Players vs. Pros Comparison: EvCC Men’s Basketball

Growing up, everyone that plays a sport tends to watch the pros and pattern their game after their favorite athlete. Watching our own basketball players here at EvCC, you can start to see some of their moves replicate players at the highest level, the NBA and WNBA.

Andrew Hines, Staff Writer

February 16, 2016

Derek Brown Jr.

Player Comparison: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Plays with physicality and explosion

Big time scorer with triple double potential

When Derek is alone on a fast break every person in the gym is awaiting a huge rim shattering dunk and that expectation defines his game. He taps into his superior athleticism which makes it seem like he is shifting into a different gear out there on the court. Mix that with his ability to shoot from anywhere and his ball handling skills, and anyone can see how Westbrook can come to mind. Brown Jr. can take over and the numbers back that up as he is in the NWAC top 20 for scoring, assists, and rebounds.

Forest Grant

Player Comparison: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

Incredible versatility
Plays with quickness and power

“I do the dirty work, get the rebounds, throw a couple assists, and do everything I can.” Versatility is key for a player like Grant as he is a huge contributor at sixth man. With the ability to grab crucial rebounds and enough court awareness to find the open man he can play inside-out. This gives him plug and play ability for almost anyone in rotation.

Quadir Williams

Player Comparison: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

Elite passing ability
Great three point consistency

His assists speak for themselves as Quadir has been leading the NWAC in assists for almost this entire season. Completing an incredible duo in the backcourt, he has exceptional awareness/vison that allows him to find his teammates for high percentage looks. Not only does he make the players around him better but he can also hit from the three point line, sometimes looking automatic when he is on fire.

Sean McLaughlin

Player Comparison: Tyler Hansbrough, Charlotte Hornets

Extremely fundamental
Efficient scorer

He gets rebounds, hits consistently from the paint to mid-range, and looks like one of the most fundamentally solid players on the court every night. Watching him run up and down the floor and close out on defenders with purpose, he definitely brings energy into the starting five. Using his size advantage on smaller defenders McLaughlin has used his high release to shoot an impressive 57% on 148 attempts so far this season.

Said Hersi

Player Comparison: Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers

Automatic shooter from beyond the arc
Plays long and athletic

Three, three, three. Hersi lives and dies by the three point shot as he is hitting an incredible 41% from beyond the arc with 170 attempts. With a smooth shooting motion and a quick release he creates a lot of opportunities for himself when he is playing without the ball. Although he can be streaky at times if he heats up there is always the possibility that nobody will be able to stop his shot.

Noah Jones

Player Comparison: Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers

Shoots from outside with accuracy

Strong presence in the paint

Being the big man down low but with the ability to pop out for the three point shot is a pretty good summary of Noah’s game. He is currently 20th overall on the NWAC leaderboards for three point percentage with a total of 32 made shots out of 73 attempts.

Brevin Brown

Player Comparison: Leandro Barbosa, Golden State Warriors

Scores quickly
Determined rebounder and quick in transition

Brown has been a huge spark of the bench all season with his high energy and deadly shot from anywhere on the court. With his quick moves and fast paced play he takes advantage of every second he has in order to stretch leads while the starters rest. He has incredible blow up potential as well as he has had multiple 20+ points games throughout this season. Unfortunately after recent injury the Trojans will be without this key player going forward.

** Photo for this player unavailable due to injury

Michael Rhodes

Player: Makaliah Johnson

Player Comparison: Women’s Basketball

Andrew Hines, Staff Writer

Makaliah Johnson

Player Comparison: Swin Cash

Strong defensive player
Ability to slash down low to score

Johnson plays with a lot of strength on the offensive and defensive end while going full speed in the rotation. Playing on the outside with the ability to slash inside allows for versatility in the open floor and spreads the offense. This creates good spacing and makes for open lanes and executing precise ball movement. She tends to be a streaky player and has the ability to go off on any given night.

Kaela Tyler

Player Comparison:

Great passing ability
Runs the offense efficiently

Ball movement is key and Tyler is a huge catalyst for that within the Trojans offense. Typically she runs the point alongside Shore and has great court awareness in order to keep the ball in constant motion. Another one of her big strengths is her ability to defend and disrupt passing lanes in order to produce steals, she is currently averaging a steal per game.

Breezy Shore

Player Comparison: Sue Bird

Ability to score from anywhere
Plays with a lot of grit and determination

She plays with determination and enough heart to inspire anyone watching her drive through the lane for the and-one bucket. With the way she moves out on the court Shore seems to be playing at a different level on both sides of the ball. She is currently eighth in scoring and 17th in steals in the NWAC while averaging approximately 3 rebounds and assists on the season.

** Player photo unavailable

Jess Reiter

Player Comparison: Katie Smith

Deadly shooter if given space
Huge scorer

Sharpshooter! Reiter has been nailing from beyond the arc all season as she has been given the green light to fire away when given enough space. With an unorthodox shooting motion the incredible accuracy from all over the floor is astounding. She has become the closest thing to a one-two punch with Shore as Reiter has put up multiple 20+ point games throughout this season.

Claire Fyfe

Player Comparison:

Plays big in the paint
Finds open lanes for easy scoring

At 6’0” tall Fyfe has the gifts to be a dominate post player. Throughout the season she has contributed through rebounding but tends to help more in the scoring category by slipping into the post for the easy feed. She has recently started to play with strength down low and her production has begun to expand as the season is in its’ final stretch.

** Player photo unavailable

Lily Hilderbrand

Player Comparison:

Tenacious rebounder
Efficient scorer

Averaging a team high 7.55 rebounds per game Hilderbrand plays a physical, and fundamental, brand of basketball down low. She is a very effective scorer inside with the ability to pop out for a midrange jumper. As the second tallest player on the Trojans, she successfully uses that height advantage to box out and put up numbers in the rebound category, having six double digit rebound games this season.

Lauren Allison

Player Comparison: Shoni Schimmel

Plays well running the point and off-ball
Makes strong moves

Listed as a center on the team roster, Allison seems to play more of a point-forward type of role as she can take the ball down the court but also get inside for effective post play. Coming off of the bench she plays with a lot of energy and is constantly moving at full speed to get the defense on their heels. With sixth man minutes she produces efficiently, putting up an average of 6 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal.

** Player photo unavailable