Jaxson Hayes Summer League Highlights

https://youtu.be/Zajm9hOJwqA

He is still very raw, but admittedly he looks significantly better than I thought he would at this point.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RaisingTheBar

He is still very raw, but admittedly he looks significantly better than I thought he would at this point.

---

Agreed. I’ll be really happy if he proves me stupidly wrong. Having a playmaker like NAW alongside him and playing for a coaching staff that gives them less restrictions is probably helping him in many ways.

I was championing Hayes the minute he got picked. He does have serious issues with his game that need resolving, there's no questioning that. We all know what those issues are. He needs to put on weight and strength, he needs to improve his rebounding and boxing out, he needs to get more time in practising pick and roll defense, needs to perfect that jump shot. All of that is true.

But the upside, the potential, and the skills that are already there are undeniable. The man's hands are absurd, his touch around the rim is already elite, he's a fantastic free throw shooter for a big, his footspeed and ability to stay with guards on drives is already top tier for a 7 footer, he's not a playmaker for others but he's a very solid passer and ball mover, and so on. He rolls to the rim with metronomic regularity, is beyond athletic, his fluidity is on an elite level already.

And more than that, we saw improvement through this week alone! Hayes posted his first career double double in Summer League, had some of his best rebounding moments. One weakness he had early was that although he set good screens, he tended to slip them every time: by game three, he was setting them and staying with them far more often. He went for every single block in game 1, and while he still needs discipline on that, he was clearly less wild by game 4 in terms of keeping that under control. After not shooting at all in college, we all talked about how he had the potential to add a mid-range or three point shot, but that it would need work: apparently not as much work as we though, because Hayes took a good half dozen mid range shots and made them at a decent rate. Even that three he his was off a spin and one dribble, and he looked confident doing it.

I was a huge fan of the Hayes pick when it happened, and after seeing everything we just saw, I think I'm an even bigger fan of it now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

I was championing Hayes the minute he got picked. He does have serious issues with his game that need resolving, there's no questioning that. We all know what those issues are. He needs to put on weight and strength, he needs to improve his rebounding and boxing out, he needs to get more time in practising pick and roll defense, needs to perfect that jump shot. All of that is true.

But the upside, the potential, and the skills that are already there are undeniable. The man's hands are absurd, his touch around the rim is already elite, he's a fantastic free throw shooter for a big, his footspeed and ability to stay with guards on drives is already top tier for a 7 footer, he's not a playmaker for others but he's a very solid passer and ball mover, and so on. He rolls to the rim with metronomic regularity, is beyond athletic, his fluidity is on an elite level already.

And more than that, we saw improvement through this week alone! Hayes posted his first career double double in Summer League, had some of his best rebounding moments. One weakness he had early was that although he set good screens, he tended to slip them every time: by game three, he was setting them and staying with them far more often. He went for every single block in game 1, and while he still needs discipline on that, he was clearly less wild by game 4 in terms of keeping that under control. After not shooting at all in college, we all talked about how he had the potential to add a mid-range or three point shot, but that it would need work: apparently not as much work as we though, because Hayes took a good half dozen mid range shots and made them at a decent rate. Even that three he his was off a spin and one dribble, and he looked confident doing it.

I was a huge fan of the Hayes pick when it happened, and after seeing everything we just saw, I think I'm an even bigger fan of it now.

---

From a 6ft bench warmer in his junior year to growing a freaking foot and only having starting experience at center for 2 years... His jumps in development is absurd and very similar to AD.