Was fortunate enough to watch Thomas Bryant and Huntington Prep today on ESPNU. The biggest thing that stands out to me about Thomas is his sheer length. He dunks with EASE when at the basket. And not because of athleticism because he is not overly athletic, but just because of this extreme length. He doesn't appear to even jump, he just very quickly and with authority, gets the ball up and dunks it with very little effort.
Other positives about his game is that he seems to have pretty good footwork and pretty good hands. I saw him grab several rebounds (all with two hands) and there was no bobbling of the ball, he has very sure hands and there is no uncertainty on his part once he knows he will be grabbing it. Because of his sure hands, he is a very good rebounder. Now, he's not a high flyer or above the rim kind of rebounder, he's just a 6'10 or 6'11 guy with extreme length that can catch...so therefore he gets a ton of rebounds just from being down low, having natural position, and using his hands to catch the ball up above his head. He brings it down just below his chin with both hands and looks for an outlet, very sure with the ball.
On the offensive end, he doesn't try to do anything outside of his comfort zone, but he showed that he has really good form on his shot while knocking down both of his 3-point shots. I didn't see any mid-range game, or much of a low-post game, because he simply gets the ball and throws it through the basket when underneath. He will have to develop that short-range, back-to-the-basket game and I'm sure he will.
As far as defense, he was slow getting back on D on multiple occasions, but to his defense, he played in the McD's AA game last night and had a 4am wakeup for the game today, and hell...he might have been tired. He doesn't have a quick burst when he starts to run. In fact, he is a little stiff-legged and awkward, but once he gets going he seems to be average to above average in foot speed. But his initial slowness..it seems to force him to make an initial decision of whether or not to run back on defense. This is something that will be rectified at the next level I'm sure. And again, he may have just been tired.
Once he does get back on defense, his fundamentals seem very strong. He gets in good position and moves his feet and stands tall. He saw him take one charge (a good call) and attempt another (another good no-call) so he is motivated to do what he has to do to win and again, he has good fundamentals. His team did win and plays tomorrow at 5pm EST if I remember correctly.
All in all, I think he is deserving of his ranking, but I don't see him as a "one and done" type of player. He's just not an explosive athlete or a high flyer or anything like that and he is, as I said before, a little stiff below the waist and maybe growing into his body a little bit. I definitely see him as 2-year player if he works hard and develops as he should. He could go pro after 2 years based on that length alone. The potential is obviously there, just not the athleticism. I am looking forward to the skill development because it will be a different type of progression than what we've seen from our more athletic players.
He would be a great addition to the Hoosiers, but I don't think he is quite the game changer (in year 1) that some of us may be thinking he is, at least as an individual scorer. But he would be an inside presence and provide defense, rebounding, and some high percentage "shots" at the rim...all things that IU desperately needs. So he may be somewhat of a missing piece to the IU puzzle if used correctly.
All that is from just one game but it was a game where he played almost the whole game, against good competition, and with tired legs (I'm assuming) but yet he put up some serious numbers with 27 points and 19 rebounds!
Hope to hear some good news this week! Would love to see Thomas in the Candy Stripes!!!
This post was edited on 4/2 4:48 PM by IUfanINsandiego
Other positives about his game is that he seems to have pretty good footwork and pretty good hands. I saw him grab several rebounds (all with two hands) and there was no bobbling of the ball, he has very sure hands and there is no uncertainty on his part once he knows he will be grabbing it. Because of his sure hands, he is a very good rebounder. Now, he's not a high flyer or above the rim kind of rebounder, he's just a 6'10 or 6'11 guy with extreme length that can catch...so therefore he gets a ton of rebounds just from being down low, having natural position, and using his hands to catch the ball up above his head. He brings it down just below his chin with both hands and looks for an outlet, very sure with the ball.
On the offensive end, he doesn't try to do anything outside of his comfort zone, but he showed that he has really good form on his shot while knocking down both of his 3-point shots. I didn't see any mid-range game, or much of a low-post game, because he simply gets the ball and throws it through the basket when underneath. He will have to develop that short-range, back-to-the-basket game and I'm sure he will.
As far as defense, he was slow getting back on D on multiple occasions, but to his defense, he played in the McD's AA game last night and had a 4am wakeup for the game today, and hell...he might have been tired. He doesn't have a quick burst when he starts to run. In fact, he is a little stiff-legged and awkward, but once he gets going he seems to be average to above average in foot speed. But his initial slowness..it seems to force him to make an initial decision of whether or not to run back on defense. This is something that will be rectified at the next level I'm sure. And again, he may have just been tired.
Once he does get back on defense, his fundamentals seem very strong. He gets in good position and moves his feet and stands tall. He saw him take one charge (a good call) and attempt another (another good no-call) so he is motivated to do what he has to do to win and again, he has good fundamentals. His team did win and plays tomorrow at 5pm EST if I remember correctly.
All in all, I think he is deserving of his ranking, but I don't see him as a "one and done" type of player. He's just not an explosive athlete or a high flyer or anything like that and he is, as I said before, a little stiff below the waist and maybe growing into his body a little bit. I definitely see him as 2-year player if he works hard and develops as he should. He could go pro after 2 years based on that length alone. The potential is obviously there, just not the athleticism. I am looking forward to the skill development because it will be a different type of progression than what we've seen from our more athletic players.
He would be a great addition to the Hoosiers, but I don't think he is quite the game changer (in year 1) that some of us may be thinking he is, at least as an individual scorer. But he would be an inside presence and provide defense, rebounding, and some high percentage "shots" at the rim...all things that IU desperately needs. So he may be somewhat of a missing piece to the IU puzzle if used correctly.
All that is from just one game but it was a game where he played almost the whole game, against good competition, and with tired legs (I'm assuming) but yet he put up some serious numbers with 27 points and 19 rebounds!
Hope to hear some good news this week! Would love to see Thomas in the Candy Stripes!!!
This post was edited on 4/2 4:48 PM by IUfanINsandiego
