DraftExpress: DX McDonald's All-American Player Evaluations (Part Two) - Alex Poythress, Brandon Ashley, Isaiah Austin & Marcus Smart http://t.co/yjLpwdBG 2012-04-04 12:48:12
DraftExpress: Right now it appears that yes. But let's see how they develop. RT @dh211: Do we have a couple years of Grant Jarrett and Brandon Ashley? 2012-03-28 11:01:24
DraftExpress: Another great game tipping on ESPNU. Simeon (w/#1 junior Jabari Parker) vs Findlay (top 10 seniors Brandon Ashley & Anthony Bennett +more) 2012-01-16 02:58:02
DraftExpress: Kenneth Faried enters the game for the pros. Anthony Bennett, Marcus Paige, Shabazz Muhammad, Brandon Ashley, New Tony Parker up now. 2011-08-25 01:05:18
DraftExpress: Aaron Gordon & Brandon Ashley looked sleepy but very talented for the Soldiers. Ashley's got a chance to be big time. Long, smooth, skilled. 2011-04-10 08:43:50
McDonald's All-American Week Player Evaluations (Part Two) April 2, 2012
Golin Harris
Jonathan Givony
Brandon Ashley had a bit of a non-descript week here in Chicago, which has become somewhat of the norm in the occasions we've watched him play over the past few years.
From a physical standpoint, it's not difficult to see what the recruiting services like about him as he's a very fluid and mobile power forward who can play above the rim and shows very good quickness for a player his size. His frame is underdeveloped at the moment but should fill out very nicely in time.
Offensively, Ashley has terrific instincts and shows the potential to do a bit of everything. He likes to step out onto the perimeter where he can knock down shots with range or attack his matchup in a straight line and draw plenty of fouls. He can also go into the post and use his quickness, agility and soft touch to score effectively and get to the free throw line.
While Ashley's versatility is intriguing, he isn't always able to impact the game the way you'd expect a player of his caliber to. He tends to fall in love with his jump-shot at times, which isn't consistent enough at this stage, and is a little turnover prone handling the ball on the perimeter. If unable to simply beat his man off the dribble with his first step he doesn't have much of a plan of attack, showing a limited feel for passing to teammates or utilizing countermoves.
Perhaps the worst thing that can be said about Ashley is that he doesn't always show a great sense of urgency in his time on the court. His intensity level fluctuates greatly and he seems to let games come to him, which isn't rare considering his age. The place where that shows up the most right now is in his work on defense and as a rebounder. His fundamentals here aren't great, as he rarely boxes out his opponent or gets into a real defensive stance.
To Ashley's credit, he readily admits that these are issues he must address. This is one of the reasons he decided to commit to Sean Miller at Arizona, whose teams at Xavier were always known for the intensity and toughness.
If Ashley can address his shortcomings and continue to expand his all-around game over time, there's little doubt he'll emerge as a very intriguing NBA prospect, possibly similar to former Arizona power forward Derrick Williams, whose name undoubtedly came up in Miller's recruiting pitch. [Read Full Article]
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