Previously: Offense

I made the trip to the Minneapolis last weekend to get a detailed look at 2021 commit Will Tschetter at the D1 Summer Classic. Suiting up for the Minnesota Heat, Will generally plays lower level competition in both high school and AAU, so this was the rare opportunity to evaluate him against legit competition in the championship game against D1 Minnesota (Adidas sponsored with multiple Division 1 prospects).  

My general approach is to refrain from making evaluations based on a single performance. Three games is adequate to get a good feel in my opinion, as there are enough highs and lows to properly assess strengths and weaknesses. In line with that philosophy, I took in three live games of Will on Sunday. The first two games in bracket play came against D1 Minnesota’s 17u B team (essentially 1 low-major D1 prospect and a roster full of NAIA/D2 prospects) and the Minnesota Fury (all NAIA/D2 prospects).

The championship game is the matchup I was hoping for, as Tschetter squared off against D1 Minnesota’s Adidas team featuring high-major prospects in 2021 EM 4* forward David Joplin, 2021 big/Minnesota commit Treyton Thompson, 2022 EM 3* guard Tamin Lipsey and 2022 EM 3* guard Eli King among others. 

In a two-part analysis, we examined Will’s offensive capabilities in Part I of this Future Hoops Originals.  Today, we’ll shift to the defensive end. I have inserted scouting notes within the clips below to assist you in walking through the film from a scouting/evaluation point of view. 

To aid in identifying Tschetter and distinguish between teams in the clips below:

Will Tschetter – wears #42 and is wearing purple in all clips

D1 Minnesota B team (gray jerseys/Game 1)

Minnesota Fury (black jerseys/Game 2)

D1 Minnesota Adidas (white jerseys/Game 3)

Physical Profile

It is important to note what my eye test says in order to gain a better understanding of Will’s defensive abilities. Tschetter appeared to be a legit 6’6–6’7 as opposed to 6’8–6’9. 

We all know reported heights are fudged by 1-2 inches, and 2-3 at times. Franz Wagner is listed at 6’9 on the official Michigan roster and 6’8 per ESPN. Wagner is at least a legit 6’8, so the roster fudging isn’t all that bad in this case. 

That brings me to Will, he’s absolutely shorter than Franz by 1-2 inches and doesn’t appear to have great length. That is going to place a certain cap on his defensive ceiling in tandem with some of the physical limitations we detailed yesterday. 

Rim Protection

Tschetter doesn’t provide adequate rim protection. Regardless of competition level or size, he simply lacks the size/length/verticality to block or alter shots at the rim. 

The common theme throughout all 3 games was the offensive player simply outjumping Will to finish over him. It didn’t matter whether the offensive player was 5’11 or 6’6, Tschetter does not possess any quick twitch leaping ability that allows him to elevate from a stationary position.

A Division 1 level guard in 3* Tamin Lipsey was also able to plow through him and maintain balance while Will was completely erased. That was a bit concerning for a prospect that is 2-3 inches taller and probably 15-ish pounds heavier. 

Tschetter flashes the ability to block shots when he has a few steps to gather momentum and elevate. This probably doesn’t translate in the B10, as he won’t have the requisite time to take 2-3 steps for a rotation before elevating. 

You probably don’t need me to say it after watching the clip above, but Will doesn’t project to be a rim protecting big. His defensive survival as a backline defender is going to be dictated by taking proper angles and beating the opposition to the spot. 

[Hit THE JUMP for Ballscreen Defense and Perimeter Defense.]

Ballscreen Defense

No question about it, Tschetter is best suited to play drop coverage against pick and roll action. 

The very first possession in the clip above clearly demonstrates why. A lower level (think JUCO/NAIA level prospect) guard uses a simple hesitation dribble and Will loses balance and almost falls. 

Although he was in drop coverage on that particular possession, one can only imagine that scenario 20 feet away from the basket on a blitz/hard hedge. The defense would open like the Red Sea for open layups and triples after the ballhandling guard breaks him down with tons of space to work with. 

When he does blitz, Tschetter can be out of control and either foul or overextend. Neither of these options are attractive for Juwan Howard.

In drop coverage, he flashes the ability to get enough depth on his drops to take away the roll man while inviting floaters. He doesn’t get enough depth at times and will lose inside position because of it. I’m not necessarily worried about that, though, as Coach Howard will certainly teach him proper depth and angles to take away the potential lob and offensive rebound. 

Michigan typically utilizes drop coverage versus ballscreens under Juwan Howard absent Brandon Johns playing the center spot. That will absolutely continue with Will Tschetter based on defensive philosophy and Will’s capabilities. I’ll say it again, drop coverage can really mitigate your bigs getting exposed provided you have a guard that applies backside pressure after getting screened (Eli Brooks is outstanding at this). 

Perimeter Defense

The lack of agility is well documented at this point, so it should come as no surprise that Tschetter struggles on the perimeter.

He bites on shot fakes from the perimeter frequently and doesn’t have the recovery speed or length to get back in the play. Even when he’s in solid position and doesn’t take the shot-fake bait, he struggles to stay in front of the offensive player. 

EM 4* Forward David Joplin is of similar size to Will and it took him only 2 dribbles in a straight line to gain the advantage before drawing a foul. 

He does flash the ability to stay connected when the offensive player chooses to attack laterally and settles for a midrange pull-up rather than getting downhill. 

I could have dedicated an entire section to closeouts, but I’m going to save you the pain. Much like the first possession above, Tschetter is often out of control on closeouts and leaves his feet to contest. That provides the offensive player an open lane and easy finishes at the rim. 

Will isn’t equipped to defend any B10 player capable of creating a shot from the perimeter. Just doesn’t have the agility, length, or elevation that one needs to do so. 

Off-Ball Defense

This part of the defensive evaluation was the most problematic and also the most difficult to project. Tschetter has physical limitations that make it likely he’ll never be more than an adequate defender, but his off-ball awareness was alarming, to be candid. 

He gets caught ball-watching at an extremely high rate. Will loses track of his man and open 3s are often the result. EM 4* David Joplin (recent offers from Texas/Minnesota/Missouri/Butler) was the primary assignment for Tschetter, and one would think Joplin was a pre-game focal point for Will’s coach. Joplin scored 8 points based on Tschetter’s lack of awareness, and didn’t have to work very hard to get those points. 

I can only speculate, but it appears Will wants to utilize a zone-like/pack-line approach to defense. Perhaps he’s cognizant of his physical limitations and masks them in this fashion? In any event, he has serious issues staying attached to his assignment. 

In terms of projection, this is extremely difficult. Underclassmen at the college level typically struggle with off-ball defense, let alone a high school senior. So this is something I’d expect Tschetter to improve at with experience, as do most other prospects. On the other hand, the rate at which he was caught ball-watching gives me concern in tandem with his physical limitations. Will appears to be a smart player on the offensive end, so the lack of IQ on the defensive end doesn’t add up. 

Rebounding

In Tschetter's defense, he’s relegated to the perimeter a lot on offense as the popper in pick-and-pop action, which mitigates his ability to crash the boards. Still, he's a sub-par rebounder despite the “great motor” reputation. I’m going to spare you the trouble of viewing possessions where he doesn’t pursue the glass or can’t come up with a contested board. 

Will didn’t tally more than 4 rebounds in any of the three games I viewed. That is definitely a bit underwhelming when considering his size and the competition level in two of those games. 

Really not much analysis here, he doesn’t rebound outside of his frame and lacks the ability to come up with contested rebounds in traffic.

In order for him to see the court at Michigan, his motor on the glass will need to improve substantially, particularly on the defensive end. As a non-switchable defender that doesn’t provide rim-protection, it is absolutely imperative that he cleans the glass. 

Summary and Projection

For defensive purposes, Will Tschetter is an undersized big that doesn’t move well, lacks the elevation to protect the rim and needs to improve his motor.

Functionally, that translates to a player not capable of defending guards or wings, and perhaps too small to check legit back-to-the-basket scorers of the B10 in the mold of a Trevion Williams, Luka Garza and Daniel Oturu. 

He’s a tweener on defense that you hope gets by with drop coverage masking some his physical limitations. He’s a very matchup dependent player whose playing time will likely be dictated by his offensive production/advantage. 

Bringing this all together, Tschetter’s utility is going to be based on the opposition playing a slower/traditional big whose advantage on the block is less than Will’s advantage on the perimeter.

Tschetter will likely cap out as an adequate defender at best based on size/length/athleticism limitations. You hope that drop coverage and his improving awareness/IQ get him to this level and perhaps better. 

I’ll answer this here since I’ve seen it thrown around: I think it may prove difficult to play Tschetter at the PF spot along with another big (Dickinson). The lack of team agility with those two playing in the same lineup would likely be damning, even for short stretches. In order for Will to play with another big, his partner on the back end likely needs to be switchable and a good rim protector.