School: Gonzaga
Year: Junior
Height/Weight: 6’8, 230 lbs
Strengths:
Rui Hachimura is a name that we’ve continued to hear throughout this season. Rui is a monster offensively and he gets better game by game. His first main strength to note is his size and strength. He has the ability to go down on the block and get himself a bucket at will.
He has a wide variety of moves on the block and has phenomenal foot-work as showcased above. He doesn’t necessarily need to out-work his defender because he can just overpower him with his size, but that’s a great sign for the next level.
We were able to see a good amount of Rui last year and the improvements he has made to his game are absolutely astounding. His shot looks remarkably improved and he’s a knock-down artist from the elbow off of the pick and pop. He’s even at times shown the ability to do it off the dribble although it isn’t one of his go-to’s.
Weaknesses:
A couple of the main weaknesses we want to note are his three-point shot and defensive aggressiveness. Let’s start with his three point shot. It’s not exactly that it is a weakness for him, rather that he just has an unwillingness to let it fly right now. He is such a weapon in the pick and pop that it leaves you wanting more when you see him being reluctant to take the three once the ball-handler is able to get him the switch or is even able to draw the extra defender.
Rui has such a beautiful stroke and is one of the better mid-range shooters in all of college basketball. Confidence with that shot is the main issue right now. And that lack of confidence often leads to hesitations on shots.
Defensively, Rui is a bit of a mess at times. As you watch him play, you can kind of tell that he’s still learning the game…which he is! Defensively, we too often see a lack of aggression. He’ll throw his body in front of the opposition at times and slide his feet, but a lot of times when the ball goes up, Rui is just watching. We’re not sure if that is him not having a good feel for the game yet or if that’s him just still learning. Either way, his defensive instincts and aggressiveness is what keeps us from calling him a complete player right now.
Future Outlook:
Rui Hachimura has turned into an NBA player in front of our eyes. The progression he’s made over the course of this past year, as mentioned, still boggles our mind. With that being said, that lack of a feel for the game has started to worry us. He’s a real pro prospect now, but just how high he goes is undetermined. Right now, he’s a clear first round pick for us, but could go anywhere from 10-25.
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