On Wednesday, James Bouknight made an announcement that UConn fans have been mentally preparing themselves to hear for a while: he has declared for the NBA Draft and will be leaving UConn after his sophomore season:
While this news comes as no surprise, it will certainly be an adjustment for the team to move on without this serious talent. UConn hasn't had a player with the potential to be a lottery pick since 2012 when Andre Drummond was selected 9th overall.
A recent film session with Bouknight and ESPN NBA Draft Analyst Mike Schmitz provides a better understanding of what the high-flying Husky brings to the next level. The two broke down film from this past season, looking at some plays where he excelled and some where he would have done things differently. The exercise helps illustrate his talent and playmaking ability while also showcasing his knowledge of the game.
Here are some highlights from their enlightening conversation:
How his confidence has grown over the years
"Coming in, Hurley told me that he thought I was a catch and shoot 3-point player, he didn't know I liked to try to score off the dribble and play the mid-range. I've always been a comfortable shooter but this year, before the season even started, I felt the most comfortable I've been as a player, like an all-around player, and I felt like I could do anything on the court."
The evolution of his hops
"When I was a freshman in high school I couldn't even dunk. When I got my first rim-grazed dunk I couldn't stop. I would just go to the gym and I promise you I would just try to dunk, the whole time like I wouldn't shoot. And over time it evolved and I started to do windmills and crazy stuff and it just turned into this."
How he improved his float game
"Last season, even the beginning of this season, I was trying to force stuff at the rim when I could've easily just shot a little mid-range pull-up or floater. And Hurley's been stressing me a lot this year about getting to my spot and taking the easy one. And I feel like a floater is the easy way to get an easy basket in the lane, like it's a layup, for real."
Why his hesitation off the dribble is so dangerous
"This is the main part of my game. It's such a simple move and there's a lot of combinations out of this move. Being able to shoot the three so well and having the hesitation in your game, you're able to get your defender off-balance which is what it's all about."
His basketball "superpowers"
"The hesitation and then there's the shot fake. That's just part of my game and something I do to keep the defense guessing. That's really what I say my game is just having the defense guess what I'm gonna try to do next. Always have somebody wondering 'What's he about to do.' That type of thing."
The intensity of UConn practice
"If you just watched practice, we smack talk, we talk to each other in a different type of way, and it's just like, 'You're not scoring on me' it's just straight like that and that's the mentality we all go into in this game. Just like winning battles. We have a category in our film like battles won and battles lost, and being able to win individual battles is a big part of it."
Why he excels in transition
"For a 6'5" guard I'm really quick on my feet and I feel like when I'm pushing the ball on transition, I feel like no one can beat me down the court."
The importance of rebounding
"Rebounding is something I feel is essential to being a taller athletic guard. Getting a defensive rebound and being able to push it in transition and start the offense yourself or, on offense, being able to find the easy basket or when to energize your team when you need an energy boost."
How he can become a lockdown defender
"I feel like I could definitely improve off the ball like staying engaged. I feel like sometimes I get disengaged like maybe I'm tired or trying to take a possession off. Just staying engaged the whole time, staying focused."
The NBA players he models his game after
"A lot of people been saying I play like Zac Levine but I've been watching a lot of Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, a ton of Dame (Damian Lillard), just like small guard, little guards, where I can take ball-handling, pick-and-roll stuff from them and then someone like Zac Levine, an athletic guard, someone who can score and shoot the three, play both sides of the ball."
How he can hone his craft to become a better player
"Making reads on the ball screen and continuing to get better with that. Continue to become a better ball-handler, a better rebounder, better on the ball defender, off the ball defender. Just like mastering the game, understanding the game more. Being a student of it. Like everyone always says, 'Be a student of the game.' Being able to listen to what people have to say to me, like constructive criticism, being able to take that and apply it to my game and better myself."
