Rhode Island Basketball: Why Fatts Russell returning to Rams is right move

Russell is not NBA ready… yet

He also does a great job of staying with plays, when he does get blown by. If he sees that his man is rocking the ball or bringing it down as he is preparing to take off, he will swipe down at it, and make life easier for his teammates. Off the ball, Russell is just as good, and because he can sense when players want to make idiotic cross-court passes as they are getting swarmed, he is able to get easy steals.

When players are driving with their heads down, or don’t expect their lazy passes to get tipped and stolen, Russell makes sure that his hands are always active. He also does a terrific job of moving his feet and denying guards who are coming for dribble hand-offs or simply need to get open and get the ball when the shot clock is running down. And not only does he constantly make sure that he can see his man and the ball at all times, but he is also fairly smart with his gambles.

Now, you may be thinking that based on my analysis of Russell’s game thus far, it sounds like he is more than ready to compete in the NBA. However, I would advise you to keep reading, because there is one aspect of his game that he desperately needs to improve if he wants to have a future at the next level.