John Hollinger on Scotty Pippen Jr. so far

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John Hollinger on Scotty Pippen Jr. so far

Post by TwoSaints »

Interesting comments on SPJ from Stats guru-turned Memphis Grizzlies VP-turned journalist John Hollinger, writing in The Athletic today:

Scotty Pippen, Jr., junior PG, Vanderbilt
I thought Pippen was good enough at the G League Elite camp to warrant an invitation to the Draft Combine — he had 25 points in 41 minutes across two games — but the league felt differently. He ended up pulling his name out and returning to Vanderbilt. SEC scribes thought enough of him to make him the preseason conference player of the year despite playing for a team that was picked to finish 13th in a 14-team league.
So far, Pippen’s numbers haven’t stood out, but that’s more a case of one stinker bringing down the averages (he had a tough night against VCU, shooting 2-for-10 with five turnovers; Vandy scored just 37 points against them. Blecch.) in a season that only has five games so far. Pippen is on the small side at 6-foot-1 (actually he measured 6-0.5 in socks at the Elite Camp) and isn’t a great shooter, plus he plays more as a scorer and can be prone to some wildness; Vandy fans will immediately recognize some similarities there to former Commodore and current pro Saben Lee.

Pippen immediately has an uphill battle at the NBA level if he’s going to play the point with those characteristics. However, his quickness, defensive activity and ability to draw bushels of fouls (13.7 free throw attempts per 100 possessions last year!) are all plus indicators. The Elite Camp showed that his style should translate pretty well to the more open floor of an NBA game. All those are reasons to suspect Pippen could hear his name called in the second round on draft night, but to cement that he needs to show more growth as a distributor and decision-maker.


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Re: John Hollinger on Scotty Pippen Jr. so far

Post by MrMemorial »

TwoSaints wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 10:57 am Interesting comments on SPJ from Stats guru-turned Memphis Grizzlies VP-turned journalist John Hollinger, writing in The Athletic today:

Scotty Pippen, Jr., junior PG, Vanderbilt
I thought Pippen was good enough at the G League Elite camp to warrant an invitation to the Draft Combine — he had 25 points in 41 minutes across two games — but the league felt differently. He ended up pulling his name out and returning to Vanderbilt. SEC scribes thought enough of him to make him the preseason conference player of the year despite playing for a team that was picked to finish 13th in a 14-team league.
So far, Pippen’s numbers haven’t stood out, but that’s more a case of one stinker bringing down the averages (he had a tough night against VCU, shooting 2-for-10 with five turnovers; Vandy scored just 37 points against them. Blecch.) in a season that only has five games so far. Pippen is on the small side at 6-foot-1 (actually he measured 6-0.5 in socks at the Elite Camp) and isn’t a great shooter, plus he plays more as a scorer and can be prone to some wildness; Vandy fans will immediately recognize some similarities there to former Commodore and current pro Saben Lee.

Pippen immediately has an uphill battle at the NBA level if he’s going to play the point with those characteristics. However, his quickness, defensive activity and ability to draw bushels of fouls (13.7 free throw attempts per 100 possessions last year!) are all plus indicators. The Elite Camp showed that his style should translate pretty well to the more open floor of an NBA game. All those are reasons to suspect Pippen could hear his name called in the second round on draft night, but to cement that he needs to show more growth as a distributor and decision-maker.
Unless he blows up the rest of the season, he won't end up as Morant's backup in Memphis. The Grizz have THREE first round draft picks and none in the 2nd round iirc. Teams with multiple second round picks include Cleveland (would be Garland's backup), Charlotte, Golden State, San Antonio, Orlando, New Orleans, Sacramento, and possibly somebody else depending on trades.

Also iirc, 2nd round picks are not guaranteed a roster spot. If he doesn't want to play for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the "G" league, he might want to stick around next year and get a degree. (Or play for Team Batumi Vilzuna of the Albanian league.... not glamorous either)
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Re: John Hollinger on Scotty Pippen Jr. so far

Post by roanoke »

SPJ is the heart of this team. He needs a winning record - and I think the rest will take care of itself.

Last year he had to get all the points (along with Disu) and so his stat lines were good. But that probably was suspect to a lot of NBA gurus, knowing he was the only real scorer on the floor most of the time.

This year, he needs to be respectable, work on all facets - and win. this means that his stats may not be breathtaking this year - but it may not really matter. As an example, his one minute spree of two great defensive plays leading to two quick strike scores at Pitt are what turned the game. That game he scored double figures (low), but had 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals (and made huge defensive plays with three fouls on him.) That is what he needs to do. (He also did it getting doubled and hammered for much of the game.). Uncharacteristically missing his free throws was his big minus in that one.

Anyway, it would be nice if he could average 20 per game - but it would be nicer if he doesn't need to. If he can distribute so that seven guys have 8 points or more every game - it will get noticed.
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Re: John Hollinger on Scotty Pippen Jr. so far

Post by mathguy »

MrMemorial wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 11:29 am Also iirc, 2nd round picks are not guaranteed a roster spot. If he doesn't want to play for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the "G" league, he might want to stick around next year and get a degree. (Or play for Team Batumi Vilzuna of the Albanian league.... not glamorous either)
You know, this could be an interesting side effect of NIL money going to players.

In the past, well, even if he is not guaranteed an NBA roster spot and may end up with the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants or somewhere in remote Albania ... at least he's getting paid.

I don't know what agreements SPJ has made with businesses around Nashville, but I'm pretty confident that he's already getting paid under new NIL rules ... so why not take the senior year to improve and try to get that that 1st round slot.

Or, you know, maybe I'm still pretty out of touch with how 20 year old athletes think (surprise, surprise).
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Re: John Hollinger on Scotty Pippen Jr. so far

Post by Minoadoc »

mathguy wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:39 am
MrMemorial wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 11:29 am Also iirc, 2nd round picks are not guaranteed a roster spot. If he doesn't want to play for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the "G" league, he might want to stick around next year and get a degree. (Or play for Team Batumi Vilzuna of the Albanian league.... not glamorous either)
You know, this could be an interesting side effect of NIL money going to players.

In the past, well, even if he is not guaranteed an NBA roster spot and may end up with the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants or somewhere in remote Albania ... at least he's getting paid.

I don't know what agreements SPJ has made with businesses around Nashville, but I'm pretty confident that he's already getting paid under new NIL rules ... so why not take the senior year to improve and try to get that that 1st round slot.

Or, you know, maybe I'm still pretty out of touch with how 20 year old athletes think (surprise, surprise).
The dream, of course, is play in the NBA. But there is a lot of high paying professional opportunities internationally, with the possibility of developing his game to get back to the states. Six figure incomes with free cars and or housing. Not a bad life for a young man or woman
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