The Weekend Slate: Scouting Two of the Weekend's Most Intriguing Games
This is one of my favorite weeks of the college basketball season with early season tournaments at neutral sites and non-conference games providing unique matchups and a slight NCAA tournament feel. With the weekend here, let’s get you ready to scout two of my most intriguing scouting matchups: Siena versus Ole Miss and Bryant versus Syracuse.
Siena vs Ole Miss (Friday, 11:00 AM, ESPN Events Invitational)
Siena Top Prospect: Javian McCollum (Guard, Sophomore)
McCollum followed up his worst game of the season in a loss versus Harvard (two points and two assists on 0-of-4 shooting in 26 minutes) with arguably his best performance against Florida State, Siena’s toughest opponent thus far .
He scored 18 points (5-of-9 on field goals, 2-of-6 from three, 6-of-6 on free throws) and dropped a career high eight assists in the upset win. His combo of creative on ball scoring, 3-point shooting and playmaking shined throughout as it has done during the season’s infancy.
McCollum’s resiliency probably stood out the most. The fact that he rebounded from an awful performance to lead Siena to a win against FSU, a Power Five school with NBA size and length plus multiple legitimate NBA prospects, is beyond encouraging regarding his makeup and upside as a transfer target and future NBA prospect.
As a “mid or low major” prospect, stacking noteworthy performances against Power Five teams is always significant. McCollum will have a chance to add another to his resume versus Ole Miss with future matchups against either Seton Hall or Oklahoma and Georgetown on Dec. 7.
Ole Miss Top Prospects: Matthew Murrell (Guard, Junior) Jaemyn Brakefield (Big Wing, Junior), James White (Guard, Sophomore), Amaree Abram (Guard, Freshman)
Murrell is Ole Miss’ best prospect, being a 6-foot-4 athletic guard and possessing a smooth shooting stroke (38% from three on 4.9 attempts last season). He's also got shotmaking versatility and passing flashes. the junior paces the team in scoring (15.4) and assists (3.4) while providing disruptive defense (1.8 steals).
At 6-foot-8 wing, Brakefield is a big wing scorer that thrives as a slasher and spot up shooter. He’s been trackable since his freshman year at Duke and is progressively finding his way at Ole Miss.
White and Abram are long term prospects to monitor. After averaging a little over 20 points during their Bahamas tour, White’s 13.4 minutes per game is very surprising and I’m hoping he gradually sees an uptick in minutes. Abram, the team’s second leading scoring at 10.8 points per game, enters the Siena game on the heels of a career high 26-point game against Stanford.
Bryant vs Syracuse (Saturday, 4:00 PM)
Bryant Top Prospect: Earl Timberlake (Wing, Junior)
Timberlake is finally healthy and has found a home at Bryant after transferring from Memphis and Miami. The strong, athletic and versatile prospect operates as a point wing while defending multiple positions and being a defensive disruptor (two stocks per game). He’s stuffing the staff sheet with averages of 15.8 points, seven rebounds (2.4 offensive) and 4.2 assists to two turnovers.
Let’s not forget that Timberlake was a consensus top-30 recruit and had some buzz as a sneaky one and done candidate entering his freshman year. His stock is slowly starting to rebuild, but will depend on his swing skill, 3-point shooting. Timberlake is yet to attempt at three through five games and is a career 18% 3-point shooter on just 11 attempts.
Syracuse Top Prospects: Judah Mintz (Guard, Freshman), Benny Williams (Big Wing, Sophomore), Joe Girard III (Guard, Senior)
Mintz is building a firstround case based on his on-ball scoring and defensive playmaking (2.2 stocks per game) as he continues to develop his floor game and learns how to play the point guard role.
Syracuse has allowed him to play through mistakes and is living with his decisions. He’s leading the team in scoring at 18 points and assists (3.2) per game. He's turned the ball over 2.2 times per contest while shooting 28% from three.
Despite his awesome mid range game, clearly his 3-point mark and per game attempts (1.4) are areas of improvement to monitor that affect his draft stock.
Mintz being defended by Timberlake is the matchup I want to see the most. How Mintz creates against Timberlake’s strength, length and competitiveness should be a welcomed challenge.
Benny Williams’ prospect breakout is likely coming next year, but his early incremental growth this year is significant. He’s up to 34.2 minutes per game after 10.8 last year season, respectively raising his attempts from 2.1 to 6.6 per game. I want to see him continue to be more assertive and look for his offensive a bit more considering his tools and skillset.
Speaking of his tools, Williams is utilizing his length more to be a factor defensively and on the glass. At 6-foot-8 with likely plus length, he’s pulling down 6.2 rebounds and generating 2.2 stocks. Keep being patient with Williams as a long term prospect.
I think we all know what Girard III is as a prospect. An undersized, ultra confident shooter with shotmaking versatility and microwave shooting ability. Girard III is currently shooting 40% from deep (8.4 attempts) after setting a career high of 40% (6.7 attempts) last season. Makes sense as a G League prospect and Portsmouth Invitational Tournament invite.
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