MisterGopher
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 342
- Reaction score
- 186
- Points
- 43
4 Cam Christie
Ht: 6-6Wt: 190
Christie is currently the 39th pick on Sam Vecenie’s big board, so it’s possible he stays in the NBA Draft. But welcome to this new portal world, where sometimes NIL dollars can be more lucrative than a second-round contract. And just like the NBA is interested in 6-6 shooters, the Christie types are in high demand in college basketball. Christie had a very promising freshman season, averaging 11.3 points, 2.2 assists and shooting 39.1 percent from 3. He has the potential to be an elite shooter. He’s great off the catch, but he can also come off a ball screen and rise up for a jumper just about whenever he wants. The transition from dribble to shooting pocket is really smooth and he has a high release.
Where Christie struggled as a freshman was finishing at the rim. He made only 23 shots at the rim and shot 42.6 percent on shots at the rim, per Synergy. That’s a low number for a 6-6 athlete, but some of that could improve with strength and age. Christie is probably a safe bet to score in the mid-teens next season. It’s possible he remains just a shooter who is limited in other areas, but the ceiling is high. Considering how difficult it is to really produce as a freshman at the high-major level, it’s not outlandish to project this is a player who could make the leap to All-America levels. — C.J. Moore
61 Pharrel Payne
Ht: 6-9 Wt: 255
This is a tough loss for a Minnesota team that did not have much depth on the interior this year. Payne is a tough, physical interior player who rebounds, hits the glass and finishes at the rim. He’s a very direct player in that way, possessing all sorts of bounce and explosive athleticism. That’s the key skill for Payne. He is one of the best big-man athletes in the country.
Offensively, almost every shot he took this year was at the rim. When he wants to or has a runway, he can get above the rim and finish. But the skill level and hands can occasionally abandon him. Still, he made almost 64 percent of his shots at the rim, per Synergy, which is solid enough. Mostly, Payne is going to play out of ball-screens and in the dunker spot, but he also posted a few times per game for Minnesota to very mixed results. The turnover rate in those situations is quite poor, and I don’t know how great I feel about him putting the ball on the ground more than once. But as a rim-runner, he has a lot of utility if another team runs a ball-screen-centric offense. He’ll also get a significant number of tip-outs and put-backs.
More than on offense though, Payne has a ton of upside on defense. He can explosively rise up to block shots, as well as guard a bit in space. He moves really well laterally for a player his size at 6-foot-9, 250 pounds. He rotates in a timely manner on the baseline and always makes his presence felt, sometimes at the expense of taking himself out of rebounding position, but the overall impact is positive.
His game never seems to slow down. If I were a coach, I’d love to invest further time and energy into him, especially if a significant basis of my offense was a well-spaced court with high-end ball-screen action where he’d have space to take off and fly.— Sam Vecenie
121 Elijah Hawkins
Ht: 5-11Wt: 165
Hawkins is one of the best passers in college basketball. The undersized point guard averaged 7.5 assists per game in his first season at Minnesota, setting the school’s single-season record and finishing second nationally in assists per game. He’s ranked in the top 13 in assist rate in each of his three seasons of college basketball. He sees the whole floor really well and does a good job of using his eyes to move defenders and create an opening.
Hawkins also averaged 9.5 points and shot 36.4 percent from 3. He struggles shooting around the rim because of his size, but the jumper is solid. His size can also give him challenges defensively, but he’s an experienced player who knows how to play on both ends. After originally saying he was returning, he was a late addition to the portal. — C.J. Moore
Ht: 6-6Wt: 190
Christie is currently the 39th pick on Sam Vecenie’s big board, so it’s possible he stays in the NBA Draft. But welcome to this new portal world, where sometimes NIL dollars can be more lucrative than a second-round contract. And just like the NBA is interested in 6-6 shooters, the Christie types are in high demand in college basketball. Christie had a very promising freshman season, averaging 11.3 points, 2.2 assists and shooting 39.1 percent from 3. He has the potential to be an elite shooter. He’s great off the catch, but he can also come off a ball screen and rise up for a jumper just about whenever he wants. The transition from dribble to shooting pocket is really smooth and he has a high release.
Where Christie struggled as a freshman was finishing at the rim. He made only 23 shots at the rim and shot 42.6 percent on shots at the rim, per Synergy. That’s a low number for a 6-6 athlete, but some of that could improve with strength and age. Christie is probably a safe bet to score in the mid-teens next season. It’s possible he remains just a shooter who is limited in other areas, but the ceiling is high. Considering how difficult it is to really produce as a freshman at the high-major level, it’s not outlandish to project this is a player who could make the leap to All-America levels. — C.J. Moore
61 Pharrel Payne
Ht: 6-9 Wt: 255
This is a tough loss for a Minnesota team that did not have much depth on the interior this year. Payne is a tough, physical interior player who rebounds, hits the glass and finishes at the rim. He’s a very direct player in that way, possessing all sorts of bounce and explosive athleticism. That’s the key skill for Payne. He is one of the best big-man athletes in the country.
Offensively, almost every shot he took this year was at the rim. When he wants to or has a runway, he can get above the rim and finish. But the skill level and hands can occasionally abandon him. Still, he made almost 64 percent of his shots at the rim, per Synergy, which is solid enough. Mostly, Payne is going to play out of ball-screens and in the dunker spot, but he also posted a few times per game for Minnesota to very mixed results. The turnover rate in those situations is quite poor, and I don’t know how great I feel about him putting the ball on the ground more than once. But as a rim-runner, he has a lot of utility if another team runs a ball-screen-centric offense. He’ll also get a significant number of tip-outs and put-backs.
More than on offense though, Payne has a ton of upside on defense. He can explosively rise up to block shots, as well as guard a bit in space. He moves really well laterally for a player his size at 6-foot-9, 250 pounds. He rotates in a timely manner on the baseline and always makes his presence felt, sometimes at the expense of taking himself out of rebounding position, but the overall impact is positive.
His game never seems to slow down. If I were a coach, I’d love to invest further time and energy into him, especially if a significant basis of my offense was a well-spaced court with high-end ball-screen action where he’d have space to take off and fly.— Sam Vecenie
121 Elijah Hawkins
Ht: 5-11Wt: 165
Hawkins is one of the best passers in college basketball. The undersized point guard averaged 7.5 assists per game in his first season at Minnesota, setting the school’s single-season record and finishing second nationally in assists per game. He’s ranked in the top 13 in assist rate in each of his three seasons of college basketball. He sees the whole floor really well and does a good job of using his eyes to move defenders and create an opening.
Hawkins also averaged 9.5 points and shot 36.4 percent from 3. He struggles shooting around the rim because of his size, but the jumper is solid. His size can also give him challenges defensively, but he’s an experienced player who knows how to play on both ends. After originally saying he was returning, he was a late addition to the portal. — C.J. Moore
