NBA Comparison: Trenton Hassell
Strengths: In his first year with Rutgers he is already considered the team's defensive stopper...Good
left to right lateral quickness, pressures his man well and always contests shots and gauges accurately the next move of his
matchup, as well as his opponent's tendencies...Extremely good man-to-man defender, but humble as well and doesn't boast about
his defensive accolades, develops his reputation through his play...Has the strength and a solid wingspan (6'8") to bother
his matchups as well as his natural defensive IQ...Possesses solid range in his shot and can hit with a good look, best shot
comes from mid-range...Strength allows him to finish against certain matchups...Solid athleticism...Has some court vision
and capable of finding the open man when he plays off the dribble, has some passing ability...Capable rebounder...Doesn't
turn the ball over, limits his mistakes and tends to play towards his strengths...
Weaknesses: His tendency to defer to his strengths is also considered a weakness in the sense that
he tends to play like a role player; not a vocal leader at all...Has capable offensive ability, but rarely looks to take shots;
passes up open shots at times...Rarely tries to take anyone off the dribble, has okay ballhandling ability but rarely utilizes
it to make plays, also explaining why he doesn't get many assists but doesn't turn the ball over much as well...Not a speedster
or an athletic freak which may be troubling for him defensively against the upper-echelon athletes of the NBA...Three point
shot is rather inconsistent but has shown ability to hit it...A contain defender who may get lost at off-the-ball defense
at times, although that would improve with experience...Average height at 6'5"...Had some injury problems in high school but
that seems to have healed...
Notes: Wasn't a top recruit out of high school primarily based on his lack of great offensive responsibility;
Rutgers and a few others were the only high-major schools interested...Averaged 16.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 3.1 apg in high school,
although he missed half the season in senior year.
--Karn Burridge 7/11
