Kasen Daeger: The Most Overlooked High School Shooting Prospect
Kasen Daeger: The Most Overlooked High School Shooting Prospect
A scouting report on one of high school basketball's best shooters
Name: Kasen Daeger
Birth date: October 4, 2007
Height/Weight: 6’3, N/A
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’5, N/A
Position: SG
AAU Team: Wildcats Select (Adidas 3SSB)
Tools: Shooting, quick twitch at the rim
Background: Dad played college basketball and is 6’5, so there is reason to believe he could grow another inch or two.
3SSB Season Stats: 11.5 PPG 1.1 APG 3.4 RPG 0.5 SPG 0.2 BPG 0.8 TOPG on 43.6/42/73
Strengths
Elite shot speed with outstanding touch; gets his feet set quick and load time is fast
Great touch on his shot and can shoot over charging defenders well
Doesn’t hesitate and is aggressive without being reckless in utilizing his shot speed
Makes quick reads as a passer
Has quick twitch finishing ability
Areas for Improvement
Needs to master P&R eye deception (looking defenders off by misleading them with eyes)
Must live in the weight room and get stronger
Would benefit from tightening his handle a bit more
Could develop a floater coming off of screens
Swing Skills:
On-ball skills
How much will his size limit him?
Summary:
Daeger is one of the top shooters in all of high school basketball. With one of the quickest shots you’ll ever see for anyone, let alone for a 16-year-old, he also makes his shots on extraordinary volume at every spot along the perimeter.
As a quick processor, Daeger easily gets shots off at the rim with no load-up along with good touch. While most of his rim shots are not self-created, his three-point shooting gravity will have defenders leading him to the rim instead of moving along the three-point line. Thus, he will have to be an efficient cutter to fully maximize his off-ball game. Consider Duncan Robinson’s skillset: while Daeger does not share the 6’7” frame Robinson has, Daeger has a great jumper but needs to become a high-level two-man game navigator as a playmaker as well as being great on the receiving end of it in give-and-go’s. Luckily, at just 16, there is plenty of time for this development to occur.
Analytically, Daeger checks many boxes for a player with an already elite skill that projects well to translate up. He has a near 1.5 assist/turnover ratio, and he has elite shooting indicators, including high volume 3PA with high efficiency at 42% on 109 3s, 2/3 of his shots being threes, and a team-best TS% at 58.4%. However, with a sub-50% mark at the rim, colleges will need to see a breakout 17U season in 3SSB to fully buy into his full offensive upside.
At the moment, the indicators are all there on the stat sheet, especially when diving into the half-court success of his game. It’s one thing to be successful in quick offense and through numbers advantages in transition offense, but Daeger’s damage is primarily done in the halfcourt. Albeit on low volume (13 rim attempts in the halfcourt), he made seven shots (53.8%, and five on his own drive, albeit usually in under two dribbles). As a shooter, his numbers also rose; over half of his threes came in the halfcourt, making 50.8% of his 61 threes. Throw in the quickest shot in high school basketball, and it’s easy to see why he is racking up D-I offers over the last couple of months.
Defensively, Daeger has a long way to go, given his slightly undersized frame. Shooters can easily shoot over him, ball-handlers can move him off of his spot, and athletic slashers can bulldoze through him. Many of his defensive woes can be related to strength and balance; strength which will allow him to push back more easily and be more intimidating to drive against, and balance so he can withstand pushes and shoulder bumps to stay steady on the spot. If his defense—which is largely related to his body—improves, and if he grows another inch or two, he could start receiving more offers from high mid-major teams in addition to the mid-major offers he already holds. Luckily, a good strength and conditioning program can resolve this issue or at least cut the gap for where he needs to be. Many scouts believe strength is one of the easiest things to fix in a player, so long as there is buy-in from the player.
With an elite shot and growing peripherals, if Daeger can take a jump in developing his body, hopefully grow another inch or two, and master his playmaking ability (which is already showing promising flashes), then he could be one of high school basketball’s biggest sleepers. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time an Indiana sharpshooter plays in the 3SSB circuit, goes under-recruited, and then explodes down the road. Former TCU standout and now Memphis Grizzlies standout Desmond Bane didn’t receive his first D-I offer until right before his senior season and emerged late on college radars. While Daeger may not be the next Desmond Bane, he may be the next big-time shooter who can complement any program’s stars and make the offense that much more unstoppable as college basketball moves towards more three-point volume and spacing.
Expected role: Sharpshooter with quick reaction time to help him as a finisher and passer.
Unplayable if: Body doesn’t develop in full and he doesn’t see a growth spurt to help him overcome current defensive woes.
Exceeds expectations if: His body develops well, he grows more as a cutting finisher at the rim, and he hones in on mastering defending a pick & roll at a high level and against a variety of P&R sets.
Videos:
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