I've resigned myself to the fact that we are likely to draft Dejounte and I will be watching full game of his today(vs San Diego State). Will update my impressions starting here:
-nice quick step into a fugly 1 dribble pull up 18-footer shot. At least he looked natural creating the space, the defender didn't even have a chance to contest.
-quick running the floor, nice behind back pass to Chriss on the break, followed by a great pick and pop pass to Chriss for the wide open J. His length would be good seeing over defenders.
-moves feet well on D, OK contest in the lane
-seems to play a lot off-ball on O.
-pushes in transition after made basket, a bit of a wild shot in traffic.
-runs the floor again in transition after made basket, smooth shiftiness, puts up another contested shot in the paint(touch doesn't seem great)
-quick burst out of the pnr into the paint, finger-roll rolls out - again - questionable touch.
-OK defensive possession - gave up middle too easily(still good feet, maybe they don't teach them not to give up middle?), but good contest against a bigger player forces the miss.
-nice handle, finds himself going against the help-defender going into the paint but again forces a heavily contested ill-advised shot, misses again
-attacks the closeout well, gets in the paint this time scores through contact AND-1.
-LARGER POINT - he seems to be able to get whereever he wants on the floor with the ball. He likes contact, tries to finish through it. Isn't good enough to do it right now.
-2 consecutive possessions with questionable passes. You know how Dante's passes seemed a bit telegraphed last year - those two had a similar feel to them.
-another contested and blocked shot, this time from the corner 3 with 17 seconds on the clock. Yikes.
-leads the fast break, good pass in transition.
-damn, he's so shifty, finds little spaces and uses them to penetrate, the problem - again - throws his body into the defender and misses the contested shot at the rim.
-I LOVE HIS SPEED in the open floor. Catches rebound/deflection, runs the other way, creates layup for teammate.
-beat off the dribble on D, expected opponent to use the screen. was surprised by the screen denial, allows a layup.
-he does the same thing again and again - uses shiftiness to get in the paint - jacks up contested shot. Seems wild. This time it dropped. I wonder how often those drop? He's 2/8 right now.
-another ill-advised shot with a defender on him from the corner 3 with 23 seconds on the clock.
-he looks like a street-ball player.
-OK, I don't know if I can keep watching this - he seems resolute to shoot every time he touches it... gets in the paint again, and jacks up another contested shot, misses again. It looked kinda fun in the beginning, but it is becoming kind of frustrating. Show me something else!!!
-(he was taken out, seems like his coach had enough of it)
-back in after 1 minute, his coach probably gave him a mouthful and let him back in... lets see how he reacts. 2 minutes to go from the half. First possession gave it up in the beginning, didn't get it back
-nice deflection on D... he's long.
(on a side note - did Pope drop out of the draft? I love some of the things he does.)
-Final possession - dribbling out the clock... same old - gets in the paint - misses heavily contested shot. :\
-Murray practically single-handedly is shooting them out of the game - Washington down by 16 at the half.
Second half
-pick and roll into a 12-foot floater... goes in. I'm not sure, but that might be a better shot for him than throwing his body into defenders and expecting his shot to fall at the rim.
-he drove again, and hit another contested shot.
-misses open teammates - keeps shooting. This time fouled. About 60-70% of his shots would make Quin go crazy!
-shifty move into the paint, throws his body into the defender, draws foul. I can see why some people like him, if his shot is falling or he's getting fouled he can be a fun player to watch, but also he seems the kind of player that would make you scream in desperation some nights.
-gets beat off the dribble, allows penetration and layup.
-Murray in the lane again... he has no problem getting in the paint with the ball ... this time finishes with a nifty layup.(second half has been better finishing)
-Damn, he's shifty and elusive. Gets in the paint without ANY PROBLEM. But again - throws his body into defender - misses the shot.
-Larger point: I think he might be better served trying some variety in his finishes. He seems to throw his body into opponents as a means to create space and not get the shot block, but he might be better served trying some floaters or more creative finishes around the rim.
-slow getting back in transition, allows a wide open dunk
-HOLY **** POPE!
-a bit out of control, throws another ill-advised shot. He seems not to be able to help himself.
-follows the fastbreak, finishes the tap in.
-grabs rebound, pushes the fastbreak, teammates gets fouled.
-LENGTH on D, deflects another ball.. followed by a good contest on a jumpshot.
-leaks on the fast break, wide open dunk in transition.
-WOW! Great pass on the backdoor cut from the wing. Again - his length helps him see things develop. I wish he'd pass more. I want to see his passing on the drives... I want to see him drive and dish and drive and kick. It's a 5 point game now.
-grabs the rebound, pushes the transition - great bounce pass to Chriss for the dunk. SWEET!
-got beat on a backdoor cut, fouls the opponent
-great defensive possession - moves his feet well, hands straight up, steals the ball, pushes in transition - eurosteps into a layup, which misses, but Chriss follow with the slam.
-didn't give much resistance against a bigger player on the block... pretty much let him score
-curl into the paint, nice floater - scores.
-drives in the paint - fouled.
(double digits lead for SDS with 3 minutes left)
-wild spin into the paint, mishandles the ball, TO.
-length on D, pokes ball away and steals it... scores in transition.
-pull up 3 in transition rims out.
Done....
Tl;dr - he is an exciting prospect at first glance. Very shifty, quick, good handle. Can get anywhere he wants on the floor with the ball, uses small spaces well, gets in the paint without any problem. Throws his body into defenders, likes contact, but doesn't seem good finishing through contact and in traffic. Has a nice floater. Takes a ton of ill-advised shots. TUNNEL VISION! Has good length on D, deflects balls, and sees over defenders on O. GREAT speed in the open floor. Jumpshot is not good. If he can be tamed and coached, might be a good prospect. LONG WAY to go IMO.
