The Flagrant 2’s Guys to Watch for the 2019–2020 Season — Part 2: Outro to The End of Days

Photo Cred: Took this from Gach’s Player Profile on Utah’s Website — So Credit to Them

After dropping Part -1 last week, we knew that waiting too long to drop Part2 might cause some of our readers to blow-up out of pure frustration, which if you ask me is just a sign of our amazing writing but then it took me about 10 days to get around to writing the opening paragraph to Part 2 which turned out to be a run on sentence without any mention of basketball….. So, here is the remaining 9 guys we are excited to watch who might just turn out to be serious prospects for the 2020 draft.

1. Paul Scruggs, Xavier, 3&D Guard
   Reason to Watch: Long Arms/Good Athlete and Just a Dog on D
   Hot Take City: This rant on Scruggs will be an extremely biased as I am a massive fan of his since I saw his first HS highlight tape and even though he didn’t turn out to be the next Derrick Rose, the skills and NBA upside are clearly there. The hype around Scruggs starts with his impressive physical profile and high-end motor. Standing 6’3 with a 6’10 wingspan and weighing in at 200+ pounds, Scruggs has the perfect frame and length to be a multi-positional defender in the NBA which is a good thing since his defense is probably what will get him drafted. Not saying he is a negative on offense, I just think his upside is capped as an extremely helpful and talented 3&D guard. Yes, he could make huge strides in Year 3 with his shot profile but I just don’t see that happening. If I am going to compare Scruggs to any player, it would have to be a less burly Marcus Smart or a more offensively focused but less intense Tony Allen.
2. Luther Muhammad, Ohio State, 3&D Guard
   Reason to Watch: Can He Turn Into a Lead Guard?
   Hot Take City: Coming into last year, the hype around Muhammad was that he had all the makings of a true defensive wing stopper Much of this hype was built around some of his intense HS battles with guys like Collin Sexton and other top recruits but as the season progressed, one thing stood and that was his upside on the offensive end. His defense is fine and is farther along the other guards his age, but he definitely overrated on that end of the ball. In fact, I might not even have him in my top-5 for defensive stoppers among players his size. Guys like Nate Hinton, Aaron Henry and Paul Scruggs are all more talented on the defensive end when it comes to wings. He is good at the point of attack and gets steals at a decent clip, but his frame does leave me wondering if he can defend more than one position in the NBA. On offense, I was actually surprised with Muhammad’s ball-skills and ability to create for himself. Now he isn’t Ja Morant feasting on opponents and getting to the rim at ease but he did flash enough for me to think that Ohio State should put the ball in his hands more than they did, which I don’t think will happen but I can still dream. For Muhammad to take the next step, he really needs to hone in on defense and show people like me that his defense isn't overrated but also needs to maintain the same consistency he had last year with his shooting.
3. Both Gach, Utah, Wing
   Reason to Watch: Could be Primed for a Huge Breakout Year
   Hot Take City: After Mathis, Gach is probably #2 on our prospect list that we are most definitely over-hyping but the excitement for him is very deserving. He is a legitimate 6’6 wing with lead guard upside, which I know is one of the most overused statements for hyping any tall dude with guard skills but with Gach, it is not hyperbole. It honestly won’t take long for you to see the ball-skills or just the overall fluidity in his game, he is a smooth operator in every offensive facet of the game. His jumper in catch-and-shoot situations is pretty clean, he attacks off the dribble with power and grace, and he can make some serious passes over the top. When looking at his upside on the offensive end, it is easy to reference his potential as a lead guard due to his height and ball-skills but for me, his finishing might be his greatest strength. It was on a very low volume but Gach finished at a 75% clip at the rim as a freshman, which is wildly impressive. Yes, he didn’t spend too much time getting to the rim himself but the natural finishing ability was on display. Thanks to his long arms and impressive frame, Gach has just as much upside on the defensive end and I definitely think he is better on that side of the ball then the metrics will say. He doesn’t create a lot of “events” but his POA defense is pretty impressive and should only get better as his body matures, which is actually my main concern with him as a prospect. Since Gach isn’t the most explosive athlete, but if he can get stronger to help absorb contact when attacking the rim, I think we could be in store for a breakout year.
4. Kira Lewis Jr, Bama, Lead Guard
   Reason to Watch: Is He as Skilled as the Big Name Freshman
   Hot Take City: Even though Lewis really isn’t under-the-radar due to him playing with the FIBA-U19 squad this summer, the hype for him is not as loud as it should be due to the incoming freshman class that is loaded with lead guard prospects. With names like LaMelo Ball, RJ Hampton, Anthony Edwards and Cole Anthony, it is going to take an incredible season from Lewis to get into that tier of talented guards which isn’t anything I would want to bet against. KLJ has all the tools you want in your lead guard. When you watch him play, the first thing that stands out is how quick he is. I won’t call him the next John Wall when it comes to speed but he might be a tier below Wall at the same age. I think the most interesting aspect to KLJ’s game is his ability to hit jumpers from range. Most guys with his raw physical abilities often rely on their athleticism to attack the rim, which prevents them from being reliable shooters but Kira breaks that mold.He most definitely is not a 3-level scorer as his midrange game is pretty horrendous but in spot-up situations from range, he has shown that he is a reliable marksmen. The bread and butter to KLJ’s game is his attack first mentality and getting to the rim, which he does at a decent clip. For him to really jump into that top-tier discussion, he will need to show that he can lead an offense. I expect KLJ to have a usage rate exceeding 30% next season, which will give us what we need to see if his playmaking is ready for the NBA. Closest NBA comparison for me is probably Ja Morant or Devin Harris.
5. Devon Dotson, Kansas, Guard
   Reason to Watch: Is an All-American Level Season in His Future?
   Hot Take City: Okay, before I go into my rant about Dotson, I really wish we could combine Dotson and Tre Jones into one prospect because then we would be talking about the probable NPOY for 2019–2020 but we cannot do that because medical procedures like that are illegal. Now a guy who is probably 6’0 on a good day with a below average wingspan and who weighs 175 after thanksgiving dinner is not the most ideal PG to get hyped over since the PG position is now home to some of the most ferocious athletes on the planet but Dotson is a gamer. Blessed with an explosive first-step, Dotson is one of the more impressive speedsters this year in college basketball but what is equally as impressive is his strong frame for a guy his size. Unlike Trae Young, who is virtually better in almost every category, Dotson’s upper body strength allows him to absorb contact to finish around the rim at a pretty high rate for his size.
6. Tyler Bey, Colorado, Basketball Player
   Reason to Watch: Transition Monster With 1st Team All-PAC12 Upside
   Hot Take City:When gauging Bey as a prospect, there is a lot to like but the one area of his game that I need to rant about before we proceed is how much I hate his jumper. Not saying i don’t think he can be a reliable shooter, because all signs point to him turning into one due in large part to his 78% from the FT line, but I cant watch him shoot. It just looks awkward as hell. I guess the good thing for him is that his shot isn’t what makes him as a prospect and it might not even break him if he doesn’t succeed as shooter due to the rest of his game being so impactful. My favorite two things about Bey as a player are his hands and body control. Every other area of his game, from blocks to scoring around the basket is predicated on these two areas. Yes, his athleticism is through the roof and will be the main point of attraction for some but for me, I marvel at how easy it is for him to catch the ball on lobs and even just when cutting to the basket or how he finishes through contact even though he isn’t the biggest dude on the low block. To go along with his supreme touch and body control, Bey has unreal timing on both put-backs and blocks. If he can improve his jumper, which starts with taking more than 22 total 3s, then Bey can be a Top-20 guy but without a consistent jumper than his value is early second round. If I were to make a guess on Bey,his NBA outlook is somewhere between Jerami Grant and Gerald Wallace.
7. Nate Hinton, Houston, Wing
   Reason to Watch: Most Underrated Player in the Country as of 10/4/2019
   Hot Take City: The best thing about Nate Hinton is that he is the consummate team player. Very much like Aaron Henry, he is an all-around prospect that can do a little bit of everything without being amazing at one certain area. The closest skill he has that might be considered “elite” would be is awareness on the court from a defensive and offensive perspective. He moves well off-ball on the offensive end and finds holes in the defense with relative ease. On defense, he is a solid POA defender but he is blessed with great instincts and above-average athleticism that allows him to be a disruptor off-ball. He has flashed enough skills with the ball in his hands from a vision and handles perspective that makes me think he can be someone who can initiate the offense in the NBA. To go along with his playmaking upside, Hinton is an underrated shotmaker and is lethal when in the open court. Call me crazy but he has some Jimmy Butler in his game.
8. Javonte Smart, LSU, 3&D Guard
   Reason to Watch: Long Armed Defensive Prospect with a Growing Perimeter Game
   Hot Take City: With Naz Reid and Tremont Waters on to greener pastures, the bright lights of being the primary ball-handler in Baton Rouge will be on Javonte Smart. Like a lot of the guys on my list, Smart had an up and down freshman campaign but flashed enough skill to warrant the hype of being labeled a potential Top-40 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Outside of the way he wears his shorts, which is A+ level of cool, Smart is a well-built guard with long arms who is sneaky underrated with the ball in his hands and has a projectable jumper that should make him a good off-ball shooter. His defensive intensity is not the best as he floats a bit on that side of the ball but he has all the tools needed to be a top dog on D. LSU has some serious players, including Emmitt Williams and Trendon Watford, but Smart is the key for this team. If his development stagnates and he continues down the same path as he did last year, LSU might be in for a very long year. From a prospect standpoint his growth as a player, along with Luther Muhammad, will be the most enjoyable for me to watch this year.
9. Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton, Scorer
   Reason to Watch: Everyone Loves to Watch a Scorer Go-To Work on a Nightly Basis
   Hot Take City: If you are looking for a prospect that has that raw, silky-smooth scoring ability that can only be defined as “sexy” then look no further than Ty-Shon Alexander. Yes, there are probably guys who will average more points next season like Antonie Davis or Anthony Edwards but no one will look better doing it then Alexander. He has shades of CJ McCollum or Austin Rivers when looking at pro comps. His upside is contingent on two areas; he either becomes an elite level scorer from all areas or his defensive awareness/intensity hits a new level that he hasn’t flashed yet. I wouldn’t bet on Alexander doing either, but his value is still that of a Top-40 guy.