch The Kardashians with my wife before she goes in to work tonight).
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Cause it's funny reading stuff like this : obviously people are going to look at the tournament visits and our win as a success (which it is)

 
Matrim55 said:
If Hamidou commits and we get no other guards/wings in 2017, our depth chart probably looks like this for the 2017/18 season:

PG: Jalen (Jr), Alterique (S0), MAL (Fr)
SG: Hamidou (Fr), Vital (So)
SF: Larrier (Jr), Jackson (So)
PF: Durham (So), Diarra (So)
C: Enoch (C)

This doesn't mean that Vital will get as much playing time as Alterique, or more than MAL, nor that Hamidou will see most of his minutes at SG. It's just a look at the primary positions of the guys we'd have on the roster with the overview being "we have a lot of backcourt looks we can throw at teams."
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we need to be pitching playing time HARD to some of these 2017 high level bigs--Ike obiagu, Richards and Bamba. I love Enoch but if he doesn't improve we'll be in a tough spot.
 
champs99and04 said:
Ham is a 3 at the college level, IMO.
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I agree I think, since he'll probably be listed as 6'6 and we already love 3 guard sets with Rodney-- who is much shorter--playing and defending then3
 
Yes. Yes. And hell yes. Let the dominos fall from here.

formerlurker said:
If he's crafty and has a gripe but gets around and is always down then he's crafty and just my type.



(He's craftyyyy)
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Living in the lodge my roommates n i would sing bout the neighbor. Shes darcy and she get around. Shes darcy and shes always down. Shes darcy and shes just my type.

(Shes darrrcccyyy).
 
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