Observations on David Roddy and Drake Jeffries

February 23^rd, 2022

By Alan Lu

Today, I took the time to watch David Roddy and Colorado State take on Wyoming in a highly anticipated Mountain West Conference basketball game.  It was a game that featured a potential first round pick, as well as two good college basketball teams that both could make the 2022 NCAA Tournament.  It was a very tough, hard-fought game that went back forth, but Colorado State was able to hold on to get the victory.  David Roddy put forth a tremendous performance, and Wyoming’s 6-5 senior guard, Drake Jeffries also played very well.  Colorado State receiving solid performances from numerous other role players to get the win.  Here are my thoughts on how Roddy, Jeffries, and other various players fared on this day.

Colorado State’s 6-5 junior forward, David Roddy had a fantastic showing to lead his team to get a win over Wyoming.  He is a strong, physical forward that did a tremendous job of making his shots, and he had a very good, all-around performance throughout the contest.  Roddy did a great job of making threes to provide floor spacing for his team on offense.  He would make quick threes off of pin-downs after he would run off ball screens to get open, and he moves well off the ball to get open.  He also excelled at knocking down pull-up threes, and he was able to utilize a jab step to make a smooth, step-three late in this match.

He also showed a solid ability to score in the post.  Roddy used a quick spin move to score on a turnaround, jump hook.  He also would make strong moves in order to get to the free throw line.  He also thrived at scoring on hustle plays.  He would outwork his opponents on the glass, and he showed a knack for scoring on strong put backs.  He also picked off a pass early on, and he managed to drive up the court to draw free throws on a speedy, fast break layup another time.  If there’s any one flaw he has on offense, he doesn’t possess an explosive first step when looking to score in the half court, but he thrived as a jump shooter and low post scorer when he was on the floor.

Roddy showed off adequate playmaking skills in this game.  He is an unselfish player that will look to find the open man.  He would sometimes kick balls out to open shooters off the dribble, and he also can pass out of the post.  He doesn’t possess elite foot speed, but he is an athletic, physical player that can get to where he needs on the court, and he will make the extra pass to find open teammates.  He also did a good job of setting screens to help get his teammates open jump shots and driving lanes.

Also, he did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  He has a keen nose for the basketball, and he was able to pull down numerous boards on both ends of the floor.  He is fearless, and he can get tough boards, and sometimes he would quickly bring the ball up off of defensive rebounds.  On one play though, he committed a reach-in foul on an opponent’s defensive rebound, as he was too aggressive in trying to make a play that time.

Roddy also played solid defense in this game.  He is a rangy forward that can make numerous plays on the ball, and he showed his versatility by being able to guard opponents both out on the perimeter as well as in the post.  He would often run in to intercept passes to quickly get steals, and he also managed to emphatically block a turnaround jumper when defending in the post another time due to possessing good timing.  He would hold his ground and contest shots down low to force misses, and he thrived at contesting shots in the paint to get stops for his team.  He also managed to successfully draw a charge when defending in the post another time.  However, he tended to be caught ball watching and over-rotate, as he would not always stay attached to shooters, and he would sometimes allow opponents to score on three-point shots.

In general, David Roddy played very well to help lead Colorado State to a decisive victory over Wyoming.  He had a strong, all-around game, and he is a skilled, versatile forward that has been moving quickly up draft boards.  He has been tremendously productive for his team this year, and he could be a very good pick for an NBA team in the late first to the early second round range in the 2022 draft.

Wyoming’s 6-5 senior guard, Drake Jeffries had a tremendous showing in his team’s loss to Colorado State.  He shot the ball extremely well, and he is a silky, smooth shooter that did a great job of knocking down threes to help his team on offense.  He also defended very well, and he made very athletic plays to help his team on both ends of the court.

Jeffries did a great job of knocking down his threes to provide floor spacing for his team on offense.  He would make quick threes off of pin-downs, and he can run off ball screens to effortlessly knock them down.  He did a tremendous job of making threes off the catch, and he showed a lot of range on his shot.  He also managed to quickly pick off a pass to get a steal, and he drove the ball up the court to score on a high-flying, breakaway jam.

Also, he is an unselfish player that will move the ball to find the open man on offense, and he also can handle the basketball.  Jeffries also did a good job of rebounding the basketball, and he was able to haul in plenty of boards, especially on the defensive side of the ball.  Plus, he also played stellar defense in this game.  Jeffries would get his hands on passes to get steals and deflections.  He also managed to poke a ball away to get a steal another time.  He also hustled to block a shot off a drive off the glass to a teammate due to possessing good athleticism, timing, and instincts.

In summary, Drake Jeffries played very well, and he thrived at making plays from all over the court.  He is a sharpshooter that especially excelled at knocking down threes in this game, and he also would make hustle plays to help his team on both ends of the floor.  He is an underrated prospect that makes the team plays to help them on the court, and he could project well into a 3 and D type of role in the NBA.

Colorado State’s senior combo guard, Chandler Jacobs played very well in his team’s win over Wyoming.  He is an athletic, physical scorer that shot the ball very well, and he showed off versatile scoring skills throughout the game.  He would often make quick, open threes off the catch, and he would score on strong drives to the hoop.  He also managed to score on a long two off the dribble.

Plus, he also rebounded the ball well.  He also defended fairly well, as he was able to jump a pass to get a steal, and he also contested a shot off of a drive to force a miss another time.  Sometimes though, he would struggle to defend in one-on-one situations.  He got outmuscled in the post to allow a score once.  He also was called for fouling an opponent on a drive late in this match, although it appeared his teammate may have tripped him up instead.  Overall, Chandler Jacobs thrived as a shooter and scorer, and he also excelled as a rebounder and defender in this game.  He hasn’t put up gaudy stats, but his scoring ability and athleticism could enable him to carve out a playing career in professional basketball.

Isaiah Stevens had a decent showing in his team’s win over Wyoming.  While he didn’t exactly shoot the ball well, he is an athletic point guard that showed a smooth jump shot in the mid-range area, and he is a solid playmaker that can quickly find open teammates, especially off the dribble to notch assists.  He didn’t do a great job of shooting or scoring the basketball and he took too many pull-up mid-range jumpers, but Stevens did show that he can score on aggressive drives and also score comfortably from the mid-range.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds overall, Stevens was able to get a pair of defensive rebounds to help chip in on the glass.  He also played adequate defense.  Stevens is an agile, athletic defender that will make plays on the ball to help his team force turnovers.  He was able to swipe a ball away from an opposing ball handler to get a steal, and he also deflected a pass out of bounds another time.  Sometimes though, he would commit reach-in fouls due to over-aggressiveness, and his lack of size would make it difficult for him to guard taller shooters, as opponents could easily shoot over him to score on jumpers.

Overall, Stevens didn’t have his best game, but he is a physically gifted playmaker that can score in a variety of ways and also reliably run the team at the point.  Though he didn’t shoot the ball well in this match, he’s shot the ball better on other nights.  He will be a player to keep an eye on, and he could be a potential second round pick for the 2023 draft, especially if he stays in school and continues to progress and develop as an overall player.

Wyoming’s 6-4 sophomore guard, Xavier DuSell had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Colorado State.  He is an athletic guard that shot the ball very well, especially in the first half, and he was able to keep his team in the game even when his team’s senior leaders were really struggling to score or make plays on offense, especially early on.

DuSell did a great job of knocking down jumpers to help his team space the floor.  He showed that he can make smooth threes both off the catch and dribble, and he also was able to effortlessly knock down a smooth, step-back three.  He also managed to score on a long, two-point shot.  He shot the ball very well, but he still struggled a bit to try to score on outside shots after he would run off ball screens to hoist up those shots.

Also, he did a satisfactory job of rebounding and defending in this game.  DuSell would contest jumpers to force misses, and he also would apply ball pressure to try to help his team force turnovers.  He also was able to deflect a pass to nearly get a steal.  On the downside, he would tend to be too aggressive to try to make plays, and he would often commit touch fouls when defending on and off the ball, and he ended up fouling out of this game.

Overall, Xavier DuSell played well in this game, and he is a smooth, athletic wing that can shoot and score the basketball on offense.  He is a promising player that has plenty of talent, and Wyoming may be wise to rely on him throughout the season.  He’ll need to continue to shoot as well as he did in this match, and he could prospect to keep tabs on in the future.

Wyoming’s 6-9 sophomore big man, Graham Ike turned in a very disappointing showing in his team’s loss to Colorado State.  This was his chance to make an impression on the big stage.  Instead, he really struggled to score in the post or to make shots for most of the night, and he was very turnover prone, as he would often struggle to make plays in this game.

In this game, Ike struggled to score in the post.  On one good play, Ike was able to dribble to his left and he used a pump fake to get a strong score around the hoop early on.  He also would make strong moves to get fouled by his defenders, and he managed to draw free throws when doubled once, as he didn’t get continuation, which would’ve enabled him to score on a turnaround, baseline jumper.  However, he would often miss on turnaround jump hooks and turnaround jumpers, and he really had trouble finding his shooting touch on this day.

On the other hand, Ike was able to drive hard to the hoop to score on a high, floating layup, and he seemed to be more comfortable going to his left than to his right.  He also managed to score on a quick put back after grabbing an offensive rebound.

However, he was quite turnover prone in this game. For the positives, Ike can pass out of the post.  He managed to pass out of a double team to notch an assist, and he also found a wide-open teammate on a backdoor cut to set up another score later on.  However, he would tend to throw lazy passes out of the post that would often get intercepted, and he also threw an inaccurate pass that sailed out of bounds due to miscommunication.  He also lowered his shoulder when posting up another time that led him to commit a charging foul.

Ike did a tremendous job of rebounding the basketball.  He was quite active at crashing the glass, and he would get tough boards in traffic time over time.  He also played adequate defense.  He was able to intercept a poorly thrown pass to get a steal.  He also managed to poke a ball away when defending in the post back to his man, and he then held his ground, contested the shot, and forced a miss.  He also stayed with an opposing ball handler to successfully challenge a three-point shot another time.  Another time though, he gave up too much space to his man, and he allowed him to score on a three-point shot.  He also would sometimes struggle to defend opponents off the dribble or to stay in front of them, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Graham Ike did not play very well in his team’s loss to Wyoming.  Still, he is a strong, mobile big man that showed promise as an interior player, and he played better than expected defense.  However, he almost exclusively looked to score or operate in the low post, and he was entirely too predictable in trying to do so, which would often lead him to miss shots and turn the ball over.  He will need to extend his shooting range and take more outside shots in games, and he will need to improve his ability to pass the basketball.  He didn’t play very well in this game, but assuming that Wyoming will earn a postseason berth, Ike will have plenty of more chances to make a positive impression later on this season.

I also wanted to watch this game to see what Wyoming’s senior point forward, Hunter Maldonado could do against another very talented college basketball team.  However, Maldonado did not play very well at all, and he really struggled to make plays for most of this game.  Aside from throwing down an open dunk on a wide-open backdoor cut late in this match, he also did not look very athletic for most of this contest.

Maldonado really struggled to make plays or to score on offense.  He missed on both of his threes, and he also threw up a perhaps, uncharacteristic air-ball three on a dribble handoff late in this game.  He didn’t take nearly enough threes, and he will need to shoot far more three-pointers to find his shooting touch on offense.

He did do a satisfactory job of scoring on post-up plays.  He managed to back his man down far in the post as he established getting deep position, and he then scored on a turnaround, baby hook down low.  He also managed to score on an emphatic dunk off of a backdoor cut.  Maldonado also drew a non-shooting foul on a right-handed drive once.  However, he really struggled to create his own shot, especially when he would get swarmed, and he missed once on a wild drive to the hoop.  He’s not very quick, so he often had trouble getting all the way to the rim.  He also rarely ever looked to go left, so it’s uncertain if he can change directions or consistently score against upper-tier defenders.

He also displayed average at best playmaking skills in this game.  Maldonado is a tall, ball-handling point forward that plays unselfishly, almost to a fault. He will look to find open shooters, and he can make passes off the dribble and out of the post.  He has good hands, and he was able to make a tough catch early on.  However, he also was quite turnover prone on offense, and he often had trouble making plays against quicker, more athletic defenders.  He had trouble handling the ball when heavily pressured, and he had the ball poked away from him to commit a couple of turnovers.  He also threw a lazy entry pass that got intercepted another time.

He didn’t grab nearly as many boards as anticipated, but Maldonado was able to swoop in to get several defensive rebounds in this game.  He really struggled defensively, though.  On one good play, he managed to stay with a quicker guard on a drive, as he moved well to his right to force a miss.  On the downside, he tended to commit careless reach-in fouls, often due to over-aggressiveness.  He also tended to commit blocking fouls on drives, as he wouldn’t quite be in position to draw the charge.  There was one play where he didn’t cut off the penetration when guarding on a drive, and he bit on a ball fake to allow a score around the basket.  He tended to sag too far off of shooters, which would lead him to allow opponents to score on deep threes.

Overall, Hunter Maldonado has been a very productive player at the collegiate level, but he brought forth a very underwhelming performance in his team’s loss to Colorado State.  He is only an average athlete, and he really struggled to make plays against more athletic players on both ends of the floor.  Even more troubling was his lack of a jump shot or willingness to shoot, and he just couldn’t execute or make plays for most of the night.  He’s been very productive at the collegiate level, but he might be too physically limited to be able to make it to the NBA.  He’ll also need to add a reliable jump shot to his arsenal, but his ability to distribute the basketball and play multiple positions could enable him to carve out a lengthy playing career in professional basketball.

Wyoming’s 6-3 freshman combo guard, Noah Reynolds played fairly well in his team’s loss to Colorado State.  He showed off versatile scoring skills, and he also defended well in this game. Reynolds was able to dribble around to score on a smooth, pull-up three to show his shooting skills.  He also drove hard to his left to score early on.  However, he would often struggle to score in traffic, as he would tend to miss awkwardly, and he also had his shot blocked once.

He also defended the ball well.  He managed to stay with an opposing ball handler to block a shot emphatically off of a drive due to possessing solid athleticism, timing, and instincts.  Reynolds also contested a corner three to force a miss.  He also managed to successfully draw a charge another time.  Sometimes though, he would commit touch fouls due to over-aggressiveness.

Overall, Noah Reynolds is a talented combo guard that can make plays on both ends of the floor.  He will need to trust his outside shot more, far more, and he will also need to improve his playmaking skills.  He will need time to continue to develop and hone his game, but he could be a prospect to keep tabs on in the future.