I made several trips over the last two months to get a detailed look at 2022 Jett Howard. Suiting up for IMG Academy (FL) at the Border League in late October and a one-off versus Calvary Christian (FL) last weekend. This was a great opportunity to see how Diabate stacked up versus some of the best high school competition in the country.

At the Border League event in late October, IMG squared off against Bishop Gorman (NV) and Sunnyslope (AZ).  Bishop Gorman featured a pair of top 50 guards in UCLA signee Will McClendon and UNLV signee Zaon Collins along with 3-star junior wing AJ Storr and sophomore big Osiris Grady (holds offer from Ole Miss). The focal points for Sunnyslope were Pepperdine signee Carson Basham and low D1 guard Oakland Fort. 

Last weekend's matchup against Calvary Christian was a thriller. CC came in as one of the most talented teams in Florida with 2022 4-star offer Gregg Glenn, 4-star junior big Taylor Hendricks (father is former Michigan safety Tommy Hendricks!), low D1 2022 guard Tyler Hendricks and 5-star sophomore guard Marvel Allen. 

Note: this evaluation is going to be a bit less critical in relation to some of the previous content, as Jett is a junior. A year of development at this stage generally makes a drastic difference in most cases. 

Perimeter Shooting - Catch and Shoot

Jett has long had the reputation of a knockdown shooter, so I was excited to see him in that role next to a pure PG in Jaden Bradley. While the percentage wasn't great, I came away really encouraged about Howard's ability to space the floor at the college level.

In terms of mechanics, he has great rotation on the ball, solid elevation, and one of the quickest releases I've seen from a junior in HS. The upper-body balance is good with a one-motion shot and a really effortless release. His lower body balance needs a bit of work, as he likes to step into his shot with his right leg and extend the right foot in front of the left. 

As mentioned above, I'm optimistic about his shooting ability despite the 2/8 line. Five of the six misses in the clip above were directly on-line, either going halfway down before popping out or hitting back heel. Of course, there is no such thing as a good miss, but misses of that variety are literally millimeters away from being makes.

I'd like to really focus on the second possession in the clip above at the :06 mark. Jett catches the ball, jab-steps right to create space before rising up and splashing one home. That is NBA level stuff that a HS junior shouldn't be able to do. The fluidity of that particular moved coupled with the quickness in which he got the shot off is a flash of what may be coming in the future. 

[Hit THE JUMP for the full evaluation]

Perimeter Shooting - Pull Up 

Small sample here, so I can't really provide an intelligent evaluation and detailed analysis in good faith. That said, the first possession of the clip above is really impressive. 

That combination of change of direction/speed at the drop of a dime to erase a D1 prospect in 2022 Tyler Hendricks before going into his shot with good balance was definitely a noticeable development. Keep in mind Jett didn't show much of a pull-up game off the bounce in October, so this was noteworthy stuff last weekend. Again, we're looking more at flashes when examining a junior performance because that extra year of development is big at this age. 

Shot-Creation Off The Dribble

At this stage of development Howard's best usage projects to be a secondary option in the half-court offense. He's at his best attacking closeouts in a straight line, where he can use his size/longer strides to get to the rim and finish as displayed in the two consecutive possessions starting at the :07 mark in the above clip. 

That said, he did display some improvement last weekend in Tampa. Jett's handle was definitely crisper and his movements more explosive. The possession at the :21 mark above shows a confident ballhandler that crosses-over hard, explodes, and absorbs contact from the defender without losing balance. 

While I don't necessarily think Howard will ever be a primary on-ball option at Michigan, these flashes are promising for what he can be as a secondary shot creator in actions such as Spain PnR where he can attack closeouts at the top of the key. 

Finishing

Jett is a strong finisher when he can get the ball on the move or attack in a straight line. He has some vertical pop off two legs and soft touch around the basket. Solid body control in the air to contort his body in creating clean angles to finish as well. 

Howard likes to avoid contact when possible and isn't looking to get into the chest of defenders at this stage of his development, but he has the size/mass to be able to do that down the road. If he can learn to wipe out defenders by jumping into the chest, his free throw rate will likely improve. 

Passing/Playmaking

Jett is a better passer than given credit for, particularly when he's in stationary positions. He sees the floor really well from the wing, and often delivers precision passes in small windows to cutters and bigs. 

While Its more of a mixed bag when Howard is tasked with passing off the dribble, it is notable that his best piece of playmaking came last weekend in the first possession of the clip above. That's a really good read in ballscreen action where he waited until the help defense retreated before delivering over the top for an easy layup. But he can have too much air on his passes at times, and telegraph passes at other times. 

Taking the next step in his development as a passer probably means adding bounce passes to his arsenal and learning to throw passes with different speeds to fit the situation at hand. 

 

Free Throws

In a limited sample, Jett appears to be a very good free throw shooter. Great bend, good balance, extremely smooth release, good rotation and nice arch. 

I definitely project Howard to be a high 70s-mid 80s shooter from the charity stripe. Just a very natural and mechanically sound shot from the free throw line.