Observations on Jalen Suggs, Luka Garza, and Corey Kispert

December 19^th, 2020

By Alan Lu

Today’s game between Gonzaga and Iowa was a highly anticipated matchup, as it featured two of the best players in college basketball in Jalen Suggs and Luka Garza, one of whom could be the top pick in the 2021 draft.  This also featured two top teams that are currently both ranked in the top 5 right now.  It was a frenetic, fast paced game that favored Gonzaga, and Gonzaga was able to jump on Iowa quickly to get off to an early lead in the first half. 

Gonzaga’s freshman guard, Jalen Suggs had a tremendous first half, as he scored 18 points and made 5 threes in that time span, and he went on to score 27 points in his team’s win over Iowa. Luka Garza also played very well in this game, as he scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his team.  Gonzaga was able to hold on to get a double-digit win, and they were nearly able to put up a hundred points, as they scored 99 points in this match against Iowa.  Here are my thoughts on how Suggs and Garza fared, as well as how the other prospects played in this very competitive game.

Jalen Suggs had a very good showing in his team’s double-digit win over Iowa.  He especially played well in the first half, and he showed off strong all-around skills to help lead him to get the victory. Suggs did a great job of knocking down threes to provide his team floor spacing on offense.  He made quick threes early and often.  He can make them off the catch or dribble, and he is a very good ball handler that can use ball fakes and step-back moves to score on long-range jumpers. 

He also showed a solid ability to score off the dribble and in transition.  He is a speedy scorer that would drive hard to the basket to draw numerous fouls to often get to the free throw line, and he also was able to score on a speedy layup early on.  However, sometimes he would try to rush his moves, which would lead him to miss tough shots in traffic.

Plus, he also displayed decent playmaking skills.  Suggs is a very athletic, skilled playmaker that has very good foot-speed and solid court vision, and he would tend to throw good passes off the dribble to find teammates on the move to set up scores for them.  He can find them in stride, and he also passed the ball well when he would get out in transition.  However, he ran into turnover trouble, which bogged him down in the second half.  Sometimes, he would try to do too much, as he would go too fast when handling the ball, and he had a couple of balls stolen away from him.  He also threw a couple of inaccurate passes that went astray on other occasions.

Suggs also did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  He would swoop in to grab plenty of boards on both ends of the floor, and he was active at crashing the glass to help his team get rebounds. He also played good defense against Iowa.  Suggs is a very athletic, rangy defender that has a terrific motor, and he played shut down defense for most of this game.  He would quickly jump passes to get a plethora of steals, and he would dive on the floor to help his team get them.  He also did a good job of contesting threes to force misses, and he also deflected a pass another time.  He also raced back to make an impressive shot block on a drive in transition, as he leapt up high to swat it to a teammate to get a stop in the second half.  However, he would space out every once in a while, which would lead his man to get open looks to score.  He also would sometimes be too aggressive on his close outs, which would lead him to commit touch fouls.

In general, Jalen Suggs played very well, and he had a dominant first half, as he would go on to score 27 points while also collecting 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block to lead his team to an impressive win over Iowa.  Suggs played a strong all-around game, and he made a number of terrific, highlight-reel worthy plays on the floor, and he looks to be a strong contender to be the number one overall pick in the 2021 Draft.

Iowa’s 6-11 senior center, Luka Garza also had a strong showing in his team’s loss to Gonzaga.  He did a tremendous job of scoring around the basket, especially in the post, and he also was able to make a couple of impactful shot blocks to help his team defensively in this game.

Garza did a very good job of scoring in the post.  He has great strength to often get deep position on the block, and he would often score on jump hooks, and tough, acrobatic layups.  He also has a quick spin move, and he also can use drop step moves to score and get numerous free throws.  He will use his tremendous strength to overpower defenders, and he also was able to throw down a powerful, two-handed dunk once.  He didn’t miss often, and he also was able to make a turnaround, face-up jumper from the mid-range after getting the ball down low.

Plus, he also managed to overpower his defender on a strong baseline drive to score another time.  On the downside, he was unable to make either of his three-point attempts, and he was unable to connect on the threes that he took from long distances.

Also, Garza displayed adequate playmaking skills.  He generally passes the ball well out of the post, and he can find open shooters and cutters to set up scoring chances for them.  He also set a good on-ball screen to help his teammate score on a drive to the hoop.  There was one play where he committed a turnover though, as he was doubled in the post, and he tried to force up a shot rather than pass out, and he had a ball stolen away from him that time instead. In addition, Garza did a fairly good job of rebounding the basketball.  He was especially active at crashing the defensive glass, as he was able to get plenty of defensive boards for his team.

Defensively, he looked to be about average at best.  He was able to make a couple of very solid plays in the second half, but he struggled to defend for most of this game.  Garza was able to rotate to block a couple of shots hard around the basket due to possessing good length and timing, and he also would rotate on drives to force misses.  He has decent short area quickness, and he can play solid defense when he is able to hang back and defend in the paint.  On the other hand, he had trouble defending quicker players out in space.  He had trouble staying in front of quicker ball handlers, and he tended to commit fouls and allow scores when defending them off the dribble.  He also would sag too far off his man, which would cause him to allow opponents to score on jumpers.  Other times, he would leave his man to double another post player, which would lead his team to allow opponents to score on cuts to the basket.

In summary, Luka Garza played well, as he was especially effective as an inside scorer to help his team stay in this game.  He scored 30 points, and he also managed to get 10 rebounds in his team’s loss to Iowa.  He is a terrific player at the collegiate level, but in the NBA, he will need to shore up his defensive skills and likely also work on being a more consistent outside shooter.  He really helped himself today by showing off strong low post scoring skills and he also moved fairly well, especially on offense, and he looked to have strengthened his case to be a first round pick for the 2021 Draft.

Gonzaga’s 6-7 senior forward, Corey Kispert had a solid showing in his team’s win over Iowa.  He showed off versatile scoring skills as he especially shot the ball well early on, and also showed off better than advertised athletic gifts, as he was able to make some solid hustle plays to help his team on both ends of the court.

Kispert did a very good job of knocking down spot-up threes off the catch to provide his team with floor spacing on offense.  He has a quick release that enables him to easily get his shot off, and he also can run off the ball to get open quickly.  He also showed a solid ability to score off the dribble, as he was able to score on quick layups on straight-line drives, and Kispert would run the floor hard to get the ball on the break.

He also displayed solid playmaking skills in this game.  Kispert is an unselfish player that would make the extra pass to keep the ball moving, and he was able to rack up a lot of assists against Iowa.  However, on one drive to the hoop, he had a ball taken away from him to commit a turnover once.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds, he was able to chase down balls to get a pair of defensive rebounds for his team.  However, late in the game, he didn’t quite block out his man, and he ended up fouling an opponent on a put back that led his team to allow a score and an extra free throw simultaneously.

Also, Kispert played solid defense in this game.  Kispert was able to jump a pass to get a steal, and he would close out hard on shooters to force misses.  However, sometimes he would be too aggressive on this end of the court, which would lead him to commit touch fouls.

Overall, Corey Kispert played very well to help lead his team to a win over Iowa.  He is a skilled swingman that can shoot and score the basketball, and he also showed off solid athletic gifts in this game.  He is a solid complementary player that plays an efficient game, and he could project to be a solid pick for an NBA team in the mid to late first round range of the upcoming draft.

Gonzaga’s 6-5 redshirt junior guard, Joel Ayayi also put forth a solid performance to lead his team to a win over Iowa.  He played well on both ends of the court, and he did a tremendous job of rebounding the basketball in this game.

Ayayi was a chairman of the boards in this game, and he had a game-best 18 rebounds against Iowa.  He was everywhere on the glass, and he would often leap up to get boards on both ends of the floor.  He did commit an over the back foul once, but overall, he did an excellent job of rebounding the basketball against Iowa.

Plus, Ayayi also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He would run the floor to score in transition and off of backdoor cuts, and he also got the ball on the break to score on a breakaway, two-handed dunk.  He also dribbled in to draw free throws off of a put back.  However, sometimes he would miss shots around the basket due to rushing, and he also had a couple of his shots blocked in the post.  He also took a couple of jumpers outside of the paint, but he was unable to connect on long-distance shots.

Also, he displayed fairly good playmaking skills in this game.  Ayayi is an unselfish player that would make the extra pass to keep the ball moving, and throws solid interior passes, which allowed him to get numerous assists.  However, he would tend to throw ill-advised passes that would go astray, and he also had a ball poked away off of him when handling the ball on the break another time.

Defensively, he looked to be fairly average.  Ayayi was active at contesting shots in the paint to force misses.  However, he also tended to over-help in the paint as he would sag too far off of shooters, which would lead him to allow opponents to score on jumpers.

Overall, Ayayi had a solid showing in his team’s win over Iowa.  He is an athletic combo guard that did a terrific job of rebounding the basketball, and he also dished out 6 assists to help his team on offense as well.  He played a strong game from a team standpoint.  He will need to improve his outside shot, but he is a skilled, high IQ basketball player that could be a solid pick for a team in the second round range of the 2021 Draft.

Iowa’s 6-6 junior swingman, Joe Wieskamp also played well in his team’s loss to Gonzaga.  He excelled as a sharpshooter, and he also played a solid all-around game when he was on the court. Wieskamp shot the ball very well, as he excelled as a floor spacer in this game.  He would make quick, spot-up threes off the catch, and his ability to move off the ball would help him get open shots on offense.  He also is a skilled ball handler that would use crafty dribble moves that enabled him to make pull-up jumpers from the mid-range.

He also did a good job of scoring in the post.  Wieskamp was able to get the ball on the block, and he was able to make a turnaround, fadeaway jumper.   Plus, he also excelled at scoring on hustle plays, as he managed to score on a cut as well as off of a put back.  However, he struggled more to score off the dribble when he would take the ball all the way to the basket, as he would miss on tough layups in traffic.

Also, he displayed solid playmaking skills in this game.  Wieskamp is an unselfish player that passes the ball well, and he would patiently kick the ball out to shooters to set up scores for them.  He excelled at throwing passes off the dribble due to possessing good court vision.  He didn’t turn the ball over often, but there was one play where dragged his foot when handling the ball that led him to commit a turnover. Plus, Wieskamp did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  He leapt up to get numerous boards on both ends of the floor, and he possesses a good motor that allows him to chase down balls to get many boards for his team.

Defensively, he looked to be about average.  Wieskamp did a good job of getting steals in this game.  When defending an opposing ball handler, he was able to take a ball away from him as his opponent fell to get the steal.  He also used his length to deflect a weak, inaccurately thrown entry pass to a teammate to force another turnover.  However, he had more trouble defending shooters, as he would give up too much space to allow scores to them.  Another time, he committed a reach-in foul when defending a drive in transition.

Overall, Joe Wieskamp played well in his team’s loss to Gonzaga.  He is a sharpshooter that can score the basketball, but he also showed off his high basketball IQ, as he made solid plays on both ends of the floor.  He grabbed many rebounds, and he also passed the ball well.   He will need to shore up his on-ball defense, but his jump shot and feel for the game could make him a solid pick for an NBA team in the second round range of the upcoming draft.

Iowa’s 6-0 sophomore guard, Joe Toussaint played really well in his team’s loss to Gonzaga.  He’s a speedy, fleet-footed playmaker that consistently was able to get into the lane to score on fast drives to the hoop, and he would consistently get past his man to be able to score in the paint at will.  Toussaint was able to throw some good passes off the dribble to set up scoring opportunities for his teammates.  On the downside, he did commit some careless ball-handling turnovers, and he had trouble knocking down jump shots from outside of the paint area.

Defensively, he was able to poke a ball away when defending in the backcourt to nearly get a steal, but he also was called for a reach-in foul another time. Overall, Joe Toussaint excelled as a scorer off the bench for his team, and his tremendous foot-speed allowed him to score 14 points in his team’s loss to Gonzaga.  He will need to improve his outside shot and playmaking skills, but his strong athletic gifts and ability to score could make him an intriguing NBA prospect to watch in the future.

Gonzaga’s 6-5 junior point guard, Andrew Nembhard played fairly well in his team’s win over Iowa.  He made solid plays on both ends of the floor, and he did a good job of running the team at the point in this game.

Nembhard shot the ball fairly well, as he knocked down jumpers to provide his floor spacing for his team on offense.  He was able to make a floater from the mid-range area, and he also used a pump fake move to make a step back three.  He struggled to consistently score on drives to the hoop, but he was able to draw numerous free throws when handling the ball to score late in this game. He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  Nembhard ran the floor well, and he would get the ball on the break to score on quick layups in transition.

He also displayed solid playmaking skills.  Nembhard did a good job of passing off the dribble, and he would consistently find teammates on the move to set up scores for them.  He possesses good court vision, which enabled him to throw crisp passes off the dribble to get his teammates the basketball in prime spots.  He did commit one turnover though, as he threw a weak entry pass that ended up getting intercepted by a defender.

Also, Nembhard did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  He was quite active on the glass, and he was able to haul in multiple boards on both ends of the floor.  He also would sometimes push the ball up the court after getting defensive rebounds.

Plus, he also played solid defense in this game.  Nembhard is an agile player that has active hands, and he did a great job of poking balls away from an opposing ball handlers to get numerous steals in this game.  However, there was one play where he was caught napping on the defensive end, and he ended up allowing his man to score on a backdoor cut.

Overall, Andrew Nembhard had a solid showing in his team’s win over Iowa.  He excelled at knocking down jump shots, and he played a smart, sound game on both ends of the floor in this game.  While he may not possess elite physical tools, Nembhard’s high basketball IQ and solid skill set could make him a good pick for an NBA team in the second round range of the 2021 Draft.

Gonzaga’s 6-10 sophomore center, Drew Timme had a decent showing in his team’s win over Iowa.  He scored efficiently as he was effective as a scorer in the post and from mid-range, but he struggled with turnovers and on the defensive end at times in this game.

Timme did a good job of scoring on mid-range jump shots.  He also did a decent job of scoring in the post.  He would score on jump hooks, and he would also take the ball aggressively to the hoop to draw fouls upon his defenders.  Timme also excelled at scoring on hustle plays, and he also managed to score on a roll to the rim once.  However, he also missed a couple of times around the basket, as he didn’t always have his rhythm on offense.

He also displayed fairly average playmaking skills in this game.  Timme is an unselfish player that passes well out of the post, and he would consistently find cutters to set up scoring chances for his teammates.  However, sometimes he would throw inaccurate passes, and he also would occasionally set moving screens on offense.  There was another play where he couldn’t quite catch a low pass on a roll to the rim, which led to a team turnover another time. Timme did a very good job of rebounding the basketball.  He was quite active at crashing the glass, especially on the offensive end, and he was able to get numerous boards for his team on both ends of the floor.

Defensively, he looked to be about average at best.  He was active in contesting shots in the paint, as he was able to force some misses.  He also managed to pounce upon a loose ball after his teammate poked a ball away to help his team get a steal, and he also deflected a pass another time to nearly get another.  However, he had some trouble defending in the post, as he would give up deep position, and he would get beat on moves, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.  Other times, he would be out of position when trying to rotate to defend drives, which would lead his team to commit touch fouls.

Overall, Drew Timme was able to excel as a scorer, but he struggled defensively at other moments of this game.  He is a strong, mobile big man that showed that he can score in the post and make mid-range jumpers, but he will need to improve his defense, and he will likely need to extend his shooting range out to beyond the arc at the NBA level.  Timme is having a good season as a sophomore at Gonzaga right now, and he is a borderline second round candidate for the upcoming draft, as he could project into a backup center role in the NBA.

Iowa’s 6-11 redshirt sophomore center, Jack Nunge played well off the bench in his team’s loss to Gonzaga.  He especially excelled at making plays in the first half, and he is a high-motor player that made solid plays in the paint in this game.

Nunge showed a solid ability to score on hustle plays.  He would tend to score on put backs and shots in the post, and he also ran off of a curl cut to score on a jump hook.  Plus, he also used a pump fake to score on a drive to the basket.  He did take a couple of threes, but he missed both times when he hoisted them up from beyond the arc. He also rebounded the ball well, and he also was able to block a couple of shots around the basket.  However, he also was prone to committing touch fouls when defending in the post off the ball.

Overall, Nunge had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Gonzaga, and he is an energetic big man that made a lot of good plays early in this game.  He will need to extend his shooting range and work on his outside shot, but his ability to score and make plays in the paint could make him an intriguing prospect to watch in the future.