http://www.nationalsportsrankings.com/index.php?option=com_ffact&ids=173&lang=en
I love Kyle Young and all, but I’m sorry, give me Donnie Tillman all day. How many people in the world at 6’7 and 225 can iso on the wing, cross a defender over, get separation and lay it up with the off hand? That is ridiculous for a kid that size. This kid is dropping no look dimes, dunking everything around the rim with explosion, and just flat out bullying people. Donnie has to be one of the most underrated prospects in the country IMO. He’s an absolute beast
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Yeah, that’s my advanced stats guy I use on my site, I just refer to him by his twitter handle. That’s where I got my Tillman v Young advanced metrics. Really good stuff there, good breakdowns.
I just love the idea of this guy on the floor beside Matthews and/or Cain. Incredible combination of strength, hops, skill and motor.
Might seem like a weird comparison but his non-stop motor and ability to bully guys in the lane somewhat suggests a poor man’s Stanley Johnson. And not even a “very” poor man either.
Hell, he seems way more explosive vertically than Stanley.
Haven’t brought him up in a while because there just isn’t any interest from the staff at this point, but I’ve watched a ton of Amauri Hardy this summer, and think he may be worth a look as a backup PG in 17. His floater may be the best I’ve seen on the EYBL circuit, and his ability to get to the rim and finish against bigger players is excellent. Here’s a highlight I put together from EYBL Session 3 in Hampton. What do you guys think?
Just for context - a few months back I recall a few folks here asking what type of numbers Jamal Cain would put up at Michigan. Pretty sure I said something to the effect of 13-14ppg, 4-5rebs, 2-3assists, 1 steal, on 44-45% from the field and 35-36% from distance
Final EYBL numbers for Jamal:
13.1ppg
4.8rebs
1.1assist
.7steal
.6block
50% FG
37.3% from 3
Obviously not college, but I think my projections are pretty reasonable based on the EYBL stats. Here is how Jamal stacked up for EYBL - over 500 players
#67 in scoring
#101 in rebounding
#37 in FG% among players with over 100 FG attempts
#43 in 3% among players with over 30 attempts
You take all of that, combined with film and live evaluation - and I think my projected ranking range of a 60-80 type player is almost spot on.
That dunk at 0:08? Good Lord, if he has some of that controlled aggression that Aubrey could never find then he could be a highlight reel machine. That was ridiculous for a high school Junior.
For me the tip dunk was absolutely ridiculous. Those are things that simply cannot be taught, that type of explosiveness is borderline elite. To literally jump over another player, with his body between Jamal and the rim, to be able to dunk that is nuts.
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Also, the perimeter defense was quite impressive IMO. The charge Jamal drew was very impressive, as he was doing this against ESPN #57 Galen Alexander and stayed in front of him easily in an isolation situation. He also harassed ESPN 4 star Alex Barcello several times and stole the ball from him a few times. I just think he’s a really good 2 way prospect. He gives you the desired shooting, a HUGE improvement athletically, a good perimeter defender, and a good rebounder for a wing.
I am loving how comfortable he looks with those corner 3s. If he is hitting those in addition to his dribble drive game… oo boy!
Also, have a question about EYBL ranks that you listed. How much do those numbers need to be contextualized based on the team that he is on? By this I mean to ask: Is the Family a top 10 type AAU team or 50th percentile or where in the spectrum are they (I know they were pretty hot at the end of the season). If the Family is a really good team, then you would assume that the ball needs to be shared more, but if they are a middling team where Cain is the heads and shoulders best player on the team those ranks dont look as good as I would hope… Maybe this could be summarized with what is Cain’s useage rate is.
Shooting form looks as though it’s getter better and better. Consistently repeating the shot mechanics. Terrific rotation and even a demonstrable “gooseneck.”
Hard to say. For context, The Family finished 7-9 in EYBL, which ranks 22nd out of 40 teams. Were they a bad team, no (Mac Irvin was BAD), but they certainly weren’t good either. I categorize them as an average/slightly below average team. Cain was head and shoulders the best player on the team IMO, but the ball wasn’t in his hands a lot to be honest. Jamal often played out of position at the 4, because quite frankly, The Family bigs just aren’t good enough at the level. Jermaine Jackson Jr ended up dominating the ball A LOT, and Jamal rarely seen the ball other than catch and shoot 3s, and he certainly made the most of those opportunities.
To give some more context, my advanced stats guy @advancedbbstats on Twitter (JM uses this as well), has Jamal ranked #83 in his EYBL MVP race, which is the upper quartile of all EYBL players. All the stats/film seem to indicate a top 60-80 guy IMO.
http://www.nationalsportsrankings.com/index.php?option=com_ffact&ids=173&lang=en
That was the best film I’ve seen on him yet. A sixty to eighth ranking is very fair.
Interesting numbers. Of course, with the full caveat that these numbers tell only part of the story and must be adjusted for context (the quality of the team played on) and sample size, here is where some other targets or guys mentioned here or elsewhere are rated:
Davison–11
Young–12
Gaines–14
Jackson–24
Bowen–27
Lawrence–42
X. Tillman–66
Livers–82
Wright–84
Dawson–86
Decisic ('18–Canada)–93
Eastern–104
Roberts–105
D. Tillman–114
T. Finke ('18–Champaign, Il.)–126
Poole–137
Johns ('18–Michigan)–146
J. Smith–165
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Totally agree, numbers certainly don’t tell the entire story. Have not been impressed with Johns, Eastern, Gaines relative to their rankings/reputation. On other hand, Donnie has certainly been better than 114 IMO.