School: Fayetteville Academy
AAU: LBA Thunder
Height: 6’0
Class: 2019
Strengths
- Height is one of strong attributes , although he doesn’t tower over opponents, E.J is a player that has solid size for the guard position, at 6’0 with a decent wingspan he can cause some deflections and make things difficult for smaller guards. Offensively he doesn’t have to deal with height differential issues too often so his height is definitely a positive. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised to see this youngster grow an extra inch or two before it all said and done.
- Scoring the ball is another attribute that he has that impressed me, as of now I would define him as a slashing type of guard. When he gets hot from three point land, he can knock down a good amount of trey balls but where he has been the most impressive is attacking and finishing around the basket. He has the ability to finish in traffic as well as around and under out stretched arms of opposing big men, so basically we could define him as a crafty slashing scorer.
- Coachability is another strong suit for this young man, no matter what is going on he doesn’t snap back at coaches or teammates, he takes suggestions and applies them. Also we must acknowledge his work ethic, he puts in a good amount of time in the gym working on his craft and simply trying to get better each and every day. Overall he’s just a nice kid who is very respectful each time you see him and seems to be a guy that will be beneficial to a squad with team unity.
Areas for Improvement
- His body still needs more muscle added to it to be able to embrace the contact at the next level, he’s young and still has time to add weight so it’s no need to worry. However there were some occasions where he was unable to finish a play in the paint due to contact from a larger/stronger opponent.
- Knocking down the trey ball with consistency is another area we feel he can improve, as of now he would defined as a ‘‘streaky shooter’’ but with the amount of time he puts in the gym we are sure that his shot consistency will improve.
- Ball handling is the final area that I would love to see him focus in on, he’s not a bad ball handler but he tends to dribble soft and high at times instead of dribbling harder and lower to the ground. At the high school level it does not cause major issues but at the college level it would lead to turnovers.