 |
| Julius Ellerbe, Darrius Tilghman, Nanna Njoku, Mohammed Aminu & Victory Nagoya |
The UA Next Combine Series had its
final stop in Washington DC and the talent level was high as was expected. Let’s take a look at the front court players
that impressed us during the one day event.
Our analysis will cover the top wings and bigs that attended.
Julius Ellerbe (6’5 WF Temple Hills, MD) was the top wing and
overall number one player at the conclusion of the event. Julius is a do it all wing that has the
potential to stay in that elite top 25 status in the class of 2021. He can play the point forward or play more
his natural position on the wing. He
rebounds very well for his position and then he is able to lead the break. Ellerbe can get buckets if needed either by
attacking the basket or knocking down his jumper with range out to the 3 point
line. He plays the right way and loves
to make plays for others as we saw him drive and kick to the three point
shooter.
Darrius Tilghman (6’3 WF
Baltimore, MD) is a high energy wing that is always in attack mode. Darrius is an athlete that attacks the rim
with reckless abandon. He can knock down
the mid-range jumper and has the ability to be a lock down defender. One of the better scorers in the event, we
can see Tilghman as a household name for years to come. Nnanna
Njoku (6’9 PF Newark, DE) was the top big in the event. He is a big body that understands how to get
position on the low block and go to work.
A lost art, Nnanna has back to the basket post moves that he can finish
at a high percentage with either hand.
Rebounding at a high rate and having good passing ability out of double
teams Njoku is a big man that is very effective and plays to his
strengths. One thing that really
impressed us is that he runs the floor hard and was the beneficiary of a lot of
rebound put backs.
Mohmmed Aminu (6’5 WF
Temple Hills, MD) is a scoring machine with a high motor. He is a mismatch problem at 6’5 with guard
skills he can beat you off the dribble and get to the basket anytime he wants
and he is also an under rated passer.
Aminu rebounds at a high level both offensively where he gets a lot of put
backs or defensively where he can push and lead the break either going coast to
coast or dropping off an assist to a teammate.
Defensively he has good hands to play the passing lanes and comes up
with steals and we also saw him knock down a 3 ball.
Jai Smith (6’9 PF
Middletown, NY) is a long active big man that plays both sides of the ball. He plays extremely hard and runs the floor
which is not a given in today’s game.
Jai seems to always be around the ball grabbing all the rebounds and
defensively he is a shot blocking machine.
He is developing his handle where he can situationally handle the rock
and he finishes strong through contact trying to dunk everything. Smith is also knocking down the mid to short
range jumper and he converts at a good percentage from the FT line.
Jakai Robinson (6’4 WF
Fort Washington, MD) is a big strong wing with a college ready body. He is very patient and takes what the defense
gives him. This lefty attacks off the
dribble and makes the right reads either shooting or setting up his
teammates. Robinson can play the point
forward as he has a good feel for the game and a high basketball IQ. As a bonus he has a nice stroke from the FT
line as we believe he could live at the line with his skill set and ability to
get to the rim. Defensively he can guard
1 through 4 which shows his versatility.
Victory Naboya (6’8 PF
Upper Marlboro, MD) might have had the most upside and is a long way from his
ceiling. Victory is just scratching the
surface offensively but he is ultra-athletic playing above the rim. We saw him make a sweeping baby hook
attacking the basket off the dribble so he shows the potential as an emerging
offensive player but right now he is a game changer on defense blocking shots
and cleaning the glass with offensive and defensive rebounds.
Adam Walden (6’9 C
Columbia, MD) could end up being the top prospect in the building when these
players are all seniors in 2021. He
looks like he has a few more inches in him so 7 foot is not out of the
question. Walden has a good frame with a
soft touch as he can knock down the elbow jump shot or the short corner
jumper. He converts from the FT line and
he rebounds at a high level.
Shane Dezonie (6’4 WF
Tobyhanna, PA) is a strong wing that is well thought of on the national
stage. He runs with the top travel team
in the country and he has played against the best. Offensively Shane is at his best attacking
the rim in the half court or in transition.
He takes what the defense gives him and he had his 3ball working in the
game we watched as he knocked down a few catch and shoot 3 pointers. If his jumper is clicking he is pretty much
unstoppable.
Isaiah Cornish (6’5 WF
Baltimore, MD) is a silky smooth wing that has a deadly jump shot. Cornish game is one of those that projects
long term for his position. On the wing
he was one of the better long range shooters at the event, he also finished
well in transition and made the right basketball plays not trying to force
something that was there. As his body
develops and he gets stronger it looks like sky is the limit for this
youngster.
Javonte Brown (6’9 C
Toronto, CN) is all arms and legs right now which means he is still
growing. Brown is very raw but poses a
problem defensively protecting the rim blocking shots. Although developing offensively we saw him
finish with both hands around the basket and knock down his FT’s with a soft
touch. As Javonte gets stronger and
keeps working on his offensive package he will be a name to remember north of
the border. Tristian Jeffries (6’4
WF Belle Mead, NJ) is a study built wing that can do a little bit of
everything. He runs with Dezonie on the
same club team so they are tough to stop as your two wing scorers. Jeffries has a smooth stroke from behind the
3 point line and can get to the rack off the dribble when he catches on the
wing. Also a good rebounder for his
position and can guard multiple positions on the floor.
Zaakir Williamson (6’6 WF
Philadelphia, PA) is a big body combo forward that feels comfortable catching
the ball in space and either shooting the three or taking his man off the
dribble. Right now a mismatch problem
either taking a smaller defender down to the post or a bigger defender out in
space Williamson puts you in the mindset of a Boris Diaw or maybe even Draymond
Green.
