06-23-2023, 11:44 AM
Athletic article with anonymous scouts:
Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Marquette junior Olivier Maxence-Prosper helped himself with a strong showing at the Chicago draft combine, eliciting rumors that he was promised a first-round ticket by an anonymous team.
College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Marquette): I like him and he’s one of those guys who you’re going to realize four or five years from now and be like, “Oh, man, this kid can play.” He’s got a chance and has the tools to make himself into a serious player. Prosper is only going to keep getting better, too. He helped himself in Chicago. If he didn’t get a promise, he should have gone back. Hopefully, he got a promise. He’s an upside kid. I like him and he does a lot of different things.
Dereck Lively II
College Head Coach 1 (his team played Duke): If you look at where he was early in the season, to where he finished, and what he’s been doing in these workouts. … Early in the season, when the games started, maybe after the first 10, 15 games, it was ‘Is he going to be a first-round pick? And if he is, he’s going to be late.’ Now I’m seeing he’s Lottery. He was the perfect example of how they, and maybe the whole system, how they figured things out as things went along. I thought early in the season, he was more of just a defensive presence. They weren’t starting him. They were starting Ryan Young. Then finally, in the second half (of the season), they started playing him, and he’d switch the ball screens.
That’s one of the most underrated things about his game, the fact that he was doing that at 18, 19 years old. I remember telling my staff, ‘That guy’s going to be in the league.’ He reminded me of a DeAndre Jordan defensively. He could switch a ball screen, he could sit down and guard a guard. Obviously it was hard to score at the basket with him because of his athleticism, length and his shot blocking and intimidation. The thing that’s different is he can actually shoot the basketball. You saw that at the end, when he would make some 3s, pick and pop, do some things like that. He’s obviously a big lob threat, a rim runner, the dunker’s spot. As he continues to grow, he can be a little bit more of a traditional big now. The traditional big now is, you pick and pop, you shoot the 3. His upside, man, if he can continue to stay healthy, I think his upside is huge.
Western Conference Executive 1: Started the season slow, and then came on and showed why he got ranked when he was in high school. Had a very high block rate, tremendous mobility for a big guy. He can cover a lot of ground, and block shots, either straight on or as an off-the-ball shot blocker. … Rim protection is important. You can’t just be a statue that protects the rim; you’ve got to be able to stay on the court. Particularly in the playoffs, you’ve got to be able to be out on the perimeter. Over time, he has the physical capability, I think, to do that. I don’t think he makes the first eight, but nine to 13?
I think there’s a lot of similarities (with Allen). He didn’t have a great year at Texas. His shot-blocking numbers were there, but he was up and down. I believe, if I’m right, Jarrett got drafted later (22nd overall in 2017) than this kid is probably going to go. The close of (Lively’s) year was better than anything Jarrett had at any point in time in that year. But their mobility, long, shot-blocking guards with the feet to guard, not just around the basket, that’s appealing. And he was a big-timer in high school. So everything’s on the upswing with him. As a big guy now, no one cares if you can score in the post any more. If you can, great, we’ll throw it to you once a month. He’s going to be a defense-first guy.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Marquette junior Olivier Maxence-Prosper helped himself with a strong showing at the Chicago draft combine, eliciting rumors that he was promised a first-round ticket by an anonymous team.
College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Marquette): I like him and he’s one of those guys who you’re going to realize four or five years from now and be like, “Oh, man, this kid can play.” He’s got a chance and has the tools to make himself into a serious player. Prosper is only going to keep getting better, too. He helped himself in Chicago. If he didn’t get a promise, he should have gone back. Hopefully, he got a promise. He’s an upside kid. I like him and he does a lot of different things.
Dereck Lively II
College Head Coach 1 (his team played Duke): If you look at where he was early in the season, to where he finished, and what he’s been doing in these workouts. … Early in the season, when the games started, maybe after the first 10, 15 games, it was ‘Is he going to be a first-round pick? And if he is, he’s going to be late.’ Now I’m seeing he’s Lottery. He was the perfect example of how they, and maybe the whole system, how they figured things out as things went along. I thought early in the season, he was more of just a defensive presence. They weren’t starting him. They were starting Ryan Young. Then finally, in the second half (of the season), they started playing him, and he’d switch the ball screens.
That’s one of the most underrated things about his game, the fact that he was doing that at 18, 19 years old. I remember telling my staff, ‘That guy’s going to be in the league.’ He reminded me of a DeAndre Jordan defensively. He could switch a ball screen, he could sit down and guard a guard. Obviously it was hard to score at the basket with him because of his athleticism, length and his shot blocking and intimidation. The thing that’s different is he can actually shoot the basketball. You saw that at the end, when he would make some 3s, pick and pop, do some things like that. He’s obviously a big lob threat, a rim runner, the dunker’s spot. As he continues to grow, he can be a little bit more of a traditional big now. The traditional big now is, you pick and pop, you shoot the 3. His upside, man, if he can continue to stay healthy, I think his upside is huge.
Western Conference Executive 1: Started the season slow, and then came on and showed why he got ranked when he was in high school. Had a very high block rate, tremendous mobility for a big guy. He can cover a lot of ground, and block shots, either straight on or as an off-the-ball shot blocker. … Rim protection is important. You can’t just be a statue that protects the rim; you’ve got to be able to stay on the court. Particularly in the playoffs, you’ve got to be able to be out on the perimeter. Over time, he has the physical capability, I think, to do that. I don’t think he makes the first eight, but nine to 13?
I think there’s a lot of similarities (with Allen). He didn’t have a great year at Texas. His shot-blocking numbers were there, but he was up and down. I believe, if I’m right, Jarrett got drafted later (22nd overall in 2017) than this kid is probably going to go. The close of (Lively’s) year was better than anything Jarrett had at any point in time in that year. But their mobility, long, shot-blocking guards with the feet to guard, not just around the basket, that’s appealing. And he was a big-timer in high school. So everything’s on the upswing with him. As a big guy now, no one cares if you can score in the post any more. If you can, great, we’ll throw it to you once a month. He’s going to be a defense-first guy.
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