Emoni Bates and G.G. Jackson Shine in Friday Night Battle
The paths for Emoni Bates and G.G. Jackson have been similarly unordinary up to this point. Both were once regarded as the top player in their high school class, then re-classed up a year to play college basketball ahead of schedule.
Now, each star prospect finds himself carrying a large load for his respective squad while attempting to make a statement to NBA scouts.
On Friday night, the two monstrous talents clashed as Jackson led South Carolina to a victory over Eastern Michigan. Even in the loss, Bates tallied 36 points while shooting 8-of-15 from deep while Jackson countered with 24 points and 4-of-9 shooting from behind the stripe.
All night, Bates exhibited his brilliant shot-making ability. He had no issue creating for himself, nailing contested jumper after contested jumper. Pull-ups, stepbacks, fadeaways, you name it, he was canning them all. He swished these looks from inside the arc, over 30 feet out, and everywhere in between. His catch-and-shoot attempts were similarly impressive, in which he repeatedly drilled shots from range and off of movement.
But all of his scoring was done via jumpers, this isn't out of the ordinary and has been a primary reason I've been reluctant to regard Bates as a lottery prospect. Nevertheless, given his scorching hot shooting, the lack of points at the rim didn’t make him any less dominant Friday night.
Performances like these demonstrate the magnitude of impact the EMU sophomore’s shooting ability could provide in the league. A shot diet consisting of more easy opportunities would make these staggering scoring outputs far more replicable, but still, on the right day, this level of shot-making can singlehandedly fuel important victories at the next level.
Jackson’s approach was more diverse than Bates’ in the Gamecocks victory. In addition to converting many tough pull-ups and catch-and-shoot jumpers of his own, he earned himself easy chances at the rim with timely cuts. The newly turned 18-year-old functioned as both the handler and roller in pick-and-rolls, backed down his defender in the post on multiple occasions, and did a lot of work off the ball, really encapsulating the exciting versatility he brings as a scorer.
The 6-foot-10 freshman has a rare blend of size, ball handling, movement skills, and pull-up shooting. As a result, he’s developing a mix of ability to create easy shots at the basket and ability to make difficult shots, something that foreshadows efficient, undeniable, bucket-getting.
Additionally, with his versatile skillset, he can do it all in an assortment of different ways with or without the rock, allowing him to adapt his approach to remain potent against different defensive coverages.
These elements make Jackson a wildly enticing scoring prospect, and somebody I wouldn’t hesitate to spend a top-five pick on this June.
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