Big East Men's Basketball

NBA Scouts Break Down Williamson, Barrett & Others At Champions Classic

NBA Scouts Break Down Williamson, Barrett & Others At Champions Classic

FloHoops caught up with some NBA scouts at the Champions Classic to get the scoop on Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and more.

Nov 7, 2018 by Adam Zagoria
NBA Scouts Break Down Williamson, Barrett & Others At Champions Classic

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 70 NBA personnel were on hand at the Champions Classic on Tuesday to take in the next generation of lottery picks and future NBA players.

After No. 1 Kansas held off No. 10 Michigan State and No. 4 Duke manhandled No. 2 Kentucky, I spoke with two veteran NBA scouts to break down the top prospects.

Below is what they said. For some perspective, I spoke to an NBA Scouting Director after Duke and Kentucky played their exhibition games in August.

R.J. Barrett, Freshman G/F, Duke

Scout No. 1: "He'll end up being the best player in this draft. Versatile. Can score in three different ways. He can make the three-pointer. He can get to the basket. He can shoot the mid-range. He's got great positional size. Most dangerous in the open floor. If he were to come out, I think he's the best all-around talent this year."

Scout No. 2: "Born to score the ball. Great driver. Tremendous getting to the line. Always finishes. He's definitely one of the top picks without a doubt."



Zion Williamson, Freshman F, Duke

Scout No. 1: "Powerful, athletic. I would just say based on [Tuesday] night, that's the hardest I've seen him play on both ends of the floor. He's got a quick first step and he's just powerful. He's too powerful for these college guys. I don't know how any college team is going to guard him one-on-one."

Scout No. 2: "Spectacular talent. No. 1 fan favorite. Great dunker, great explosion. Quick off his feet. Great strength. Surprisingly good passer. He's a great basketball player. He showed that [Tuesday] night against some outstanding athletes."



Check out FloHoops' archived interview with Williamson here.

Cam Reddish, Freshman G/F, Duke

Scout No. 1: "Really, really talented. Skilled. Can handle the ball, he can be a secondary ball-handler. Shoots the three easy. Can put the ball on the floor. Willing passer. I think the biggest concern with him is does his motor run on every possession for every game? He seems to take plays off."

Scout No. 2: "Very good player overshadowed by the other two guys who are off the charts. Good athlete. Without a doubt one of the top freshmen in the country."

Tre Jones, Freshman PG, Duke

Scout No. 1: "Solid college guard. He keeps them organized. A vocal leader. He needs to become a more consistent jump shooter."

Scout No. 2: "Coach on the floor. Makes no mistakes. Gets the ball rights where it belongs every time. He plays like a 32-year-old veteran."

Quentin Grimes, Freshman G, Kansas

Scout No. 1: "He shot it well [Tuesday] night. Prototypical two guard. Has a good body. Shoots the three easy. Has to work on his mid-range game. I thought defensively he competed. He's certainly one of the top two guards in the country for sure."

Scout No. 2: "Great debut. Texas Player of the Year. Shot lights out. Handled it, passed the ball very well. He's an NBA combo guard."



Dedric Lawson, R-Jr. F, Kansas

Scout No. 1: "No lift, non-athlete. Didn't like the fact that he doesn't want to defend. He's got a good college game, I just don't know if that translates to the NBA. He's not an NBA athlete. He's got to become more of a threat facing the basket. His lack of explosiveness and lack of intensity at the defensive end was disappointing."

Keldon Johnson, Freshman F, Kentucky

Scout No. 1: "Good athlete. A little bit of a disappointment in the sense that his lack of maturity showed up [Tuesday] night. Seemed to kind of quit at the end of the game, wasn't going his way. He's a driver, he's got to become a more consistent perimeter jump-shooter. I know he made the first three, but his other misses weren't good at all."

Scout No. 2: "Quick release. Gets into the lane at will. Really finishes in the lane. Great energy. Might be the Wildcats' best player."

P.J. Washington, Sophomore F, Kentucky

Scout No. 1: "He's got a chance. I thought he disappeared. He should've impacted the game when he was out there and he really didn't. I thought he was reluctant to go in there and attack the basket because he's a good athlete."

Scout No. 2: "We gotta wait and see. Kentucky had a bad night, obviously. Part of the bad night was they played Duke who was absolutely spectacular."

Reid Travis, Grad F, Kentucky

Scout No. 1: "He's a nice player. His lack of athleticism really showed up [Tuesday] night. Too many finishes below the rim."

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who runs ZAGSBLOG.com and contributes to The New York Times. Follow Adam on Twitter.