Evaluating Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman

April 18, 2018

I decided to take the time to watch a couple of prospects from Boston College play in an ACC game against North Carolina, as I was able to view Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman play in a January 9th match with thanks to YouTube via Ev Fed. While both players may end up being in the upcoming draft and have gained some traction as draft prospects, Jerome Robinson is the one that could potentially end up being a first round pick. Here are my thoughts on how they fared against North Carolina on that day, as well as how their games may translate to the NBA.

Boston College’s junior guard, Jerome Robinson did a very good job of knocking down threes to space the floor for his team. He move well off the ball, as he will work to get open, as he can run off screens and quickly get to spots to knock down spot-up threes off the catch. In addition, he also managed to make a quick corner three very early on. Robinson is quite adept at making shots after running off screens, as he did so one to make a quick mid-range jumper on the baseline.

He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays. Robinson was able to get a ball on a quick cut, and he scored on a nifty up and under move past a couple of defenders. He also quickly tipped an opponent’s pass to himself as he managed to throw down a thunderous dunk on the break later in the contest.

But he struggled more to score off the dribble. He generally had trouble knocking down pull-up jumpers, but Robinson did manage to draw a non-shooting foul after using a spin move off of a drive to kick it out to a shooter. However, on one play where he ran off of a screen to get the ball on a curl cut, he tried to drive from the high post, but he ended up getting his shot blocked from behind in traffic. Also, Robinson attempted to score in the post once, but he missed on a turnaround, fadeaway jumper.

Also, Robinson displayed solid playmaking skills. He is an unselfish player that passes and handles the ball well, and he can make an assortment of passes to set up scores for his teammates. He moves well off the ball, and he can run off screens, get the basketball, and then quickly find teammates on the move as he sees the floor well. But sometimes, he can hold the ball too long, as he may dribble around for quite awhile, which can halt the flow of the offense.

However, he will need to improve his rebounding. For the positives, he managed to leap up to get a defensive board. Plus, he also dove for a loose ball on the ground to help his team retain possession of the basketball on a separate play, as he later passed it out to a shooter. However, Robinson would sometimes forget to box out his man, which would lead his opponents to score on put backs. Balls also went off his hands on rebounding attempts, as the possession of the basketball would go to the opposition.

Also, he displayed decent defensive skills. Robinson will sometimes look to play passing lanes, and he made one great play on the ball in this game, as he jumped a pass by tipping it far to himself to get a steal, and he was able to turn it into fast break points for his team. He will also contest threes as well as shots in the post to force misses. Plus, Robinson managed to quickly fight through a screen once, and he also drew a charge off the ball when an opponent went for an offensive board.

But sometimes, he may struggle to stay with his man on drives, as he can get out of position, which can lead him to allow scores. Other times, he may end up committing fouls, as he fouled an opponent in the back while struggling to defend his man off of a curl cut after trying to fight through a screen, and another time he got back on defense but ended up committing a blocking foul on a drive in transition.

In general, Jerome Robinson had a fairly good game in his team’s blowout loss to North Carolina. He is an athletic, skilled basketball player that can play multiple positions, and he has a variety of skills that can prove to be useful to a team on offense. However, he will likely need to improve his rebounding and position defense, though. Still, his ability to make shots and distribute the basketball could enable him to go in the late first to the second round range, as he could end up being a similar player to current Charlotte Hornets’ swingman, Jeremy Lamb in the league.

Boston College’s 6-1 sophomore point guard, Ky Bowman also had a fairly good showing in his team’s double-digit loss to North Carolina. He possesses above average athletic gifts as he also plays with a good motor, and he showed off versatile scoring skills, as well as some playmaking and defensive skills when he was on the floor.

Bowman did a good job of knocking down jumpers to space the floor for his team. He can patiently knock down threes off the catch or dribble, and he used a jab step to make an open corner three once, and he also used a crossover and a stutter step to make a pull-up three another time. Plus, he also pulled up to make a long two on a separate play.

Plus, he is also a crafty scorer off the dribble. He is a deft ball handler that managed to use a swift behind the back dribble move to score on a teardrop floater. Also, Bowman dribbled off of a screen to throw down an emphatic dunk. Plus, he also can get the ball after initially cutting to the hoop, as he managed to drive in from the high post to score on an up and under layup where he split past defenders. Also, he possesses good body control to draw fouls upon the opposition. But every once in a while, he may rush his shots or struggle to finish over length, which can lead him to miss shots.

He also displayed good playmaking skills. Bowman is a patient player that can hit cutters and find shooters off the dribble, as he will generally throw accurate passes to set up plenty of scoring chances for his teammates. He also will often push the ball up the floor off of defensive rebounds and steals. But sometimes, he may play too recklessly, which can lead him to commit turnovers. On one possession where he tried to push the ball up the floor off of a defensive board, he ended up getting back tapped by a defender from behind to lose the ball to an opponent. Another time, he dribbled off of a screen to hoist up a floater, but he collided into a defender and ended up being called for committing a charging foul on offense. Adding to that, Bowman can sometimes dribble around for far too long, as he may not always make moves when dribbling off or around screens, which can cause the offense to stall.

Plus, he also did a decent job of rebounding the basketball. Bowman was able to collect his fair share of defensive boards, and he also ran into get an offensive board. Often times, he would push the ball up the floor off of defensive boards. But there was one time where he tried to block out his man, but he was unable to do so as the opponent was much taller than him, and his team ended up allowing a put back score.

However, he will need to improve his defense. For the positives, Bowman played pretty good help defense in this game. He moved in to quickly intercept a pass to get a steal once, as he showed very good instincts to do so that time. Also, he raced in to swat a shot off of a cut in order to force a miss, as he accelerated to show solid leaping skills on that play. Plus, he also rotated to a ball handler on a drive to help force a passing turnover, and he also contested a three to force a miss on a separate possession.

On the other hand, he can tend to be caught ball watching, and he will sometimes make the wrong rotation or be late on rotations, as this can lead his team to allow three-point baskets to the opposition. Other times, Bowman may struggle to stay in front of his man on drives, as he can get beat off the dribble, or he may backpedal too far, which can lead to his team to commit fouls and allow scores. Another time, he had his hands down when defending a quick entry pass, as he allowed an easy pass to get through once.

In summary, Ky Bowman had a fairly good game, as he can score the basketball in a variety of ways, and he also can distribute the basketball to set up scoring chances for his teammates. On the other hand, he can sometimes be a ball stopper, and he will likely need to improve his position defense. As he possesses above average, but not elite physical tools and is a bit undersized to play the point, Bowman may not be a lock to be selected by an NBA team, but if he does stay in the draft, he could end up going in the mid to late second round range on draft day.

Other Notes:

North Carolina’s 6-6 senior guard, Theo Pinson played really well on this day. He was able to make a pull-up jumper off of a baseline drive after making a quick hesitation move, and he also showed off some low-post scoring skills by scoring on a quick, turnaround jumper. He also excelled as a facilitator and defender. He is a terrific passer in transition, and his best pass was when he drove up the court and threw a no-look, behind the back pass to set up a score on the break. Plus, Pinson used his length, quickness, and timing to block a three-point shot, he did a good job of contesting shots in the post, and he also managed to break up a lob pass as he tipped it out of bounds.

Overall, Pinson is a smart, skilled basketball player that can play a variety of positions, and while he will likely need to improve his jump shot, he could end up being a good value pick for an NBA team in the mid to late second round range of the upcoming draft.

Also, Boston College’s 6-7 freshman swingman, Vin Baker Jr. played in this game. He didn’t play much, though. He missed both of his outside shots that he took, and he threw up one ugly airball from the corner once, but Baker did use a ball fake to draw free throws on an aggressive drive to the hoop. Also, he is an unselfish player that can handle the basketball. Vin Baker Jr. is the son of former NBA All-Star Vin Baker, and while Vin Baker Jr. may be a project player, he could be a player to keep an eye on in the future, especially if he ends up being Boston College’s best player sometime down the road.