I Spy Wings - Class of 2024
I Spy Wings - Class of 2024
Three wing prospects that could potentially rise above preseason expectations.
TJ Power
The 6’8, 210-lbs Duke commit will be joining a stacked recruiting class in Jarred McCain, Caleb Foster, and Seas Stewart in hopes of bring another ACC championship and possibly National championship to Durham. With the return of Jeremy Roach, Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell, and Tyrese Proctor, the incoming freshmen will have to earn their minutes. TJ Power isn’t Duke’s best incoming freshman, but he may have the best chance of garnering significant minutes.
3&D wing has been the heralded archetype for nearly a decade now, and Power is another prospect that generally fits that mold. He has remarkable perimeter shot-making talent in both transition and half-court, a must-need for NBA teams today. The biggest difference however between Power and other 3&D prospects is his off-the-dribble talent. Most prospects under the archetype are limited to spot-up, off-the-catch shooting. Power however, is more than comfortable creating his own shots from three. In both EYBL and High School, Power acted as a secondary ball-handler, responsible for taking the ball up, initiating actions, and locating scoring opportunities for others. While the handle isn’t secure enough to deploy serious ball-handling duties at the college/NBA level, it’s certainly a project worth investing in. His scalability in role/usage offensively allow for flexibility between lineups and schemes.
Where Power has come up short is in the interior. Power is exceedingly jumper-reliant, preferring tough fadeaway jumpers over simple drives to the rim. It isn’t clear if he’s contact-adverse, but he certainly isn’t confident in taking the ball up strong and attacking the rim. He works well in the dunker spot, but thats one of the only spots Power makes an effort to get at the rim. His shooting touch is certainly there, but touch around the rim remains a question.
Defensively, Power flashes solid feel and instincts that accumulate to being a good defender, but he clearly lacks the biomechanics required to actually be one. Power doesn’t have the hip flexibility, lateral quickness, vertical, strength, nor burst to be a positive defender on the floor. He doesn’t cover enough ground to be a quality perimeter defender, and he doesn’t have length or physicality to be a quality low-man. He generally understands rotations and positioning, but the execution has generally been flat. His lack of burst and mediocre footwork have led to ineffective closeouts and recoveries.
Scotty Middleton
While scouts and analysts have fawned over his teammate Matas Buzelis (projected #1 overall pick by ESPN), Scotty Middleton has quietly built an impressive resume to cap off his final year before heading to Ohio State. Middleton is a talented shooting wing with eye-catching measurable’s and a promising defensive upside. At 6’6, 180-lbs, Middleton is a remarkably efficient small forward that gets to his spots with ease. His 7’0 wingspan allows him to access tight scoring windows typically reserved for taller, wings, a trait reminiscent of Mikal Bridges.
Middleton is a high-end play finisher. He ended his season at Sunrise Christian shooting 40% 3pt overall, 43% 3pt off-the-catch, and 38.5% 3pt off-the-dribble. While he doesn’t have a dribble package to be a sustainable self-creator, it is functional enough for relocation jumpers.
His main advantage as a shooter is his wingspan. With pull-up jumpers as his main offensive weapon, his 7’0 wingspan affords him the luxury of shooting above defenders, whether he has space or not. He isn’t afraid of shooting contested jumpers, both threes and middies, and he’s done it on elite efficiently in context to other high-schoolers.
Athletically Middleton doesn’t have standout foot-speed nor burst, as he runs with and without the ball fairly upright. This leads to roundabout drives to the rim and complications at the rim when met with contact. His center of gravity is to high to leverage the strength that he has to navigate through defenders, affecting not only finishing but his balance as well.
Middleton ran a fair amount of PnR, scoring a staggering 1.265 PPP (points per possession) on 34 total possessions. Middleton is solely a scorer in the PnR, rarely does he identify scoring opportunities for his teammates. He struggles toto execute live-dribble passes, and isn’t very flexible as a decision maker once he starts going.
While the shotmaking is impressive, Middleton’s potential on defense is just as fascinating. He’s lanky, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a persistent and disruptive defender. Middleton’s production as a defender overall is still raw, but he’s shown the flashes. He can cover a ton of ground with his lateral movement and length, both in isolation and pnr’s. He’s a tad slow getting to his first step when defending off-the-catch, and has a habit of biting too hard on dribble moves but the burst and speed is there. Middleton can also get caught around screens, but generally does a good job navigating through them. Additionally, Middleton isn’t afraid to get in between passing lanes and pressure in the open floor to produce steals.
Coen Carr
Coen Carr is one of the most athletically gifted prospects in this class, the type of talent that could catapult him into lottery discussions. He’s an above-the-rim force that plays with a level of pace and power that’s only replicated by few. At 6’7, 200-lbs, he provides size and flexibility NBA teams seek among wings.
Carr’s athleticism shows up everywhere in his game. He plays freely on the floor, getting to the rim from everywhere. His high-reaching vertical adds positional versatility, giving teams the flexibility to play him 2 through 4. At the 4, Carr primarily operates out the dunker spot, cutting and hunting for second chance points. His burst and speed aren’t otherworldly, it’s more than enough to generate immense rim pressure off-the-catch as well as off-the-dribble.
Carr already good command over his athleticism, utilizing his talent in a calculated matter to create clean but creative shots at the rim. As a finisher and overall shooter Carr has okay touch, but improvement is certainly needed. At the rim, he primarily goes off the glass for layups, which can get awkward when he’s along the baseline or approaching the basket at full speed. He’s a work in progress as a shooter off-the-dribble, as he has yet to find a consistent shooting rhythm and touch. Off-the-catch however, Carr shot really well. Despite this shooting inconsistency, Carr still found ways to space the floor and score the ball efficiently. He’s a great cutter and off-ball mover.
Defensively Carr is a promising prospect, applying his athleticism and frame to impose his will on matchups. He’s strong enough to push around guards and slim-framed wings, which allows him to take control of possessions as a defender. He’s a pest in isolation, staying low to the ground against even against the shiftiest of guards. He utilizes his body well against drives, avoiding the use of his arms to prevent fouling. Carr has a few blocks from the weakside, demonstrating his attentiveness, instinct, and effort on defense. To reach his full potential, Carr must improve as a perimeter defender. He’s inconsistent on closeouts and screen navigation. Nonetheless, he has the flexibility, physicality, lateral quickness, and instinct to be a great defender at the next level.