Derek BodnerComing off a junior season that showed modest improvement, but still enough holes in his game to question his viability as a prospect, senior big man
JaMychal Green has struggled to answer questions about his growth on and off the court.
Green has seen his productivity drop his senior year, with his scoring down from 22.6 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted down to 20.2. His rebounding (10.7 rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted, from 11.0), steals (1.0, from 2.1) and blocks (2.1, from 3.0) have seen similar drops from his junior season, where he posted his best numbers of his collegiate career in all the aforementioned categories.
More concerning than his drop in productivity has been a failure to drastically change his offensive skill set and overall polish. Green is still largely the same offensive player we've profiled in years past, getting the majority of his points around the basket in the form of cuts to the basket, offensive rebounds, and post-ups.
Green is an effective, albeit limited, post scorer at the collegiate level. He does a good job of asserting himself in the post, fighting for position early in the shot clock despite not being the strongest in terms of lower body strength. He has a high release point on his hook shot that he's able to get off over taller defenders and has solid touch with his right hand. He hasn't yet developed much in the way of advanced counter moves, and he hasn't yet developed a reliable move over his right shoulder, both problems that have plagued him throughout his time at Alabama and could make him predictable at the next level.
Green has some positive traits that make him an effective off the ball player. He has good hands, solid length and can get off the ground quickly. He also has solid body control and feel around the rim, although he can sometimes struggle to finish with his off hand. He also does a good job finishing off the offensive glass. His overall offensive rebounds have dropped, from 4.5 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted to 3.6, but he does a good job converting these when he gets a chance, often times gaining control of the ball and going up for either an emphatic dunk or tip before coming down with the ball.
As a jump shooter is where Green has taken the biggest step back. After shooting 55% on unguarded catch and shoot jump shots last year that number has come back down to 39.1% this year. That being said, despite the drop in efficiency his overall form does not appear any worse off, in fact his consistency with his balance and timing of his release appear to be slightly improved, if anything. Considering the overall low sample sizes of unguarded catch and shoot jumpers between last year and this year, how reliable of a skill set this is for him going forward is a key in determining his draft day stock.
Green looks uncomfortable creating off the dribble, not showing the ability to do much more than dribble in a straight line. He appears to be working on a spin moves that he tries with occasion, although he is still largely unsuccessful in creating space with this maneuver, as it's slow, deliberate and somewhat predictable.
Green does show some promise as a passer, both with his back to the basket and facing up from the high post. How much this will translate to the next level when he becomes much less of a focal point offensively is unsure, but he displays solid court vision and a willingness to swing the ball to the open teammate.
Defensively, Green is somewhat of a mixed bag. At the collegiate level he has turned himself into a good defender, being a key member on one of the better defenses in the country. He does a good job using his length when defending the post and rotates well to provide weakside help defense.
That being said, he has some physical limitations that make it difficult to project him as a plus defender at the next level. He lacks some lower body strength, which could present some difficulties when defending the post against bigger competition. He also doesn't move all that well laterally, something that will be tougher to cover-up in the pick and roll heavy NBA landscape as he can struggle both in hedging the screens on pick and rolls and in rotating back.
Perhaps the most concerning part of his senior season was his four game suspension in February for conduct detrimental to the team. The suspension came days after Crimson coach Anthony Grant suspended second leading scorer
Tony Mitchell for the remainder of the season. Neither Green nor Grant would expand on exactly what transpired, but this was the third suspension during his time at Alabama and could represent a significant concern for decision makers going forward.
Having shown consistent incremental improvements during his first three years at Alabama,
JaMychal Green's senior season was a step backwards in every regard. With an expected change of role at the next level, Green needed to come out and prove his improvement as a jump shooter was something he could carry over and that he could do the little things on the court to contribute. Instead, his combination of struggles on and off the court further clouds his status as a prospect.
At this stage, barring a miraculous NCAA tournament run, Green would likely be best off trying to get back in the good graces of NBA decision makers by going out and having an outstanding showing on and off the court at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Strong, transparent interviews with teams about his repeated suspensions could help quite a bit as well. Some NBA teams may have already written Green off as they aren't looking to add distractions to their team from a player already considered just a marginal prospect, which will make the way he handles himself from now until June that much more important.
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