Joey Dorsey

After a very poor first outing, Joey Dorsey had an absolute monster performance in the second, scoring 27 points on 11-for-11 shooting and chipping in 22 rebounds, split evenly between offense and defense. He physically dominated everyone in the game on both ends of the court, and played with a non-stop motor and focus that was absent from his first game here this week, according to the reports we heard.

On the offensive end, Dorsey did most of his damage attacking the glass, finishing open lay-ups, and exploding off pick-and-rolls, but he also showed flashes of post moves, along with good body control and coordination on many of his finishes. He’s still a severely undersized (6-7 in shoes) center with little to no face-up game and major struggles even converting free throws (50%), not doing much to dispel the notion that he’s at best a Reggie Evans type player offensively. He ranks 3rd amongst all players in the D-League in turnovers per-40 pace adjusted, as he clearly seems to be trying to do too much at times with the ball in the post.

Dorsey had just as strong an impact on defense, owning the glass and contesting and blocking shots in the lane, using his physical prowess to intimidate the opposition.

As he showed here today, Dorsey is capable of being a dominant player in multiple aspects of the game when he feels like it, and it's clear he has the tools to be a very successful role player in the NBA. The problem with him, as it always has been, is a lack of consistency and focus, which will continue to hold him back if he doesn't bring it night in and night out. The interesting thing about Dorsey is he doesn't seem to have any misconceptions about who he is as a player, as when he is giving it 100% effort, he doesn't drift from his comfort zone inside the paint, sticking to his strengths for the most part and providing significant value for his team.

Dorsey’s first appearance in the D-League Showcase did not go over quite as well…Suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, Dorsey came into the game looking like he clearly did not want to be here. He looked wholly disinterested in doing anything when the ball was not in his hands, playing absolutely no defense, refusing to box out for rebounds (grabbing an incredibly uncharacteristic 4 defensive rebounds in 39 minutes) and completely ignoring his responsibilities getting back on defense. He looked very unfocused, showed bad body language, and generally made a mockery out of his “assignment” down here.

The worst part that he did all this with his general manager Daryl Morey (the man who traded for him on draft night, praised him effusively and gave him a 3-year contract) was sitting in the second row—obviously not happy with what he was seeing. “Disappointed” was all he was willing to say to us…on the record. There really wasn’t much more to be said, it was that bad. The big problem is that it’s exactly these type of issues that teams were worried about during the pre-draft process—his background, character and intangibles, and he’s unfortunately not doing much to show that he deserved otherwise. Dorsey needs to realize that his place in the NBA is anything but secured at this point in his career—there have been plenty of second round picks who didn’t last more than half a season in the NBA and never got another shot again. If he’s not careful, he could find himself meeting the same fate if he refuses to change his ways.

Memphis has posted a blistering 21-0 record while reaching the number one rankings in both major polls this season. Aside from a couple of close calls with USC and UTEP, the Tigers have made short work of their opponents thus far on their schedule. While John Calipari’s squad can put a slew of players on the court that can light up the scoreboard, it is defensive minded Joey Dorsey that continues to be one of the cogs of this team.

Not a tremendous amount about Dorsey’s game has changed since we last took a look at him before the season started. Offensively the bulk of the seniors scoring is still done as a result of his hustle on the offensive glass, where he is averaging over three offensive boards per game. As was the case last season, over 40% of Dorsey’s shot attempts come off of offensive rebounds according to Synergy Sports Technology. Interestingly though, despite the continued hustle inside, Dorsey’s free throw attempts have decreased from over four per last season to down near three so far this season. His percentage at the line has also taken a nose dive; after shooting a career best 46.7% last year, he is shooting a career worst 35.5%.

In the post is where Dorsey has shown he is taking baby steps towards improving his play. In the past his back to the basket game consisted primarily of trying to bull his way through smaller defenders and simply throwing up shots against bigger more athletic opponents. Now we are starting to see Dorsey incorporate a strong drop and the occasional jump hook shot. On a rare occasion against slower defenders Dorsey has shown some ability to face up and take opponents along the baseline. Considering his past history of post moves, or lack there of, any sign of development is encouraging. At this point it is a lack of touch that is keeping Dorsey from being a threat to score in the post. Often times he is able to execute his move but then overshoots the ball; this does tend to occur more often though against taller opponents, as was the case in his match ups with Hasheem Thabeet and Roy Hibbert.

It is clear that Dorsey still isn’t a tremendous part of Memphis’s offensive game plan, (he’s attempting 4.5 shots per game, down from 5.3 last season), so often he acts as a bail out option for teammates attacking the basket. He is the recipient of plenty of great looks around the basket thank to the amount of attention some of his perimeter players demand from opposing defenses. With his tremendous strength and leaping ability, Dorsey is a dynamic finisher when he is given any sort of room around the rim. Again though, lack of touch is holding him back from being a more effective scorer. As was the case last season, Dorsey still tries to dunk the ball in some situations where he would be better served laying the ball up over or around a defender.

There is still a tremendous lack of versatility to Dorsey’s game. Aside from acting as a safety valve when perimeter players are stuck with the basketball or screening for teammates you will almost never see Dorsey far from the basket. Aside from the occasional straight line drive to the basket against slower post players when he faces up, Dorsey shows limited ball handling abilities outside of a power dribble towards the basket. While we haven’t gotten much of a chance to see Dorsey attempt any sort of shots from beyond five feet away from the basket, his horrendous free throw shooting is probably some indication of where that aspect of his game currently stands.

As always, defense continues to be the most appealing aspect of Dorsey’s game. When his statistics are adjusted to a 40 minute pace, Dorsey ranks first in total rebounds and ninth in blocked shots amongst all players in our database this season. His tremendous athleticism allow him to alter a tremendous number of shots and makes him a stellar help defender, which works well when Memphis goes to their zone defense. This also allows him to pull down plenty of rebounds that aren’t in his immediate area. As a post defender Dorsey has proven to be very intelligent in the past, and that continues to be the case this season. He is very strong and tough to back down, where Dorsey separates himself from a lot of other strong post defenders though is he isn’t just a pusher, he knows how to use his strength. In situations where opponents are able to get the ball on the block against him, rather than always trying to push them out of position, Dorsey does a great job of positioning himself in a way that opponents are forced to take tough shots over him. He did a particularly good job of this in Memphis’s win over Georgetown, holding Roy Hibbert to just six points on 3-8 shooting.

More than just a low post presence, Dorsey is tough when he steps away from the basket as well. He has good reaction time, a characteristic that has allowed him to average more than a steal per game every season of his college career. Dorsey’s quickness allows him to do a good job of covering the pick and roll, something NBA scouts love to see; he does get into trouble once in a while when he sticks with the ball handler too long, leaving his man with an open look near the basket.

Dorsey is clearly a player that it would be easy to see in an NBA uniform next season. His lack of ideal height is certainly an issue, but he combats this well with his tremendous strength and athleticism. His effort is going to win him points, and his fight on the offensive glass is definitely a characteristic that will get him playing time regardless of where he ends up. Defense will be his main selling point, but the fact that we are starting to see some signs of a back to the basket game will only help his cause. Being an integral part of the number one team in the country is going to do a lot for Dorsey’s stock, nothing attracts attention like winning could very well be hoisting a national championship trophy come March.

When the Memphis Tigers take the floor this season, they will be loaded with talent. With the return of veterans like Chris Douglas-Roberts and Robert Dozier, and the arrival of new prospects like Derrick Rose, John Calipari’s squad is armed for a deep run into March. One important cog on this team that cannot be overlooked on such a star-studded team is senior power forward Joey Dorsey. Aside from incoming freshman Derrick Rose, there may be no more of an intriguing pro prospect in Conference USA than Dorsey.

Dorsey possesses the physical tools to succeed at the pro level; despite being a little undersized at 6’9”. He has a very wide frame, one that packs 260 pounds of muscle. Aside from freshman phenom Greg Oden, Dorsey didn’t meet a single player last year that could stand up to him in terms of raw strength. His mass though is deceiving in that he has tremendous upward explosiveness and the ability to elevate with anyone in the country. Often last season defenders would have to deal with Dorsey skying over them for a thunderous alley-oop. His open floor speed is also above average for a player of his size, but his poor ball skills prevent him from being a threat to do anything but catch and finish around the basket.

For a player as physically gifted as Dorsey is, his 8.5 points per game last season doesn’t seem to add up. There are two reasons behind his low offensive output. First, Dorsey has a severely underdeveloped post game. Against smaller opponents, Dorsey simply tries to outmuscle them on his way to the basket. While this works sometimes, it results in a fair number of offensive foul calls against him. He occasionally shows flashes, able to drop step and elevate over defenders, but these are few and far between. In general , he doesn’t have much touch around the basket, and often will attempt to dunk the ball rather than go for the easier finish. The other reason for Dorsey’s lack of scoring is in that he simply isn’t a major focal point of the Memphis offense. The senior only attempted 5.3 shots per game last season in 25 minutes of playing time.

The majority of Dorsey’s shot attempts come from his tremendous hustle on the offensive glass. An amazing 42% of his shot attempts last season came from offensive rebounds, according to Synergy Sports Technology’s quantified stats. While for many players this would be a problem, Dorsey is still able to be a scoring threat because he is such a workhorse down low. He averaged 9.4 rebounds per game and 4.4 offensive rebounds per game. These averages when adjusted to 40 minute averages are 14.9 rebounds (6.9 offensive rebounds) per game, first in the country amongst returning prospects receiving substantial playing time. Dorsey is able to rebound at such an incredible rate on both ends of the floor thanks to his sheer mass and his tremendous leaping ability. It is very hard to keep him from establishing position to go after rebounds because he is so strong; it isn’t unusual to see him come down with a one-handed rebound while holding off an opponent with the other arm. On top of that, he is able to come down with many balls that he shouldn’t be able to since he can out jump most players he goes up against.

Another major benefit of Dorsey’s offensive rebound prowess is it equates into frequent trips to the foul line--he averaged more than four attempts from the line last season. While this is an encouraging statistic; his 47% percentage is not. Dorsey has awful shooting mechanics and non-existent touch, which explains why he almost never attempts any sort of a jump shot.

Defense is where Dorsey is going to really make or break his pro chances. He is an absolute disruptive force in every sense of the phrase. His rebounding prowess alone would make him appealing, but he has great reaction time as well, which further adds to his appeal on the defensive side of the floor. Dorsey averaged 2.2 blocks and 1.4 steals last season thanks to his ability to his instincts and athletic ability. His deceptive quickness allows him to intercept a fair number of passes, and his freakish leaping ability lets him get a hand on some shots that he has no business blocking. Even when he isn’t blocking shots, he alters a lot of shots that are taken in his area.

While he isn’t tremendously quick, Dorsey still does a fairly good job when he is asked to play perimeter defense. He guards the pick and roll fairly well, something scouts love to see with the way today’s NBA works. Dorsey does need to improve on his abilities to close out on perimeters shooters.

Despite how much he needs to improve his offensive game, Dorsey’s athleticism and stellar defensive play will be enough to have him playing at the pre-draft camps and likely hear his name called on draft night. Should we see a big improvement in his scoring ability this year though, Dorsey could possibly even crack the first round. It’s pretty clear that there is a role for him in the league somewhere, at the very least as a Reggie Evans type player.

Joey Dorsey talked plenty of trash before this game, calling Greg Oden a “little man,” telling the world that he’s “a lot like me,” and even going as far as to say that Oden is “a lot overrated.” In the end, he poetically got to see exactly how stupid his comments were, getting absolutely destroyed by the freshman big man on both ends of the floor and going a long way in showing scouts just how limited a player he really is.

Foul trouble stopped Dorsey from staying on the floor for more than a few minutes at a time, as Oden was just too big and strong for him to deal with on his own. He didn’t have the size to challenge his jump-hook, and wasn’t able to hold his spot on the block against him as he moved him around in the paint to establish position and dunk on him time after time.

Other teams have found some success against Ohio State by having Oden defend a perimeter oriented player who could draw him away from the basket and open up the lane for penetrations. With Dorsey in the game, that simply wasn’t an option, as he’s just too limited of a player at this point to do anything outside of a few feet away from the rim. Not having to worry about any offense coming from Dorsey’s direction, Oden camped out in the paint all game long and completely dominated Memphis with his rebounding and shot-blocking skills. In the rare occurrence that Dorsey got himself in a position to receive the ball, he was fouled hard and sent to the free throw line, giving scouts the opportunity to see just how bad his shooting mechanics are.

This game should go a long ways in humbling Dorsey and showing him that life is a lot tougher outside of the incredibly weak confines of Conference USA. If he makes the NBA, it’s going to be as a big body to bring off the bench to rebound, put a body on players, and commit fouls, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. He’s not anywhere close to being as good as Greg Oden, and never will be, so it was probably good for him to find that out now.

Entering the NCAA Tournament, many people questioned how far Memphis could advance, citing an easy conference schedule as a reason for concern. They have advanced throughout the tournament this year largely in part to stifling defense, and their win over Texas A&M brings them back to the Elite 8 for a second consecutive season. Joey Dorsey had his worst game of the tournament against the Aggies, but still provided the extra boost that the Tigers needed on the defensive end.

The easy thing to notice about Dorsey from the start of the game was his physical play in the post. During the many hard-fought battles for position down low, the junior big man held his ground while keeping the A&M big men away from the basket. Though he only blocked 1 shot during the game, Dorsey disrupted many more inside, making it difficult for the opposing guards to finish at the basket. He displayed good positioning when helping out away from his man, but this limited his minutes due to eventual foul trouble. Dorsey fouled out with 1:50 to play, when he was a step late on a Josh Carter drive.

Despite ranking as the 9th leading rebounder in the nation, Dorsey struggled in this area today, actually picked up a few fouls on over the back calls. He has great size, length, strength, and athleticism that help him as a rebounder, but he must learn to control his body when fighting for offensive rebounds in the future.

Offensively, Dorsey doesn’t have great touch or footwork at this point in time. This was highlighted when A&M started sending guards down to double the post, and he struggled to get a shot away near the basket. Many of Dorsey’s points come from offensive rebounds, but he does have the ability to score by occasionally backing down his man on the block. Luckily for all of us, but especially for his sake, Dorsey did not get to the free throw line even once, sparing us the gruesomeness of his shooting mechanics and career high 47% average from the charity stripe.

Joey Dorsey has all the tools to become a solid role-player at the next level, but he must learn to play through foul trouble to maximize his potential. As a junior, we could see the Tigers’ big man test his stock this year, but he would be best served by returning to school with a focusing on improving on his overall polish.

Joey Dorsey had a decent showing in Memphis’ first round defeat over the North Texas Mean Green, dominating on the glass and in defending the post, but struggling to really assert himself and finish around the rim offensively. Dorsey was a force on the boards on both ends, using his massive frame to establish position inside and pull in rebounds against the smaller opposition, but he had a lot of trouble converting his offensive rebounds into put-backs on that end of the floor. He missed at least two dunks along with a flurry of other close attempts. Due to his strength and persistence, he was able to eventually score on most of these possessions by playing catch with the rim and backboard until he finally got the ball in the basket. Still, though, his touch around the rim is very concerning, and with his dominant size and strength, he shouldn’t have that much trouble finishing against competition of this level.

Dorsey didn’t post up much on the offensive end in the game, but when he did, he showed off an excellent drop-step move twice, one of which he finished with a jam and the other which he missed a jam on. He also made a nice lay-up off the glass on another post-up opportunity. Dorsey didn’t have the offense run through him much, but he showed some nice passing awareness when he got the ball, dropping off an assist behind the three-point line on a high screen on one occasion and hitting a cutter on a backdoor pass going to the rim on another.

Defensively, Dorsey did a great job playing man defense in the post when someone was foolish enough to post him up, holding his ground well forcing the opposition into tough shot attempts. He did show some trouble when drawn outside of 10 feet, though, not showing the lateral quickness to effectively defend a face-up game.

Memphis waltzed through the Conference USA tournament, and Dorsey may have gained a little more national notoriety by making some spectacular plays in the process. In the championship game, Dorsey racked up 9 points 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Dorsey was able to draw 11 free throws out Houston’s defenders, many credited to his tenacious work on the offensive glass. Dorsey grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and took 27 free throws in just 3 Conference USA tournament games, a trend consistent with his regular season efficiency and per-minute production.

Even though his overall numbers may not be impressive, Dorsey’s size and athleticism are clearly intriguing. But it’s his per-minute rebounding numbers that really stand out.

Dorsey’s offensive/defensive rebounding numbers have been substantial all season and his production percentages have gone up across the boards for most of the team defensive categories. Fundamental shooting technique is still a concern with Dorsey, as his shooting percentages reflect. But the fact that Dorsey has the ability to draw fouls and get his team into the bonus is a plus even with his poor free throw percentage. Considering his minutes and the level of aggressiveness he plays with, Dorsey is pretty effective at avoiding fouls. Dorsey averages 2.8 fouls per game, or 4.3 per 40 minutes. But in that span of time, Dorsey is able to generate 12.9 combined offensive rebounds, steals, and blocks.

Dorsey is an “intangibles” guy all the way and has a long way to go, but if a team were looking to bring someone in to work with he might have a future as a dirty work player, ala Reggie Evans. Evans knows the game much better than Dorsey at this point, but it was hard work and growth that got him there. A good showing in the NCAA tournament should help gain Dorsey even more attention from those who love the spectacular. Dorsey should be able to carry that into his senior year, buckle down, and work on his shooting mechanics and overall decision making.

As a junior, Dorsey could exercise his pass to participate in the pre draft process, work out with a pro trainer, and go up against superior competition if he can afford to do so. An offseason dedicated to fundamental development this summer will pay dividends on the court next year and a level of familiarity with the draft process going forward.

Dorsey’s definitely a player to watch through the tournament and into his senior season, not because he has star potential, but because of his ability to develop into the type of do-all role player every team needs. Whether he puts in the work or not is another matter, but players who can affect the game without scoring and can play physical defense without fouling are worth keeping an eye on.