Top Performance Series: Jett Howard
The idea behind the top performance series is to go back and watch the best, or one of the best, box score games of each prospect's season to see how they looked when they were performing at their highest individual level and what that might show us about their ceiling as a prospect.
This was not even close to the the most explosive scoring performance for Jett Howard but it was chosen because not only did he still knock down four 3-point attempts but also dished out seven assists.
If we want to truly get a vision of Howard’s ceiling it seemed best to break down a game where he showcased more than just his shooting and scoring touch.
Offense
That shooting touch was on display in this game and he was able to do it in a few different play types. The most impressive 3-point attempt was in a semi isolation where Howard showcased some wiggle with a space creating crossover and make off the bounce.
The 6-foot-8 wing also knocked down a couple catch-and-shoot opportunities and finished it off with another attempt off the bounce from a zoom action. Considering the 3-point shot will be of such high importance for Howard, there were a couple areas for growth to be pinpointed.
First, which is the case for many young prospects, the shooting motion did have a long and low dip which will have to be sped up.
Second, for as much time as he spent off the ball the unscripted off-ball relocation did not stand out as much as you would want. Improving this will be huge to not only keep good spacing but maximize the opportunities he can get to show off that sweet shooting stroke.
That limited off-ball movement also showed up with no cuts to the rim or offensive rebounding to speak of. These would be a couple great additions to his overall value. Where Howard could provide more value on this end of the court is operating in ball screens. There were plenty of possessions where he got to play as the pick-and-roll handler.
While this was great to see, there is going to need to be more nuanced added to how he plays within these possessions to yield more effective results.
It seemed that most of these would play out the same with Howard attacking to his right, dragging the big for as long as possible and sometimes being able to turn the corner and others getting shut down completely.
It would have been nice to see Howard effectively split, snake or jail the defender in these possessions. With that said, Howard is definitely going to be a connector and ball mover on the offensive end with some true creation upside.
Defense
The best thing Howard is going to provide on the defensive end is size which will hopefully translate to some versatility.
While he wasn’t always effective staying in front of the ball, he did seem to be engaged and willing to give multiple efforts. The off the ball defense also came away with a neutral impact due to a duality of positive and negative.
There were times where Howard seemed to be providing good value with his communication and then an equal amount of times where he was involved in miscommunication on a switch.
Sometimes he showed really good awareness and engagement with his rotation abilities but then followed that up by being late. It also would have been nice to see more strong side engagement from Howard but in fairness that could be what was specifically being asked of him within the scheme.
All of this being neutral would not be as important to note if Howard was more impactful in two other areas on the defensive end, rebounding and playmaking.
Unfortunately, the IMG Academy alum offers almost nothing on the defensive boards, especially for his size, and also did very little in terms of creating turnovers or protecting the rim. Even the addition of more defensive rebounds would be great to help Howard’s overall impact on this end of the court.
Ceiling
Floor spacing wing with secondary creation upside and neutral defender that offers size.
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