Let's discuss 2017 recruit: Brandon Huffman

[TheGLOV]

Q. Who has actually seen him play and your thoughts on his play?

Q. He does have some notable offers from some well know basketball schools so, why is he only ranked a 3-star? And is his ranking/rating incorrect perhaps?

Q. Please compare him to Manley. Who is better? (not in a bad way) And how or in what areas is he better?

Thank you!

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Although 247 shows him with a composite ranking of 202, their own ranking is 97 (and 4 stars). FWIW.

I haven't seen him in person but the videos show me a guy who could get very good. Right now he's herky-jerky and occasionally unfocused. But he's strong, probably quick enough, and fairly aggressive. Not dirty aggressive but want-it aggressive. I got mocked when I said this previously but I see a little bit in him that reminds me of Rasheed Wallace.

Kid needs discipline, a boatload of practice, and to learn the system. If that happens, I can see him being a lot better than his rating.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I hesitate to compare him with Manley because Manley is coming back from major injuries. So I hope what bothers me about Manley is just that he's out of shape and moving with caution. That said, Manley looks smoother than Huff, but achingly slow. If he's really that slow, I can't see him giving more than spot minutes off the bench for his whole career. I sure hope that's wrong and I'm just seeing the recovery process and not inherent limitations.

Even if he's a little slow (as opposed to a lot slow) he could be a decent rim protector. As I said, he's fairly smooth, he's tall, and it looks like he may have good reach.

If he turns out to be a good rim protector, he might also be decent at alley oops and ORs. So he could be a good anchor for a guard-oriented team. Which is worth mentioning because we seem to be becoming a guard-oriented team.

Again, all this is just from watching clips, not in person. Nor do I claim any special gifts at evaluating players from clips.

 

[TheGLOV]

Although 247 shows him with a composite ranking of 202, their own ranking is 97 (and 4 stars). FWIW.

I haven't seen him in person but the videos show me a guy who could get very good. Right now he's herky-jerky and occasionally unfocused. But he's strong, probably quick enough, and fairly aggressive. Not dirty aggressive but want-it aggressive. I got mocked when I said this previously but I see a little bit in him that reminds me of Rasheed Wallace.

Kid needs discipline, a boatload of practice, and to learn the system. If that happens, I can see him being a lot better than his rating.

Those 3-stars I referred to I found here in the basketball offers/commit list that we got penned up top.

 

[TheGLOV]

I hesitate to compare him with Manley because Manley is coming back from major injuries. So I hope what bothers me about Manley is just that he's out of shape and moving with caution. That said, Manley looks smoother than Huff, but achingly slow. If he's really that slow, I can't see him giving more than spot minutes off the bench for his whole career. I sure hope that's wrong and I'm just seeing the recovery process and not inherent limitations.

Even if he's a little slow (as opposed to a lot slow) he could be a decent rim protector. As I said, he's fairly smooth, he's tall, and it looks like he may have good reach.

If he turns out to be a good rim protector, he might also be decent at alley oops and ORs. So he could be a good anchor for a guard-oriented team. Which is worth mentioning because we seem to be becoming a guard-oriented team.

Again, all this is just from watching clips, not in person. Nor do I claim any special gifts at evaluating players from clips.

Thank you!

We had a kid named WARREN who WALKED quite a bit in his day here at UNC.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Huffman will be an All-ACC type big by the end of his soph year. He's a monster who just has to be coached the right way, and RW is the man to do it.

Manley will take a little longer, but he has a nice touch and abilty to face the basket.

Don't worry about any rankings.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Those 3-stars I referred to I found here in the basketball offers/commit list that we got penned up top.

Oh yeah, nearly everybody seems to have him at 3 stars. Even 247 lists Huff by his composite 202/3* rating. But I thought it was interesting that 247's own assessment is much better. I don't know if they are particularly good.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Thank you!

We had a kid named WARREN who WALKED quite a bit in his day here at UNC.

My favorite story about Warren Martin (if that's who you mean) was that at some point they had him taking dance lessons. Might even have been ballet. I can't remember. But he got much better as a result. More coordinated and graceful - and less foul prone.

 

[Archer2]

I'm sorry, but to compare Warren to Manley is apples to oranges, and I I loved Warren. Manley is much more athletic and has much better
hands. Huffman will step in and be a solid contributor immediately. All he has to do us rebound and score off put backs. He is more than capable of doing that, as is Manley BTW.

 

[Archer2]

Warren couldn't walk and chew bubble gum as a freshman. Huffman and Manley are both light years ahead of Warren.

 

[DSouthr]

Im really high on Huffman, easy 4 star in my book, kid plays with a bit of a chip and a solid motor. He is raw, expect him to be a rebound stick back guy as a frosh. Kid really wants to work on his game, he wants to learn and has already on his own reached out to both Sean and Rasheed for help.Put me in the front seat of this kid's band wagon cause before he is done the Tar Heel nation will LOVE him!

As for Manley, not nearly as high on him as I am Huff or as many others, being honest guys. But it is so hard to tell how much is due to his being on the shelf for so long and how much is just the player. His fitness looked like a problem, understandable with his being on the shelf for so long, fatigue does slow the motor a kid plays with. His stamina has to increase and he drastically needs to add bulk and physical strength.

On Manley, don't mean to come off negative toward him, so hard to get a feel for his upside because we can't know how much of it is coming back from the injuries and how much is the player. Don't forget, the kid has a strong growth spurt while he was down with the last broken leg and he had/has to learn to play with a different body. I think the kid can play at this level and be a solid part of our rotation down the road, I am not expecting a lot as a FROSH, but who knows when he gets to us and our staff starts working with him.

 

[dadika13]

Huffman will be an All-ACC type big by the end of his soph year.

Sigh.

 

[Archer2]

I see your sigh and raise you a sigh.

 

[GoNtheDistance]

Huffman intrigues me. I think he can contribute on the boards some early. Manley just doesn't impress me at all.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

I see your sigh and raise you a sigh.

I hope you're not sleeping on this kid.

 

[Archer2]

I'm convinced Huffman can help immediately. It was a sarcastic reply to the one above it. I'm also higher on Manley than most are. I think he had a very good year considering the two leg injuries he's dealt with.

 

[dadika13]

Help and all-ACC are two VERY VERY different things.

Arch I don't think we disagree about Huffman's future. I just hate putting expectations of all-ACC by his sophomore year on the kid.

 

[Spacegrass]

Haven't seen much of him and live in Raleigh. But from what I have seen I see some similarities in Huffman and former big man Alex Stepheson.

 

[mikeirbyusa]

Roy and Company are GREAT at developing Bigs. These 2 need lots of work but if they listen to Coach AND put in the work we will all be pleased, just don't expect to much as freshmen, it will happen as Sophs or Jrs.

 

[Ned Cota]

Roy and Company are GREAT at developing Bigs. These 2 need lots of work but if they listen to Coach AND put in the work we will all be pleased, just don't expect to much as freshmen, it will happen as Sophs or Jrs.

Mike, just for fun let's say Bradley stays and Brooks signs on. How can you see the 80 minutes shaking out for the 5+1 bigs on the roster? With the +1 being Theo playing small ball 4.

Quick guess:
Maye 25
Bradley 28
Brooks 12
Huffman 8
Manley 3
Theo 4

 

[mikeirbyusa]

If we get Brooks I'd LOVE to see Manley Redshirt.

 

[Ned Cota]

If we get Brooks I'd LOVE to see Manley Redshirt.

That would make a TON of sense

 

[dadika13]

If we get Brooks I'd LOVE to see Manley Redshirt.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[dgheel57]

How many of you sighed on Luke Maye? Lets wait til Jonas and our coaches get a hold of Manley before making any predictions,Roy saw something in the kid or he wouldn't have recruited him.

 

[Ned Cota]

How many of you sighed on Luke Maye? Lets wait til Jonas and our coaches get a hold of Manley before making any predictions,Roy saw something in the kid or he wouldn't have recruited him.

I think it's less that people are doubting his ability or potential, and more that they'd like to see him get a year to fully rehab/get in college shape instead of being buried at 5th on the depth chart.

 

[dadika13]

How many of you sighed on Luke Maye? Lets wait til Jonas and our coaches get a hold of Manley before making any predictions,Roy saw something in the kid or he wouldn't have recruited him.

Luke Maye was all-ACC as a sophomore? Man, must have missed that one.

 

[Spacegrass]

Mike, just for fun let's say Bradley stays and Brooks signs on. How can you see the 80 minutes shaking out for the 5+1 bigs on the roster? With the +1 being Theo playing small ball 4.

Quick guess:
Maye 25
Bradley 28
Brooks 12
Huffman 8
Manley 3
Theo 4

Bradley is gonna really have to improve conditioning if he is gonna play 28 MPG

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

If we get Brooks I'd LOVE to see Manley Redshirt.

In the past when it has been suggested that a lower-ranked player could benefit from redshirting, the counter-argument has generally been that you don't want to tie up a scholarship for another year on a low-ranked player.

Manley might be an exception IF you think he's really under-rated and that extra year will give us another year or more of a higher-ranked player (when he's fully rehabbed and has learned the system).

I haven't seen enough of Manley to know whether he would be worth the extra scholarship year.

I'm trying to recall the last time Roy gave a redshirt year to someone who wasn't injured. Has that happened? Will Graves, maybe?

 

[DSouthr]

If we get Brooks I'd LOVE to see Manley Redshirt.

IDK, kinda want to see how he comes out after this off season, can he go, can he show more of a motor, is his stamina where it has to be, has he added strength. If so then don't red shirt him play him, let him learn by doing in practice early and see if he has enough to merit a red shirt. I am not a huge fan of red shirting unless there are some very strong reasons that drive it, not sure a broken legs a year ago at this point is reason enough to red shirt him

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Joel James is a guy I wish we had redshirted. Imagine if Luke had not really surged as a soph. Having JoelJ as a 5th year senior could have been huge for us, in more ways than one.

JoelJ's case is a little like Manley's in that he came to basketball late and was very behind other players in his class. Ditto for Manley, although not for the same reason.

If we don't get Knox or a grad who can help up front, I suspect Roy won't consider redshirting Manley unless he simply isn't physically ready. We'll need his big body for a few minutes every game if only to occupy space while Tony and Luke get some rest.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I know this thread is supposed to be about Huff, but I think one of our biggest front line questions has to do with Luke. How much can he improve next year?

It doesn't seem reasonable to expect as much improvement as he showed this year. But if he's going to start and play starter minutes, he has to up his game even more. How much ceiling room does he have left?

 

[Ned Cota]

I know this thread is supposed to be about Huff, but I think one of our biggest front line questions has to do with Luke. How much can he improve next year?

It doesn't seem reasonable to expect as much improvement as he showed this year. But if he's going to start and play starter minutes, he has to up his game even more. How much ceiling room does he have left?

I think we've seen Luke's ceiling. What we need from him now is for him to raise his floor. Consistency. If he's going to be a starter, he can't disappear in some games like he did this season. No missing open layups.

Similar to Hicks, its not his ceiling I was worried about, it was his floor. We all know how good Hicks is, but the silly fouls kept him from being an All-American.

If we get steady contribution from Luke, I'm not really worried about how good he can be, just that he's rarely or never bad.

 

[Spacegrass]

I think we've seen Luke's ceiling. What we need from him now is for him to raise his floor. Consistency. If he's going to be a starter, he can't disappear in some games like he did this season. No missing open layups.

Similar to Hicks, its not his ceiling I was worried about, it was his floor. We all know how good Hicks is, but the silly fouls kept him from being an All-American.

If we get steady contribution from Luke, I'm not really worried about how good he can be, just that he's rarely or never bad.

Difference is Hicks was one of those guys in a workout or combine setting looks really good. But in real game is just too inconsistent.

 

[Archer2]

Bradley is gonna really have to improve conditioning if he is gonna play 28 MPG

I don't think his conditioning is going to be a problem.

IDK, kinda want to see how he comes out after this off season, can he go, can he show more of a motor, is his stamina where it has to be, has he added strength. If so then don't red shirt him play him, let him learn by doing in practice early and see if he has enough to merit a red shirt. I am not a huge fan of red shirting unless there are some very strong reasons that drive it, not sure a broken legs a year ago at this point is reason enough to red shirt him

When he comes in, Roy will have a chance to evaluate him over the summer and make an informed decision.

 

[HeelzLover]

Roy saw something in the kid or he wouldn't have recruited

the need for warm bodies

 

[dadika13]

In the past when it has been suggested that a lower-ranked player could benefit from redshirting, the counter-argument has generally been that you don't want to tie up a scholarship for another year on a low-ranked player.

Manley might be an exception IF you think he's really under-rated and that extra year will give us another year or more of a higher-ranked player (when he's fully rehabbed and has learned the system).

I haven't seen enough of Manley to know whether he would be worth the extra scholarship year.

I'm trying to recall the last time Roy gave a redshirt year to someone who wasn't injured. Has that happened? Will Graves, maybe?

I think the redshirt is more because he missed so much time with injuries in his HS career and less about him as a player.

 

[imajericho]

I do not think Luke is playing as many minutes a game as listed above. Nor do I think Bradley needs better conditioning to play more minutes.

 

[Spacegrass]

I don't think his conditioning is going to be a problem.

When he comes in, Roy will have a chance to evaluate him over the summer and make an informed decision.

It would of been this year. Nothing is guaranteed.

 

[Archer2]

I rarely expect much from freshmen. I do think Jalek will be one of those that produces pretty quickly. Hopefully, Huffman can play some decent backup minutes. Anything we get from Manley is gravy.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

^^^
I expect Jalek to give us 8-9pts a game, and maybe more if JB leaves.
Huffman 7pts and 5rbs