D’Angelo Russell’s mixed bag vs. Arizona

Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell entered college as a relatively anonymous five-star recruit. A Louisville, Kentucky native, Russell opted not to stay in his home state to play for the more heralded college programs at Kentucky or Louisville. Throughout high school, Russell played with a slew of D1 talents at Montverde Academy, but he was often overshadowed by teammates like Florida’s Kasey Hill and even 2015’s top recruit Ben Simmons. His decision to become a Buckeye gave him the opportunity to run a team on his own, to be the focal point for the first time in his basketball career.

Along with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Russell has become one of the most hyped freshmen in college basketball. Each of these future lottery picks has been given the opportunity over the past month to showcase their ability on the biggest stage. Russell took advantage in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in a 75-72 overtime victory over VCU, when he tallied 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting.

However, in the third round, Russell’s star didn’t shine quite as brightly. His Buckeyes were eliminated in a 73-58 loss to Arizona. Against a Wildcat team that features NBA size and quality wing defenders, he struggled to find his shot, finishing a dismal 3-for-19 from the field.

One criticism of Russell that rang true against the Wildcats is that he lacks the explosiveness necessary to finish at the rim against length. While he has the handles to consistently break down defenses, he doesn’t have the athletic leaping ability of other lottery picks. For example, Russell was able to get to the rim early against Arizona, but as you can see in the following clip (hover over to play), he doesn’t quite have the ability to attack the rim against the length of 6-foot-8 Brandon Ashley.

His lack of elite athleticism was on display throughout the contest. Russell finished the game shooting just 1-for-7 on shots at the rim, according to data from Hoop-Math. Admittedly, the freshman’s season-long statistics are more promising. Russell shot 62.2 percent on shots at the rim this season, but his performance against the length of Arizona suggests that he’ll need to improve in this area going forward.

What Russell lacked in scoring, he made up for with impressive distribution. Finishing with six assists, Russell showcased a number of impressive passes that suggest he has the ability to run a team at the NBA level. Midway through the first half, as a double team was closing in, Russell hit teammate Sam Thompson in stride with a bounce pass that split the defense:

Russell’s use of the bounce pass isn’t limited to close range. While he’s comfortable pushing the ball up the court on his own, he’ll also use longer passes to push the pace of the offense and hit open teammates in transition. Here, Russell throws a lengthy bounce pass between defenders to connect with Thompson once again. Thompson misses the layup, so Russell doesn’t get credit for the assist, but the play does result in free throws for Thompson.

Russell is clearly comfortable operating in the fast break, balancing his desire to look for his own shot and distribute to teammates. With great court vision and a high basketball IQ, he frequently makes plays that most young college players are simply incapable of. Perhaps his most impressive pass of the game came in transition late in the first half. Russell pushes the ball to the half court line before throwing a no look pass through traffic that both confounds Arizona’s T.J. McConnell and connects with Jae’Sean Tate in stride:

As each of these passes show, Russell is incredibly accurate when distributing the ball to teammates. He often gets them the ball in positions where they can easily score. His accuracy is not limited to passes in transition, though. Russell also connects well with shooters as you can see in the following clip where Russell hits Thompson right in the shooting pocket, allowing him to knock down a 3-pointer:

Although we have to be careful not to draw too many conclusions from the limited sample size of NCAA Tournament games, Russell’s performance against Arizona offers us some insight into what type of NBA player he’ll be should he choose to declare for the draft this year. The Wildcats have legitimate NBA size, which offered some challenges to Russell at the rim.

However, Russell’s ability to distribute suggests that he can make an immediate impact in the NBA at the point guard position. He has the size and length to compete with even the largest guards in the league, although as with all young prospects, he’ll need some time to grow into his body.

As Russell develops, he should be able to overcome some of his limitations that he showed against Arizona by developing more explosiveness at the rim. Even without that, Russell is a competent ball handler with a high basketball IQ that can make his teammates around him better. He showcased it against one of the best defenses in college hoops, and he’s ready for the next level.