I like his versatility: rebounds, can shoot from deep, midrange game, can operate out of the PNR. Beilein is getting a pretty versatile piece in this young man.
Really versatile scorer… Think he fits nicely probably as a four to start but also potentially as a three. Think there will be some growing pains for him defensively early on.
He doesn’t play quite as difficult of a schedule as someone like Ignas Brazdeikis did in the grind session last year, but his high school team plays a lot of high profile games which generally can help make a prospect more ready to make an impact IMO. The Adidas summer circuit doesn’t match EYBL in that regard, though.
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Agreed. The knock on him being his lack of top-level athleticism you can also see in this video - tends to manifest on the defensive end. Hopefully once Yak gets his paws on him that will change. Might keep him from seeing the floor early, but have lots of depth at the 4 next year with Johns and Livers anyway.
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You are right but I think the Adidas gauntlet is good enough. Same as UAA. Plenty of elite players play in those circuits. The biggest difference is the quality of depth of those circuits. UAA and Adidas generally don’t have quite as many top tier teams and the teams aren’t stacked with d1 players top to bottom. The West Coast Elite team, Team Thad, Team Rio, WeR1, DC Premier and New Heights are some of the better UAA teams. I think they would beat half the EYBL teams this year. Some of those UAA teams would contend at the top of the EYBL. Adidas had the best team in the country in Compton Magic, and then Indiana Elite and D1 Minnesota are a few more teams that were absolutely stacked as well. I think just playing and heavily producing in any of the 3 circuits is a pretty good barometer for prepping for next level. Defensively you are correct regarding Wilson. He will likely struggle on that end. But offensively he should make an impact.
Looks like the potential of a Livers to me.
Meant to post this here, I see a lot of Livers in his game too!
I don’t think he’s nearly as athletic as livers.
I have to admit not looking at clips of Livers when he was the same age as Jalen Wilson. However, it’s my guess that Livers wasn’t nearly as athletic as a 17-year-old athlete as he looks to be now either.
Don’t you think Jalen Wilson looks like the kind of basketball athlete that is going to grow leaps and bounds once he arrives on campus, both as an athlete, and a basketball player?
Jalen shoots the ball better than Isaiah did at that age (Isaiah was more of a mid-range type of shooter) and is significantly more aggressive in hunting out his own offense.
Isaiah was a better athlete than Jalen is at a similar stage. Isaiah was also much less of a “hunter” or a “wolf” as Beilein puts it at that age (and really still now).
Just my 2 cents in terms of comparing them.
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I see Jalen as a guy who will have a shot profile very similar to Iggy (not usage), but achieve it in a much different way. Finesse vs brute strength.
I think Jalen projects as a much more versatile offensive player than Isaiah Livers has been up to this point
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Isaiah was way more athletic than Wilson. Even in highlights you rarely see him dunk. Here is Isaiah’s senior year highlights. https://youtu.be/f3iIXZMXgGo
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Have to see him throw his breaking ball for strikes before I’ll compare him to Livers.
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How about Amir Coffey as a comparison for Jalen Wilson?
Never been a huge fan of comparisons, but I don’t necessarily see it with Coffey. Always have seen him as more of a guard. The first thing I think about when I think of Coffey’s game is his ability to pass as a big wing… The word “pass” doesn’t come up often with Jalen Wilson right now.
Someone on Twitter compared him to Trevon Bluiett which I can see a bit more as maybe a below average athlete who just knows how to score.
I guess my initial comparison (which was a hybrid between Livers and Poole) had more to do with shot selection and shot creation.
Offensively, I feel athleticism is slightly overrated.
Jordan Poole agrees 
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Maybe, but Wilson has averaged over 3 assists a game in high school, and just short of that in Adidas Gauntlet. I was always pretty impressed with his basketball IQ and vision. You have no doubt seen more tape and live performances from Wilson than have I, but in what I’ve seen, I don’t think of him as a scorer only.
That’s fair, not really trying to knock his game at all. I just think I’d call him a scoring forward first.
That makes sense. I also see some Zak Irvin later in his Michigan career, minus the funky shot mechanics, but Zak was a polarizing figure among Michigan fans, so I was looking for another comp.
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