Ja'Kobe Walter, Yves Missi, Jalen Bridges, Quinten Post
Brian breaks down the top prospects from Baylor University and Boston College. This includes wing Ja'Kobe Walter, big Yves Missi, wing Jalen Bridges, and big Quinten Post
Baylor had a largely good season but there were some things that they needed to clean up. They had a problem with their offense down the stretch and that was largely because of the first guy we are going to talk about, but it doesn’t help that 2 of your main guys were freshmen. Anyway, they got upset by Clemson in the NCAA tournament. Boston College had a really bad year, but there’s one bright spot who we are going to talk about.
Ja’Kobe Walter/Baylor
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Ja’Kobe Walter was a top high school recruit that had a really hot start to the season but really struggled down the stretch. He’s a flamethrower of a shooter and has been decent in creating his own shot. In high school, a lot of the concerns with him were shot selections, but he was better at that this season. He’s a high character guy as well.
Personal Opinion
I think he’s a pretty solid bet to be honest. I’m not as concerned about the efficiency issues with him, but I think it is fair to point out, what else can he do? That ultimately will be the difference between him becoming a starter, or a bench player. I feel pretty good about him improving his efficiency and him being a solid player. He might still look pretty early on, but I feel good about his stock where it is right now.
Fantasy
I don’t think he’ll ever be a great fantasy player. The appeal with him will come from scoring and 3’s, which has value, but it is pretty easy to get those stats when you need them. Walter doesn’t provide a lot of value elsewhere in the other categories, so there could be a limited ceiling from a fantasy perspective, barring any crazy improvement.
If Ja’Kobe fails in the league, Why?
The efficiency doesn’t come around and he’s nothing more than an inefficient shot chucker, which doesn’t have value as a role player. If his defense continues the way it has during the second half of the season, it could be really limited on where he goes from here.
There are some names here of players like him that he could be like. Cam Thomas is an extreme example, but he wasn’t the shot maker Thomas was. Tim Hardaway Jr. is another interesting comparison for him if he continues to develop. Even someone like Isaiah Joe is interesting. Obviously KCP and T Ross were solid, respectively.
Big Performance Highlights
22 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 5-12 FG, 3-7 3PT, 9-11 FT
Ja’Kobe Walter didn’t even have a great game from an efficiency perspective and yet he was a really good player in this one despite the two point loss to the Longhorns in this one. If he had caught fire, this would have been a monster game from him.
23 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 To, 7-13 FG, 5-10 3PT, 4-5 FT
I did also want to highlight this one because of how empty his stat lines can be if he's not scoring. He did really well in this one and I think he played really well, playing against a very good defensive team in Houston. We can ignore the fact that Jamal Shead and LJ Cryer are really small though. But overall, a good game despite the overtime loss.
Yves Missi/Baylor
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Yves Missi is very new to basketball and he is still very raw. However, he played pretty well this season for Baylor. He’s a good rim finisher and is a real big lob threat. In the right development system, Missi could have a lot of potential.
Personal Opinion
I really like Missi and I think there’s a real pathway to him being a starter. I don’t know the likelihood of it, but there’s a chance. I think it is going to depend where he ends up in the draft, but he’s pretty good at his role, and I think his defense has the potential to be really good. I mean the numbers don’t look great, but this guy is still so new to basketball and raw. If he gets developed right, then there could be a very very good player.
Fantasy
Currently, the fantasy numbers don’t look great. However, they could get to a point where it does look really good. He doesn't have any huge negatives and with time, I expect him to actually get better at a lot of these things. I wouldn’t rule out the top 50 as an outcome, in that Clint Capela mold when he was in Houston. Clint was relatively raw as well however, he was still playing better in a professional league vs. Missi in college basketball.
If Yves fails in the league, Why?
He’s too raw and makes too many mistakes when he is on the court. The defense doesn’t improve and he gets constantly attacked, and the offense doesn’t come around so he’s a negative offensively.
This is really interesting though. There’s a lot of these guys that were drafted, some weren’t but the ones that weren’t could still get drafted. Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan are in this draft. Obviously Missi. Ryan Kalkbrenner is returning for a 5th year to Creighton and he could be an interesting player as a stretch 5. Then you look at the ones who didn’t get drafted, Omer Yurtseven has had a cup of coffee in the NBA. Charles Bediako was also pretty raw but he had some time in the league this season. Not all of them worked out but it’s worth noting for sure.
Big Performance Highlights
11 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Stl, 5 Blk, 2 To, 4-7 FG, 3-3 FT
Missi played a low usage role in this one but he was really good defensively. Kyle Filipowski, as one of the best big men in the country, had an off night against Missi and blocking Filipowski 3 times in a game is something. Duke won this game by 8, but a very good individual performance from Missi.
25 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 To, 10-14 FG, 5-7 FT
This was Missi’s best game of the season by far, but it was also a triple overtime game where Baylor lost by 3 points. It was no fault of Missi, because he was the only reason they were even close in this game. The defense still needs to be better as TCU shot 52% from the field in this one.
Jalen Bridges/Baylor
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Jalen Bridges started out at West Virginia and had some solid seasons there. He transferred to Baylor where he has continued in his low usage role. He's someone that has basically everything you want out of a 3nd Wing, which sounds kind of insane out of someone who’s projected to be a late pick. He’s a decent defender, can hit the 3 pretty well, and is a very good off ball mover.
Personal Opinion
I think there’s something there and I honestly think it's a little crazy that we don’t see his name come up more. He’s not a flashy player at all, he’s a very low usage player and that won’t get a lot of people excited. However, Baylor has been good, he’s been good at these things for 4 years, and low usage players in college can translate. Not all the time, but there are some interesting things with him. I know The Ringer had him mocked to go to the Nuggets at 29 at one point, and honestly, I don’t think that’s insane. I wouldn’t mock him in the first round in a lot of spots, but the fit in Denver is unbelievable. He’s a potential combine riser.
Fantasy
He will not be a good fantasy player. Even if he’s a starter, I don’t think he’ll be a top 100 player, maybe not even top 150, UNLESS you really value turnovers. If that’s the case, then he could be top 60 because he doesn’t turn the ball over, but that’s not how you are going to win your fantasy leagues with him. He’ll have some good 3’s, with decent scoring and average in the other categories.
If Jalen fails in the league, why?
He struggles to defend NBA wings and that could really restrict his appeal. The shooting could regress for him and if he’s shooting in the low 30’s, it’s hard to want to put him on the floor given how little else he can do. On top of that, if you ask him to do too much, it could lead to some problems.
I’m going to steal this from No Ceilings, so credit to Maxwell Baumbach and here’s a link to his piece on Bridges. This is a list of the players who posted a usage rate of under 20% that were drafted in the past 10 years. So lower usage guys can work. None of these guys were studs by any means, but Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Jake Layman, Matisse Thybulle, Pat Connaughton aren’t bad. They Are’ pretty similar to Bridges in a way too.
Then my simulation:
As you can see, there’s some interesting players here. He’s not Gordon Hayward, who developed into a good usage player, and Trey Murphy was held back a lot more by the system at Virginia. However, Sam Hauser isn’t an insane reach, though he’s a much better shooter. Hauser took a bit of time defensively and I think Bridges is a better defender than what he was, and a better cutter.
Big Performance Highlights
32 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 8-11 FG, 6-7 3PT, 10-13 FT
This was a great game for Bridges where he was hot from 3, and was filling up the peripheral stats. Baylor won this game by 8 points and Bridges was easily the best player on the floor in this game. I really liked how he got to the line 13 times.
20 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 To, 7-16 FG, 3-8 3PT, 3-4 FT
Bridges had one of his better games in this one against the Big 12 champions in Iowa State. This was the big 12 championship game, but Bridges was the best player for the Bears in this one. He didn’t even shoot well, and if he had, he would have had a monster game.
Quinten Post/Boston College
Eddie Shabomardenly
Boston College had an underwhelming season but Quinten Post played well. He didn’t start every single game until this season in his 5th year, but Quinten has appeal due to his ability to shoot the basketball as a 7 footer. He’s a native from the Netherlands as well.
Personal Opinion
I think there’s something there but I’m not confident in it at all. I don’t love that he didn’t really have any stand out seasons apart from this one, but that being said, the NBA is always looking for stretch bigs and he can definitely do that. The problem is, “Is he good enough defensively?” My gut says no.
Fantasy
If he hits, there’s going to be something there with the out of position 3’s and assists. In certain builds, that could be very good, however, given his age, you’d be better taking that flier as a UDFA, unless he gets drafted in the real draft.
If Quinten fails in the league, Why?
He’s not good enough defensively to stay on the court despite his shooting. He struggles to adjust to an off ball role and his impact is minimized, as he is best with the ball in his hands. It could take him a bit to adjust to the league too.
When you look at this list, you can immediately scratch off Lauri Markkanen as a player comparison. Luka Garza doesn’t even make any sense as Garza was bigger physically. That leaves Post with some interesting player comparisons but none of them lasted very long in the league, but had some solid stints some years.
Big Performance Highlights
30 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 To, 14-22 FG, 2-3 3PT
This game was an absolute monster from Post as he was on fire and scoring a ton. This is saying something as Boston College crapped the bed and lost this game by 35 points at home, and Post was still efficient. They got very little else from his teammates.
30 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 To, 10-18 FG, 3-6 3PT, 7-7 FT
A similar stat line to the previous one for Post, but he showed a bit more statistical diversity in this one. Miami was a mess all season and Boston College won this game by 16 in the ACC tournament.
Final Thoughts
Ja’Kobe Walter is a scoring wing that was a top HS recruit. He can shoot better than the numbers would indicate but he really struggled down the stretch. There are also questions on what else he can do but he is a pretty high character guy and a hard worker, so there could be some growth. I currently have Ja’Kobe Walter at 14 on my board. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Ja’Kobe Walter went 18th to the Orlando Magic.
Yves Missi is a very raw big man that is very raw and new to basketball. He does a lot of what the typical big man things are, but is still raw and needs to improve all around. However, given his improvement over the past few years, there could be more coming with the proper training. I currently have Yves Missi at 18 on my board. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Yves Missi went 22nd to the Atlanta Hawks. (However, this mock was done a while back and that pick now will go to the Kings)
Jalen Bridges is a glue guy wing that can shoot and defend. He is a really good cutter and has shown an ability to make winning plays. While there isn’t a ton of upside, he could be a very valuable role player. I currently have Jalen Bridges at 38 on my board, which is a bit higher than consensus. In the recent Dizzle Dynasty Mock, Jalen Bridges went undrafted.
Quinten Post is a stretch big man that can play make a little bit. It has taken him a bit to make an impact and this is a concern given he is 24, but not many big men can shoot, so it's worth the flier. Teams obviously think so as he was invited to the combine. I currently have Quinten Post inside my top 80 and I feel pretty good about that for him in this range. In the recent Dizzle DynastyMock, Quinten Post went undrafted.