Many young American players, when they arrive in the NBA after a single season in college, are very often only in the very early stages of their development. The “fault” of a “high school” circuit too focused on performance and not enough on technical development, unlike young European players, perhaps less athletic for the most part but very often more technically developed .
This year, the most representative case is undoubtedly that of Jordan Walsh. A very popular high school student, the 19-year-old winger, recruited by the Celtics on the evening of the Draft (38th position), had a lackluster “freshman” season with Arkansas, during which his defensive qualities were as apparent as his offensive shortcomings. Particularly in outside shooting (27.8% on two shots per game), the Texas native too regularly displays a disturbing inability to make himself useful in the attack of the Razorbacks off the racket.
Once the NCAA season was over and the pre-Draft process launched, Charles Stoker, Jordan Walsh’s longtime personal trainer, quickly understood the procedure to follow, prior to the Draft.
” So that [Jordan] had a chance of being selected in the Draft, we knew what we had to do. Catch-and-shoot 3-point shots again and again », he declares. ” So I would say that 80 to 90% of the time, during our practices before the Draft, we focused exclusively on these shots. Many repetitions. »
Set (literally) the shot
Especially since the site was sizeable since it was necessary to modify Jordan Walsh’s shooting mechanics, particularly the placement of the fingers of his right hand, his strong hand, on the ball.
” Did he enjoy these workouts? Clearly not. But basically, as he noticed progress, he accepted that it had to go through it. And once he was convinced, he went all out. »
Progress also confirmed by Brad Stevens, certain of the athletic and defensive potential of Jordan Walsh, who indeed seems to have everything to gain by moving towards a more modern and versatile winger profile.
” Today, he is already a better shooter. And we welcomed him for two ‘workouts’ before the Draft “, indeed assures the brain of the Celtics. ” He’s making progress. I always thought he had touch, but lacked confidence. Over time, I think he can become a good shooter in the NBA, especially since he already has the athletic qualities to attack the circle. »
Silence, it grows, in Massachusetts…
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Jayson Tatum | 74 | 36.9 | 46.6 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 30.1 |
| Jaylen Brown | 67 | 35.9 | 49.1 | 33.5 | 76.5 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 26.6 |
| Malcolm Brogdon | 67 | 26.0 | 48.4 | 44.4 | 87.0 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 14.9 |
| Derrick White | 82 | 28.3 | 46.2 | 38.1 | 87.5 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 12.4 |
| Marcus Smart | 61 | 32.1 | 41.5 | 33.6 | 74.6 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 11.5 |
| Al Horford | 63 | 30.5 | 47.6 | 44.6 | 71.4 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 9.8 |
| Grant Williams | 79 | 25.9 | 45.4 | 39.5 | 77.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 8.1 |
| Robert Williams | 35 | 23.5 | 74.7 | 0.0 | 61.0 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 8.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 8.0 |
| Sam Hauser | 80 | 16.1 | 45.5 | 41.8 | 70.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 6.4 |
| Mike Muscala | 20 | 16.2 | 47.2 | 38.5 | 69.2 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 5.9 |
| Payton Pritchard | 48 | 13.4 | 41.2 | 36.4 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 5.6 |
| Blake Griffin | 41 | 13.9 | 48.5 | 34.8 | 65.6 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 4.1 |
| Luke Kornet | 69 | 11.7 | 66.5 | 23.1 | 82.1 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| Justin Champagnie | 2 | 11.7 | 16.7 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Jd Davison | 12 | 5.5 | 42.1 | 28.6 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Mfiondu Kabengele | 4 | 9.1 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| noah vonleh | 23 | 7.4 | 45.8 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| justin jackson | 23 | 4.7 | 25.9 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
