Exhaustive List of Ranked 2014s at Boo Williams EYBL This Weekend

The first ranking number is ESPN followed by Scout then Rivals

#1 (#2, #1) C Jahlil Okafor – Mac Irvin Fire
#2 (#1, #3) PG Tyus Jones – Howard Pulley
#3 (#3, #2) PG Emmanuel Mudiay – Texas Pro
#4 (#4, #4) C Trey Lyles – Indy Spiece
#6 (#6, #9) PF Chris McCullough – Team Scan (Syracuse)
#8 (#5, #5) C Cliff Alexander – Mac Irvin Fire
#9 (#13, #6) SG Rashad Vaughn – Wisconsin Playground
#10 (#9, #10) SG Justice Winslow – Houston Hoops
#12 (#14, #21) PG Joel Berry – E1T1 (North Carolina)
#13 (#18, #15) SF Theo Pinson – CP3 All-Stars
#14 (#10, #14) F Justin Jackson – Houston Hoops (North Carolina)
#15 (#17, #12) SF Stanley Johnson – Oakland Soldiers
#16 (#12, #17) PG JaQuan Lyle – Indy Spiece
#17 (#25, #30) SF Jalen Lindsay – Southern Stampede
#19 (#23, #23) SG Devin Booker – Alabama Challenge
#21 (#35, #48) PG Shelton Mitchell – CP3 All-Stars (Wake Forest)
#22 (#42, #49) SG Dion Wiley – Team Takeover
#24 (#11, #22) SG D’Angelo Russell – E1T1
#25 (#27, #26) SG Ahmed Hill – Southern Stampede
#26 (#38, #25) SF Jakeenan Gant – Southern Stampede
#28 (#49, #67) SF Victor Law – Meanstreets
#30 (#22, #37) PG Parker Jackson-Cartwright – Cali Supreme (Arizona)
#34 (#47, #71) LJ Peak – CP3 All-Stars
#35 (#55, #76) Phil Booth – Team Takeover
#36 (#39, #32) SG Grayson Allen – Southern Stampede (Duke)
#38 (#41, #52) Payton Dastrup – Cali Supreme
#40 (#95, #41) Reid Travis – Howard Pulley
#43 (#60, #27) Kelly Oubre – Houston Hoops
#45 (#49, #46) Trevon Bluiett – Indy Spiece
#47 (#68, #47) James Blackmon – Indy Spiece (Indiana)
#49 (#31, #39) Kameron Chatman – ICP Elite
#50 (#76, #145) Keith Pinckney – NY Lightning
#51 (#34, #31) Shaqquan Aaron – Seattle Rotary (Louisville)
#52 (#52, #73) Jae’Sean Tate – All Ohio Red (Ohio State)
#53 (#79, #50) Abdul-Malik Abu  – Expressions Elite
#57 (#45, #70) Obi Enechionyia – Team Takeover
#58 (#29, #43) Paul White – Meanstreets

Guys only ranked by Scout/Rivals (ESPN only ranks top 60) Rivals rankings are again the final column with Scout in the middle

UR (#51, #85) Khadeem Lattin – Houston Hoops
UR (#54, #63) Larry Austin – STL Eagles
UR (#58, #57) Jared Terrell – Expressions Elite
UR #62 (#60) JaQuan Newton – Team Final
UR #63 (#117) Therence Mayimba – Team Takeover
UR #66 (#93) Anton Beard – Team Penny (Arkansas)
UR #74 (#68) Zylan Cheatham – Cali Supreme
UR #75 (#83) Jordan Barnett – STL Eagles
UR #81 (#82) Kevin Zabo – CIA Bounce
UR #86 (#62) Vincent Edwards – All Ohio Red
UR #88 (#121) Tre Campbell – Team Takeover
UR #90 (#95) Chris Sandifer – Cali Supreme
UR #100 (UR) CJ Thurman – Southern Stampede

Below are guys only ranked by Rivals (their list ranks top 150)

#64 Lourawls Nairm – Mokan Elite
#69 Tyler Ulis – Meanstreets
#79 Tyquone Greer – Wisconsin Playground
#91 Justin Coleman – Georgia Stars
#92 Donaven Dorsey – ICP Elite
#94 Khadeen Carrington – NY Lightning
#96 Isaiah Wilkins – Georgia Stars
#99 Mikal Bridges – Team Final
#100 Josh Cunningham – Mac Irvin Fire
#101 Boubacar Moungoro – E1T1
#109 – Marial Shayok – CIA Bounce
#111 Edmond Sumner – The Family
#123 Shep Garner – Team Final
#131 Jordan Cornish – Team Louisiana
#135 Dwayne Foreman – Boo Williams
#136 Elijah Cain – NJ Playaz
#138 Lance Tejada – Southern Stampede
#139 Alec Brennan – Expressions Elite
#144 Josh Martin – Seattle Rotary
#147 Jerrelle Deberry – Wisconsin Playground
#148 Silas Melson – ICP Elite

Upside and Shabazz Muhammad - Its Not An Age Thing

Its been a wild season for Shabazz Muhammad. He started off by injuring his shoulder and missing a month of practice to begin the year. At the same time, he was the victim of a wild goose chase by the NCAA that resulted in him missing the first 3 games of the season. As expected, UCLA and him got off to a rusty start, but the rust never wore off. Both he and UCLA had flashes of greatness, but their season culminated in a Round of 64 loss tonight to Minnesota.

Thats not all that happened today, though. It also turns out that Shabazz Muhammad is a year older than he was believed to be (read the LA Times article here). Shabazz is actually a 20 year old freshman, which sounds bad, but it isn't the real concern. Ben McLemore, Kaleb Tarczewski, Semaj Christon, Jahii Carson, and Anthony Bennett are also 20 year old freshman. Jakarr Sampson will be 20 in a couple of days. Age is just a number and it is less and less relevant the older you get.

But as a high schooler, age does matter. Shabazz made a name for himself by being tabbed as a kid "physically advanced" for his age and molded his game around his strength. Unlike some of the other guys listed, Shabazz received much of his hype because of his advanced build for his age. Its never been his skillset, quickness, or shooting that has drawn an interest in Shabazz. Its been his ability to bully kids his age. Or so we thought they were his age.

This wouldn't be as much of an issue if Shabazz came out this college season and backed up his billing as the top high school recruit in the country against college players. But he didn't. And now that there is an asterisk next to him being the top recruit in his class, its even more of a reason to take this season at face value instead of making excuses for him.

After his injury and suspension, there was a timeframe everyone gave Shabazz to get up to speed. He looked a little slow and rusty and that was expected. But as the season grew on, the same Shabazz from the beginning of the year remained. There he was getting beat off the dribble time and time again and he showed little ability to handle the ball. In terms of passing or making his teammates better, there was none of that. And then there was the fit he threw when Larry Drew II made a game winning shot.

But whether he was 19 or 20, Shabazz was still going to be a top high school recruit and he still did finish second among all NCAA freshman in scoring. His strength is still impressive no matter his age. I do think the age thing makes a difference slightly in terms of his placement in the final high school class rankings, which also takes away a slight amount of hype going into this year. And as far as hype, thats what carried him through much of this season.

Lets forget about the age thing though, thats far from the most important part of the story. Everyone wants to brush off him being a year older and thats fine, sure thats not a huge deal. A good player will be a good player in the end. But its the rest of his background that deserves a second look. The character issues that the LA Times article brings up are more relevant than the age discussion.

To me, his age doesn't limit his upside at all. But the fact that he's been bred to be a NBA player his whole life does. He's had top notch training, coaching, and an environment surrounding him that was designed to help him succeed. His dad made sure he got on the best AAU teams and one of the best high school programs in the country.

He made sure that he was surrounded by players that made him look better. At Bishop Gorman, Shabazz dominated kids with his size and strength while getting plenty of looks in transition. When he went to UCLA, he joined a team with two great unselfish ball handlers, weak rebounding bigs who spread the floor, another incoming freshman who could shoot the lights out, and a coach that caters to his stars. The combination of things helped to hide Shabazz's lack of ball handling skills, outside shooting, and gave him room to operate inside and crash the boards. His coach, Ben Howland, had loss control of previous teams and would let Shabazz do whatever he wanted with no consequences.

With all the elite training he's had and all the high level games he played in high school/AAU, Shabazz has been tested for years. Its not his advanced age that makes his upside more limited, its his advanced background. Shabazz has played in more big games thanks to high school/AAU than most college juniors and seniors. And he's had the correct training, diet, and everything else that NBA players have the whole way through.

Meanwhile, you have a guy like Ben McLemore whose family struggles to put food on the table for him.

You hear questions about McLemore's ability to be a go to guy and people asking why he disappears in big games and forget he's only a freshman. And if you look at McLemore's background you will see that he wasn't a hyped up recruit since his freshman year. He didn't play on a big AAU or high school team until his final season of high school. And even then he still went to a home each night wondering if he would have food to eat. Point is, McLemore is just getting used to all the limelight which shouldn't be a surprise. He's only a freshman. But with all the AAU games and such nowadays, there are freshman that have been built up for college for years. Shabazz is one of them - McLemore is not.

Still through all of that, its been McLemore who has had the better year. McLemore is a guy who was under the radar until late in his high school career. He redshirted at Kansas as he was only a partial qualifier, improved his game even more, and is now at a point where he is a top 5 pick. He's gotten significantly better each of the past 3 or 4 years. The more and more exposure to the game and coaching he is receiving, the better he is getting. Once he gets to the NBA, he will have luxuries of training and dieting that he has never been exposed to that can take his game to an even higher level.

Then you have Shabazz who has been exposed to all of these luxuries for years. He's been considered a top player in his class since he made the varsity team at Bishop Gorman as a freshman. Yet he really hasn't made big strides as a player from year to year. He's still a poor ball handler and his shooting is just now finally starting to get better. His peers have gotten a step closer to him year after year.

I thought it was interesting how they mentioned Shabazz's older sister in the article as well, who signed an endorsement contract in tennis at age 17 and turned pro. She's now 21 and still has advanced any further. She received the same benefits that Shabazz did as a kid and because of this, she appeared to be more prepared at age 17 to turn pro than most kids are her age. But at the same time, she had already received so much professional training as a kid that there just wasn't much upside left. Her parents made sure they squeezed every ounce of talent they could get out of her already.

The same can be said for Shabazz. Just how much more does he have to grow? Just how good is he? Physically, players will continue to catch up to him. Skill-wise, players have already surpassed him. Shabazz's competitiveness, confidence, and will to score will be traits that he can fall back on though. He will always be a great competitor and he will always have a physical edge on players - just not as much as he was when he earned his reputation as the super senior high schooler in the country. 

Scouting Report: Xavier Rathan-Mayes

I've had the chance to evaluate Rathan-Mayes about five times in person now and have seen him in a high school setting with Huntington Prep, at the Global Challenge with Canada, and playing AAU ball for CIA Bounce. 

Xavier Rathan-Mayes showed up big time in the premier matchup against Julius Randle's Texas Titans. He had 22 points on the night and really caught fire at the beginning of the second half. Rathan-Mayes is great at finding ways to shoot his jumper - maybe to a fault as he settles for a lot of jumpshots (he only shot 36% for the weekend). He has a nice crossover dribble, uses screens well, and will post up defenders around the 3-pt line to set up his shot. He also has a turnaround jumper in his pocket. With these moves, Rathan-Mayes can light up the scoring column when he catches fire. Even when his shot isn't falling, he remains very confident. The problem right now is he relies to much on his jumper. He takes too many inefficient long two pointers and is a very streaky shooter. His jumpshot is good, but he isn't elite in that area (31% from 3, 75% from the FT line) so he needs to remember to attack the basket.

It seems all Canadian guards are good with the pick and roll and Rathan-Mayes is no exception. He likes to shoot his jumper off of screens, but he also has the vision and dribble ability to find teammates. He does a nice job changing speeds and not forcing his dribble as well. His mid-range game is also able to shine through off on-ball screens.

Rathan-Mayes does need get his teammates more involved and work on doing the little things to help his team win. He has been able to be Wiggins' wingman, but he hasn't picked up on some of the hustle things that go along with that. Part of it may be that Wiggins is a unique superstar and does many of the little things himself while Rathan-Mayes compliments him with shooting. Still, Rathan-Mayes needs to show more effort and mix it up more inside. That includes both on drives and on the glass. I think his driving game has more potential than what he has shown thus far - he definitely isn't strictly a shooter offensively.

He measured with a 6'5'' wingspan at the LeBron James camp so in the future, he may need to move to point guard. That may be too much to ask of him, but it would be realistic to see him as a scoring combo guard off the bench in the NBA one day.

Rathan-Mayes has a lot of talent but right now projects as an inefficient volume scorer at the next level who doesn't make his teammates better and is undersized. Luckily he has plenty of time to grow and I fully expect he will. He kind of reminds me of a rich man's Adrian Oliver or even a Willie Green.

Rathan-Mayes has interest from around the country and a wide open list. I could see him following Wiggins to Florida State or even Kentucky if they were to eventually offer him. Other than that, where he winds up is anybody's guess.

He compares his game to Chauncey Billups and you can see that with some of his offensive moves. He plays under control and has been working on posting up smaller defenders. Rathan-Mayes also cite Billups toughness as something he sees in himself.

Peach Jam Recaps: Boo Williams and Team Final

A Boo Williams vs Team Final matchup allowed me to check out Rondae Jefferson, Austin Colbert, Cat Barber, and Troy Williams again. I also got to see top 100 guards Allerick Freeman, Jaren Sina, and Davon Reed for the first time. I caught Boo Williams later on that day as well, but this was my only look at Team Final.

In this one look, Rondae Jefferson did more than enough to land solidly on my radar. I liked his defense and intensity at the Nike Global Challenge, but getting to see him in a team setting like this was special. He led Team Final to a 66-60 win against Boo, who most would agree has more talent. It was especially tough for Team Final when Cat Barber decided he would shut down Jaren Sina the entire game.

After that, it was up to Jefferson to take over. Sina couldn't get it over the halfcourt line thanks to Cat's defense, so Jefferson took over ball handling duties. While he plays with two top 100 guards in Davon Reed and Jaren Sina, Jefferson appeared to be the best point guard on the team. This rang true the entire event as Jefferson finished the weekend tied for fourth in assists. The only guys he was behind? Tyus Jones, Joel Berry, and Wesley Clark.

Jefferson is an unselfish player who has uses his size to see over the defense to make passes. He is a good driver that combines a solid skillset with a good first step. He can drive and dish as well as make tougher passes to 3rd read guys. His 3-pt shot has a long way to go, but he knows this and chooses to avoid taking long range jumpers. He prefers to catch the ball around the foul line extended area and go to work from there. He is a solid free throw shooter and does a great job getting to the line. He can finish with contact - finishing is a big strength of his.

Fortunately, I was able to see his man to man defense in Alexandria because Team Final didn't dare "d" up Cat Barber with man to man defense. You could still see Jefferson's intensity out there and he managed to get a block and two steals, but it would have been hard to tell just how much he brings it on that end of the court. He is a very well-rounded player. It is great that he gives equal energy on both ends of the hardwood.

The 2-3 zone that they ran stifled Barber and the rest of Boo Williams and other teams took after their strategy. I saw Team United slow down Cat the same way. The Oakland Soliders tried to man up against them for awhile, allowing Boo Williams to hang into the game until halftime, but smartened up and zoned it as they pulled away in the second half.

Barber struggled against the zone, showing my concerns about his ability to operate in a halfcourt offense, but he did show some good things that I didn't see at the Global Challenge. The first was the jumper. Barber was comfortable spotting up for three, which I knew, but I finally saw him hit a three off the dribble. And he was hitting mid-range jumpers off the drive as well. His jumper looked good - good form and nice rotation. Barber ran this team much better than the East squad. You could tell he felt more comfortable taking ownership of this group of players. He gave off much more of a leadership and mature persona. He still doesn't appear to be a top notch leader, but it is far from a negative.

More than that, Barber lled by example with his effort on defense. He completely shut down Jaren Sina. Barber has elite lateral quickness and great length for a point guard. He also plays the passing lanes extremely well. Sina finished the game 1-4 with 4 points, 1 assist, and 4 turnovers. The 4 points came at the beginning of the game...after that Barber decided to put him on lockdown and man was it impressive.

Barber still struggled to make plays, often deferring to Al Freeman, but the energy and maturity in his game I saw is promising for his development given his excellent physical tools. 

Troy Wiilliams continued to be an enigma. Maybe Barber looked much more mature this time because I was comparing him to Troy. Troy gave little effort on defense - even Cat's mom was getting on him from the stands - and when his coach tried to address the situation after a man blew right by Williams, Troy answered back with an excuse. This is common for Williams and his body language tells the same story as his mouth does.

At times, Williams can be impressive on defense. Boo Williams will employ him at the top of a modified 1-3-1 zone and have him create havoc. With his long arms and ability to move laterally, Williams is great at deflecting passes when he tries. He likes to create a disruption so he can get out on the break for an easy basketball.

In transition is where Williams shines the most, as his athleticism is put on full display. He has great speed and excellent leaping ability. He looks like a young Tracy McGrady athletically when he is soaring through the air. Williams also shows quick moves in transition, displaying crossovers that guys at his size shouldn't be able to do. He also likes to do a spin finish like a point guard.

Troy Williams has some nice, quick, moves with the ball in his hands but when he tries to use them in the halfcourt offense you either see a spectacular play or a turnover. Williams struggles to control his body once he gets going and his moves are often too drastic for him to maintain control of himself and the ball. When he does, its a highlight reel at the rim waiting to happen. Williams isn't good at setting up his teammates and his inability to slow his game down is a big factor. Right now he is a huge with a negative assist to turnover ratio and while that is more common in AAU ball, I doubt it will change for Troy in college.

Troy loves to drive, but he also has no problem posting up in the corner and jacking up 3-pt shots. He has a very quick trigger and never hesitates to put one up. He gets great elevation on his jumpers and makes them at a promising rate. With his shooting ability and athletic ability present, it is a recipe for a lottery pick. The only problem is the rest of his game. And while everyone would like to believe that Williams can improve, the scouts that have seen him for years seem to have more doubt. That is why Williams has dropped in the rankings. So while people late to the scene may drool over his potential, high school recruiting analysts may be moer weary to buy into it.

Allerick Freeman has a good body and skillset for a guard. He likes to score, but he makes smart decisions with the ball and does run some point even when Cat Barber is in the game. He is in between positions right now, but if he transform into a full time point guard, he is worth keeping an eye on. He should end up at a high level program.

Jaren Sina is a very good shooter and a smart passer. He appears to be good setting up his shots behind a screen as he can shoot off the bounce. His ball handling moves are slow and doesn't allow him the ability to get much penetration. He has a solid frame for a point guard, although his arms aren't especially long. His athleticism is below the NBA standard. He is heading to Northwestern and should fit their offense well.

Peach Jam Recaps: Texas Titans and Howard Pulley

My first full day at the Peach Jam was Friday, where I had no problem getting up for the 9am matchup between Howard Pulley and the Texas Titans. Highlighting this match were the names Tyus Jones, Matt Jones, Damian Jones, Akolda Manyang, Anders Broman, and of course Julius Randle. I already covered Randle's Peach Jam experience so check the link if you are interested in him.

The Texas Titans had Randle, but Howard Pulley had a top 10 player for his class as well in Tyus Jones. Jones is regarded as the #1 point guard of the 2014 class and only bolstered his stock here. He shot a tournament best 67% from 3 (10-15) and also led all participants in free throw percentage at 89% (31-35). Jones silenced any remaining doubters on his shooting ability here, and as you can see, it is actually a strength of his.

While shooting is a strength, it is his handling of the rock that makes him an elite prospect. Jones is very skilled and what stands out the most is that he plays completely mistake free basketball. He doesnt force anything and lets the game come to him. Jones is a very good ball handler and can finish with both hands. Combined with his shooting prowess and decision making, Jones is about as efficient as a guy who acts the the main facilitator and scorer can be. He has a confident swagger about him too.

His physical profile isnt the best and he isnt really flashy. Part of why he is so efficient is he makes the right plays and doesnt try to make the highlight reel play. Also, you don't see him connecting on alley oops on breaks because he is surrounded by shooters. Instead of him setting up nice plays at the rim in transition, he is usually just finding a man for an open 3. He gets his teammates great looks and has turned Anders Broman into a legitimate prospect by allowing him to showcase his beautiful 3-pt stroke.

Joneses' defense will never be anything special. He gives good effort and moves his feet well, but hes not a playmaker on that end. He gets comparisons to Chris Paul, but I think his ceiling is slightly lower than that. The good thing about Jones is that he should have a very high floor. He already does a lot of valuable things very well. He can pass, shoot, run the pick and roll, play smart and unselfishly. I just don't think he is an equal athlete in comparison to a Chris Paul. The CP3 smoothness is there, however.

Tyus Jones and his Howard Pulley squad won the game against the Titans 74-65, and although it was closer than the scorer indicated, it was an impressive win. The Titans overmatched them size wise and had 3 highly rated 2013 prospects as opposed to the 2014 Jones being the only major prospect on his team. Pulley's team is well coached and very unselfish. They didn't settle for bad shots, shot 10-25 from 3, and slowed down Randle by fronting the post.

Tyus's statline (29 points on 11-19 shooting, 8 assists, and only 2 turnovers) was particularly noteworthy considering he had Duke commit Matt Jones covering him all game. Jones acted as his team's defensive stopper all weekend, always covering the oppositions best perimeter scorer. I saw him try to lockdown both Jones and Andrew Wiggins in one day. In this particular game, Jones didn't show much offensively. He was so quiet, I thought he might have been nursing an injury.

With Matt Jones, you get a very smart player who is lethal from three (11-26 at Peach Jam) and has the length and fluidity to play great defense. He plays team basketball and fits the Duke image to the tee. He has no problem being a role player and has played second fiddle all summer next to Randle. He can be an Arron Aflalo type player in the league. He can handle the ball a bit and rarely turns it over. While he is great at catching and shooting, Jones separates himself from other shooters because he can put the ball on the floor and create his own 3-pt shot. He showed this multiple times in the game against CIA Bounce, where he avenged his measly 4 point performance from his earlier game against Howard Pulley.

Even after seeing Jones have a quiet game in my first ever look at him, I wasn't down on him. He just didn't really impose his force on the game. In the night cap and one of the most anticipated games of the event though, Jones shined. Randle was struggling so Jones knew he had to step up. And he did. He showed his competitive side and motor by defending Wiggins while dropping 26 points (and zero turnovers!!!).

Matt Jones won't post ridiculous numbers at Duke, but I'd take him on a NBA team anyday of the week when he eventually comes out. He has all the tools to be a great role player. He is one of those guys that goes mid-late first round and has no problem carving out a niche.

Damian Jones was another guy that drew a lot of attention last weekend. Jones is quickly rising up top 100 boards. He is very athletic and big, making him an extremely good and versatile defender. He has all the tools physically. NBA scouts will have an eye on him as a potential lockdown defender type, but I am not sold yet. For a guy like him to succeed, he needs to also be a great rebounder. Randle hogs a lot of the rebounds on this team, but I didn't like what I saw from Jones in terms of his hands and toughness inside. He is a little fragile, seemingly both mentally and physically. He had to be encouraged a few times after blown layups and fumbled catches. He plays efficiently on offense as he knows his role, but he is not a good finisher in traffic nor does he have much of an offensive skill set. Right now Jones is all potential. He seems like a good kid who will do what his team needs to win, but he needs a few more years to develop before we re-evaluate where he is at.

Peach Jam Player Recaps: Bluff City Legends and CP3 All-Stars

Getting to see Theo Pinson again, one of the most exciting player at the Nike Global Challenge was a must. Plus, I didn't get a good read of Nick King the first time I saw him so I wanted to focus on his game. King was joined by JaJuan Johnson on the wing and Pinson teamed up with Ja'Quel Richmond.

Theo Pinson didn't disappoint. He looked great on his way to 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and the win. I pretty much covered his entire game in my earlier report (see link), but being able to see him put together solid outings consistently is great reinforcement. He really has a great feel for the game. In the second matchup I saw him play, against Justice Winslow, he was outplayed in the 4th quarter, but Winslow is a special talent in his own right. Both are arguably top 10 players of the class of 2014.

Pinson's teammate Ja'Quel Richmond played well in my first look at him. He had 13 dimes and shot the ball well. He played really solid, just a point guard that you can count on that also provides some upside.

Seeing Nick King again allowed me to finally figure him out. In the game against Pinson, he really struggled. He tried to force his way to the basket, but King just isn't explosive enough to get there at will. He ended up shooting 2-13 from the field with only one 3-pter. Most his shots were awkward shots that were a result of not getting all the way to the basket.

I got another look at King against Marcus Lee and Cal Supreme though, and he played better. He had 13 points in 23 minutes while leaving 6 points at the charity stripe (he only went 2-8 from the FT line). King got the to basket, but struggled converting his free throws. It is weird considering he is a good 3-pt shooter, but it helps confirm my suspicions that King may be a trained 3-pt shooter and less of a pure shooter. He does like to catch the ball in that area though, operating out of the high post. Against Marcus Lee, this turned out to be effective  He took advantage of Lee playing off of him and hit some face up jumpers. He prefers to get to the hoop though, where he does a great job keeping his dribble alive and trying to force his way to the rim. King has a solid body, but he isn't a guy Id considering an imposing physical force or a great athlete. He is determined and displays great footwork and body control to find his way to the hoop. Overall, King isn't as impressive as some of the other wings I have seen.

JaJuan Johnson came out very aggressive in the game against Theo. King was struggling and he took over. Johnson showed some spot PG skills, bringing the ball up and being able to drive and dish. Johnson is a pure SG though, as he is the definition of a slasher with an eye to score. I love his ability to finish around the rim. He is very springy. He packs a lot more explosiveness then you would expect out of his slender frame. Creativity is the main name of his game, perhaps learning from his cousin Lou Williams. Johnson has a nice motor and will attack the glass and defend. In the second game I saw him in, he was a lot less aggressive for some reason. He could have just been tired, or he didn't feel the need to impose his will since Nick King and company were doing just fine against Cali Supreme. Either way, I am sure positive that Johnson generally is a very aggressive scorer and I like his mentality.