2022 Draft Watch: First Look at Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

August 18^th, 2021

By Alan Lu

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is an incoming 6-9 freshman big man that will play for Tennessee for the upcoming 2021-22 college basketball season.  He’s been receiving some early draft buzz, and he has been mentioned as a possible first round prospect for the 2022 draft.  He played his high school senior year at Scotland Campus.  It was hard to find much information on him and his team, also because it was hard to find jersey numbers amongst players on his team.  I did manage to watch him play in an undated 2021 high school basketball game against The Factory, that was presumably on March 1^st, with thanks to YouTube via Scotland Campus Hoops.  Here are my thoughts on how Huntley-Hatfield fared, as well as how his game may translate to the NBA.

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had a decent showing in his team’s win over The Factory.  He is an athletic big man that showed off versatile scoring skills, but he can be inconsistent at times, and he didn’t always hustle to make plays in this game. Huntley-Hatfield showed a solid ability to score in the post.  He has fairly deft footwork and shooting touch to knock down shots down low.  He was able to score on a turnaround, bank jumper off the glass.  He also drove in to score on a tough, switch of hands layup.  He also managed to score on a crafty layup after using a strong drop step move another time.  Plus, he also will look to score on off-ball motion plays.  He used a strong drop step move to score on a put back off of an offensive rebound.  Another time though, he ran the floor to get the ball and he dribbled in, but he ended up getting his shot blocked in transition, as he didn’t go up strong enough that time.

He also flashed the ability to knock down jumpers on offense.  Huntley-Hatfield was able to make a smooth, step-back three from beyond the arc to show his shooting potential.  He also ran off of a curl cut to get the ball and pivoted to score on a turnaround, mid-range jumper.  On the downside, he generally struggled to knock down jumpers consistently, as he especially had trouble knocking down spot-up jumpers off the catch.

Also, Huntley-Hatfield was quite turnover prone on offense.  For the positives, he showed that he can pass out of the post to find the open man, and he was able to find a cutter to set up a scoring chance once.  He also will set screens to help his teammates score on open jump shots and drives to the hoop.  On the downside, he would sometimes throw hasty, inaccurate interior passes, as one skipped out of bounds, and another ended up getting intercepted.  When posting up another time, he lowered his shoulder, but was called for a clear out that led him to commit an offensive foul and a turnover simultaneously.

While he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Huntley-Hatfield was able to leap up to get his fair share of boards against The Factory.  He would sometimes quickly bring the ball up the floor, and Huntley-Hatfield can handle the ball a bit in the open floor.  Another time though, he was called for a loose ball foul when going for a board, as he had pushed his opponent down early on in this contest.  On a separate play, he allowed his opponent to get an offensive rebound in his area, which led his team to allow a put back score.

Plus, Huntley-Hatfield played satisfactory defense in this match.  He was able to intercept an errant pass that was thrown right to him to get a steal, as his teammate had pressured the opposing ball handler that had forced the opponent to throw such a poor pass that enabled Huntley-Hatfield to intercept it.  He also would double and press up on opposing ball-handlers in the backcourt, as he was able to deflect a pass and force a passing turnover another time.  In addition, Huntley-Hatfield was able to rotate to block a baseline floater another time.  He also would contest and alter shots in the paint to force misses, and he also would sometimes close out on three-point shooters to get extra stops.

On the downside, there was one play when his team was in a press scheme, he didn’t pressure the passer hard enough and had his hands down when defending the pass, as his team allowed a score in transition.  He also can sometimes end being late on his rotations or to contest shots.  When defending in the post once, he was late to contest a turnaround jumper to allow a score.  He also sagged way too far off of a three-point shooter, and he merely half-heartedly contested the shot, which also allowed the basket.  

Overall, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is an athletic big man that may possess considerable potential, especially if he improves his outside shot and focus as a rebounder and defender in games.  He’s shown that he can ably score in the post, and he also moves well on the court.  Currently, he may project to go in the late first to the second round range for the 2022 draft, and he could end up being an effective role player in the NBA. 

6-9 incoming high school senior big man, Abdou-Halil Barre turned in a strong showing for The Scotland Campus in his team’s win over The Factory.  He especially excelled as an interior player, and he is a strong, mobile player that showed a knack for making plays in the paint on both ends of the floor. Barre did a good job of scoring in the post.  He showed a knack for scoring on right-handed hook shots in this game.  He also excelled at scoring on rolls as well as in transition.  Barre would sometimes throw down powerful dunks off of hustle plays, and he also rolled and caught a lob to score on an alley-oop layup.  He also was able to score on a put back off of an offensive rebound, but he would also tend to miss on rushed, tip-in attempts at times due to wildness.

He also showed a knack for making mid-range jumpers in this game.  Barre was able to use a pump fake to score on a mid-range shot.  Another time, he used a jab step and dribbled in to score on a nice, fadeaway jumper another time.  He also displayed satisfactory playmaking skills on offense.  Barre was able to pass out of the post to find an open shooter to notch an assist.  He also set an on-ball screen to help a teammate score off of a drive to the hoop.  Another time when posting up, he over-dribbled into traffic, and he took too many steps, as he was called for traveling on that possession.

Also, Barre did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  He would often chase down balls to help his team get boards on both ends of the floor.  He also played decent defense in this game.  Barre would often rotate to block shots hard in transition to help his team protect the paint.  He also would contest jump shots both out on the perimeter as well as in the post to force misses.  On the other hand, he also had a tendency to over-rotate and over-help, as he would leave his man open and be late to rotate back, which would put his team in compromised situations and lead his team to commit fouls and allow scores.  Another time, he was late to get back on defense, as he wasn’t in a position to contest the shot as his team ended up allowing a score on the break. Overall, Abdou-Halil Barre is a strong, athletic big man that score, rebound, block shots, and defend in the paint.  He’s also shown a promising mid-range shot.  He may be an underrated prospect, and he could be a player to keep tabs on in the future.

Maine’s incoming 6-5 freshman swingman, Sam Ihekwoaba also played well for The Scotland Campus in his team’s win over The Factory.  He is a fairly athletic player that can make shots in a variety of ways, and he was able to show off a solid all-around game to help his team get the victory. Ihekwoaba generally excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He is a high-motor player that excelled at scoring off of cuts, and he also managed to score on a tip-in after grabbing an offensive rebound for his team.  He also ran the floor to catch a lob pass, but he ended up missing on an open alley-oop layup off of a give and go on the break.

He also shot the ball well, even though he didn’t take many outside shots in this game.  Ihekwoaba used a jab step to make a three-point shot from beyond the arc.  He also used a crossover and drove in to draw free throws on a pull-up, mid-range jumper another time. He also showed a solid ability to score off the dribble.  Ihekwoaba drove from the baseline to score on an acrobatic, double-pump layup in traffic.  He also drove hard to his left and used a hesitation move, as he took on the contact to score in traffic.  He also flashed some low post scoring skills, as he scored on a turnaround jump hook early on.  He also drove in after getting an offensive rebound once, but he ended up missing on a contested, turnaround jumper.

Also, Ihekwoaba displayed decent playmaking skills in this game.  He did a good job of making passes off the dribble and in transition, and he would throw long, accurate passes to find teammates on the move.  He also can lead the break to help get the ball to his teammates on the break, and he was able to notch several assists.  On the downside, he can sometimes be careless with the basketball.  When posting up once, he lowered his shoulder and committed a charging foul.  When handling the ball up the court another time, he had the ball back-tapped away from him, as he ended up losing the basketball.

Plus, he also did a decent job of rebounding the basketball.  He was able to chase down balls to get them on both ends of the floor, and he would sometimes push the ball up the floor afterwards.  He also played satisfactory defense in this game.  Ihekwoaba was able to intercept an inaccurately thrown pass to get a steal.  He also would apply considerable ball pressure onto opposing ball handlers to force passing turnovers.  He also contested a three to force a miss.  Another time though, there was one play where he didn’t contest a baseline, mid-range jumper, which led his team to allow a score early on.

Overall, Sam Ihekwoaba is a fairly athletic, skilled swingman that played very well in this game.  He may be an underrated prospect, as he can do a little bit of everything.  He may have the skills to be an impact player at Maine, and if things break his way, he could perhaps end up being a 3 and D type of role player in the NBA someday.

Sacramento State’s 6-3 incoming freshman point guard, Marcus Greene also played well to help lead the Scotland Campus to a win over The Factory.  He shot the ball fairly well, as he excelled as a three-point shooter, and he was able to make one off the catch and another off the dribble.  He also excelled at scoring quickly in transition, and Greene was able to use a crafty Euro-step move off of a speedy drive in transition to score in traffic.  On the downside, he struggled to make mid-range jumpers, and he also missed on an awkward, double pump, put back attempt another time.

He also passed and handled the ball very well.  Greene would throw crisp, accurate interior passes to find teammates on the move to notch assists, and he also can make solid passes off the dribble.  Greene also rebounded the ball very well, as he would chase down balls to haul in boards on both ends of the floor, and he would tend to push the ball quickly up the floor off of defensive boards.

He also played satisfactory defense in this game.  Greene was able to intercept a pass to get a steal. He also excelled at applying ball pressure to get opponents to commit ball-handling turnovers, and he also actively contested a three to get a stop another time.  On one play though, he got beat off the dribble to allow a score.  He also closed out too aggressively another time, which led him to foul a three-point shooter on a separate play.

Overall, Greene is an athletic, high-motor guard that did everything well for his team in this game.  He is a pass-first point guard that reliably set the table for his team, but he also made shots, and rebounded and defended well.  He may be an underrated prospect, and he could be a player to keep tabs on in the future.

San Jose State’s 6-3 incoming freshman guard, Myron Amey also played very well to help lead the Scotland Campus to a win over The Factory.  He did a terrific job of knocking down threes, as he especially excelled at scoring on pull-up threes.  He also dribbled off of a screen to make a three, and he also moved off the ball to make an open corner three off the catch. He also ran the floor and cut to the hoop to get the ball, and he used a power dribble to get a strong score off the glass.  Another time though, Amey ran off of a ball screen to get it as he then drove the baseline, but he ended up missing on a mid-range floater completely. He also passed and handled the ball very well.  He is an unselfish player that excelled at throwing interior passes, and he would make an assortment of passes off the dribble to notch assists.  Plus, Amey also took very good care of the basketball.

He also did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  He would leap up to get boards on both ends of the court, and sometimes he would push the ball up the court afterwards.  Defensively, he looked to be fairly average.  For the positives, Amey was able to deflect a loose ball off of an opponent out of bounds to help his team force a turnover.  He also contested a mid-range shot to force a miss another time.  Sometimes though, he would be caught ball watching and gamble too much defensively, which would lead him to be late on his rotations and also lead to scramble situations, which would lead his team to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Amey is a skilled playmaker that can shoot and pass the basketball.  He may lack ideal physical tools, but he is a solid offensive player that also rebounds well and will compete defensively.  He may be a lower-tier division 1 college basketball prospect, but his offensive skills could help him carve out a playing career in professional basketball someday.

Other Thoughts:

There were several other prospects that seemed to make some interesting plays, but I couldn’t tell who they were, because Scotland Campus didn’t identify all of their players that wore their jerseys.  I also was unable to find a detailed roster from The Factory, so I didn’t know which players were on that team, either.