Stephen's Sicko Scouting Notes | Keonte Jones, Taye Fields, + More
Stephen shares his notes on some deep-cut prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft and beyond who you should know!
A scout’s work is never done—at least, that’s how I feel. There are big boards that constantly require tinkering. There is the research on who players are beyond what the numbers say. Oh, you have to look at the numbers, too. Which prospects are performing well? How does a prospect compare to past successes? You have to look that up. Which draft picks have succeeded in the NBA? How are players playing in the NBA? Which types of players does each NBA team value?
Beyond all of those questions and duties is the question that—for reasons I cannot explain—pushes me more than anything else as a scout: Who am I missing?
This doesn’t push me in a way that burdens me, or takes away my joy. I love basketball across multiple levels of competition, which comes in handy when you’re watching grainy, shaky camera angles. I’ll watch some “bad basketball” if it allows me to find a diamond or two in the rough. This question of “Who am I missing?” is what gives me the label of a “Draft Sicko”—a title I proudly wear.
Last week, I went into some pretty deep detail on Texas’s Tre Johnson. I broke down some film, analytics, and projection to such a point that I didn’t want to burden our editors with my scouting notes. With that said, I wanted to take an opportunity this week to share some names that I have come across through film, queries, and through the help and analysis of others. These players will be some deep cuts, and some of these players may be a year or more away from being ready to be drafted. Nonetheless, when there is talent among the doldrums of basketball, I think they should be recognized in a manner that is congruent with their skill.
With all of that said, let’s get to work.
Keonte Jones
Perimeter | 6’6” | 192 | Cal State Northridge
Keonte Jones is probably the most popular name that will be discussed. He is a prospect that I’ve seen pop on BartTorvik queries throughout the year, and he’s a player I’ve heard discussed by the fine people of Locked On NBA Big Board. A senior, Keonte has a lot that he will have to overcome in a short amount of time in order to make the NBA a reality. With his size and skill, Jones has to do a lot for his team. This isn’t uncommon outside of the power conferences within college ball.
Keonte is averaging close to a double-double in points and rebounds and is averaging over 4 APG. That level of production at any level is typically worth a look. If you fire up the old Bart Torvik machine, you’ll see that Keonte is green in a ton of areas. He has a respectable usage rate of 23.6, along with a BPM of 6.7.
Offensively, Keonte loves to pressure the basket and finish at the rim. He displays the type of athleticism that leads you to believe that he could make it at higher levels of basketball. He can be pretty creative with his finishing angles and has nice body control. He can attack in either direction, and he has some ability to go to either hand.
The lone, red-shaded area is his three-point frequency. He is pretty spatially aware, and shoots well enough to be respected from the arc. Although he only puts up just over two three-pointers per 100 possessions, he is converting on more than 40% of his threes. The thing that doesn’t instill the most amount of confidence is his free throw percentage (career percentage of 65%). That said, Jones is over 36% on guarded threes, and is over 46% when left open. Even though it’s only three attempts, he has even knocked down over 66% off the bounce.
In terms of ball skill, Jones has some juice there. He can do some prototypical drive-and-dish, some skip passing, and other instances of movement playmaking. Keonte is a better heads-up passer than I assumed coming into the film dive, but he isn’t someone that I would bet on being a lead initiator. His turnover percentage isn’t bad at all—especially for someone that is taking on the role that he has for CSUN.
The defense is where you see Jones’s special talents shine the brightest. He’s the type of player who has more stocks (steals+blocks for those who need to know) than fouls committed. He has the physical tools to be positionally versatile, which should endear him to NBA teams. He wields a block percentage over 7 and a steals percentage of 3.5. The biggest thing people will want to know is how he can hold up against higher and more consistent levels of competition. We won’t know that until combine season, more than likely.
The likely outcome for Keonte Jones will be dependent upon being granted an extra year of eligibility. Based purely on speculation, it may make more sense for Jones to use whatever extra eligibility granted to him to maybe prove himself in a stronger conference. This doesn’t necessarily mean playing for a blue blood, but even a proven mid-major program could be beneficial for Keonte’s stock among NBA executives. If he does opt to declare and remain in the draft, Jones will likely be brought in on a two-way. The shooting volume will be the biggest question for him. He is shooting almost 10% better while averaging the same number of three-pointers per game as he did last year. That’s while maintaining the same, mediocre free throw percentage. It helps that he clears certain positional thresholds for his position.
Taye Fields
Guard | 6’4” | 212 | Northern Alabama
I stumbled across Taye Fields doing some old-fashioned box score hunting. Looking at his numbers, you might assume that he is a hard-nosed frontcourt player. You would be incorrect. Fields is listed at 6’4”, but he is built like a pro already. Similar to some of the concerns about a ramp-up for the pros, Fields is another senior who will have to prove himself in a shorter amount of time.
Despite being a backcourt player, Fields is averaging almost 9 RPG and 1 BPG. It has become quite a challenge not to compare Taye to Tony Allen, since Fields wears #9 on his jersey. That becomes even more of a challenge when you look at his defensive metrics and film. Fields has a block percentage of 4.7, and has over 20 blocks at this point of the season. On top of that, Taye has a steals percentage of 2.8, and over 30 steals. Those stocks combine to be about on par for fouls committed. A way to summarize that is just to call him a defensive menace.
Turning on the film, Fields is easy to spot as he passes my “he’s the one that looks like an NBA player” eye test. As to be expected for a team like Northern Alabama, Taye is more of a wing, off-ball player. This is due to the size and capabilities of some of Fields’s teammates. His strong frame and athleticism help him to handle being defended by some of the bigger players on opposing teams. His physicality allows him to finish through contact. He shows a great way to shield the ball on finishing angles and to go over the top of the defense.
Like Keonte Jones, Fields is going to have to answer questions regarding if his shooting is real. He is shooting about 38% from deep on the season, but that’s on only 1.7 attempts per 100. What Fields has over Jones is that he is shooting about 72% from the free-throw line. However, other touch indicators are less appealing. Fields is shooting under 30% on open threes, but he is at 80% on guarded threes. This dichotomy always strikes me as odd—which number is the truth?! He has also missed all three of his dribble jumpers from range.
Despite not being used more on the ball, Taye shows some slick passing feel. His assist percentage is over 21, and he also has an ATO (Assist To Turnover) ratio over 2. He puts real zip on his passes. He doesn’t do a ton of surveying when looking for openings within the defense, which allows him to really swing and skip the ball. What would help him more is an increase in the live-dribble playmaking. Taye is most effective at remaining stationary and finding moving teammates.
The athleticism and strength Taye possesses have given him the ability to rebound at a remarkable clip. Again, Fields is listed at 6’4”, but he has an offensive rebounding percentage of almost 11, and a defensive rebounding percentage of over 23. Those are huge numbers for any position, let alone a guard. These physical traits yield positive results on defense as well.
The aforementioned percentages are impressive. His blend of length and strength should allow him to defend positions 1-3. He has good lift to contest shots and be a nuisance in passing lanes. His burst allows him to punish his opponents for making lazy passes. Fields is going to be a hard player to move off of his positioning, and he should be able to navigate screens at a solid clip.
Fields’s outcome will be similar to Keonte Jones’s, as it will likely depend on what he is granted. Should he be given another year of eligibility, it would make some sense for Fields to move up in competition, while maybe given some more on-ball responsibility. While being a pillar for Northern Alabama, his usage percentage isn’t anything jaw-dropping at 20.8. His numbers and production are just too good not to figure out if anything else is there—especially for something that measures as a guard in the NBA. He’ll also need to prove if the shooting efficiency is real. If he is out of eligibility, Taye will have to climb his way up during combine season. If he was able to do that, Fields could easily find himself in two-way territory.
Jeremy Elyzee
Forward | 6’6” | 200 | Southeastern Louisiana
Unlike the two prior names, Jeremy Elyzee is the first freshman prospect to be mentioned in this piece. I stumbled upon Elyzee while box score hunting. Not many (no one that I am in regular communication with, nor regularly consume their content) people have put out much public-facing work regarding Jeremy. And there are reasonable factors for that. For one, you won’t find his name among many queries that are normally run for finding certain types of players. Jeremy wasn’t a Top 100 freshman. He also plays for a small conference school. Simply put—unless you were looking for him, you likely wouldn’t find him. So why include him?
There is a long-term vision I have when watching Elyzee that gives me confidence in him becoming a “real” prospect in about two years—give or take. If you want to look for some indicators regarding his metrics, Jeremy’s steal percentage is 2.9, and his two-point efficiency grade is above average. Almost everything else measures out as average. His counting stats are modest: about 10 PPG, 5 RPG, 1 APG, and 2 stocks per game. His splits are 49/23/71. This modesty is why I always encourage people to be balanced in their methods of scouting—don’t neglect an aspect, and do your due diligence. For Elyzee, you have to fire up the film.
Upon first glance, you’ll notice a player with great length. He is a bit lean, but he has a frame that should be able to support additional strength. Despite being slightly (I’m not trying to be overly generous here) slim, Jeremy makes decisive cuts to the rim and likes to establish deep position. When he is at the rim, he converts at a 61% clip. This grades out as “Good” according to Synergy. Elyzee leverages his length well, as he finds ways to maneuver around the defense and finish with a soft touch. He also balances this craft with some decent ability to draw contact at a decent rate.
As a shooter, Jeremy has a bit of work to do. That work, I believe, mainly has to do with selection and consistency. The shot mechanics appear to be fine but, as previously mentioned, he isn’t converting from deep—nor is he taking a ton of shots from there. His best shooting percentage is off of the catch when guarded, where he is hitting about 32% from three—not a ringing endorsement. Where he does offer hope to grow as a shooter is in his free throw percentage, soft touch at the rim, and shots from the mid-range.
Growth as a playmaker will certainly be a requirement for Elyzee. His handle is pretty solid, but is primarily used for him to get to his shot. There aren’t a ton of live-dribble reads for Jeremy yet, but when he’s attempted them, there are some glimpses of unearthed potential for Jeremy to improve. Outside of the occasional intermediate reads, Elyzee is limited to simple swings, kickouts, and other connective passes. Along with the types of passes he makes, Jeremy can stop and survey often. Improved processing should come with continued reps and progression.
If it seems like the sell has been a little underwhelming, I understand. Jeremy’s offense is a bit rudimentary at this point, but the path for him to grow there is apparent. What isn’t rudimentary is the freshman’s defense. We touched on the 2 stocks per game, and these come from a great use of physical gifts, natural understanding of rotations, and quick adaptation to higher levels of competition.
Jeremy’s length allows him to be aggressive at the point of attack, as well as the ability to recover—giving multiple efforts on a play when required. Because of his tools, Elyzee can afford to make the occasional gamble, as he knows he can sprint back to contest shots or slide back into a position to challenge a drive. When he fronts his man, he has the strength to mug the ball away or mirror their footwork.
Unlike the first two prospects mentioned, Jeremy can take his time to grow into his potential a bit—not to mention his frame. It wouldn’t be all that surprising for him to have an additional year at Southeastern Louisiana to take on a higher usage role and explore the offensive studio space. At some point, though, I would expect Elyzee to step up into higher levels of competition to answer the expected questions that come along with being a lower or mid-major star. What gives the Elyzee-initiated hope is that he has improved as the season has progressed. Players like that are typically some of the safer bets a scout can make.
Quentin Jones
Guard | 6’5” | 180 | Northern Illinois
Quentin Jones is another box score hunter find for me. After spending his freshman season at Cal Poly, Jones returned home to Illinois and has put on a fun sophomore campaign. Listed at 6’5”, Quentin has the sort of frame and length that NBA teams tend to value. His BartTorvik metrics haven’t been all that special, but the majority of his fields are more than respectable.
On the year to this point, Quentin is putting up some solid numbers—over 16 PPG, 4 RPG, just under 4 APG, 1 SPG, and 1 BPG. He’s doing that while having splits of 47/32/77. While that three-point percentage isn’t appealing for most at face value, Jones did shoot just over 40% as a freshman and has other supporting indicators that we’ll touch on momentarily. This ability to fill up the stat sheet is a nightly occurrence for Jones.
Like most successful guards, Quentin is able to operate the pick and roll at a very solid rate. Per Synergy, he operates out of pick-and-roll sets on 27.6% of his possessions. This ranks in the 75th percentile. As you would imagine, he has a nice handle. His first step, in conjunction with his feel as a ball-handler, grants Quentin the ability to create separation when running an offense. Jones’s athleticism shows when he gets to the lane. His body control and contorsion give Jones the edge in finishing at the rim, where he ranks in the 85th percentile on his layups.
While he can get to the rim and draw some contact, Jones has a nice pull-up game. He is adept at getting to his shot off the bounce, and he can finish with some nice runners and floaters on a consistent basis. On runners, Quentin ranks in the 60th percentile. In the mid-range, he is in the 75th percentile.
Expanding his jumper to three-point range has been a little hit-and-miss. We touched on the lower percentage from deep earlier, but I mentioned that there are some touch indicators that show the 40% he shot from deep last season could be closer to the truth. This season—on catch-and-shoot opportunities—Jones has connected on about 36% from deep. This number increases to over 43% when he is open. That number does fall to about 30% when he is challenged. The shot itself looks okay, which means the percentage could really go either way. His three-point shooting frequency is a bit encouraging, as he is shooting almost 7 threes per 100 possessions. That means he has the trust of the coaching staff and the self-belief that he can knock them down.
In order for Jones to make it to any higher levels of basketball, he would need to be able to leverage some scoring punch with reliable playmaking. He has shown the propensity to do just that, putting up an assist percentage of 22.5 and an ATO of 1.5. Jones has a natural feel for where the ball should go, which allows him to do some drive-and-kick plays, lob passes, and hitting the roller. I would like to be able to see him maintain his dribble when pressured a bit more, as well as keeping his handle a little closer to him on his drives. These can be worked on in off-season training, along with the in-season reps he is getting.
If you have noticed a trend to this point, it’s that all of the prospects I’ve listed so far have a solid defensive profile to go along with any offensive strengths or potential these players have. Quentin is no different. His positional size and athletic traits give Jones the flexibility to be at least versatile enough to defend both backcourt positions. His athleticism seems to pop a bit more, as he can really get up to challenge shots. Along with his 3.3 block percentage, he has tallied 23 blocks on the season. He parlays that with 25 steals on a 1.5 steals percentage. Jones’s quick and active hands make him an irritant on the ball and in passing lanes. For a guard, it isn’t as important to be a lock-down player, but Jones’s tools and knack for being a disturbance give him a higher level of appeal.
Aside from those aspects, Jones could stand to get a little stronger. He has a decent free throw rate, but does only have two dunk attempts on the season. His rebounding numbers are fairly modest as well. An offensive rebounding percentage of 1 seems like an anomaly for a player who can block shots the way that he does. His defensive rebounding percentage of 12.7 is about average, so there may be hope that he can make slight improvements to become a better contributor on the glass.
Another younger player, Quentin can afford to see things play out a little longer. NIL has given players who don’t have an immediate call to the league an incentive to stay in school and enhance their game. Jones has already been a product of the transfer portal, and is an Illinois native, so it may make sense to stay at Northern Illinois another year to be “the guy”. I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest to see him try his hand against higher levels of competition before he ends up declaring for the draft. Adding consistency to his jumper will go a long way for Quentin, as well as showing a concerted effort to grab some more boards. He has the frame and athleticism to stand out among other guards. The defensive instincts are there. The feel and scoring ability are pretty reliable. If a few minor tweaks and improvements take place, it could be as early as next season that we see Jones getting some significant buzz among the draft mainstream.
Max Green
Wing | 6’6” | 182 | Holy Cross
The final prospect we will take a look at here is the freshman Crusader Max Green. Green has had some very nice games playing for Holy Cross. Listed at 6’6”, Max shows a real knack for scoring, but he can move the rock as well. His name showed a few times on some box score surfing before I jotted his name down for some dedicated film study. Much like Jeremy Elyzee and Quentin Jones, I wouldn’t expect scouts who aggregate names from BartTorvik queries to know Green.
Max is averaging over 14 PPG, 5 RPG, and just under 4 APG. His defensive numbers are a little less exciting—but not atrocious, either. He is averaging a tick under 1 SPG, and just 0.3 BPG. His shooting splits are interesting. His field goal percentage is about 43%, but he is shooting over 37% from deep and about 70% from the free throw line. Looking at these splits, you can guess what the immediate sales pitch for Green will be.
Watching some film on Holy Cross film, Green looks the part of a future NBA shooting wing. He looks every bit of his listed height and has decent length, which will be a necessity for a player of his archetype. I was also pleasantly surprised by his ball handling. Having a usage percentage over 26, Green shows the ability to create with the ball at a higher level than his age, position, and profile indicate. He has a quick first step, can use his dribble to get to some shots off the bounce, and can apply some pressure to the rim.
As a shooter, Max has some real juice. What strikes me odd, though, is the mechanics on the shot are a bit unorthodox. It is sort of a “pushy” motion, that goes over the shoulder. If you’ve watched basketball as long (or longer) as I have, you know that mechanics aren’t the end-all-be-all. Some players are able to convert shots at a higher clip while straying from the conventional “B.E.E.F” technique. Weirdly, Green’s shot looks a bit more fundamental when he shoots on the move.
Looking at the shooting numbers, Green shoots over 44% on catch-and-shoot looks. When he has been guarded, he has connected on over 48% from deep and on almost 39% when left open. Creating off of the bounce, Max shoots at about 34% on threes. These are some pretty encouraging numbers for a player in his class and his size. Green will need to add some strength, as you could imagine, to allow him to grow more confident in attacking the paint.
Max doesn’t shy away from contact but, in order for him to succeed at the highest level, he’ll need to show a higher form of aggressiveness. Per Synergy, Max takes about 27% of his shots at the rim. This grades out as “Good”—ranking in the 56th percentile. Synergy also shows that Max has converted 5-of-6 dunk attempts. Some improved strength should allow him to have a stronger base, and allow him to climb the ladder a little more easily.
The passing from Max has been encouraging. He has shown a real ability to drive into the next line of defense, and be able to make some nice interior reads. His functional handle allows him to execute some drive-and-kicks. His assist percentage of 21.9 is above average. The majority of Max’s turnovers come from him doing a bit too much dribbling, but I’m all for players looking to push how much they are able to do. That said, he doesn’t turn the ball over a ton, as he has an ATO of 1.4—he has a Turnover Percentage of just 17.8. Green likely won’t be a lead creator, but growing more comfortable as a ball handler could result in some fun second-side creator roles—or a tertiary creator as a worst case.
On defense, Green plays as a low-risk style of defender. He does not opt to force a ton of defensive events. I would love to see him gamble a bit more. He averages 1.6 fouls per game while playing over 33 minutes. His length should allow him to be a bit more frisky in passing lanes, and should allow him to recover on plays a bit. The aforementioned note on his strength shows more apparently on his defense. There are times when he can get moved out of whatever position he is looking to establish. His instincts in help and deny are actually encouraging and give me hope that he can become pretty good on that side of the ball.
Max is going to be a bit of a longer play as a prospect—similar to Jeremy Elyzee, who was discussed earlier. He has been perfectly fine to this point, and there is still plenty of time to improve in his areas of concern, as he is only in his freshman year. He, too, could even take another season at his current school to rule the roost while making strides in terms of his defense, interior finishing, strength, and athleticism. He will more than likely need to show his improved skill in a larger conference. Again, that doesn’t have to be next season but if the NBA is the ultimate goal, Max trying his hand at a higher major will assuredly be a requirement.
The Watch List
For you sickos out there, here are some more names I’ll be watching who you may see discussed in future pieces:
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