Brandon Huffman
- Thread starter Steat
- Start date
The jump hook looks nice, but I agree the form on the turnaround needs work. What i especially liked was after one of his blocks he didn't waste time gloating, he went after the ball and kept it in play. This kid is raw, but boy is he a lot to work with! A little hard work on footwork, form, and a great deal of FT practice would make him a force!
Welcome to the Family!
Welcome to the Family!
And what will we need him to do initially? Play defense, run the court, rebound, and dunk...
If this kid were a solid shooter to go along with what he already has IMO he would be a top 15 player. Have said it before, as is he is IMO the second coming of Alec Steveson and I remember that big kid from cali as a frosh for us, hated he went back west. Huffman may run the floor a little better than Alec did, seems more emotionally involved.
He has a habit of bringing the ball down to low at times and will have to break that but teach him a jump hook and a step thru and watch out! Got to work on the free throws, he is going to be at the line a lot.
He was 1-7 in free throws in a recent game...brick city stuff. I agree that the Heels don't need him to score. Being an inside enforcer with 5 fouls to give his freshman year may be the best we can expect. Then possibly stepping in as a starter his junior year. Anything more would be gravy. Now, if Bradley leaves early for the NBA the kid may get thrown to the wolves quicker than we thought.
Love the potential he and Manley both bring. And I mean LOVE it.
Trend, maybe Hubert related but our big men have gotten much better from the line than just a few years ago.
Okay the thread is titled the guys name and the op is a video. So i'm gonna assume its appropriate to evaluate him. First off welcome to the hill! And once again, if coach wants u, I WANT U. This is purely what i see in my limited capacity concerning his skill set. Nothing personal against him. If u dont wanna read an honest critiique then turn away now.
He has to gather himself to jump. And like someone said he does it with the ball low. Learn to keep hands high both with the ball and while leaping.
No post moves at all. No footwork especially. Thats def fixable though.
He hasnt had to shoot and it shows. Really bad form and no touch. But once again fixable.
Can def run well and seems very athletic. That goes a long way in coach's system.
Would be interested in knowing his wing span. Looks to be long. He'll prob play taller than 6'10.
Looks to have a mean streak. Works hard on the glass. I like it.
Hes got a lot of work to do. But we know he will have all the tools and coaching available to him to become a quality big man. May take a couple years though.
He has to gather himself to jump. And like someone said he does it with the ball low. Learn to keep hands high both with the ball and while leaping.
No post moves at all. No footwork especially. Thats def fixable though.
He hasnt had to shoot and it shows. Really bad form and no touch. But once again fixable.
Can def run well and seems very athletic. That goes a long way in coach's system.
Would be interested in knowing his wing span. Looks to be long. He'll prob play taller than 6'10.
Looks to have a mean streak. Works hard on the glass. I like it.
Hes got a lot of work to do. But we know he will have all the tools and coaching available to him to become a quality big man. May take a couple years though.
Agree with most of this. Would be optimal to not have to have him play much next year and give him time to develop, but I fear that may not be the case.
I'd take that career everyday. I'm sure he would too.
Haywood was a high end talent, McDs All-American and NC HS player of the year IIRC. If he's half of that it'll be amazing. I think the upside with Manley is higher because he's more athletic and lost a year due to injury. However, we know how well Roy and the staff do with bigs and Huffman is a very big mound of clay to mould. I like his aggression and that he dunks the ball at every chance. He also runs the floor pretty well for someone his size. He'll be tough to play against for sure.
He's built for a jump hook, getting him to use both hands will be key. The jump shot may never come but if he has 1 foot in the paint every time he gets the ball it doesn't matter. What is overlooked about this kid is there is a fire burning in him and you just see the love for the game. A lot of big have the talent but not the passion or the fire and that sometimes leads to so/so careers. I believe by year 3, he will be a dominant defensive presence and a 12-13 point scorer, all from hustle and want to. He will be less talented than many of the bigs he plays throughout his career but he'll never let them or us know that.
I want to remind, this video is him as a Jr in Alaska. Important because it is not current, it is not this past summer, it is older than that. He is now at WOG and was a stud when they recently played Oak Hill, much higher level of comp than he saw in Alaska. Strongly believe he has worked on his game in the last year and think he has improved, kinda thinking the Oak Hill big men would agree.
His having to gather himself before he dunks, first off I am just thankful we have a big man that looks to dunk anything he can! Not sure I see him as having to gather to dunk, see him more as a powerful physical guy that dunks and those do tend to force you to gather your balance just a tad to explode up and thru contact, guys like Twan are really rare. But again, he is not a quick dunker, he is more a power dunker, those guys get a lot of and 1 ops.
I do question his lateral movement a little bit, clearly he is not a shooter or at least wasn't, he has to really work on those free throws because a guy like him should be at the free throw line a lot. Put up a 100 or so jump hooks a day with each hand (over the broom stick) and put him thru the rope drill every day to refine out that foot work for a solid step thru. Looked at times like he spreads out a bit to wide (his feet) and at least 5 sets of 10 back board taps with each hand (tapping the ball off the back board and finish the last one in each set with a flush). Finish it off with wind sprint free throws, shoot one and sprint the court up and back twice (or sprint 1 and slide the next, mix it up) and then shoot another, you are done when you hit 10 in a row.
Kid's just scratching his potential, as is Manley. One's been stashed away in Podunk, Alaska and one has sustained two broken legs in two years. I completely understand why some of you are hesitant to believe we may have found not one, but two diamonds in the rough. That's just going to make us all that much happier when everyone realizes that.
No problem, kinda thought you were thinking it may have been from this past summer so I wanted to help.
Glad to know this is old clip.
I REALLY hope they are drilling him not to bring the ball down. He did it on nearly every pass he received in that clip and some rebounds, as well. Usually to low chest or waist. Sometimes even below the waist. He's going to get stripped repeatedly if he does that at this level.
Most young players need to work on "above the shoulders" when they come to college - meaning their basketball IQ. But Huff needs to learn to keep the ball above the shoulders, too.
I REALLY hope they are drilling him not to bring the ball down. He did it on nearly every pass he received in that clip and some rebounds, as well. Usually to low chest or waist. Sometimes even below the waist. He's going to get stripped repeatedly if he does that at this level.
Most young players need to work on "above the shoulders" when they come to college - meaning their basketball IQ. But Huff needs to learn to keep the ball above the shoulders, too.
For those unhappy that Luke maye is getting so much burn, take heart. We have three guys coming in next year ranked lower than he was.
Ye of so little faith. Carolina has been known for years to be a school that really helps to develop big men. So many on here said Brice Johnson would NEVER EVER develop at the college level but he proved ALL OF THOSE DOUBTERS wrong. Give the kid a chance to grow and develop in the Carolina system and then come back here in a couple of years and tell everyone here that you knew it all along. I sure hope the current players and recruits don't read alot of the cowardly stuff people who call themselves fans write here.
Brice Johnson was a top 40 player with other worldly measurables. Hardly the same.
These are guys ranked more where Huffman and Manley are... desmond Hubert, Joel James, Luke Maye, Byron sanders, Jackson simmons. These are the ones who should be compared to. Kids ranked where they are at UNC end up being little more than role players. To think weve managed to snag two bigs in the same class who will suddenly turn into Brice type players when the track record clearly says otherwise is just blind faith, and If Im a "coward" for mentioning it in some peoples eyes-so be it.
Last edited:
We get it dude, you are concerned over the lack of talented bigs next year. You complaining for the billionth time over it wont change anything.
Not complaining. Trying to balance out the somewhat ridiculous over exuberance and pumping up of these guys. If Dook signed these two we'd be mocking them to no end.
Also nice to keep expectations at a bit more reasonable level. I hope they both can contribute early but I'd be remiss to ignore the way bigs ranked where they are normally perform at unc.
It's aight. Bradley is Tim Duncan and one of our incoming freshman is antawn jamison and the other is brendan haywood. lol
That said, I did think your Maye comment was hella funny. Good joke.
That also said, I like what I see of Huffman from a pure rebounding type. Hubert may be a good comparison as hubert couldn't shoot but just tried to rebound and dunk. Huffman in my opinion has a better body though and I think he has the ability to be a very physical bull inside that Hubert was never able to.
I haven't seen much of Manley, but I hope he is as good as everyone is saying. Seen a lot of praise here and from papers lately.
That said, I did think your Maye comment was hella funny. Good joke.
That also said, I like what I see of Huffman from a pure rebounding type. Hubert may be a good comparison as hubert couldn't shoot but just tried to rebound and dunk. Huffman in my opinion has a better body though and I think he has the ability to be a very physical bull inside that Hubert was never able to.
I haven't seen much of Manley, but I hope he is as good as everyone is saying. Seen a lot of praise here and from papers lately.
Oh god. Is this going to be the "Harrison Barnes" of development when we discuss every low ranked recruit? Just jump to Brice Johnson, a consensus top 40 recruit, as the definite archetype?
I'd just like to point out that 3 of the guys coming in are ranked even lower than Maye was. A rational thinking people could understand why that is alarming when we may not have any bigs on the roster besides Maye.
EDIT: I see Butter already tried to convince some of you to look at this logically and failed. Just beating a dead horse, I see
dook does it the other way around, their bigs are highly ranked and often spend their careers (or until they transfer) on the bench, showing zero improvement over their time under the LOM.
Part of why this is so frustrating. Hes getting borderline 5 stars and sometimes legit 5 stars to come to his program and sit on the bench, while we arent even getting a sniff from these guys.
So what happens "if" both Huffman and Manley find their way in to the top 50 by the end of their seasons? I think we already know what will happen if they hover near where their current rankings are but what happens "if" they rise to solid 4 star status?
Huffman, the lower ranked guy and clearly the least expected played great vs Oak Hill, that is the type of thing that catapults you in the rankings. Many have already begun to see Huffman in a different light and if absolutely now in the discussion (opinion and hear say) of potentially being a strong 4 star and you may find the occasional whisper of 5 star if he were 2018 (weaker class of bigs).
Manley was already being touted as a future maybe 5 star when he broke not only his leg one time but broke the other a year later so now being healthy would not make the suggestion he will as well see a major rise in his rankings as very expected.
Point is that with both, the elements are in pace for a major rise from their current rankings so I am curious what the tone will be "if" what is expected occurs?
You reference where Luke was ranked coming in, do you really believe that these 2 kids will be ranked at or below where even Luke was when they come in to UNC? "if" you do I don't think many experts would agree with ya.
We get it guys. Some of you are very, very, very, very worried about our bigs situation. We get it. Some of us aren't nearly as worried. You should be able to understand that, as well. Time will tell if Manley and Huffman exceed their rankings or were properly ranked. But constantly trying to dampen any enthusiasm posters display about our bigs in this class is unnecessary. I'm sure you will be the first to say "I told you so" if your dire predictions come true. Meanwhile, you'll pardon those of us who don't think the sky's falling.
And "if" that happens, you're more than welcome to point out that you were right to me or whomever else. Because rationality should dictate that it's extremely unlikely. But I know some of you like to bet on outlandish predictions simply because it involves our own. Regardless, I stick by what I said.
By who? There's never been an article/quote/source of anyone saying this other than those on this board, yet is used as the defining point for both of these guys. It's like a piece of gossip around a watercooler that no one can verify. LOL Please stop with these "rumors" and "unnamed quotes" with no verifiable info
"By who? There's never been an article/quote/source of anyone saying this other than those on this board, yet is used as the defining point for both of these guys. It's like a piece of gossip around a watercooler that no one can verify. LOL. Please, stop with these "rumors" and "unnamed quotes" with no verifiable info"
If these 2 come in and live up to the mountainous task you painted for them, then I can gladly admit I was wrong. Because what you're trying to claim is completely unrealistic.
But forget the rankings for a minute, We are losing 2 starters next year, and you're trying to convince me that both Manley and Huffman, one barely in the top 100, the other not even close to being ranked, will be just as good to contribute by day 1. Something that not even our current guys could do in their freshman year.
It amazes me how many details and facts some of you can ignore/overlook when it involves our own guys. We're looking at a poor man's 2012 class, and it's like many of you are convinced that all 3 of these guys below the top 100 are the next Buddy Hield.
There is a line between Optimism and Irrationality that many of you have completely blown past
LMAO weren't half of you were convinced that Maye would make a "huge jump" by his sophomore season? Now that's considered a bad comparison? How about J. James? Wasn't he potentially gone to the NBA in under 4 years? I don't know if you're all just blinded by the fact that they're committed to UNC, or just unwilling to admit to the absurdity of these claims.
So call it negative, or sky-falling, or whatever overused label you want, just don't go MIA if (and probably when) the results don't end in your favor.
And I don't know what "experts" you're trying to reference, but if it's anything like the "experts" we've seen on this board, you'll have to forgive me for not being eager to buy into these "analysis" yet again.
I'd like to point out that this is a "Brandon Huffman" thread, not a "Brandon Huffman Praise" thread We're allowed to make "dire predictions" just as much as the rest are able to make ludicrous predictions. So sick of this stigma that every post needs to be head-buried-in-the-sand (a.k.a. "positive"). If your enthusiasm is being "dampened", you should check your internal feelings instead of complaining about the ones that don't match your zeal.
There's also no need to say I told you so. I'm sure it'll just be another thing chalked up to the scandal. LOL!
There's also no need to say I told you so. I'm sure it'll just be another thing chalked up to the scandal. LOL!
Hi RoseHeel, SMILE with FREE WILL I choose to express my thoughts toward the POSITIVE things in life.
!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE MY UNC TAR HEELS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
