Mark Schanowski's Big Board 6.0 had some movement, particularly around the bottom half of the top 10. We take the time to go over some performances from throughout the week, this time focusing on the Duke forward duo of Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett.
Cam Reddish, Duke (vs Virginia Tech): 17 PTS (3/6 3PT ), 6 REB, 1 AST
If there was an award for “Most Confounding NBA Prospect”, Reddish would’ve had it locked up a long time ago. He continues to be a player who is deserving of picked high in the lottery, simply for his size, shooting ability and body of work at the high school level and on the AAU circuit. Back in the those days, it wasn’t uncommon to see Reddish knockdown 3-pointers while playing a point-forward role. That has gone away at Duke, and the results are a new form of Reddish that is all over the place game-to-game.
In the loss to Virginia Tech, Reddish flashed the impressive shooting ability that scouts hope to see at the NBA level. He didn’t get get up as many 3-pointers as he usually does--a byproduct of the Hokies playing a lot of zone--but still finished 3/6 from the 3-point line. Just as impressive as the 3s, was the variety of ways in which he scored.
Reddish finished in the paint off a brush screen from center Marques Bolden, in which he used his length to get the shot over two defenders. Early in the matchup, he unleashed a vicious half-spin, step back jumper over fellow NBA prospect Nickeil Alexander-Walker
That move alone shows the immense skill level possessed by Reddish, and why it’s worth taking a chance on him.
On defense Reddish was very frustrating. He is an engaged on-ball defender at times and very good at playing the passing lanes, and possesses an elite 3.5 percent steal percentage. But Reddish collected no steals, no blocks and four personal fouls in Duke’s loss on Tuesday. And he committed the cardinal sin of leaving your feet on defense on a ball fake, giving up a direct drive to the basket.
Virginia Tech capitalized on many of the 12 Duke turnovers with fastbreak opportunities. And Reddish was often slow to get back. To make matters worse, when he did back on defense, he took poor angles to the ball. There was one instance in particular where Reddish--the deepest man back as Virginia started a 2-on-1 fastbreak--ran directly to the ball handler, knowing there was no help behind him and conceding a layup to Va. Tech.
The Bulls already have a host of issues on transition D, and that is what makes the idea of adding Reddish an extremely volatile one.
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But again, his advanced skill set, 6-foot-8 frame and shooting ability means that there is a good chance that Reddish’s floor as a prospect still sees him becoming a very valuable (shot-making) wing. And if he ever bulks up his frame, he could possess a very interesting future in a stretch-four role.
RJ Barrett, Duke (vs Virginia Tech): 21 PTS (17 of 21 PTS in 2nd half), 4 REB, 5 AST
Barrett continues to be my favorite prospect in college basketball, a stunning mixture of forceful drives to the rim, agile euro-steps and the occasional stunning dime. But he is also a prospect with obvious flaws.
In Duke’s road loss to Virginia Tech, Barrett continued to showcase the two biggest weaknesses in his game right now. He is a poor 3-point shooter, down to 32.8 percent on the season. There is something to be said for the fact that he understands he needs to at least appear to be a threat from outside. He went 1/6 from the 3-point line against the Hokies. And to make matters worse, he went 4/7 (57.1 percent) from the free throw line, where he is shooting an abysmal 68.1 percent on the season.It should be noted, that Barrett played through a reported stomach illness in this game.
But--back to what makes Barrett such an intriguing prospect--he made up for the all the missed 3-pointers with his usual brilliance in the paint. He shot 7/9 from the field on 2-point shots, and played an excellent floor game to boot. Barrett tied the team lead with 5 assists and finished with one turnover.
His defense continues to come and go. And the biggest issue on that end is that Barret plays with “high hips”, meaning he often doesn’t get low enough in his defensive stance and can get beat off the dribble, by quick guards particularly. But overall Barrett was great in this game and the loss can be blamed on neither he or Cam Reddish alone.