Broncos

A lot of unusual things have been going on in the world in the last couple of years, and the same goes for the college basketball world too. Last season, most games were played in empty buildings without fans. Duke was bad, and Kentucky was worse. The Kentucky Wildcats had a 9-16 record last season. Yes, you read that right. 9 wins, 16 losses. Even writing that sentence out doesn&rsquo;t feel right.
This past weekend, I visited Lexington, Kentucky to attend the Wildcats&rsquo; Blue-White game. Not only was Big Blue Nation back at Rupp Arena in full force with an attendance of ​​11,678, for a scrimmage, but the Wildcats&rsquo; team looked on par with what everyone would expect from them. John Calipari and his staff have done a terrific job of recreating their roster with a balance of young-stud freshmen and experienced transfers. I&rsquo;m happy to say: Kentucky is back!
Although I enjoyed the sheer awesome environment of Big Blue Nation and Rupp Arena, I was in town for one main purpose, and that was to evaluate Kentucky&rsquo;s NBA prospects. The Wildcats have a number of imminent and long-term NBA prospects, but I walked away most excited about one player. It's a player who I have crossed paths with before: freshman TyTy Washington from Phoenix, Arizona.
Last March, I evaluated TyTy Washington at a high school tournament, Flyin&rsquo; to the Hoop, in Dayton, Ohio. Following the tournament, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-top-college-basketball-prospects-tyty-washington-sadraque-nganga-az-compass-prep-high-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote</a>:
"At 6-foot-3 or so, TyTy, although a good athlete, didn't blow me away with elite athleticism or any typical traits you generally see with top-tier prospects. However, his outside shooting, court vision, toughness and, most importantly, his floor presence did &mdash; he&rsquo;s clearly a winner. TyTy was the floor general and set the tone for their team as they moved the ball, took great shots and supported one another.
"Walking out of the gym, my colleague, Derek Murray, and I looked at each other, both nodding in approval of what we had just witnessed. He asked me, &ldquo;Who does TyTy remind you of?&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a young kid and he needs to keep getting better, but he reminds me of Chauncey Billups.&rdquo;
Yeah, I went there. I compared TyTy to a five-time NBA All-Star. I&rsquo;m not going to deny that it was a bold thing to say. The similarities that I saw in his style of play compared to Billups were very clear to me, but I also thought TyTy&rsquo;s upside was very high too.
Since then, I have seen TyTy play a number of times, and he&rsquo;s continued to impress me more and more. However, my most recent trip to Lexington was my first time seeing him in Kentucky Blue. He did not disappoint, showing me everything I wanted and displaying all of the skills I mentioned from when I saw him in high school. But what stuck out the most was how comfortable he looked, as a true freshman, under the bright lights of Rupp Arena.
I find it interesting that a common narrative I&rsquo;m seeing written by various journalists &mdash; and also have heard from NBA scouts that have attended Kentucky practices recently &mdash; is that &ldquo;TyTy is a combo guard&rdquo; or &ldquo;he&rsquo;s not a point guard.&rdquo; Well, I respectfully, but completely, disagree with those labels.
Head coach John Calipari recently stated that he&rsquo;s decided that three players are set to start already: Savhir Wheeler, Oscar Tshiebwe, and TyTy.
Tshiebwe is a big man, but Wheeler is a 5-foot-9 point guard. Naturally, TyTy, who&rsquo;s 6-foot-3 and 197 pounds, will play off the ball when he&rsquo;s on the floor with Wheeler. They also have some guards that will likely come off the bench and play on the ball some too. Calipari clearly wants to utilize some lineups with multiple ball-handlers.
I&rsquo;m not saying it&rsquo;s a bad strategy by Coach Calipari for their team, but I think it has led to TyTy being mislabeled a bit. He is more than capable of being effective off the ball, as he is a terrific shooter and crafty scorer. He also can defend bigger players, as he is naturally strong, has long arms (6-foot-9 wingspan) and has good instincts. However, I think his long-term role in the NBA will be as a lead guard and floor general. He is a natural leader, is so cerebral and has a knack for making plays for himself and others when the ball is in his hands. I believe he will succeed this year regardless of how much he&rsquo;s used as a traditional point guard or not. I&rsquo;d prefer to see him in the driver&rsquo;s seat, though.
When I evaluate players, I like to sleep on my thoughts and wind down after games before writing scouting reports or articles. This protocol allows me to process and organize all of the new information that I gathered the night before, properly. It also protects me from being irrational, as basketball games generate so much stimulation and emotion for me. So when I woke up in Lexington on Saturday morning, I asked myself: &ldquo;Do we have TyTy Washington high enough on our Big Board?&rdquo; He is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/tyty-washington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">currently No. 12</a>.
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TyTy Washington finds Daimion Collins for a corner three here at Kentucky&rsquo;s Blue-White Game in Lexington. Both players are hot on my radar. 👀 <a href="https://t.co/7KDpANcHHI">pic.twitter.com/7KDpANcHHI</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1451691553752223744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2021</a></blockquote>

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In addition to TyTy, I was also impressed with freshman Daimion Collins from Atlanta, Texas. At 6-foot-9 and possessing a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Collins is so bouncy and athletic &mdash; he jumps out of the gym! He also surprised me by hitting several threes. I have seen Collins before in various high school events, but I didn&rsquo;t realize he had outside shooting in his bag. That revelation certainly increases his value in my book, or at least solidifies it.
Collins is very thin, and I think he&rsquo;s a ways away from being able to contribute at a high level in the NBA, but there&rsquo;s a big difference between being ready to contribute in the NBA and being ready to be drafted in a solid spot. As of right now, my gut is telling me that Collins will be &ldquo;draft ready&rdquo; come June, as he has so much upside. Time will tell, but I&rsquo;ll surely be tracking him closely throughout the season, regardless. We currently have Collins <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/daimion-collins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked No. 23</a> on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
Another player who stood out at the Blue-White game was Oscar Tshiebwe, a transfer from West Virginia standing 6-foot-9 at a chiseled 255 lbs. Tshiebwe not only has incredible physical tools, but he also has a motor to match. He opened the night with a hustle play which led to an easy layup. He never slowed down after that, as he scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds.
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Oscar Tshiebwe&rsquo;s motor was on from the jump and he never turned it off. Tshiebwe scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in Kentucky&rsquo;s Blue-White Game tonight. 💪 <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/litv0aRA4j">pic.twitter.com/litv0aRA4j</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1451714535996395520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Tshiebwe is a big brute of a player, which is not generally a style that generates as much value as it did in years past, but I do think there&rsquo;s a place for Tshiebwe in the NBA. I think he can be a roaming big who can provide physicality and energy. He has also shown an ability to hit an open shot, which is important.
I&rsquo;ve gotten to know Oscar on a personal level. He is a great guy and the type of person I'd expect teams to want on their team. For as much that is working against Oscar in terms of style of play in the NBA, I think he will have a big year for Kentucky and will have a great opportunity to establish himself as a worthy second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. We do not currently have Tshiebwe included on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board, but I&rsquo;m strongly considering including him in our next update.
The Blue-White game was my first time seeing freshman Bryce Hopkins from Chicago, Illinois. I have had a number of people contact me suggesting that I track him closely. The first thing that I identified when evaluating Hopkins was his physicality and toughness. Moving forward, my biggest question about Hopkins is this: Is he a big wing, a face-up 4 or a hybrid forward? I can&rsquo;t say I have a good enough grip at this point to make any type of conclusive statement about him as an NBA prospect. I will say this, though &mdash; he&rsquo;s on my radar.
All in all, I really enjoyed my trip to Lexington. As a lifelong basketball fan, it&rsquo;s impossible not to appreciate the passion of Big Blue Nation and the history of the Kentucky program. My trip also proved to be very fruitful. I was able to gather a lot of valuable information about a handful of Kentucky&rsquo;s prospects, which assists me as I try to sort out if and how each player could fit into the NBA.
As I mentioned before, last season was played without the energy of a crowd. Duke was bad, and Kentucky was worse. Well, that&rsquo;s all changed this season. The fans, Duke and Kentucky are all back.&nbsp;
Not coincidentally, I will be starting the 2021-22 college season in proper fashion, at Madison Square Garden for the State Farm Champions Classic to see Duke vs. Kentucky.&nbsp;
See you in New York, Big Blue Nation!&nbsp;

Matt Babcock sums up his fruitful experience in Lexington, Kentucky evaluating the new-look Wildcats in the Blue-White game.

TyTy Washington shines at Kentucky Blue-White game

With the 2021 NBA Draft now in the past, I&rsquo;ve turned the page to the 2022 NBA Draft. Our first big board hasn&rsquo;t been released just yet, but I&rsquo;m getting prepared for the upcoming season behind the scenes. In an effort to get prepared, I&rsquo;ve begun to pencil in different tournaments, double-headers and matchups I&rsquo;d like to attend throughout the college season. And although the dates have not been set, I can assure you I&rsquo;ll be keeping an eye on when Kentucky and Tennessee will be playing each other.
John Calipari vs. Rick Barnes. Big Blue Nation vs. Rocky Top. Two of the top recruiting classes and teams in the country. That narrative alone is enough to drive widespread excitement.
However, I&rsquo;m most excited about this matchup mostly because it will pit potentially the top two point guards prospects, TyTy Washington of Kentucky and Kennedy Chandler of Tennessee, against one another.
Let&rsquo;s start with TyTy Washington. I first saw him play at the Pangos All-American Festival last year in Phoenix, Arizona around early November. During that camp, I took notice of TyTy, but I did not see him as a sure-fire NBA prospect... yet. In hindsight, I think he was overshadowed by hyped-up prospects like Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith.&nbsp;
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The narrative changed for me on March 8 at the Flyin&rsquo; to the Hoop Top Gun Showcase in Dayton, Ohio, where I saw TyTy and AZ Compass Prep dominate Emoni Bates and Bates Fundamentals.
Following that game, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-top-college-basketball-prospects-tyty-washington-sadraque-nganga-az-compass-prep-high-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I noted my observations</a>:
&ldquo;I was extremely impressed with AZ Compass Prep&rsquo;s team as a whole, but what really stood out to me was TyTy Washington&rsquo;s talent. At 6-foot-3 or so, TyTy, although a good athlete, didn't blow me away with elite athleticism or any typical traits you generally see with top-tier prospects. However, his outside shooting, court vision, toughness and, most importantly, his floor presence did &mdash; he&rsquo;s clearly a winner. TyTy was the floor general and set the tone for their team as they moved the ball, took great shots and supported one another. And as a result, they put a thumping on Ypsi Prep. Emoni Bates only scored two points, as AZ Compass Prep won in a blowout.
&ldquo;Walking out of the gym, my colleague and I looked at each other, both nodding in approval of what we had just witnessed. He asked me, 'Who does TyTy remind you of?' I said, 'He&rsquo;s just a young kid and he needs to keep getting better, but he reminds me of Chauncey Billups.'&rdquo;
I was shocked that TyTy hadn&rsquo;t received more attention and wasn&rsquo;t considered a top prospect in the high school class of 2021. However, it seemed that as I took notice of TyTy, so did the rest of the basketball world simultaneously. Shortly after my trip to Ohio, TyTy de-committed from Creighton and skyrocketed up player rankings. During that time, I flew to Phoenix to watch TyTy and AZ Compass Prep practice for several days. I had the opportunity to get to meet TyTy, his family and his coaches. After talking to them, it seemed as if the whole world was knocking their doors down. I joked with TyTy, as I called him <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leai3jDsQiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jesus Shuttlesworth</a>.
Despite being recruited by nearly every top college program in the country and supposedly receiving lucrative offers from professional teams overseas, on May 12, TyTy committed to head coach John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. A seemingly perfect fit, in my opinion.
As a part of my evaluation process, I organize positional rankings for internal use. After TyTy&rsquo;s sudden emergence, I knew that I needed to move him way up. However, I found myself in a dilemma when trying to decide where to slot him exactly, as there is another very good point guard from the high school class of 2021: Kennedy Chandler.
In Jan. 2020, I made a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, where I had the opportunity to watch a couple of prospects that went on to be selected in the 2020 NBA Draft: Anthony Edwards of the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 1 pick, Minnesota Timberwolves) and Precious Achiuwa of the Memphis Tigers (No. 20 pick, Miami Heat &mdash; recently traded to Toronto Raptors).
Prior to that game, a friend of mine asked if I would sit down with Chandler, the top high school player in the Memphis area, and his dad, Kylan. I agreed, of course. The three of us talked about college recruiting, the NBA Draft and my processes for evaluating prospects, among other things. I had not seen Kennedy play at that point, so my advice to him was pretty generic. After the Georgia vs. Memphis game, I joined them at their home for a barbeque. I had a nice time visiting with them. They are good people.
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I had a nice time catching up with 5-star point guard Kennedy Chandler and his father Kylan this morning. Kennedy is a terrific kid and a major talent. We will certainly be keeping a close eye on him. <a href="https://t.co/Z11gae1CSI">pic.twitter.com/Z11gae1CSI</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1213513300333486080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
Luckily, I was able to see Kennedy play the next day at the Memphis Hoopfest, a high school tournament in the area. In addition to seeing Kennedy, I was also able to see 2021 NBA Draft picks Cade Cunningham (No. 1 pick, Detroit Pistons), Moses Moody (No. 14 pick, Golden State Warriors) and Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe (No. 29 pick, Brooklyn Nets).
As for my initial evaluation of Kennedy, the first thing that I noticed was his lack of size. He is listed as 6-foot-1. However, once the game started, it was clear why he was so highly rated, despite his lack of height. Possessing waterbug-like quickness, threatening burst and superior cerebral nature, Kennedy ran the show for his team, Briarcrest Christian. I was intrigued, to say the least.
After the game, I was complimentary to both Kennedy and his dad. I encouraged Kennedy to keep working to improve his physical strength and outside shooting. I told them I would keep a firm pulse on Kennedy&rsquo;s development, which I have done.
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In early April, I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2021-geico-nationals-recap-which-players-stood-out" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attended GEICO Nationals in Fort Myers, Florida</a>. Although their teams never faced each other, I had several days to evaluate both TyTy and Kennedy more. Both players continued to impress, and subsequently added fuel to the fire in regards to my internal debate as to which point guard I preferred more.
Although I have a lot of confidence in both TyTy and Kennedy as prospects, I must admit that I&rsquo;m ultimately undecided on who I am going to rank higher. There&rsquo;s a legitimate competition for the top point guard spot, in my opinion, and these two just happen to be playing for two of the top schools in the SEC that will face each other twice this upcoming season.
Is there a potential rivalry brewing? Perhaps.&nbsp;
Knowing what I do about both of these players, I doubt either will shy away from the competition.
Needless to say, I&rsquo;ll be watching closely. I suggest you do the same.

Matt Babcock discusses his experiences seeing TyTy Washington and Kennedy Chandler, two point guards that will be in the 2022 NBA Draft class.

Who’s the top point guard prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft?

In early November, I attended the Pangos All-American Festival hosted by Dinos Trigonis in Chandler, Arizona at AZ Compass Prep. Although I am an NBA Draft Analyst, I like to get ahead by watching younger prospects, something I intend to do more and more moving forward. At this specific event I focused on potential one-and-done prospects for next season -- like Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith, all of whom were terrific. &nbsp;
During the two-day event, I had a chance to catch up with some old friends like high school scout Anthony Ray, veteran college coach David Grace, and fellow media member, Krysten Peek, just to name a few. Events like that are also a great opportunity to network and meet new people, too. For example, while sitting in the stands, the director of AZ Compass Prep, Pete Kaffey, came up to me to introduce himself. He mentioned that he had gone to high school with two of my cousins in Minnesota. He continued to tell me to keep an eye on his point guard, TyTy Washington, who was committed to Creighton and was playing in the event. It is pretty typical for coaches to promote their players to guys like myself, so I didn&rsquo;t think much of it, but I watched TyTy and thought he was pretty good. However, Holmgren, Banchero, and Smith, stole the show on that trip, undoubtedly.
Recently, I have covered a couple of high school events, one being the Flyin&rsquo; to the Hoop Top Gun Showcase in Dayton, Ohio. The main reason I went to that particular event was to see Emoni Bates of Ypsi Prep, who is the top player in the class of 2022. On the second day, Ypsi Prep was set to face AZ Compass Prep, so I called Kaffey to let him know that I&rsquo;d be there. He filled me in that their team had just won The Grind Session and that TyTy had been named MVP. He continued to insist that he thought TyTy, &ldquo;has a shot&rdquo; in regards to playing in the NBA. I was certainly impressed with TyTy&rsquo;s recent achievements, but was still skeptical if he was a player that I needed to take seriously, as he is only classified as a 4-star prospect. I wanted to see him again for myself and come to my own conclusion -- so that&rsquo;s what I did.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/tyty_2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="AUTO" />
TyTy Washington (photo by Sydne Griffith)
As soon as warmups began for the game versus Ypsi Prep, I could see and feel the focus and intensity of the AZ Compass Prep team. Sitting with my colleague, Derek Murray, I leaned over and told him to pay attention to the sharpness of their team. I said, &ldquo;I can already tell -- this is a well coached team.&rdquo; As soon as the ball tipped, it was apparent that they played hard, smart and, most importantly, together. AZ Compass Prep head coach Ed Gipson displayed the perfect balance of energy and positivity, while still holding his players accountable. Although Ypsi Prep had the top player in the country, I was certain that Ypsi Prep did not have a chance.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/pete_ed_lg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="AUTO" />
Pete Kaffey and Ed Gipson (photo by Sydne Griffith)
I was extremely impressed with AZ Compass Prep&rsquo;s team as a whole, but what really stood out to me was TyTy Washington&rsquo;s talent. At 6-foot-3 or so, TyTy, although a good athlete, didn't blow me away with elite athleticism or any typical traits you generally see with top-tier prospects. However, his outside shooting, court vision, toughness and, most importantly,&nbsp; his floor presence did -- he&rsquo;s clearly a winner. TyTy was the floor general and set the tone for their team as they moved the ball, took great shots and supported one another. And as a result, they put a thumping on Ypsi Prep. Emoni Bates only scored two points, as AZ Compass Prep won in a blow out.&nbsp;
Walking out of the gym, Derek and I looked at each other, both nodding in approval of what we had just witnessed. He asked me, &ldquo;Who does TyTy remind you of?&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a young kid and he needs to keep getting better, but he reminds me of Chauncey Billups.&rdquo;
Since the Flyin' To The Hoop Top Gun Showcase in Dayton, TyTy has decommitted from Creighton and has opened up his recruitment. Although he is only ranked No. 34 on ESPN, No. 32 on Rivals, and No. 31 on 24/7 Sports, the interest in him is significant. A boatload of big schools have expressed interest in signing him, including several of the blue bloods. This is all for good reason, in my opinion, as I consider TyTy as good as any other point guard in the class of 2021.
When I got home from Dayton, I called Kaffey. I said, &ldquo;Man, I&rsquo;ll give it to you. You were right. TyTy is the real deal.&rdquo; I continued to tell him how impressed I was with their head coach, Gipson, and their team as a whole. I asked him if it was okay if I came to Phoenix to spend some time with them as I wanted to learn more about TyTy and their program. He agreed.
This past week, I spent a couple of days attending their practices. After getting an opportunity to get to know their players and coaches personally -- and also gaining a better overall feel for their program -- I don&rsquo;t think their recent success is a fluke.
There is no question that much of AZ Compass Prep&rsquo;s success this year can be attributed to TyTy. However, next season, 5-star prospect, Sadraque &ldquo;Sada&rdquo; Nganga will be returning after recovering from a knee injury. I recently asked Matt McKay Jr. -- my friend, former NBA scout and the owner and founder of Pro Insight, a basketball website that specializes in evaluating high school prospects -- about Nganga. Here&rsquo;s what he said:
&ldquo;Nganga&rsquo;s versatility immediately stands out -- his ability to handle and move at 6-9, 6-10 is impressive," McKay said. "Where his skill set is trending projects to really fit within the modern pro game. He&rsquo;s someone I&rsquo;m really looking forward to getting an updated look at once he returns to the court.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/sada_1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="AUTO" />
Sadraque "Sada" Nganga (photo by Sydne Griffith)
Needless to say, I&rsquo;ll be back to AZ Compass Prep next year to see Nganga.
Before we turn the page to next season, AZ Compass Prep has to finish this one. They are currently preparing for Geico Nationals in Fort Myers, Florida, which will be held on March 31 through April 3. This will mark their largest stage yet as &ldquo;Geico&rdquo; is essentially the Super Bowl of high school basketball. And you know what? There&rsquo;s no way I&rsquo;m going to miss it.
My flights are booked. See you in Fort Myers!

Matt Babcock evaluates AZ Compass Prep's TyTy Washington, one of the top point guards in the class of 2021.