Bored today, so I wanted to catch up on the Stokes hype. I didn’t know much about his size and athleticism, so I watched a bunch of highlight videos…
He seems pretty mobile for a biggish guy. He was handling the ball well, dribbling in open space and in traffic. strong finisher at the rim. That gives me confidence in his abilities for sure. He was aggressive.
I thought going in that he’d be more “4” ish than guard/wing ish. I’m guessing he won’t be quick or agile enough to cover a shifty shooting guard, but I think he can hold his own against wings and bigger forwards. If he stays in front of a quick shooting guard, it maybe hard to initially get by him. His size will allow switching and hedging. But these highlights were mostly showcasing offense, so we’ll see how he defends.
He doesn’t look like a pure shooter, not that I expected it, but more like a guy who can put up and make shots. I didn’t see any pick and roll highlights, but I hope he can learn these skills. Good size and strength to be a rim cutter and finisher. I can see him posting up from mid range and backing his guy down. He’ll be our baseline alley oop dunker for sure!
I like his confidence.
I just saw Self said he’s a mix of Wiggins and Josh Jackson. I’m not sure I see the athleticism like Wiggs, but ok.
