rafael pinzon
Last week we covered the existing offers in the primer series for 2021 with Guards, Wings and Bigs. Today, we’ll take a peek at some guard prospects that I’d like to see the staff pursue moving forward. I definitely take pride in scouting under-the-radar gems before they go into blow-up mode (Isaiah Livers, Jaden McDaniels, Jaden Akins), so we’re going to cover some “who dat” types that have the talent, but not necessarily the recognition just yet.
The wish list is based on a combination of Michigan’s needs (playmakers off the bounce), Juwan’s preferred physical profile (size and/or good athlete) and my evaluation/projection.
As a refresher, here is my general blueprint for designating guards:
Guard – moves well enough to defend the perimeter; generally a competent ballhandler/shot creator in a half-court setting; ideally a competent shooter, but not necessarily
Top of the List
J.D. Davison
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’5/NA/180
- High School/AAU: Calhoun HS (AL)/Team Fusion (EYBL)
- Current Composite Ranking: 5star/#19 Overall
- My End of Summer Projection: 5star/Top 15 Overall
Scouting: it takes all of 30 seconds of the film to recognize Davision is an NBA-caliber athlete with NBA size. As an on-ball shot creator, he changes direction/speed with the ball effortlessly in tight spaces, displays good vision and creates easy buckets for others. J.D. knocks down pull-up jumpers in both isolation and ballscreen action. He has great elevation on his shot, good arch and nice rotation. An electric finisher, he drops defenders off at the seventh floor before elevating to the tenth. Caveats apply based on HS competition level, but Davison looks every bit the prospect that Josh Christopher was and perhaps more skilled/athletic. Comparing Davison to more well-known 2021 names, there is simply no way that Max Christie is a better prospect. And that’s no slight to Christie. J.D. projects as an instant impact lead guard that absolutely raises the floor and ceiling of his respective team with his perimeter shotmaking, playmaking for others and electric athleticism that will no doubt provide a better home-court advantage.
[Hit THE JUMP for your “Who Dats”]
10