Live Scouting Notebook From the Big East Tournament
Live Scouting Notebook From the Big East Tournament
Corey Tulaba was live at MSG to get eyes on a number of 2024 NBA Draft prospects, with notes on Devin Carter, Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Trey Alexander, Baylor Shceierman + more.
As a born and bred New Yorker, there aren’t many things more exciting than getting the opportunity to cover high level live hoops at Madison Square Garden. The Big East Tournament at MSG is one of New York basketball’s foremost traditions; littered with big time NBA prospects, Fuck Ed Cooley chants, and providing one with the perfect opportunity for an enticing week of in depth NBA Draft scouting.
Below are my thoughts on eleven of the the most intriguing prospects I saw in NYC.1
Devin Carter, Providence Friars
Let's start this thing off with a bang and talk some Devin Carter.
There aren’t too many prospects who have garnered more buzz of late. I had yet to see Carter in person this season so I was anxious to get up close eyes on him.
Carter showed major improvement in just about every facet of his game during his junior campaign, culminating in Big East Player of the Year honors. Chiefly amongst those major improvements was the massive leap he made as a shooter and shot maker. During Carter’s freshman and sophomore seasons he was a low volume three point shooter that never broke the 30% mark. This year? Carter exploded, knocking down 37.7% of his threes on nearly seven attempts per game. Those kinds of outlier shooting leaps can be tricky to gauge so I knew I had to be locked in on the jumper.
So where does it start? Warm-ups, obviously.
Carter went out and clanked jumper after jumper. I probably watched him miss about sixty percent of his pre-game threes. That was until the bright lights of the Garden came on and he immediately buried a deep contested three from the left wing while practically falling out of bounds. Game on.
After dissecting Carter’s shot over the games I scouted versus Georgetown and Creighton, I came out a semi-believer in the shot. I wouldn’t classify Carter as a shooter, but at the college level he is certainly a shot maker. Functionally, there is a slight hitch at the top of his release that impedes the fluidity of his shooting motion, but it’s smooth coming off his fingertips and it hasn’t stopped him from approaching all shot types with the kind of fearless mentality that an NBA shooter needs to have. Carter understands that he was the man on his Friars squad and was willing to hoist jumpers from just about anywhere on the court. The shots certainly put pressure on the defense and Carter garners respect from the outside, but he knocked down just 4-15 threes over the two game sample. He did however connect on all eleven of his free throws, including all nine of his attempts vs Creighton. At the NBA level, I think Carter will have to reign in some of the tougher off the bounce looks that he takes, but I love the confidence and willingness to take them.
Carter is a bit of a mixed bag as a self-creator. He doesn’t have the most creative handle and can get a little sloppy with the ball when he tries to do too much, so he’s going to be less of a pull-up threat than a guy like say Marcus Sasser. But Carter isn’t totally devoid of self creation skill and stepped up more than adequately all season as a number one option. The flashes can be enticing. Early on in the Creighton game he got Baylor Scheierman isolated on the wing and absolutely destroyed him with a step-back that got the Providence fans going crazy.
I tend to think Carter’s best fit at the next level will be playing off of a bigger initiator, where he can catch and shoot off dribble penetration and attack sloppy close-outs. The on ball flashes are fun, but I dig what Carter brings off the ball. While he isn’t your typical movement shooter, he’s good at flying off staggers and pin-downs to get downhill momentum into the paint. I don’t think he has the typical movement shooting juice of a Hawkins type of guy, but he’s shown to be enough of a threat that his defender will still chase him around the screens. That respect will have to be earned at the NBA level, but it’s something I believe in long term.
When Carter gets downhill with momentum he can get to the hoop and finish with either hand using his plus length. When the help rotates over he likes to slow down and tends to crab dribble his way in, patiently waiting for the opportunity to get a clean look at the rim or make plays for his teammates. Carter isn’t a super dynamic playmaker, but he’s capable of throwing some slick dimes when he uses his burst to get deep into the paint and force defensive rotations. Sometimes he can get a little stuck in no man's land, picking up his dribble looking for outlets to kick out to on the perimeter, but he doesn’t panic and force bad decisions.
Defensively, things get really fun! Carter brings a scrappy, no-nonsense approach, using his strong frame to disrupt opponents and his real deal length to contest shots whether he’s on an island or chasing a movement shooter around a million screens. He can really get skinny and his defensive feel allows him to navigate over or under and recover back to his man. The effort and motor straight up never wains. Because of said effort he will sometimes go all out and be a bit overeager on contests where his momentum will force him to close out long, leaving him out of position, but you’d rather a dude stretch out and leave it all out there than the other way around. The dude also cleans the boards like a man possessed. He can really read the ball off the glass, he’ll box-out when the shot goes up, and he crashes from the perimeter with reckless abandon, snatching rebounds like the last slice of pizza.
There's something about his relentless energy and fearlessness that just makes you a believer. Good or bad, you can always feel his presence when he’s on the floor. There have been plenty of times over the years where you scout a guy like Trey Alexander, who kinda just floats along and forces you to wonder if he is even on the court. You never really have to worry about that with Carter. He plays with a contagious and palpable energy at all times. I’m not sure I quite buy the top-10 hype he’s been garnering lately because at just 6’3” I still question the level of shot making and creation juice he’ll have at the next level, but the dude is a straight up gamer. I like to bet on those guys.
Donovan Clingan, UConn Huskies
Donovan Clingan is a damn good basketball player.
There was buzz last year around this time for Clingan as a prospect, but ultimately he made the right decision in going back to school to develop his game. I’ve now seen him four times over the last two seasons and while the numbers may not indicate it, I feel like he’s made massive strides. The most glaring improvement for me is his passing. Clinagn doubled his AST% and cut his TOV% in half. It passes the eye test too. Cligan has been awesome kicking out to shooters and hitting cutters in UConn’s motion heavy system. At the next level Clingan is going to be an awesome DHO hub, where the massive screens he sets will free up shooters and he can take advantage of the extra space of the NBA game to dime teams up.
Speaking of screens, did I mention Clingan is an awesome screener? I did? Good, because I want to hammer that point. A lot of bigs graze the guy they’re screening but Clingan actually holds his ground and makes contact. This allows the guard to get downhill momentum and put the big defender in the position to guard two. Clingan takes advantage by rolling hard to the rim and finishing alley-oops and he has the hands to catch pocket passes. UConn’s ball handlers probably left like six points on the table by just throwing up bad passes on lobs to Clingan.
And I know the numbers don’t back it up but I think there is a chance that Clingan shoots it at some point. The form looks pretty good! Watching warm-ups and free throws it’s hard to find anything super funky about it. I’m not saying Clingan is going to turn into KAT, but in the right situation with the right shooting coach *cough Chip Engellend cough*? Hey, it could happen.
Defensively Clingan is a real game changer. Forget about the blocks, he just intimidates guys once they get inside the paint. For as many shots as he does block, Clingan probably alters just as many just by being a large human with length standing in the way of the rim. The big hang up is that he’s this big lumbering big that has questionable lateral movement skills. How high do you take a guy like that in the modern NBA, where teams are going to try to force him to guard in space? It’s a fair question. Clingan is certainly a bit awkward as a mover, but he’s still pretty effective. He can get low in a stance when he’s sitting in a drop and he has time to prepare, but when a guard explodes he does tend to get upright and tries to run alongside him to stay attached. It looks weird, but he’s pretty good at recovering and making a play with his length. I think if you’re going to point to how Clingan will be used in the NBA, I think you look at Brook Lopez. Lopez is more flexible and mobile than Clingan, and that matters, but Clingan is smart and self-aware and I think he is going to figure out how to be effective anchoring a defense.
I thought Clingan needed another year last year. I wanted to see a heavier workload (still do!) and I wanted to see if he could add elements to his game. He did both and I think there’s still room to grow. He also wins a fuckload of games. Winning may not be the most important data point in a prospect evaluation but it still has to matter a little. He’s got a really solid body of work. I’d be lying if the injury concerns weren’t scary. The medicals are going to be important, but the dude is going to be a really impactful NBA player as long as he stays healthy. Even with those concerns, I think Clingan is arguably the best big in the draft.
Stephon Castle, UConn Huskies
Stephon Castle was probably the dude I was most excited to see during my time at the Garden as he the highest rated prospect on both the latest No Ceilings Big Board and my personal board.
Castle’s value has been a point of contention for evaluators the whole cycle and it feels like we’re at the point where you’re either in or you’re out. I’m in and not because I happened to see the good Castle game in the tournament where it felt like he was making an impact on both sides of the ball.
UConn uses Castle as a gadgety wing who defends his ass off on the perimeter and fills in the gaps offensively. In a lot of ways Castle reminds me of early Chicago Bulls Jimmy Butler, before he locked himself in a cabin in the woods with no internet and became Jimmy G. Buckets. The version of Jimmy that was very low usage, made slick off ball cuts, opened eyes after guarding Melo, and contributed on the margins with energy and effort. Castle did all of those things against Xavier. He’s strong as shit, so you can’t mismatch him. When he got switched on a big he really battled and held his ground down low. He’s super slithery and stays attached, basically shadowing dudes when guarding on the ball. He also had a possession where he came over from the weak-side and volleyball spiked a layup attempt and then ran the floor and almost threw down a massive alley-oop that was slightly overthrown. I literally jumped out of my chair with excitement.
The thing is though is that Castle was a lead initiator in high school, and for those who believe, that is part of the appeal. This was the dude that dropped 40 against Ron Holland with a tissue hanging from his nose. I think that Castle’s ball handling is pretty underrated at this point. He has a vicious cross-over that is quick and low to the ground, he has a great feel for feeling his defender’s body on a drive and spinning into open space, and he’s not afraid to dip his shoulder and initiate contact on drives. I love that he’s unselfish too. He had a beautiful cut that could have led to an open dunk, but he dished it off to Clingan at the last minute so he could get his. He plays like he just wants to win.
The jumper is concerning. It’s a shooters league and it’s a scary proposition anytime you have to question whether a guy you may take in the Top-10 can shoot it or not. Functionally, the shot is a bit palmy, his hand comes over the top of the ball instead of sitting underneath it, he never gets that 90 degree angle on his elbow, and because of all of those issues there's a slight hitch. I think his base is solid, he stays balanced and pretty consistently hops into the shot the same way. It has been going in way more than it was at the beginning of the season. It’s a work in progress that will require patience, confidence, reps, and an organization that has a long and short term plan. Still, I think he does enough good stuff elsewhere that he’ll be able to work through it and still find enough minutes to develop while he figures it out. In this class, I’m taking him Top-5.
Cam Spencer, UConn Huskies
Cam Spencer is a tenacious competitor that has as much fuck you in his game as anyone. He has lifted this Huskies team offensively and is a big reason why they’re the favorites to repeat.
I’ve long been a fan of Spencer, going back to last year while he was at Rutgers. I’ve probably seen him live around ten times at this point. A source close to that team had told me that he was by far the most competitive and hardest working guy he had been around since he got there.
Spencer is a crafty scorer who can really shoot the rock. He has more flexibility and bendy movements coming off screens than Alex Karaban, so he can shoot those tougher movement looks that sway you off balance. When he has time to get set and line it up? Just run back on defense. Over a five year college career Spencer has been a 42% three point shooter and has knocked down 88% of his free throws. Dude is a real deal shooter.
When Spencer uses that shooting gravity to attack a hard close out, he loves to get to the jump-stop pivot fade in that in-between area where his patience and footwork create just enough space for him to shoot soft high arching balls. Length can disrupt him around the rim. It doesn’t show up in the numbers because he is smart about what shots he takes there, but he’ll get caught in no-man’s land and have to kick out to a teammate. He doesn’t get to the rack super often. His role at the next level wouldn’t necessarily be putting constant pressure on the rim so it isn’t going to be a departure from his normal playstyle, but it could hurt his chances of latching onto a rotation spot if he doesn’t shoot the cover off the ball.
Spencer is a smart connective playmaker that rarely turns the ball over. For as much attention as he draws on a nightly basis, the fact that he’s got a sub-9 TOV% is pretty wild. He can run a solid ball screen and has the court vision to make skips passes to the weak-side. He isn’t super dynamic breaking down the defense, getting into the paint, forcing defense to scatter, but he’s nearly always going to make the right decision, putting the ball where it needs to go.
The big question will be how Spencer holds up defensively. He’s a smart team defender and his advanced numbers have always been solid. Still, he’s fairly tiny and while getting switched onto someone like Kadary Richmond or David Joplin isn’t going to get him played off the floor in college, it may not be as easy when that guy is Jayson Tatum at the next level.
I’m not sure if Cam is going to get drafted, but you could do a hell of a lot worse in the second round.
Trey Alexander, Creighton Bluejays
Trey Alexander has always been a tricky eval for me. A lot of the crew at No Ceilings really believe in his game, but I’ve always been a bit underwhelmed when I go see him. Maybe underwhelmed is the wrong word, maybe he just leaves me whelmed.2
I get the appeal if you do believe. Alexander measured well at the combine and he can do some stuff offensively on and off the ball. He’s effective on pull-up twos and he knocks down his free throws. He shoots a pretty soft ball even if the follow through can be a little funky at times. But the jumper from distance has lacked consistency over his three year career and he struggles to turn the corner to consistently blow by his man and generate paint touches that break down a defense. This leaves him in the awkward position of having to settle for a lot of off balance midrange faders that I don’t trust to translate at the next level. If you can get him to shoot those shots it will be a win for the defense. We saw him shoot it better last year in a role with lesser usage, but I ultimately don’t know how exciting that player is for me.
Maybe he has the kind of run in the tournament that makes me reconsider, but I’d personally rather take a shot on other prospects in the second round.
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton Bluejays
Baylor Sheierman is a guy that I know has fans in NBA front offices. Scheierman is a big lefty wing listed at 6’7” 205-lbs that shoots the crap out of the ball, cleans the glass, and can really pass the ball. It’s a pretty attractive package for a wing prospect, even if he is a fifth year senior.
The shooting is interesting. There is no denying that he is a good shooter, really good even. But is he a great shooter? Look, you absolutely can not leave him open – he’s knocking down over 49% of his unguarded catch and shoot attempts this year. But when a defender gets a clean contest on the shot, that number drops down to a ghastly 24%! He was better last year, so it’s probably just variance on a small one year sample, but you could really tell the difference during Creighton’s game against Providence, where Scheireman knocked down just two of his ten threes. Devin Carter chased him around and got in his space and all of the shots felt rushed. Colorado State threw some smaller guys at him as well earlier this year and he struggled with it then too. Now, Scheierman won’t be featured on the scout at the next level like he is at Creighton, but it’s concerning nevertheless. I’m still a believer in the shot. He can shoot it off the catch, he’s good off the bounce (though he is very left hand dominant), and you can run him off movement.
I like Scheierman as a prospect. He’s the highest rated prospect for me on that team. He isn’t a great defender, but he’s big and he can move his feet. He’ll get stronger and be able to take contact better as he develops his body in the league. Prospects that are his size on the wing, that can really shoot, and do some other stuff on offense are pretty smart bets to take in the second round.
Alex Karaban, UConn Huskies
Alex Karaban is probably not going to get you super excited if your team drafts him, but maybe you should get a little excited. Karban is an absolute sniper who ended his sophomore season just shy of joining the 50/40/90 club with 50/39.5/89 shooting splits. He’s a little stiff as a mover, so he doesn’t shoot it off as much movement as Spencer or a guy like Jordan Hawkins did, but the defense still has to be aware of him at all times.
Karaban has legit wing size at 6’8” and he actually warms up with the bigs during pre-game. He isn’t going to wow you with his handle and he isn’t going to do a ton of stuff on the ball at the next level. Even in warm-ups the dribble looked a little loose. He does have some juice attacking close-outs. He had a slick change of direction hop step to avoid a defender and finish at the hoop against Xavier. It’s the kind of stuff he’ll need to do at the next level.
Karaban’s game is pretty simple but that doesn’t mean he’s limited. He provides two important NBA traits in being a deadeye shooter and being tall. At the end of the day he is a pretty good bet to stick for those two reasons alone. It wouldn’t shock me if he heard his name called at the end of the first round. Especially if UConn has a little run during March Madness.
Garwey Dual, Providence Friars
I just can’t quit Garwey Dual, after the No Ceilings crew and I fell head over heels for him at last year's Nike Hoop Summit.
Dual has undeniable physical tools that allow him to showcase his defensive potential through his impressive length, frame, and plus guard height. He slides his feet seamlessly on the perimeter, bodies up and closes space, uses his outstretched length to take air away from shooters, and he creates defensive events by using his quick hands to poke the ball away from lazy ball handlers and by using his length in the passing lanes and at the rim. The two blocks Dual had in the first game against Georgetown really got the juices flowing, as he showed off how he can put his tools into practice by utilizing his length in recovery and then again by rotating as the low man and meeting the offensive player at the rim. It’s all very exciting.
But then, there's the whole thing with his jumper – he won't even think about pulling the trigger unless he's wide open, and I mean wide the fuck open. Even then, he often hesitates. On one possession, Providence had a low running clock and he tried making a tough entry pass that went out of bounds instead of just shooting the open top of the key jumper with his defender sagging off. Watching Dual hesitate on open shots is like watching my three year old niece trying to decide between ice cream flavors – just pick one already Sophia!
In game two, he showed a bit more confidence, acting a tad more aggressive offensively. Dual’s handle can be a bit palmy, so it looks a bit loose even when he has control of it, but he is still able to get into the paint when he attacks with confidence. He had a slick drive and dish off a live dribble kick-out to the corner that his teammate missed. And then even more importantly, out of nowhere, he nailed a catch-and-shoot three! Lets freakin’ go!
I still want to believe in Dual becoming a real NBA prospect. You can’t teach the juice he has defensively. But the offensive deficiencies are a bit too far away at the moment to even project him confidently as a next year guy. There are rumors that Dual is entering the portal and may even enter the draft. Either way he locks himself in the gym and shoot a million jumpers a day in the off season.
Desmond Claude, Xavier Musketeers
With a slick blend of size and skill, Desmond Claude is the dude that immediately pops on the court for the Musketeers.
Listed at 6’6” 207 with a sturdy NBA frame, Claude is a smooth operator with a natural feel for the game that allows him to play with poise and patience. Claude calmly navigated through the defenses utilizing crafty change of pace and subtle shifts to get defenders off balance, creating opportunities for himself to get to his spots on the floor. Claude's advanced footwork enabled him to counter help rotations effectively and his sly use of pump fakes allowed him to stay calm and get clean looks when he picked up his dribble in no man’s land.
On the ball, Claude keeps his dribble low to the ground, shielding the ball from the reach of over eager defenders. His maturity in operating ball screens is impressive as he has a knack for putting defenders in difficult positions and he gets to his spots by playing into space. Claude will put the defender in jail, keeping him on his hip and forcing the big to play the cat and mouse game, as he calmly proceeds to the in-between where he can get to his pull-up game, drop in a floater, or make a play for his teammates. Claude is far from a shooter, but he is enough of a pull-up threat in the midrange to force bigs to have to step up and contest him. This allows him to utilize that playmaking ability where he is a good, but maybe not great playmaker. Still, he has enough passing instincts and the court vision to operate as a pseudo initiator for Xavier, lobbing passes up to his roller for alley-oops and spraying balls out to the perimeter to shooters.
Defensively, Claude utilizes his size, length, strong frame, and smooth lateral movement to be switchable on the ball. He embraces physicality and will bump chest to chest to impede a ball handler's progress and he has good length and timing when contesting shooters.
Claude had some early momentum as a potential 2024 prospect, however his lack of consistency as a shooter put a halt to those discussions. Claude struggles to make defenders pay for going under and is often hesitant from the outside, passing up open looks. When he does let it fly, you can almost see him aiming the shot in his head instead of naturally shooting in rhythm. The shot does look solid functionally, but aesthetics only get you so far in the three point heavy NBA. At a certain point, the shots have to drop.
He also has real struggles as a finisher at the rim. Claude is fairly ground bound around the cup so lengthier defenders force him into tougher finishes where he lacks the kind of touch around the hoop to counter it. This was less evident in the first game against Butler, but pretty glaring against the bigger UConn frontline.
Claude does have some intriguing tools for the next level, but he needs another year of development to refine his weaknesses. He’d be an easier sell if he was only a jumper away, instead of a jumper and finishing package away. Still, with improvements to his shooting and finishing, Claude's versatility and all-around game make him a compelling prospect worth monitoring closely as a 2025 prospect.
Tristen Newton, UConn Huskies
Tristen Newton has some fans in the scouting community but I’ve always been a bit lukewarm on his game. Don’t get me wrong, he is a versatile dude with good guard size. He can get into the paint, he rebounds the ball, and he has good passing vision. He can defend multiple positions and not kill your defense. He’s a solid guard. But he still can’t shoot it and as a fifth year guard, there’s enough of a sample where you could bet against it happening. Guys can learn to shoot in the league, so it isn’t impossible that he figures it out and latches on somewhere, but it’s probably going to take some bouncing around the G League and a few organizations before that happens.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton Bluejays
Kalkbrenner is another guy whose NBA potential I’m probably a bit lower on. I think the idea of him is more exciting than the actual player that he is. Theoretically, Kalkbrenner is a legit big dude who can anchor a defense and stretch the floor on offense. But he doesn’t block shots at an elite rate and he’s still a poor outside shooter. His form isn’t totally broken and he’s clearly working on increasing the volume, so I think he could get there, but it’s still pretty far away.
Now, defensively Kalkbrenner has been really good at the college level. He does block a ton of shots, even if the block rate isn’t elite. Beyond the blocks, he also intimidates offensive players and makes them second guess when he’s in position guarding the paint. But he has pretty narrow hips that prevent strong lateral movement and I don’t love him as a guy at the next level that may have to step up and guard switches or even step up in a drop. In college he can get away with sitting really deep in the drop, almost living in the paint. He can’t do that at the NBA level.
He is a big body that sets screens and finishes efficiently. I really liked his use of the Gortat screen in the Providence game. He’s got a little of that veteran craft. If he had a bit more to his game as a passer I think he’d be more interesting. The playmaking is why I still think Colin Castleton is an interesting center prospect. Kalkbrenner has always had a negative AST/TO ratio and it’s not because he’s experimenting as a passer, it’s more about slow reads.
There are tools to work with that could lead to Kalkbrenner becoming a good bench big, and there’s not a ton of big depth in the second round so I can see a team drafting him, but he feels more like a two-way bet.
I had to leave before the Marquette game because of the train schedule. I’d have liked to get eyes on Oso Ighodaro and Kam Jones, but I felt okay about it since Kolek wasn’t playing.
Word to 10 Things I Hate About You.