Granted, highlight clips show a recruit's best, but Gaffney shows skills that stand out that lesser talented ballers just can't do. His ability to handle in traffic and the open floor, especially his ability to change speeds is evident. That part of his game reminded me a little Bazz-like. Different type player where he's longer and more athletic. He doesn't look like a *** at all and seems to have been under-evaluated.
His J is very promising, as to how quickly he gets it off. As for accuracy, highlight clips only show you the ones that go in, but if % stats we're hearing are acurrate, he seems like a player.
One deficiency I did notice, that although he can handle the ball very well with both hands, he always shoots it with his right even when he's at or near the rim. He's going to need to learn to get it up on the glass with his left hand. At the D1 level, you're just not going to get those layups to fall if you're a guard and you can only use your right hand. Other than that, he made all the types of shots you'd like to see a combo guard make; deep, midrange and at the rim. He even threw a couple down in transition, that shows how athletic he is. He'll definitely need to get stronger to be able to handle the contact at the next level. That might be the reason why his skills don't seem to equate to his rankings.
Again, they're highlight clips, but I like how he seems to play fast but under control. We've had a few quick guards come to UConn but simply underwhelm such as Doug Wiggins and Cup Cormier, hope I got his name right. Those two who come to mind who played too fast and made far too many mistakes to be able to stay on the floor. And until he gets here, who knows how well he'll be able to defend his position at this level going up against stronger and faster guards than he's used to facing. I guess that goes for just about all the young players that haven't fully physically matured yet.
Like most freshmen, it will likely take him awhile to acclimate to the next level and contribute consistently, but I think he's going to be a real good one and yet another UConn recruit that outperforms is ranking when it's all said and done.
