I will be doing some of my annual prospect watch with notes here. I'm starting with Kevin Huerter.
Huerter vs Michigan state
-first defensive position - good box out and rebound vs Bridges
-first offensive possession - doesn't shy away from shooting... launched a shot from 30 feet with 23 seconds on the clock
-makes the nice extra pass for wide open 3 for teammate on the break
-damn... nice help defense and rejection on the low block by Huerter. Good timing and instincts on the jump
-moves the ball and cuts on offense
-bad closeout, got beat easily... his feet were not great on this one, gave up and 1 trying to recover on the drive by Langford
-rises from 3 coming off the pnr even though his big slipped it , used the defender's hesitation... drains it. His shot looks really nice.
-fights through screen off ball on D... not great technique but good effort, contests the shot.
-Bridges drives against him, good initial step, but seems like he didn't anticipate the secondary burst, help defense saved his ***.
-drives from the top of the key with defender in front of him, but couldn't beat his man with speed. Still finishes through/over his man and the help defender. Might have good touch and length?
-another not great closeout. Bridges beats him easily baseline and assists for a dunk. He needs to do better containing penetration in those situations. It wasn't even a big closeout he needed to do.
-nice fake/juke and cut that left him open cutting to the rim, but his PG didn't pull the trigger on the pass.
-good effort chasing his man around screens, not great technique defending the iso(crosses feet, turns body sideways... lucky this time)
-comes off screen, great vision and instincts to see the artificial PnR that was created on the handoff and pass it to his big. He's not just a shooter it seems. He can make the right decision not just looking to score.
-shoots on the hand-off... looks natural, rims out.
-attacks the PnR after his big slips it again... this time drives and draws a foul.
-he fights through screens, this is my biggest takeaway defensively so far. Might not have the best feet on D, but he does give effort.
-this time drives left(previous drives were going right), stops and spins, creates enough space to hit his fadeaway jumper from about 12 feet.
-end of the half. Will be watching the second half later and adding comments here.
-second half
-sweet pass on a slipped screen on the left wing.
-gets the ball on the move off screen again, attacks the paint, collapses the defense... makes the right read again and finds open man in the corner... I'm beginning to really really like his fit in our offense. Quin will love him offensively, he already is doing things that Quin makes our players do - quick reads and decisions on the move.
-creates a ton of space on a stepback but misses the 3p shot
-good pocket pass in the pnr, his big scores after a dribble and a post move.
-he continues to give effort on D and contest shots even when he gets stuck on a screen a bit.
-I don't like his feet in man on man defense.
-bad pass on a slipped screen
-tries to go one on one... I don't think he has the speed for it, gets shut down.
-again, tries to go one on one... this time he drew the help defender(IMO the help didn't need to come, his man was in front of him still) and made the right bounce pass for an and 1.
-he's too good of a decisionmaker to be kept in the corner and it happens way too often IMO.
-tried to play off the bounce again but hesitated and gave up his dribble... then shot an ill-advised 3 off-rhythm with 24 seconds on the clock.
-very good transition D, found the man with the ball and prevented the shot, but this was followed by bad PNR D - decided to go under the screen on a 50% 3p shooter Cassius Winston and he drained it.
-they let him run the PnR, doesn't seem shifty and quick enough but he sells the drive to the middle and spins the other way going to the rim - draws a foul. Scores both FTs.
-gets fouled again on a handcheck... gotta think the threat of him shooting has something to do with it.. missed both FTs, weird.
- coming off screen, squares up, great elevation... beautiful shot. Drains it!
- they put him in the pnr again - this time he follows his man over the screen and recovers then blocks his shot from behind. Nice!
- gives up a good shot for better wide open 3 from the corner for a teammate. He continues to make the right plays majority of the time.
-scored some more FTs at the end of the game.
OK... summary time:
Defense: I don't like his technique and feet when guarding 1 on 1 and he can have better feet on close outs, with that said - he works his butt off fighting through screens, never gives up on plays, goes for the contest every time. I am having hard time figuring out if his bad feet are a question of just... being slow-footed on D or technique. Several possessions suggest that it might be fixable with some coaching(for example he was crossing his feet all the time and getting faked because of it).
Offense: I love him on the move! The pleasant surprise was his playmaking for others and his decision making on the move. He makes the right play almost always. I am not sure he's got the skill and wiggle to create offense on-ball, but if he gets a step on his defender he's dangerous both to score and to pass. He seemed a bit slow and unimaginative with his moves on ball. His shot is pure though... he squares up quickly and seamlessly even when coming off screens and need to make sharp turn toward the basket to shoot it. Very very very(!!!) nice release, it's high and it's smooth, very repeatable. I love it.
I am glad I spent this hour or so watching him. I think I will be bumping him up my board. Walt Perrin said yesterday that we need more shooting. He is precisely that and I can absolutely see why Quin would love him. All those exercises he does with the players for catching on the move and making quick decisions with the ball - Huerter seems to do this naturally + the shot of course. I still need to see more of him finishing at the rim.
