NCAA Basketball: 5 guards who need to take the next step(s) in 2020-21

Nah’Shon Hyland | Guard | 6’3″| Sophomore

2019-20 stats: 9.0 points, and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 43.4% from three 

Last season, Hyland showed me, VCU fans, and other college basketball spectators, that the Rams have a bright future, with him running the show. With Marcus Evans (the starting point for the Rams last season, who was also the third-leading scorer on the team) moving on from college basketball after graduating in the spring, I don’t think that its crazy to consider that VCU head coach, Mike Rhoades, will hand over the keys to Hyland this season.

While coming off the bench last season, Hyland was able to pick up wherever Evans left off, and let Rhoades know that there would be no drop off in VCU’s play, when he entered games. When Evans was unable to compete in VCU’s February 18th contest against Dayton (because of a knee injury), Hyland could have chosen to play scared, because he didn’t want to put the Rams in harm’s way.

However, Hyland understood that the Rams needed him to frequently look for his shot, and not hope that other players would step and make plays. He stepped up in a big way against the 5th ranked team in the country, scoring 18 points on 7-14 shooting (50%), which included 3 three-pointers, in a 66-61 home loss.

I think that Hyland was able to be so much of a factor in that game, and many other games during the 2019-20 season, because of his commitment to staying patient when he catches the ball on either wing.

Of course, every player wants to quickly expose their defenders, if they notice that their footwork is all over the place (for example, their defenders go back and forth between shading them to the right, and shading them to the left), or it looks like their lateral quickness is below average (which would give them a chance to attack their defenders right away). However, they shouldn’t always be racing to try and create separation, or speed past their defenders.

This is because a quick move will not always be the smartest move, which Hyland understands pretty well. He is at the top of his game when he catches the ball, takes a good look at his defender’s stance, and then vigorously jabs to his right at his own pace, to see if his defender will stay in the same spot, or retreat slightly.

When Hyland’s defenders give him a little room to breath, because they want to see if he is a respectable three-point shooter, he makes them pay, by drilling threes in their faces repeatedly.

You would think that last season, more teams would have studied Hyland carefully on film, and picked up on the fact that Hyland only really wants to jab hard to his right (while keeping a firm grip on the ball) because he wants to give himself more space to get good elevation on his jump shots (without having to work about landing on someone’s foot or shooting flat jump shots with terrible rotation).

However, it was clear to me that more teams were a bit more concerned with making sure that Hyland didn’t kill them, by ripping through to his right, pushing the ball out in front of him, and using his length to extend out and keep the ball away from shot blockers (which is the second thing they should have been worried about since he shot 43.4% from three last year).

Staying on the topic of Hyland’s three-point shooting ability, I must point out that there were a few teams, that did everything they could, to take the three away from Hyland (which included remaining solid after Hyland’s jab).

Be that as it may, Hyland did a terrific job of not allowing the stingy defense of his defenders, to deter him from shooting threes with confidence. Normally when a player jabs violently to his left or his right, and sees that his defender hasn’t budged at all, they will elect to keep the ball moving, due to their fear of missing the three, and then possibly getting pulled out of the game. I think that because Hyland trusts his three-point shot so much, he is not afraid to let it fly, even when he is not as open as he would like to be.

When Hyland isn’t jabbing to get his defenders off-balance, he is killing them with his signature between the legs dribble move, into a two-step retreat (which is elite). This is because Hyland is able to fool his defenders, by making them think that he is going to keep the ball in his right hand (after completing the between the legs dribble move), and try to make a move, in order to get around them.

In reality, however, Hyland is smart enough to realize that, many defenders don’t have a high hand up when they are defending him, because they are too busy trying to force Hyland to his left (because he is right-handed, and they want to see if he is comfortable driving with his weak hand).

This allows Hyland to make his defenders pause long enough (while the ball is still in his right hand), for him to take two quick steps back (as opposed to one), and fire threes, without having to worry about them increasing the difficulty of his shots.

Hyland is almost an automatic three-point shooter when he fakes like he is going to toss a pass over to a teammate in one of the corners (causing a defender to sprint over to Hyland’s teammate with their hands up, so that they can possibly get a deflection), and then calmly steps into a three with no defender around him.

Additionally, I wouldn’t consider Hyland a lightning-fast guard, but when he is on the move, he does a great of keeping defenders on his hip (while keeping the ball out of their reach) and going from level one speed (which is decent speed) to level two speed (which is a slightly faster speed), in order to freeze his defenders at the perfect time (which is why his hesitation is so effective).

Now, in order for Hyland to get to where he needs to go as a player, the first thing that has to change is his body. In case you haven’t noticed, his nickname is “Bones” for a reason, as his arms resemble string beans, which makes it pretty clear that he doesn’t have as much muscle, as Mike Rhoades probably wants him to have.

So is it really an issue if Hyland can still receive positive results at the rim? Well, yes, because imagine that he is playing in a game, where the referees are really letting the players play. If Hyland can’t find a way to fight his way to the basket and deal with an aggressive defender, who will do whatever it takes to get Hyland to veer off his initial path to the basket, a few things may go wrong in that game.

One, Hyland may get stuck around the free throw line area, and try to force a pull-up jumper that is a low-percentage shot, or two, Hyland might lose his balance as he is driving, and attempt to sling an off-balance chest pass with no mustard on it, to a teammate that isn’t open. However, if Hyland continues to work on his body, and is able to add around 15-20 pounds of muscle, he may not have to worry about those problems, because he will be able to turn corners with ease and impose his will when the rock is in his hands.

Secondly, Hyland is nowhere near the on-ball defender he could be if he makes some must needed adjustments this season. I think that because Hyland is not as quick on his feet as he should be defensively, and currently struggles to bait opposing guards into impulsively driving into the second level of defense (without really making anyone work), he has trouble succeeding on that end of the floor.

On top of that, playing defense flat-footed, and having a somewhat slow reaction time, also prevents Hyland from tracking down opposing guards, after they have changed direction, and gotten him to stumble or lose his footing for a second.

So what should Hyland do if he knows that this is his weakness? Well, the answer is quite simple to me. This season, Hyland should make it a priority to start taking long lounges on defense, as opposed to short, unproductive slides, that won’t slow down a guard with a full head of steam.

By taking those long beneficial slides, Hyland will be able to limit how many times he has to egregiously hand-check his opponents the entire way down the court, in order to neutralize them (which was a problem last season, as he averaged 2.3 fouls per game, with most of them coming early in first halves). Also, it would let Hyland’s opponents know that they are going to have to do more than just stop, and then explode to their right or left, in order to beat him consistently.

Will Hyland run the risk of slipping, or falling to the ground, if his opponents cross the ball over hard to the opposite side? Absolutely, but if Hyland knows that the way he has been defending in the past, hasn’t helped him lock down many of the guards that he has faced, he needs to start taking some risks. And more importantly, Hyland should want the guards that he’s matching up against, to know that he is not a pushover, and will not continue to get abused by the same stop-and-go move.

This will also raise Hyland’s confidence as a defender, and allow him to see that he can stay in front of anyone if he changes his defensive technique. Using those long lounges, and getting his left or right foot far enough over, to the point where guards have to turn and go in the opposite direction, will allow Hyland to become the defender, that I know that he can be.