Scouting Report: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a small forward from the University of Arizona. Jefferson is 6’7 with a 7’1 wingspan. For the year, he averaged, 28.7 minutes per game, 11.2 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 1.6 assists per game, 1.2 steals per game, 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 50.2% from the field, and 20.7% from three.

Pros:

• NBA size
• Good quickness and speed
• Great leaper
• Aggressive when attacking the rim
• Good ability to finish in traffic and absorb the contact
• Draws a lot of fouls
• Good pick-and-roll player
• Willing passer
• Good court vision
• Runs the floor well
• Decent ball handling skills
• Defensive stalwart
• Ability to guard multiple positions
• Good instincts on his shot blocking ability
• Length allows for him to cause disarray in passing lanes
• Good help defender
• Attacks both sides of the glass
• Very intense, competitive, and unselfish player

Cons:

• Shooting mechanics need a lot of work
• Jumper is not very consistent
• Needs to add more range to his shots
• Mediocre free throw shooter
• Struggles creating his own offense
• Can be turnover prone
• Panics when he becomes double teamed
• Plays to fast sometimes and loses control
• Needs better control of himself

Overall:

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a player that will be able to come in from the start and help your defense as a whole. He takes great pride in playing excellent defense and shutting his opponent down. He is excellent as a one-on-one defender, he is good at defending pick-and-rolls, and has good ability playing help defense. His instincts for blocking shots are very good for a wing player, allowing for him to stay out of foul trouble. His excellent length gives him the ability to wreak havoc in passing lanes, and create transition offense. Jefferson crashes both ends of the boards hard, and uses good fundamentals to get the boards, showing this part of his game should translate to the next level. Now that we know Jefferson is an excellent defender, lets talk about his weakness. Offensively, Jefferson needs a lot of work. His shooting mechanics are heavily flawed, causing for opposing defenses to slouch their coverage on him. This flaws are footwork, release point, balance, and elbows sticking outwards. Jefferson possess no consistent outside shot either. This limits him to not being able to use his strengths as an aggressive driver because defenses sag off and create spacing issues, leaving his attacking skills to not exist. Although he has ability to handle the ball, he can be very turnover prone, and has little ability to create his own offense. As a whole offensively, Jefferson is in needing of a good shooting coach. In the upcoming 2015 NBA draft expect Jefferson to get selected in the 22-27 range, with the Cleveland Cavaliers being the best spot for him. He will be able to contribute right away defensively, but his offense while need a lot of help, and may take a few seasons before he can contribute on that side of the ball.

Pro Comparison:

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

This is, in my opinion, probably the easiest comparison for this year’s draft. Both players are highly athletic, explosive leapers. Their main offensive strength is being an open space where they can attack the rim. They both can draw a lot of contact, and finish after drawing the contact. Gilchrist has a better ability to create his own offense, but not by much. Both players struggle mightily with their jump shot. Gilchrist did improve this past season, and I wonder recommend Jefferson to use the same coach because their shots were both heavily flawed and needed work. Neither player possesses a consistent ability to be an outside threat, which hurts their team’s spacing. On the defensive side of the ball, Jefferson and Gilchrist are so similar. They both have such great length, size, and speed to cover multiple positions. Shutting down the opponent’s best player is these two players favorite thing. This past season, Gilchrist stated that he wanted to be the best defensive player ever, and I feel Jefferson will have the same attitude. Possessing the same level of competitive nature and energy as each other, this should allow them to be elite defenders with a lot of offensive upside if they can fix their shots, which as stated before Gilchrist has seemed to improve. Whoever selects Jefferson will be getting a quality young developmental piece, who has potential to be one of the best defenders in the league, along with offensive potential which can only go up with improved shooting mechanics.

By: Mac Crowe, @Mac_Truck17