This is mainly a Jalen Green highlight mix, but Johnathan Kuminga is on the same team G League as Jalen so the viewer can see some of these two together in a recent Ignite win. Jalen is No. 4 and Johnathan is No. 0.
Both of these guys are pretty much on eveyone’s top five draft list for this summer’s NBA draft.
Watch the defensive flow of both teams and how much space and time is given up in these higlights compared to what Cade Cunningham is seeing every night in the Big 12 where gadget zones are clogging the lane and taking away much of what Cade could be doing by playing in the G League.
The G League now has the Professional Pathway Program which allows top tier prospects from high school to pass on the obligatory one year of college basketball and get paid as they prepare their games for the NBA draft.
This seems fairly logical to me if you’re that type of an elite athlete. Kobe pretty mcuh did this before there was a G League.
This is what Jalen Johnson should have done at Duke. Johnson left Duke this past week and is now preparing on his own for the draft.
Meanwhile…Jalen Green is making some really nice money while honing his game for the NBA draft.
In retrospect—this is probably what Cade should have done, but his brother got a job on Mike Boynton’s staff and I’m sure Cade’s loyalty to his brother had a great deal to do with him spending this season in Stillwater.
Kentucky was Cade’s second college choice and it’s very much a good thing he didn’t go there this season as John Calipari’s team has been a trainwreck most of the season.
Keep these highlights in mind when tomorrow night in Stillwater…former Bob Knight defensive guru Chris Beard has two to three guys playing or shading Cade every time he touches the ball.
What Chris Beard will basically do is challenge the other O State players to beat him. From a college game standpoint it will be interesting to watch, but not relevant as to what Cade will see in the NBA.
It’s the same thing in hockey when the other team has an elite scorer. First guy hits him, second guys hits him, third guy hits him all game long.
I may or may not watch two of the NBA’s worst teams tonight as the Thunder host the Cleveland Cavaliers. I’ll probably watch one half and then watch Stanley Tucci’s show on Italian cusine and culture. We’ll see.
If a passionate hoops junkie like me is doing this and spending his disposable basketball fun money paying to see OU play in Manhattan and Texas Tech play in Stillwater–I would suggest to Sam Presto to not piss away his two first round picks this summer.
Have a nice Sunday.
Here’s some other takes on the Professional Pathway Program and how it should relate to present and future player development.