Assessing MarJon Beauchamp and Jalen Green

December 16^th, 2020

By Alan Lu

Recently, 6-6 Seattle-born swingman, MarJon Beauchamp has shown up on several prominent draft boards, as he most notably is currently rated in the top 100 of ESPN’s draft prospects list for 2021.  He is known for having declared his intention to sit out college basketball and join a training program at Chameleon BX to prepare for the upcoming draft, which was a pretty controversial decision at the time.  Last month, former IMG Academy swingman, Kenyon Martin Jr. was drafted 52^nd overall in the 2020 draft, and he now currently plays for the Houston Rockets, so I decided to watch Beachamp play to see if he could end up on a similar path like Martin’s.

I took the time to watch MarJon Beauchamp play in a January 25^th game for Dream City Christian against standout guard, Jalen Green and Prolific Prep, as I was able to see this with thanks to YouTube via The Grind Session.  It was a very competitive game between two talented high-school teams, and Dream City Christian managed to pull off a stunning upset win on the road.  MarJon Beauchamp made solid plays on both ends of the court, and he showed off impressive athletic gifts and overall skills throughout this game.  Jalen Green continued to impress me as he is an outstanding athlete that made some really sterling plays, and Green’s strong all-around skills makes him a contender to be the number one overall pick in 2021.  Here are my thoughts on how Beauchamp, Green, and the others fared on this day.

MarJon Beauchamp put forth a strong showing to help Dream City Christian get the win over Prolific Prep.  He is a very athletic swingman that showed off versatile scoring skills, excelled as a finisher above the rim, and he also made a couple of standout defensive plays to help his team get the victory.

Beauchamp did a very good job of knocking down three-point shots to provide floor spacing for his team on offense.  He would make quick spot-up threes off the catch, and he also made one off of a pick and pop play.  He also used a quick crossover move and pulled up to make a contested three late in this game.  He excelled at shooting and scoring the basketball, and he showed off a smooth shooting stroke to score efficiently from long range.

He also generally excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  Beauchamp was able to run in to score on a thunderous tip slam after running in to grab an offensive board on the break.  He also would score on fast break drives, and he was able to score on a high-flying dunk in transition.  Plus, he also ran the floor to score on a speedy, acrobatic layup on the break while getting an extra free throw.  He did miss on a tip slam another time, but generally Beauchamp thrived at scoring in the open court.

He also showed a decent ability to score on half court drives.  He makes good use off ball screens, as he would tend to favor going to his left, and he used a pump fake and an up and under move once to score on a crafty, step-through layup.  He also dribbled off of a ball screen and used a hop step move to draw free throws another time.  After getting the ball once on a curl cut, he drove to his left once again, but he ended up having his shot blocked out of bounds.

He displayed fairly average playmaking skills in this game.  Beauchamp is a fairly good passer and ball handler, but sometimes he can try to do too much at times that can lead him to commit turnovers.  He was able to get several assists on offense.  Beauchamp can bring the ball quickly up the court, and he can throw good passes off the dribble and in transition to set up scores for his teammates.  He is an unselfish player that can find the open man, and he can get them the ball quickly.  On the downside, sometimes he can play too fast and recklessly at times.  He tried a behind the back crossover move when crowded off the dribble, as he ended up losing the basketball to his opponent.  Another time, he had a ball knocked out of his hands when trying to go up for a shot off of an offensive rebound, although the defender appeared as if he may have gotten away with fouling him on that play.  Also, he can sometimes throw rushed, inaccurate passes that can end up going astray on other possessions.

Also, Beauchamp was quite active at crashing the offensive glass, and he would run in and leap up to get numerous offensive rebounds to help his team on the boards.  He also would be active in getting his hands on balls to help his team come up with additional rebounds. 

Beauchamp possesses solid defensive potential, though he looked to be fairly average defensively in this game.  In watching him play on the defensive end, he is a very good athlete that is an active, rangy defender that can help his team get steals and blocks.  He is an active defender that can stay in front of his man on drives and would fight through screens to block shots hard due to possessing good length, athleticism, and timing.  He also was able to jump on a loose ball to help his team get a steal, and he also would deflect passes to nearly force other turnovers.  He also would also contest threes to force misses. 

However, he struggled to guard quicker players on the ball, and he had the unfortunate task of having to guard Jalen Green in this game.  Beauchamp would sometimes tend to get beat off the dribble, mostly to his right, which would often lead his teammates to have to rotate to commit fouls around the basket.  He also would be too aggressive in making plays at times, which would lead him to commit touch fouls.  Other times, he may give his man too much space, which can lead him to allow opponents to score on jump shots.

Overall, MarJon Beauchamp is a very athletic, skilled swingman that could be a very good pick for an NBA team in the second round range, especially in the mid to late second round portion of the 2021 draft.  He possesses strong athletic gifts and he may be a high-upside prospect that could end up being a solid player in the NBA if he ends up with a team that has a strong developmental system in place.  Beauchamp is a versatile player that can do a little bit of everything, but he will need to test himself more at higher levels in the future.  Right now, he is a solid prospect who reminds me of Denver Nuggets’ veteran guard Will Barton, and Beauchamp could project to be a solid role player in the NBA.

NBA G-League Ignite’s 6-5 guard, Jalen Green had a tremendous showing for Prolific Prep in his team’s loss to Dream City Christian.  Green is an outstanding athlete that possesses very good all-around skills, and he was able to make a series of highlight-reel worthy plays, as he defended well in this game, and he was able to score at will in this game.

Jalen Green did a very good job of scoring on strong drives to the basket.  Early on, he was able to drive hard to his right, as he hammered down a magnetic, thunderous dunk to bolster his team and the crowd.  He also showed a knack for going to his left to score on smooth, finger roll layups.  He has great foot-speed, and he changes directions very well, which would often enable him to draw fouls upon his defenders to often get to the free throw line.  He also was able to drive on the break to score on a high-flying dunk.  However, sometimes he would try to force tough shots, as he had a couple of his shots blocked.

He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He did a very good job of scoring on fast breaks, and he also caught a lob pass to score on an alley-oop layup in transition.  Green was also able to score on a quick backdoor cut, and he would run the floor hard to get the ball, which would enable him to draw fouls to get to the foul line.

Also, he showed a satisfactory ability to knock down jumpers in this game.  Green was able to run off the ball to get open, and he was able to make a couple of quick, spot-up threes off the catch.  He also pulled up to make a three from way out another time.  He also used a pump fake move to draw three free throws after taking a corner three later on.  Plus, Green also was able to make a smooth mid-range shot off the dribble.  However, he did also miss on plenty of threes other times, and he can tend to be streaky with his jump shot.

Plus, he displayed decent playmaking skills.  Green is a gifted shot creator that can throw solid passes off the dribble, and he can find the open man to set up scoring chances for his teammates.  He has terrific speed to consistently get to the hoop, and can find cutters and also will consistently find open shooters to get his teammates the basketball.  However, there were times when he would be inaccurate with his passes, as he threw a couple of off-target passes that resulted in turnovers.

In addition, Green was able to haul in his fair share of boards to help his team get rebounds.  He would leap up high to get defensive rebounds, and he would tend to push the ball up the court afterwards.

Also, he played solid defense in this game.  Green is an active, rangy defender that can make numerous plays on the ball to get plenty of stops for his team.  He was able to stay with an opposing ball handler to block a shot hard off the dribble due to possessing very good athleticism and timing.  He also ran in to quickly intercept a pass off of a dribble handoff due to possessing tremendous athleticism and anticipation skills, and he also back-tapped an opposing ball handler mid-court to help his team force another turnover.  He also would contest threes to force misses.  On the other hand, there was one play where he whiffed on a steal attempt, which led him to being out of position when defending a drive that led his team to allow a score once.

In general, Jalen Green had a played really well for Prolific Prep, and he showed off strong all-around skills in his team’s loss to Dream City Christian.  Green is a very athletic swingman that has strong scoring skills, and he could project to be a solid shooter and defender at the next level.  He is an extremely talented player that could be the top pick of the upcoming draft, and he is a player that has multi-All-Star potential as he could end up being a solid starter in the NBA.

Other Notes:

Alabama’s 6-11 freshman big man, Alex Tchikou from France played very well for Dream City Christian in his team’s win over Prolific Prep.  He did a great job of making spot-up threes off the catch, and he also managed to score on a tip-in off of an offensive board.  He also showed the ability to score in transition, as he drove to his left to score on an aggressive baseline drive on the break, and he also would go hard to the hoop to draw fouls upon his defenders.

He also is an unselfish player that can find the open man, as he can throw accurate long passes to find his teammates, but he did throw one inaccurate outlet pass that got intercepted once.  Tchikou was able to get a few boards in this game to help his team on the glass.

He also played fairly good defense in this game.  He would rotate to block shots hard, as he can do so in the paint as well as out on the perimeter, and he possesses good athleticism, length, motor, and timing to do so.  He also has solid footwork when defending opponents off the dribble, and he would actively contest shots in the paint to force misses.  Sometimes though, he would commit fouls due to over-aggressiveness.  Other times, he would be caught ball watching and give up too much space to shooters, which would lead him to allow scores to them.

Overall, Alex Tchikou is a very athletic, skilled big man that has a very good motor, and he will be a fun player to watch in college basketball.  He will currently miss the season due to an Achilles injury this year, so he will presumably redshirt this year for Alabama, but he could be a solid long-term prospect to watch sometime down the road.