Observing Tyrese Hunter, Marcus Carr, and Julian Strawther

November 17^th, 2022

By Alan Lu

Yesterday, I took the time to watch Drew Timme and Gonzaga square off against Dillon Mitchell and Texas.  Drew Timme is one of the best returning players in college basketball, and he is a very skilled, offensive-minded big man that can dominate in the post, and Dillon Mitchell is an extremely athletic combo forward that can make impressive, highlight reel-worthy plays.  I decided to watch them play in an early season, non-conference game.  In this match, Texas dominated due to their strong play of their guards, Tyrese Hunter and Marcus Carr, as they shot the ball really well and made good decisions to help their team get the win over Gonzaga.  Here are my thoughts on how Tyrese Hunter and other various prospects fared in this game.

Texas’ sophomore point guard, Tyrese Hunter put forth a magnificent performance to lead his team to a stunning, blowout win over Gonzaga.  He did a tremendous job of shooting and scoring the basketball, and he really thrived at making shots in the second half to help his team pull away in this game.

Hunter did an exceptional job of making shots, especially from beyond the arc.  He thrived at making threes off the catch and dribble.  He was able to make a crossover, step-back three, and he also showed a knack for making movement threes.  He also showed off a very good mid-range game.  He dribbled off of a screen and pulled up to knock down a mid-range jumper.  He also used a crafty pump fake to score another time.

He’s an agile, lead ball-handler that handles the ball well, and he generally made very good decisions with the ball in his hands on offense.  He also is an active rebounder that was able to collect boards on both ends of the floor.  Overall, Hunter played terrifically, especially in the second half, and he is a very skilled playmaker that could be a very good pick for an NBA team in the first round of the 2023 draft.

Marcus Carr also played very well to help lift Texas to a double-digit win over Gonzaga.  He is a good athlete that can get to anywhere he wants with the ball in his hands on offense, and he thrived as a shooter and scorer, especially in the first half.

He showed a knack for making quick threes, and he also was able to run off ball screens to knock them down early on.  Carr also is an agile player that can score quickly off the dribble, and he was able to make a smooth, step-back mid-range jumper in the first half.  He was a bit streaky with his shot late in the game, but he generally excelled as a shot maker on offense.

He also passed the ball very well, and he would often get the ball to shooters and to his teammates to rack up assists.  Carr would make timely passes, and he made good reads to set up scores for his teammates.  On the other hand, every once in a while he would try to go for a big play too much at times and overtly force the issue, which would occasionally lead him to commit turnovers.

Overall, Marcus Carr had a good showing to help his team get the win over Gonzaga.  He helped himself by playing well against one of the best teams in college basketball, and Carr is an athletic shot maker that could end up being an effective role player in the NBA.

Julian Strawther had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Texas.  He is a mobile, skilled swingman that thrived as a shooter and scorer, especially in the second half.  Strawther is a very good shooter that thrived at making quick, catch-and-shoot threes, and he was able to knock one down late from way out.  He also showed that he can run off the ball to make movement threes.

His shot-creation skills looked to be something of a mixed bag.  He struggled early on to score off the dribble, as he had some trouble getting his shot off, and he also air-balled a mid-range jumper once.  Strawther showed a better ability to score on aggressive drives to the hoop, and he also used a spin move to score late in this match.  He’s not super fast or quick, but he was able to use timely moves to create enough separation to score in the paint.

He also played satisfactory defense.  Strawther was able to make a timely block to prevent an opponent from scoring on a drive.  He also jumped a pass to get a steal.  Overall, Julian Strawther excelled as a shooter, scorer, and defender, and he is a skilled swingman that could end up being a good pick for an NBA team in the late first to the second round range of the 2023 draft.

Texas’ freshman forward, Dillon Mitchell had an entertaining, albeit up and down game in his team’s win over Gonzaga.  He had a slow start in the first half, as he was often passive on offense, and he was not very active early on.  He would go for stretches without being noticed, but he really came on towards the end of the game, and he brought forth numerous highlight reel-worthy plays to help his team ensure the victory.

Mitchell thrived at scoring on hustle plays.  He did a good job of catching lobs off of cuts and transition to score on high-flying, alley-oop dunks.  He generally thrived at scoring on cuts and by slipping quietly past the defense.  He also managed to score on a very athletic tip slam late in this match.  On the other hand, he missed on an alley-oop dunk off of a roll early in the second half, and he didn’t really look to take jumpers or to score off the dribble in this game.  At this stage, Mitchell is basically an underized, but extremely athletic big man that usually looks to score mostly from the dunker spot.

He also did a terrific job of rebounding the basketball, and Mitchell would often look to haul in boards on both ends of the floor.  He also played satisfactory defense.  Mitchell managed to alter a shot inside early on, and he is an athletic, quick forward that showed good footwork when defending out on the perimeter, although his opponents didn’t often look to challenge him.  He made an almost high-flying block when roaming to defend in the post, but it turned out to be a very impressive goaltend.  Still, he showed plenty of promise as a defender overall, which bodes well for him in the future.

Overall, Mitchell wasn’t active enough on offense, but he still made plenty of hustle plays to help his team late in this game, and he still showed the upside that could enable him to be a high draft pick in 2023.  On the other hand, there are some potentially significant concerns about his game for the NBA.  His game visually seems to look remarkably similar to Greg Brown III, another former highly touted prospect that had tremendous athleticism, but showed unremarkable perimeter skills, ended up sliding on draft day, and is currently struggling to get minutes on a currently overachieving Portland Trail Blazers’ team at the moment. 

It’s clear that Mitchell will need to get a jump shot, and he will definitely need to be a considerably more skilled player on offense.  He will also need to show a working dribble game in the future.  Right now, his draft stock may be inflated. At a minimum, if he sticks to playing to his strengths, Dillon Mitchell could end up being a solid pick for an NBA team in the late first to the second round range similar to Utah Jazz’s forward, Jarred Vanderbilt in the association.

Drew Timme played fairly well in his team’s loss to Texas.  He is a good low post scorer that showed the strength, footwork, and shooting touch to consistently score and draw fouls upon his defenders from the block.  He threw an accurate bounce pass to set up a score for a teammate around the basket early on.  He also managed to block a shot off of a drive.

On the other hand, he was sometimes inaccurate with his passes, and sometimes would try to make too many moves when posting up, which seemingly led to a shot clock violation in the first half.  He also tended to be a step slow defensively, as he usually looked to be late to rotate, help, or to get out on shooters, and he didn’t always make an active effort to contest shots on the defensive end.

Overall, Drew Timme thrived as a scorer, but aside from blocking a shot, he seemed to struggle defensively in this game.  He will need to show that he can defend quicker opponents, especially in fast-paced games, but his strong scoring skills could enable him to be a reliable role player in the NBA.

Dylan Disu had a solid showing to help Texas get the win in this game.  He is a strong, mobile big man that thrived as a scorer on offense.  He made open threes and mid-range jumpers, and his size and shooting skills enables him to stretch the defenses.  He also scored on a strong, up and under move in the post.  He ran into foul trouble as he had some trouble defending in the post.  He will need to improve defensively, but his versatility as a scorer combined with having above average athletic gifts could enable him to thrive as a role player in the NBA.

Texas’ 6-7 fifth-year senior forward, Christian Bishop played well on both ends of the floor to help his team defeat Gonzaga.  He excelled as a low post scorer and on rolls to the rim, and he has good balance and body control to finish plays inside.  He also managed to get his hands on a pass to help his team get a steal, and he threw a long outlet pass to set up a score for a teammate on the break.  He is a strong, mobile combo forward that made solid team plays to help his team get the win.  He will need to improve his jump shot and may be in between forward positions for the next level, but Bishop is a productive, team-oriented player that could end up being a solid role player in professional basketball.

Rasir Bolton had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Texas.  He is a speedy, skilled combo guard that had a strong second half after having a slow start to this game.  Bolton was able to go coast to coast to score on a strong drive in transition while getting fouled, and he showed that he can make pull-up threes from well beyond the arc.  He will need to be a more consistent player in games, but he is an athletic shot maker that could project into a microwave scorer type of role in the NBA.

Gonzaga’s sophomore guard Nolan Hickman put forth a mixed bag in his team’s loss to Texas.  He shot the ball well early, as he made smooth pull-up threes, and also made a mid-range floater.  However, he struggled to pass the basketball consistently and took some tough contested shots later on, and he couldn’t keep up with his solid first half performance.  Hickman is an agile, shot-making combo guard, but he will need to improve his court vision, play more under control, and be a more consistent player in the future.

Anton Watson played well early on, as he thrived at scoring off cuts, and also made an open three in the first half.  However, his play faded from there, as he had trouble getting going in the second half, and he tended to over-help and gave up open looks to allow scores on the defensive end.  He will need to be a more disciplined defender, but it’s encouraging that he’s shown the willingness to take more outside shots than he did before, which could certainly help his chances to thrive in pro ball in the future.

All in all, those were my thoughts on how Tyrese Hunter and other various prospects fared in the Texas-Gonzaga game. Thanks for reading.