Hunter Dickinson off-season highlights (3 point shooting!!)
Is it basketball season yet?! Hunter looks to be extending his range to include a 3 point shot and working on finishing with right hand too!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN3b20_l6ia/?igshid=2h6dqvwqwa9b
https://twitter.com/twillszn/status/1384345490419027968?s=21
I'm liking that right hand! The 3-pointers are nice but using the right hand close to the basket feels like a more solid foundation.
Agree 100%. If he can improve his inside game like Davis did.....gonna be fun to watch
Having a good right hand will make him so hard to stop down low. A three point shot will make him $Millions.
It looks like he has a plan for both.
Not that he won't improve that deep game, but I wouldn't get too excited. Seems like every off-season there is some NBA big guy who drops a video of them draining three's in an open gym, including Andre Drummond. It's one thing to hit some catch-and-shoots on a gym floor by yourself and another to have a quick enough release to knock down deep jumpers in live game action.
Gotta start somewhere though
April 20th, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
Pretty much this. You could go my route and clang open jumpers before running out of breath and getting bored.
April 20th, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
If you're 7'1" and have a relatively high release and hit free throws at a high mark, won't that correlate to decent (~35%) 3 point shooting with some practice and game planning?
April 20th, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
The difference between 6'10" Drummond shooting over NBA defenders and 7'1" Hunter shooting over college defenders is pretty big. This will translate and be a nice change of pace to his post-dominance.
April 20th, 2021 at 11:41 AM ^
And in college, big guys are almost never guarded closely on the perimeter, because teams want to keep their big available to play help defense at the rim. Teske was wide open for most of his attempts.
April 20th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
Another key difference: Drummond is objectively one of the worst free throw shooters in the history of the NBA. He's done a lot of work to get his free throw percentage up to the 50s/low 60s, but he simply doesn't have a good shooting touch. He may get in a rhythm in the gym sometimes, but that's a much different thing than a guy with a legitimately soft touch like Dickinson getting reps from distance. It's like the difference between Shaq and Embiid practicing 3s.
Who is the blonde woman he is abusing in the video? Could that be Izzo's next PG?
except HD shoots FTs at a 70+ clip. drummond is under 50. it's no guarantee but HD has a much better chance at being successful at 3s than most 7 footers.
April 20th, 2021 at 10:22 AM ^
You are really on the money.
Looks like he's working with Paige Bueckers
April 20th, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
I'm always blown away by the networking that happens in basketball. Sometimes it seems like everyone knows everyone. Also you gotta love Paige being like "Yeah I'll guard this 7 foot 1 dude, no prob."
Love to see the right hand moves. Combine that with his left hand game and really solid footwork, and he becomes more of a terror inside. The 3-point shooting is nice, but I need to see that in a game setting before I get too excited (Mark Donnal says Hi!)
Donnal would hit the occasional 3. I equate it more to Andre Drummond who appears lights out from 3 in practices, but can never do it in a game.
Donnal was a career 41% 3-point shooter (46-112), although at Michigan it was 37%. Still though, that deserves some respect.
Jon Teske comes to mind. He was 39-144 at Michigan for 27%. If he could have made just one more for every 10 he took...
If he can consistently hit the 3 Hunter is a top 10 pick
I'm gonna call it right now, Hunter Dickinson is the NPOTY next year
The latter is more realistic. Remember Luka Garza has a solid 3 point shot and he couldn't even declare early after being either the NPOTY or the runner up for 2 years in a row. Even now he's not getting respect in NBA circles.
Now a lot of that has to do with his defense, but it also has to do with his body type, playing style, and limitations athletically. And Dickinson has some of that as well.
Good points, but I think they're more different than you think.
Garza is a complete turnstile on defense. I don't see a single position he can defend in the NBA. He'll be the worst defender on the floor in every NBA game he plays. Hunter consistently shut down opposition (including Garza himself) and would be a valuable post defender/rim protector in the NBA right now.
Hunter is 2-3 inches taller than Garza and "plays" taller than him. Garza demolished college defenders with strength and leverage. He won't be able to do that in the NBA.
I'm not saying Hunter will be 7-foot Steph Curry, but he has the building blocks to have more of an NBA career than Garza
April 20th, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
For sure, I just don't ever see him going top 10 in today's NBA.
Them two should have a kid together ! Be a beast
Owosso upvote!
Step aside Caleb, we don't need another wing - Hunter is in the house!
Okay, so that's a little far-fetched, but he does look good handling, driving, and shooting against those 'found standing around in the gym' randos (except for someone that looks like Paige Bueckers - if that's her, she's friggen legit). I like the inside work with his right hand, concentrate on that, please. But if that 3-ptr can be sorted out to be credible in a game... Holy shit.
Keep working, Hunter!
Three point range would be nice and all, but he should be 100% focused on footwork and developing his right hand. If he could get anywhere near Austin Davis' level of footwork and have the ability to finish consistently with his right hand he will be an absolute force. 3's are just gravy at this point.
April 20th, 2021 at 10:56 AM ^
He should be 100% focused on whatever Coach Juwan tells him to focus on. I'm guessing both the 3-ball and the right hand are on that list.
April 20th, 2021 at 12:01 PM ^
I suspect ball security is another one. He had too many turnovers late in the year dribbling down low. If he can limit those, he will score more.
If I remember correctly he took a couple in the first game or two, and ever since I have wondered about the conversation Juwan had with him about that, since I don't think there were any more attempts the rest of the season.
That's just what we need. Love it!
Gotta roll with the headband next year.
With all respect, I think I get better knee bend on my jump shot at 48. But his knees have probably taken more in 20 years than mine in lo these many years.
Nice to see him shooting it well. I saw HD in HS a handful of times (my son was a year behind at Dematha) and his form has always been great. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't shoot 2.5 a game.
April 20th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
With all respect, I think I get better knee bend on my jump shot at 48.
Are you seven feet tall? Using your legs is less important when you're that size.
Working out with Trevor Keels and Paige Bueckers definitely can’t hurt either
As good as HD was this year, I believe he will reach elite levels next season. He will have some excellent complimentary players by his side with Johns and Diabata which will force a lot of teams to not be able to double team. I cannot wait to see this team next year. Go Blue!
April 20th, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
Tbh I think his path to becoming elite is extremely possible. All he really needs is for his right hand to be at least respectable, so teams don't just play for his left hand, and have a few more moves down low and all of the sudden there's not much teams can do to stop him around the rim. If he improves his midrange and 3 point shot, then even better
April 20th, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
Paige bueckers, goat.
And uts not like Hunter could never shoot. He shot it pretty well from deep in high school. He was just unselfish enough to stick to his role this year.
April 20th, 2021 at 10:41 AM ^
While having the ability to hit a 3 would be great, Hell, all Hunter needs is a 12-15ft jump shot (basically from the elbow) and it would make a world of difference. In fact, i don't even recall him trying a shot from that far out. Just that alone would make him near unstoppable in college.
Defenses continued to sag of hunter when he was away from the hop because he never shot.
April 20th, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Spot on.
He doesn't have to develop massive range in order to make the NBA. He needs to be able to consistently knock down those mid-range attempts and be able to pull defenders away from the hoop.
Him hitting threes would be nice, but I don't think he should spend all off-season focusing on that. He needs to improve his move set down low and extend that range just a touch.
April 20th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
He hit a handful of those elbow jumpers over the course of the season. I recall a game (Maryland?) where he hit a couple of them en route to a large point total
He most certainly has that range and a nice shot there. But just not used in that way very often.
April 20th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
From outside he sometimes has a really low gather and release point (kind of the old "shoulder bomb" we used to throw up in middle school).
April 20th, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
Safe to assume he's work more on the hardcourt than on the links this summer?
April 20th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
As a Knicks fan, I've gone through too many offseasons of seeing Mitchell Robinson draining 3's only to never shoot anything besides a dunk in games to get too excited about that lol. FWIW, Hunter's FT shooting and flashes of middies are encouraging. Maybe he takes 1-2 3's a game, like Teske-level? By the time he gets to the NBA I think he will be taking a couple per game.
Right hand is a much more interesting and meaningful development for us next year.
April 20th, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
Man if this dude commits for two more seasons and can train his feet to be more agile while gaining a shot this off season and then better handles next off season, he could fucking crush the NBA. I'm not holding my breath, I'm just saying when I dream this is the stuff I dream about
Would love to see that right hand get better and him extend his range.
That, and some more body work to gain muscle/lose some more fat and he will be a first team All-American terror next season.
I love this kid. Love everything about him.
April 20th, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
Everything has the feel like Juwan year 3 is about to be something really special. Over achieving 2020-21 team fights hard in the tourney and makes a deeper run than people expected. Lose some pieces but replace said pieces with high talent guys (#1 recruiting class) and retain the best experienced guys you realistically could've retained. Your flagship big is working the hell out of his game intent on destroying college dudes. The program culture is built on love, respect and hard work. Everyone is bought in.
If there is a more ready 2021-22 D1 team to claim a national title then let me know who that might be.