u/oakcask

Philon is a prospect that I‘ve mostly ignored. Based on scouting reports, he just didn't seem like my kind of player. Shoot-first, kind of ball-hoggy, small combo guard? Not for me.

So it was to my surprise that while scouting Aday Mara in Michigan’s Sweet 16 game against Alabama, I realized I couldn’t take my eyes off of Philon. I decided to watch him closely for several games: vs. Michigan, vs. Darius Acuff and Arkansas, and the Kentucky game where he went 0-6 from 3. I always like to see how players look when their shot isn’t falling.

The video above summarizes what I found. There are three major themes:

1. Philon is one of the best ball-handlers I’ve ever seen, full stop. This isn’t just a “strength;” his handle is absolutely world-class. He gets anywhere he wants on the court, at any time. 
2. He is a fantastic and willing passer, very sophisticated in PnR. It’s hard to clip something that didn’t happen, but I did not see over-shooting; I saw a player constantly creating advantages and patiently converting them into open looks for teammates.
3. He plays strong. Philon is only 176 pounds but he creates contact and uses leverage to move bigger players. Opposing teams did not target him on defense.

The big picture for me: I want NBA prospects to have one skill they can rely on from Day 1 in the NBA. Philon has two: his handle and his passing. You can give him the ball and expect him to beat his man, every time, and then do something useful with that advantage. He does need to put on weight, but he is functionally strong; you don’t see him getting pushed around like Keaton Wagler. 

Ultimately I think Philon belongs - at minimum - in the same tier as Wagler, Flemings, and Brown Jr. I'd love to hear what you all think. If you want even more Philon scouting I have a total of 47 notes on him (lol) and 100s on other players on Grinding Tape. Add your own! I know you’ve got hot takes!

So scouting reports and highlight reels are great, but I'm a big believer in watching full game tape. You just see things you don't pick up in more condensed formats.

I've been concerned about Keaton Wagler's defense with his slight frame, so I wanted to take a close look at how he help up against an NBA-caliber squad in Michigan. I pulled up the full game on Grinding Tape and left notes on every possession I thought was telling.

The video above summarizes what I found. Long story short: it's pretty brutal. Wagler has poor footwork and anticipation on defense, and isn't giving great effort. But the biggest issue, IMO, is his frame: he's just getting ragdolled time and time again because he doesn't have the lower body or core strength to hold his position.

A few specific plays to highlight:

• On this play, Elliot Cadeau - who himself is listed at only 180 pounds - beats Wagler 1:1 to the rim, then literally just pushes him out of the way.
• On this play, Wagler again takes a bump that leaves him several feet under the basket with his hands down. Gives up an uncontested layup.
• On this play, Wagler ends up facing the basket (??) on a pretty simple rejected screen from Cadeau

Wagler is a tremendously gifted offensive player, even with his athletic limitations. He is going to add value on that side of the floor. But I'm concerned that he is going to be effectively unplayable in Year 1, and maybe beyond, with this kind of defensive performance. He is going to get targeted ruthlessly because even small guards are going right through him.

I'm very curious what the community thinks about this. You can also leave notes on any game on Grinding Tape if you want to share your scouting publicly.

If you’re a draft nut like me, you probably have a scouting workflow: check the mocks; switch to YouTube, try to find a good scouting report, sift through a lot of garbage, open 30 tabs, rinse, repeat. It’s exhausting.

I wanted everything useful in one place, without the garbage. So I built it: grindingtape.com

For every prospect:, I've got:

• Draft range across top mock drafts
• Every high-quality video scouting report
• Every full game on the internet, with player stats and opponents - so you can scout multiple players in the same game
• Time-stamped notes so you can mark interesting plays

Want to watch Brayden Burries go off for 31? I’ve got that. But what about when he went 1-5 against Kingston Flemings and Houston? That's on the site too.  

The part I personally think is the coolest is that you can leave your own scouting notes, timestamped to specific plays in full games - and share with the world. 

But I want to know what YOU think. Please tell me - is this useful for you? How could I make it more useful? What is most annoying in your scouting workflow? I will try to solve it for you, seriously.

This is a free site by the way, no ads, no signup. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!