With some downtime in the college basketball schedule, the holidays are a useful stopping point from an NBA Draft evaluation perspective and offer time to reflect on what we have seen so far. Non-Conference play is effectively over, and we’re roughly one-third through the schedule
After spending a large chunk of the season on the road, I was able to take the week to catch up on film, specifically on players I hadn’t seen in-person yet. Here’s a look at the draft stocks of certain players that have moved the needle, come out of nowhere, or maybe need more time than we expected. I only wrote about players I hadn’t previously written about so if you want words on what I have seen live, you can find that all here (https://bustingbrackets.com/author/bsimberg/)
Stock: Up
Jett Howard – Michigan – 6’8, 215 lbs – Freshman – September 2003
I was a fan of Howard entering the year and thought he was a tad underrated in the national recruiting rankings. But, some chatter about him being potentially a two-year player under his dad, Juwan Howard, kept him out of my preseason top 30. 11 games into his college career, and I can pretty confidently say this is probably Jett’s only year in Ann Arbor.
The appeal with him is pretty obvious: a true wing-sized shooter with self-creation ability and passing acumen. People I know who have seen him live don’t think he’s 6’8, but I’m not sure how much that matters. Howard’s jumper is fundamentally smooth, he elevates and rises over defenders with ease. He has shown versatility as a shooter too, doing a good job of relocating and hitting shots, and even some off-the-dribble jumpers (92nd percentile). At 40% from deep on 6.5 a game, Howard projects as an elite shooter.
The Jett Howard shooting flashes are excellent. Love the footwork to set his defender up, reads it perfectly, elevates with a high-release point. Textbook stuff. pic.twitter.com/K3xUZonspZ
— Brandon Simberg (@BrandonSimberg) November 13, 2022
Michigan’s half-court offense has played to his strengths, putting him in pin-downs and curls to get him open threes, or putting him in position to attack empty-side defenses. Howard has shown he can make the right passes when attacking a tilted defense. He’s not going to run an offense or anything long-term, but Howard should be able to thrive off the shooting gravity and hard closeouts he attracts. I would like to see him show growth as a finisher, attempting just 21 shots at the rim thus far (two per game) with a tendency to shy away from bumps and contact.
Howard’s defense has left a little to be desired. He gets caught ball-watching rather frequently and is a bit lackadaisical at the point of attack. Physical tools will be to his benefit in the long run but he really needs to patch up his instincts and general mechanics both on and off the ball.
It’s also worth noting the context that he’s in right now is favorable. Playing for his dad allows him to play through mistakes and be coached a bit differently. I’d be curious to see what Howard looks like struggling under a different coach and how he responds.
Still, a wing-sized shooter with some improving ball skills, and general feel of how to play on offense is super valuable. It reminds me of Adrian Griffin Jr. to a degree, especially when you factor in neither was great on defense as a freshman (the comp is by no means apples to apples or anything). Howard is a late lottery guy for me right now, given I think he’s an impactful offensive player from the jump.