basketball recruiting

Michigan landed its floor general over the weekend when former Auburn guard Rhodney "Tre" Donaldson announced his transfer to Michigan on Sunday.  

I'm relatively familiar with Donaldson, having scouted him extensively at the HS level and watching multiple games of the Auburn Tigers over the last two seasons. Tre is much different than the typical point guards that have played in Ann Arbor and I think he'll become a fan favorite, in part, because of his propensity for highlight reel plays in the open court. 

SCOUTING (Offense)

Tre's most enticing skill is the ability to hit pull-ups from distance. In a B10 conference that has a plethora of relatively slow-footed bigs that like to play drop coverage, this is a real weapon to counter that approach. 

When you have off-the-dribble (OTD) shotmaking that extends beyond the arc, it puts opposing coaches in real conflict. Show high with your big and risk a numbers disadvantage on the backend or take your chances giving up a triple. 

Donaldson is a tough shotmaker in general, and the pull-up prowess isn't limited to those occasions when opposing guards go under screens/opposing bigs play drop coverage. He routinely hits contested midrange pull-ups as seen below.

Tre decelerates + maintains balance pretty well, and he's able to square up and get real elevation on his jumper. While he's not an elite OTD shooter, Donaldson did check-in at 51st percentile nationally on pull-up jumpers..........but on really high volume at 86th percentile in attempts. Given that volume and what I see on film in terms of body control/balance, the pull-up shooting should translate well in my opinion. 

For me, playmaking for others is the most undervalued facet of Tre's game. He's not necessarily the typical ballscreen shot-creator for teammates that we're accustomed to (in part because of the Auburn offensive structure), but the pass placement/execution is really impressive.

Donaldson routinely fits precision passes in tight-windows. The ball placement isn't where teammates are currently at, but rather where they need to be in order to finish the play. 

And while we don't see a ton of Tre hitting roll-men in PnR, the efficiency in the ballscreen game is absolutely there. Donaldson generated .99ppp in PnR possessions including passes, good for 78th percentile in the country with 89th percentile volume on such possessions. Additionally, the 28.3 assist rate this season also lends credence to the playmaking prowess.

[After THE JUMP: great finisher and above 40% from three? Sign me up.]

Dusty May continued his portal invasion on Saturday, when Yale transfer Danny Wolf pledged to the Wolverines. 

Much like Rubin Jones, Yale is scant on legit competition, so I reviewed full game film against their very best opponents in Kansas, Auburn and San Diego State. 

SCOUTING (Offense)

The most projectable facet of Wolf's game is undoubtedly playmaking. He's a superb passer for a big and has the look of an offensive engine in a Delay-centric offense as the trigger-man. A 21.8 assist rate versus top-50 opponents (Torvik) is bonkers considering the talent he is surrounded with. 

With respect to Hunter Dickinson, Danny may very well be the most naturally talented passer/playmaking big (distinct from productive) that has come through Ann Arbor in quite some time. Hunter was phenomenal passing from the post and the top of the key, but he simply wasn't capable of dropping dimes from a live dribble like we see below:

That is legit guard-esque playmaking that isn't just good for the position, it's just downright excellence. 

The playmaking from the post/passing out of doubles is lethal as well. Wolf's processing time is very fast. He literally finds teammates at the precise moment the opposition commits to a legit double rather than simple stunts. That optimizes passing windows and totally manipulates the defense as we see below:  

Danny's ability to excel as a trigger man in structured offense pops-off too. Yale is running Zoom action below (guard entry pass to Wolf at the slot>then corner screen for other guard>DHO to guard receiving the screen). #3 for Yale isn't coming off the screen clean enough for Wolf's liking, so he waits to read the defense. Look at the placement + touch on that pass. In football terms, he's throwing the receiver open. 

[After THE JUMP: the full scouting report]

Michigan kick-started a roster overhaul when former North Texas guard/wing Rubin Jones announced his transfer to Michigan on Friday. 

Admittedly, I had never heard of Rubin Jones prior to Friday, let alone watch him play at the college level. As an up-transfer, I decided to scout three full games of UNT this season against the very best competition they faced in St. John's (KP #21), Mississippi State (KP #34) and Florida Atlantic (KP #47) to get a better feel as to the potential impact/projection in the B10.

I think Wolverine fans will end up liking this addition a lot more than the buzz suggests. 

SCOUTING (Defense)

It's rare to start off an evaluation of an up-transfer on the defensive end, but that's exactly what I'm going to do here. Jones' defensive versatility and ability to check multiple positions is likely the most projectable part of his game right now. 

I was keen to watch the film against Dusty May's former team in FAU, as the Owls were one of the better offensive teams in the nation (KP #22 AdjO). Rubin drew the assignment of AAC player of the year, Johnell Davis. I'm going to be candid here, Rubin Jones had Davis in the torture chamber in the minutes he was on the floor. Twenty-five seconds worth of hell for Davis below:

Jones top-locks Davis near half-court to prevent a touch initially. Dusty May then gets into Split action in an attempt to get Johnell the ball on the move - look at Rubin's screen navigation/chasing to once again deny a touch. FAU then gets into ballscreen action and watch Jones tag Goldin on the roll + recover to Davis in the corner. 

That screen navigation/chasing was just the start. The intersection of POA defense + screen navigation came together in this possession and my lord was it impressive. 

May starts the set off with an Iverson cut (Davis running from right to left along the 3pt line) and then gets into Ricky action (screen + re-screen for the same player) in another attempt to get the ball to Davis on the move. Rubin's chasing here was superb, as he fights through an egregious moving screen from Goldin to force the Davis catch 30+ feet from the basket. Jones then shades Johnell right (toward his help). Dusty May then counters with Get action (Davis tosses it to Goldin then the DHO right back to him). Jones initially trails by a half step but re-engages in two strides, then uses his length + hand activity to strip Davis. This is a +2 in a hypothetical UFR. 

[After THE JUMP: jumbo playmaker that also spaces the floor?]