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Slam
Rui Hachimura
Position: Forward
Year: Junior
School: Gonzaga
Measurables: 6’8”, 230 lbs, 7’2” wingspan
Lateral Quickness: 4.00
Doesn't move great laterally. Although he possesses good footwork, he turns his hips far too slow to be able to contain dribble drives
Speed and Athleticism: 8.00
Raw quick-twitch athlete, great north-south speed. Moves well for his size, has a nice burst to him. Livewire in transition. Great coordination as well
Ball Handling: 4.00
Loose handle, ball is exposed, even with his long wingspan. Limited to just a basic crossover. If the defense takes away the straight-line drive and the spin, he looks flummoxed out there. Much better going to his left
Passing: 4.50
Slow progress as a passer, but he's coming along. His AST% has jumped from 5.5 to 9.5 from his sophomore to junior season. While he is capable of passing the ball out of trouble, he still fails to find the open man enough
Free Throws: 7.50
74.1 FT% on .059 FTr. Does a good job drawing fouls inside
Outside Shooting: 5.50
Has come a long way in this department. His shot compared to what it was just a year ago is unrecognizable; his 3PT% has gone from 19.2% last year to 46.9% this year. Squares up to the basket well, minor concern with slight elbow flare, results in flat arching shot. Capable of being low volume outside shooter that defenses must respect
Mid-Range Game: 7.00
One of the best mid-range scorers in the country. Has the mid-range pull-up in his bag. Comfortably can shoot over players with his length too. If he eventually can extend this to 3PT range, that will add volumes to his game.
Decision Making: 5.00
You can tell he's still learning the game of basketball, his "feel" is still coming along. Otherwise, his passing IQ and shot selection can be improved
Finishing: 7.00
Quality finisher, shoots 64% around the rim. Strong and long enough to absorb and finish through contact. Can use both hands
Post-Ups: 6.50
Grades really well in post-ups, ranks in 91st percentile. 93rd percentile in pass outs, which indicates he recognizes where the help is coming from and where the space is on the floor. However, he doesn't really have any advanced post moves; he has a nice spin step and recognizes when to pump fake but that's about it. Don't think he'll be able to replicate this success against bigger and more skilled NBA bigs
Patience: 6.00
Very patient, particularly around the rim. Recognizes when to pump fake and waits to pounce on his defender's mistake. However, doesn't always let play develop before taking mid-range jumpers
Off-Ball Play: 6.20
Moderate catch and shoot threat, mostly operates as a screener. Great roll man, ranks in the 87th percentile rolling to the rim out of the PnR and slips screens well. Doesn't really spur other play, is usually walking
Rebounding: 5.50
Average rebounder - 17.2 DRB% and 5.8 ORB%. Doesn't grade well when he has to battle for the boards. Tends to watch the shot go up instead of getting into rebounding position. Room for growth
Defensive Effectiveness: 4.00
Looks lost on defense. Bites on every move, gets beaten off the bounce with regularity - ranks in 18th percentile as isolation defender. Slow hip turn means he struggles to contain quicker players. This causes concern about his true switchability in the NBA. His PnR defense is concerning - 1st percentile guarding both the ball handler and roll man out of PnR. Plays upright, not in stance often enough. Can defend spot-ups and post-ups because he's long, but that's about it
Defensive Disruptiveness (Stocks): 5.50
Some growing pains here. Potent on-ball shot defender, wields a 2.5BLK%. Allotted mostly on spot-up attempts as opposed to help defense. Doesn't really recognize when to help to the rim to shot contest. Doesn't get too many steals with his 1.9STL%. Doesn't have the court sense to smartly gamble yet. However, does a good job of turning these into transition points
Leadership Ability: 7.00
Huge growth as a leader. Gonzaga teammates say that Hachimura barely talked his freshman season, and now he's a leader of that team. That speaks volumes to his growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person
Intangibles: 7.50
Every Gonzaga staffer raves about his work ethic and personality. Judging on his growth during his college career, it shows
Strengths:
Size and length, raw athleticism, inside scoring and rim running, intangibles
Weaknesses:
Basketball IQ, defense, dribbling
Overall Analysis:
Rui Hachimura is a very raw prospect - he displays flashes of mind-boggling potential with displays of great athleticism and cool plays under pressure. Yet, there are still major concerns about whether he will be able to reach such potential due to his poor, although developing, court sense and question marks about what his true NBA position is. I think he'll best be served offensively as a rim-running roll man that occasionally can stretch the floor from 3. Defensively, there are a lot of questions about whether he will be able to develop the court sense to allow his athleticism to shine. While I do recognize his upside, I see him as more of an off-the-bench role player than a burgeoning star. I project him to be a late lottery/mid-first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Pro Comparison:
Wilson Chandler, Boris Diaw