USA Basketball Member: Jabari came out of nowhere. He literally showed up to camp when we picked the team. He had never been invited to the three previous minicamps. That was his first USA experience, the camp in Florida when we were picking the team. That never goes well. Everyone’s first experience, it’s always the ball’s different, the rules are different, the other guys have been here before, so I’ve got to kind of find my way. He didn’t have that. He’s one of the few guys in that setting I didn’t see struggle the first time through. He dominated the first time. That camp was the first time NBA scouts were allowed to come to our training camps for the younger teams. So this is 16 and under, in 2019. Just so happens, Jabari Smith is there, and he killed it. Any scout who watched us for the two days had Jabari in the top two or three guys there. They started their file on him in May of 2019, and three years later, he’s done what he’s needed to do.
He wasn’t like this physically dominant dude. But he made shots. He could handle the ball. He could pass the ball. You could see the other parts that he didn’t have because he wasn’t strong enough, but you could see it was there. His body had to get there. He could move his feet, so you knew he’d be able to switch stuff. He was really good. And you could see how good he was going to be. This long, lanky kid that came in. He could shoot the ball, he could create for himself. It’s just going to be, is he strong enough? It’s going to be physical. But he’s so good. His length allows him to shoot over people.
It looks like, watching Auburn, he’s gotten a lot stronger. His body is starting to fill out. He’s still not where he’s going to be. If I’m playing the Celtics, you’re either going to put Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum on him. He’s got to be able to take the physicality that comes along with that. And now, you’re not always going to be able to use your length to shoot over people; you’ve got to create some space to shoot over people. He’s got the skill set to do it. It’s just, is he going to have the strength to do it? Eventually, he will.
Eastern Conference executive 1: If you asked me that question early in the year, when (Duke) played at the Garden, I would have said Banchero. Now, what you see from Banchero now, he’s about 85 percent of the player he’s going to be. Fine-tune some things, improve the jump shot. But the other kid (Smith) has all of the upside. He reminds me of, in how he plays, and his makeup, Rashard Lewis. Rashard may have had a nasty streak, but he didn’t always play with it. What’s missing with Smith when I went to see him, you’d like to see a guy with an attitude, who’s that skilled, of I’m going to get it. He deferred fairly quickly, when he didn’t have to.
Western Conference executive 1: Arguably probably as good, if not the best, long-range, 3-point shooting prospects with size to come along in a while. Off the top of my head, I’m hard-pressed to come up with someone better. Really can stretch the floor and could be quite a weapon on the right team. He’s not a self-creator. Not a guy you give the ball, and the clock runs down, can get his own. Maybe that comes in time, maybe it doesn’t. But he’s still going to be a big-time player even without that.
Got better on the boards, though I wouldn’t consider him a rebounding machine. He’s growing into his body. It’s sort of a lean and supple one, that’s going to put a lot of weight and strength on. You can see that coming. Good with mobility. Not a big-time shot blocker, but he does move his feet well. Has the potential to be OK guarding out on the floor once he learns the nuances of pick-and-roll, which is a big part of the evaluation of big men these days. And that’s why so many of them fall short. I think he’ll be a harder big man than most to play off the floor during the playoffs. I look for him to be a hell of an outside shooter in the league. Can run the floor on the break. You get it to him; he can dunk in traffic. He can drive a closeout straight line; he’s just not a guy with a whole bunch of wiggle, doing a lot of creating and making a play there. He deserves serious consideration for the first-overall pick.
Going into his senior year of high school, he was a top-10 pick. They knew that. But I don’t think everybody had him where he is today. I (initially compared him with) LaMarcus Aldridge as far as a big guy who’s a jump shooter first, but Rashard (Lewis) is what I really had. But this guy, when he’s on, man, midrange, he doesn’t create his shots, but he gets off the dribble in a real fancy package. He can get, in various ways, where he needs to be with the shot. His size and length is so big, he’s almost always shooting over the top, very clear shooting vision. He’s very hard to alter that shot. He was kind of a non-rebounder at the start of the year, and he got better.
He wasn’t like this physically dominant dude. But he made shots. He could handle the ball. He could pass the ball. You could see the other parts that he didn’t have because he wasn’t strong enough, but you could see it was there. His body had to get there. He could move his feet, so you knew he’d be able to switch stuff. He was really good. And you could see how good he was going to be. This long, lanky kid that came in. He could shoot the ball, he could create for himself. It’s just going to be, is he strong enough? It’s going to be physical. But he’s so good. His length allows him to shoot over people.
It looks like, watching Auburn, he’s gotten a lot stronger. His body is starting to fill out. He’s still not where he’s going to be. If I’m playing the Celtics, you’re either going to put Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum on him. He’s got to be able to take the physicality that comes along with that. And now, you’re not always going to be able to use your length to shoot over people; you’ve got to create some space to shoot over people. He’s got the skill set to do it. It’s just, is he going to have the strength to do it? Eventually, he will.
Eastern Conference executive 1: If you asked me that question early in the year, when (Duke) played at the Garden, I would have said Banchero. Now, what you see from Banchero now, he’s about 85 percent of the player he’s going to be. Fine-tune some things, improve the jump shot. But the other kid (Smith) has all of the upside. He reminds me of, in how he plays, and his makeup, Rashard Lewis. Rashard may have had a nasty streak, but he didn’t always play with it. What’s missing with Smith when I went to see him, you’d like to see a guy with an attitude, who’s that skilled, of I’m going to get it. He deferred fairly quickly, when he didn’t have to.
Western Conference executive 1: Arguably probably as good, if not the best, long-range, 3-point shooting prospects with size to come along in a while. Off the top of my head, I’m hard-pressed to come up with someone better. Really can stretch the floor and could be quite a weapon on the right team. He’s not a self-creator. Not a guy you give the ball, and the clock runs down, can get his own. Maybe that comes in time, maybe it doesn’t. But he’s still going to be a big-time player even without that.
Got better on the boards, though I wouldn’t consider him a rebounding machine. He’s growing into his body. It’s sort of a lean and supple one, that’s going to put a lot of weight and strength on. You can see that coming. Good with mobility. Not a big-time shot blocker, but he does move his feet well. Has the potential to be OK guarding out on the floor once he learns the nuances of pick-and-roll, which is a big part of the evaluation of big men these days. And that’s why so many of them fall short. I think he’ll be a harder big man than most to play off the floor during the playoffs. I look for him to be a hell of an outside shooter in the league. Can run the floor on the break. You get it to him; he can dunk in traffic. He can drive a closeout straight line; he’s just not a guy with a whole bunch of wiggle, doing a lot of creating and making a play there. He deserves serious consideration for the first-overall pick.
Going into his senior year of high school, he was a top-10 pick. They knew that. But I don’t think everybody had him where he is today. I (initially compared him with) LaMarcus Aldridge as far as a big guy who’s a jump shooter first, but Rashard (Lewis) is what I really had. But this guy, when he’s on, man, midrange, he doesn’t create his shots, but he gets off the dribble in a real fancy package. He can get, in various ways, where he needs to be with the shot. His size and length is so big, he’s almost always shooting over the top, very clear shooting vision. He’s very hard to alter that shot. He was kind of a non-rebounder at the start of the year, and he got better.
