Complementary Pieces PJ Hall

[00:00:00] Hey, what’s up everybody. This is Sage doing a solo podcast. Um, Dustin and I talked about it and he has a lot of responsibilities now as a father. And we, uh, we wanted to give the listeners the most content possible. And with this draft, have we having two first round picks in the lottery plus a high second and.

[00:00:27] You know, we have tradable assets. Malcolm Brogdon probably doesn’t have a long future with this team. Matisse Stiebel’s tradable. Jeremy Grant could be tradable. I don’t think that one happens, but it absolutely could. We thought that it was very important to talk about as much college basketball and, you know, You know, other leagues as possible in these future Friday series.

[00:00:50] So this one will label different for the people. We won’t even count. This is a wholly backward podcast. It’s going to be something separate in his own. It’s just going to [00:01:00] be me. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about some of these players that we just don’t won’t talk about because there’s not enough Fridays in the, uh, the cycle for us to do future Fridays on them.

[00:01:14] And. Some of these players are very much deservant of being talked about on our podcast. Um, this podcast will be dedicated towards the Clemson senior PJ Hall. Now, PJ Hall went to a G league ignite camp where they did his measurements. So I feel pretty damn certain that he is. What he, what they labeled.

[00:01:37] So he is six, eight, but actually I should give him, he’s six, eight and a quarter. So let’s give him that quarter inch because it matters. He has a wingspan of seven, 1. 5 and a standing reach of nine feet. You look at him. And you see that he is in [00:02:00] his man’s body already. There isn’t going to be that crazy body comp change between what he is now and what he’s going to be in the future.

[00:02:09] He’s really a well built. Big player in this, uh, in this league, you know, you see Janice go from a very skinny player to the Janice you see now. I don’t think that that’s going to change that much because I think if he puts much more bulk on them, he won’t have the flexibility and the movement skills that Going to put them in the league.

[00:02:33] So let’s talk about his family. And I got a shout out to Dustin. He is a much better person at getting all of this information to you, but I’m doing the best I can. And also, if you want to check this out, it will be on my personal YouTube, not the holy backboard of YouTube. Thank you so much. But all right.

[00:02:50] His family is, he has a father named Jerome that played college basketball in South Carolina. Then his mother [00:03:00] played basketball and volleyball. In, uh, in Charleston. So he has really good bloodlines for being an athlete. I know I read that his family is crazy competitive, so he definitely has that competitive drive.

[00:03:14] Honestly. I think if you look at PJ halls, like the most, he’s done, it was the Jalen Johnson dunk. And if you don’t know, it’s on YouTube now, Jalen Johnson had a fast break and he was on Duke at the time, not Atlanta. They, I mean, they, they played in the same conference. So Jalen had a very, very easy, fast break, but PJ Hall.

[00:03:40] Tried to, uh, jump with him and failed and it was a very, uh, nice clip for Jalen Johnson, but it shows the competitive nature that PJ Hall has. He was a top 40 recruit in his draft class or, uh, you know, school class, not draft class, and was ranked as one of the [00:04:00] highest Clemson. Recruits in program history, um, because he’s a four year guy, let’s talk about what he’s done in the last three.

[00:04:08] It’s kind of interesting and kind of a sad three. Three years in fresh, in his freshman year, he was limited because there was an all conference player, Amir Sims ahead of him in his position. So in his rookie year, his freshman year, he scored three and a half points and two rebounds and 10 minutes a game in 20 games.

[00:04:34] So again, limited playing time, but you knew. You know, there’s resilience competing with somebody that, you know, all conference, you’re not going to get the run, you know, college isn’t about, I mean, Clemson really isn’t about, you know, highlighting the guy they were trying to do well. So learning and. [00:05:00] Being kind of humbled in a scenario that he wasn’t really custom to coming off the bench and playing a limited role, I think really helped him in his sophomore season.

[00:05:09] He played through a stress fracture in his foot before requiring surgery in the off season. He finished the year was, was really, really incredible with 15 points. 5. 8 rebounds and 1. 6 assists. So even while being playing injured with a stress fracture and you know, like there’s Drew Holliday, stress fractures are serious.

[00:05:35] Drew Holliday lost a few years of his career due to stress fractures. And maybe the competitiveness may be trying to keep his spot. Whatever the reason, he played through a really bad injury. Hall said. The foot was hard to deal with in my sophomore year, but he told himself that he’d come up on top of it and he wasn’t really down on the foot because he’s been dealing with it for so [00:06:00] long.

[00:06:01] And then 15 minutes into his full practice, PJ Hall, this dislocated his kneecap and tore his PFL tendons. And I think This is where, you know, the injuries started piling up on him. I mean, the first 15 minutes into practice, your junior season, you are the, the, the superstar of the, the team. This was pretty devastating, but he continued to play.

[00:06:30] He, he kind of was a, uh, a mess in the beginning of the season. I remember seeing a game where he played like eight minutes and hit a full zeros and everything statistically. So he and his coach talked and his coach was telling him how. He needs to go back to being himself and in the end part of his junior season, he, his grit and grind, he helped lead the, uh, Clemson [00:07:00] Tigers to a record year.

[00:07:02] They won 14 conference games and finished with 23 wins. He was named to all ACC third team and finished top three. Uh, in scoring during the ACC play, finished with 15 points, five rebounds, shooting 39 percent from three as a big man, which I mean, if you’re a big dude and you’re shooting 29, 30, you know, we’re feeling really good about the potential of your pick and pop game.

[00:07:30] The fact that he was shooting 39 on big attempts and his freshman, sophomore year, he was more of a, I’m dunking it type of player. So to see him convert from, you know, a, a slasher, because I think in his rookie year, he may have made two threes. I I’m sorry, not rookie, but freshman year, he might’ve hit two threes to being a 39 percent guy on humongous.

[00:07:55] Superstar volume, that [00:08:00] efficiency is really, really captivating. Especially when you’re talking about a four year senior, seeing, seeing the jump in shooting from freshmen to junior year, 39%, and all the accolades that come from being a star. And going through all of these injuries is really, really impressive.

[00:08:18] So this is his senior year. And right now he’s arguably a, uh, not only a top player in the ACC, but in the entire NCAA. I would say that Zach Edie out of, uh, Purdue is the best current college player. But I would say that PJ Hall absolutely is there in the top three, top five players. In the NCAA currently, um, right now, and these stats are from like, um, I think two or three days ago, but I don’t believe Clemson’s played yet.

[00:08:54] So I think these are accurate, but he’s scoring 19.6 points per game, [00:09:00] 7.2 rebounds, a game to assists per game, and a PER rating player efficiency rating of 31.3. If you’re looking at most of the freshmen we’re talking about, they’re like. 18 to 24. So having a guy in their thirties and player efficiency is really, really impressive.

[00:09:18] Like We’re talking about one of the most dominant college basketball players right now, but we’re also talking about one of the most, uh, impressive college basketball players. We don’t expect PJ Hall to be a superstar NBA player right now. His usage rate for the Clemson Tigers is 29. 6. And I know this isn’t an apples for apples comparison, because I know usage rate is calculated different, but LeBron James also has a 29.

[00:09:48] 6 usage rate for the So that, uh, that’s just to. Be an example of how involved PJ Hall is with his current team. So the scale down is going to be real because we [00:10:00] think of him as we’re going to think of them as a low usage, big. And the number one way I think. He’s going to show this is with his scoring.

[00:10:13] And I got to give credit to him as a, a post threat. He has moves the feel and the vertical pop to really score a high percentage in college while all of those skills. Are really well highlighted what he’s going to do in the NBA shoot right now. He’s shooting 33 percent from three on really high superstar volume.

[00:10:37] So, you know, having the ability to mesh with a superstar like PJ hall can superstars need space. Something in blazers are doing a pretty bad job with, with as many non shooters and suspect and in theory shooters is the blazers currently have on their roster. So [00:11:00] PJ hall, I’ll just based on that, without me talking about anything else in his game, the fact that he gets shoot is really, really valuable.

[00:11:07] We see how Dwap reef is, you know, being looked at PJ hall is a better shooter. Um, going ahead with this, going, uh, with his really awesome shooting. He’s a great screen setter. And when you’re trying to be that low usage guy, fighting for minutes, fighting for his rotational minutes, the fact that you can set this tough screen on or off ball.

[00:11:35] Is really clutch. You watch him at Clemson and he’s just directing traffic offensively to get all the players in the correct spots. And then he sets screens on the point guard and then they can go into a pick and pop read where, you know, you hit because of his gravity and the fact that he is a superstar player.

[00:11:57] You know, like it either results in [00:12:00] a rather easy layup for the guard or a pick and pop opportunity. And I’m really impressed with how PJ Hall plays in the pick and pop. His pre shot footwork is just absolutely gorgeous. He’s hands up ready to get the ball. He has a bend in his knees prior to catching the ball.

[00:12:22] And then, you know, his motion in shooting is really beautiful. You don’t really see that type of footwork in the pre shot work from a guy that’s 6’8 6’9 6’10 in shoes and, you know, his body type. And the fact that he is. There is no hitch. You look at what Jabari is and there’s a hitch in his shot in his movement.

[00:12:46] PJ Hall doesn’t really have that hitch in his game or in his movement or his setup, you know, drop reef. You, he needs that runway. PJ Hall. I’ve seen him take contested shots. And because he does such a good job [00:13:00] in the, the work before getting the ball. Ball, he shoots it in what I would consider a contested shot, but because he’s such a has such a quick release, it’s fine.

[00:13:11] You can deal with a PJ Hall taking that shot when other bigs. You can’t. And the fact that it’s so fast, you can, you can picture it with Scoot Henderson, Scoot and him do a pick and pop. He sets a screen for Scoot, flares to the three, and Scoot makes the decision. Can he either finish or not? I think that.

[00:13:37] Because he’s such a great screener, he can fit with anybody. I mean, of course, this is the Portland Trailblazers podcast. So we’re, we’re, we’re talking about what Scoot can do or what Anthony can do. But the fact is he could play with Luka Doncic. He could play with LeBron James. The fact is he can set that screen.

[00:13:55] And it’s a good hard screen and give them that, [00:14:00] that, that one foot, that one pace ahead. And that’s in the NBA with such high level scores and finishers and crafty guys. That one steps enormously important. And we’re going back to the screen game. The fact that he can shoot threes is great. And it’s what’s initially going to put them in.

[00:14:24] But once teams are reacting to the fact that he’s popping out a lot. He can set a pick and just roll to the basket and has the ability to score. I mean, we talked about it earlier. He has the ability to score on the ground. He can jump off two feet and go for dunks and strong layup. And the feel that he has offensively is just really high here.

[00:14:47] I’m talking about feel. It’s actually impressive watching him play make for his team. Obviously he’s six 10. He’s not going to be the ultimate [00:15:00] decision maker for a team. That’s just not what he was built as. He’s more of a, a finisher of plays, but. When you look at him statistically, he’s finished multiple years with a 2 to 1 assist ratio.

[00:15:14] So the fact is, he’s getting teammates involved, and he’s really good at moving without the ball. And then when he gets it, he can make that pass to the next player. But I’ve seen some really creative passing from him. He kind of reminds me of Xavier Tillman where of course he can make that next pass, of course, but he can find the cutters, he can find the open shooters, he, his gravity right now, it allows him to find those opportunities to allow others to score.

[00:15:50] I mean, his skills offensively is shooting, screening, excellent court vision, and honestly I put him as a really high. [00:16:00] High chance of being a potential dribble handoff operator. And we talk about these bigs, like Grant Williams made a bag, you know, Xavier Tillman had his moments. There’s these dream on green has made a career and a Hall of Fame career of being a decision maker out of the big position.

[00:16:20] It’s such a, it’s such an advantage over, you know, somebody that needs, needs somebody set them up. He can set other people up and he can set himself up for these opportunities offensively. So the fact that he’s, you know, some, some people rate him. In the second round or or of a low first round pick the fact that he can give you a lot of what you’re needing At a really cheap price like I wouldn’t take him with the Warriors pick I think that’s really bad value.

[00:16:51] But the fact is we have Malcolm Brogdon if we can trade him for a 20s a pick in the 20s. I’m totally [00:17:00] feeling confident that PJ Hall can be a guy that You can trust in the clutch minutes of the game and, you know, DeAndre Aiton, because, you know, there’s so many weird things about his context. He might not be able to finish games.

[00:17:17] I think PJ Hall can be that guy that plays the four with him for a little while and then finishes games at the five. But there are two sides of the ball. And PJ Hall, if you look at his statistics, he’s a really, really awesome shot blocker. Um, but he uses his length and his strength around the basket. He uses his chest really, really well to slow people that are penetrating to the rim, other bigs trying to post them up.

[00:17:48] And he’s, he’s not going to sky for, for blocks, but he’s going to do Positional defense, like he’s not going to be overplayed [00:18:00] because he isn’t the most athletic and he’s just super disciplined. He doesn’t bite on fakes. And that, that the fact that some players bite on fakes, it’s the reason why they get into such heavy foul trouble.

[00:18:14] You look at Scoot Henderson for an example, he bites on stuff and it was really aggressive. That’s why he gets so many foul called early in the game where he can’t finish. It’s because he bites on stuff. Where PJ Hall knows that he’s not going to block the shot at the top of the shot. He’s going to block the shot as the ball comes up.

[00:18:33] It stops him from getting those easy foul calls. And if he can attack the ball as his As the ball coming up, you know, it, it leads to a lot of safer possessions for him not to get, uh, those fouls. I really love to see the way that he is communicating with his teammates about switches and possessions and saying, like talking about his rim protection.

[00:18:59] Yeah. He’s not [00:19:00] going to be the best, but. He’s really solid defensively when drivers go at him, he has the verticality, which will save him from getting fouls. The pop off two feet is, is really nice, but it’s not elite. Obviously you look at what he, what Jalen Johnson to do. It’s not elite, but it’s still good.

[00:19:21] Like, I feel like he’s solid in a drop coverage scheme. like schematically, you’d want him to be in a drop, but it doesn’t have to be like a deep job. Like what we’re going to probably estimate what happens with Zach Evie. He’s definitely going to have more juice defensively because he is so solid with his defensive principles.

[00:19:45] But I don’t think like he’s going to have those. Amazing block shots or those steals. I think he’s just trying to be fundamentally sound with his defense and not really try and make many glaring mistakes. [00:20:00] So as long as he can just contest, make him finish through a high hand. I don’t think that defense right now is a problem.

[00:20:08] Um, and comps now. Now he said that he tries to model his game after Brooke Lopez, which kind of makes sense with really transition to a three point shooting role and good defender. I think Brooke Lopez has a lot more juice with his defense because of the height. We’re talking about like a four inch difference and PJ Hall probably like I think he can finish games at five, but I think that he’s going to be a primary four when he comes into the league.

[00:20:44] So there’s is some switching craft. I think that he’s a little bit more versatile than Brooke. So I would probably put them at the Trey Lyles type of guy. And that, I mean, that’s kind of what we, what I’ve been [00:21:00] asking for for a while with, we need a versatile guy at the four, five that. Can play with D’Andre and then can finish in games that D’Andre absolutely it would be a liability.

[00:21:12] And so, yeah, I’m ha I’m, I’m have them in the trade Lyles. Maybe PJ Washington, but PJ Washington has more, uh, as an offensive player, especially with the, the, the playmaking in a dribbling role. Um, Daniel Theis might be a good comp for him. It’s just like versatile four or five that can use his, his, his, his screening ability and his shooting.

[00:21:40] But yeah, I, I think that what he can do for the Portland trail blazers is really important. Right now in the starting five. There is no good screen or Jeremy Grant isn’t built for it. Deandre Aydin kind of slips way more than he sets screens. I know Dwap Reef [00:22:00] does give some really nice screens for his teammates, but.

[00:22:06] His rim defense and his defense in general is just so bad at times we can give up like 60 plus points of the paint. PJ Hall is going to give that effort in everything he does. He’s a dog. He’s worked through injuries. He’s worked through lack of playing time and now he’s like legitimately one of the best players in the game.

[00:22:29] I would not take him in the lottery, but I definitely, if they, if the blazers had any pick from like 20 to 20, Did like 40, I take PJ Hall in an instant, and I’m pretty excited about, you know, coming out of the draft with, well, let’s just make up names, but Jacoby Walter, Ryan Dunn, and PJ Hall, I think you have a really nice mix of talents.

[00:22:55] Um, thank you to everybody for listening. This podcast will be out [00:23:00] on Friday. Um, I was going to give this a little. More time to marinate because we were going to do a Jacobi Walther podcast, which will be coming out in the next few days. Maybe, you know, I’ll release it earlier because, you know, Jacoby is my number one guy on my board.

[00:23:17] So want to give him the time, but, um, A really cool, be able to watch PJ hall, somebody that, you know, knows his role, knows his limitations. Sometimes he, uh, tries to do stuff. He’s not really prepared for like going after Jalen Johnson in a fast break. I’ll put that in the, uh, bio of this, the podcast. So I want to thank everybody for listening, giving this a chance.

[00:23:44] I know blazer fans don’t really want to be thinking about, you know, the draft, but. I think PJ Hall is really worthy of a first round pick. And if not a really high second, so thank you for listening. This will be out on my personal YouTube. This will be [00:24:00] out on the holy backboard podcast. So if you’re listening to the podcast, there is no difference, but if you’re one of those few people that actually watch YouTube podcast.

[00:24:09] It will be on mine. We’ll clip this up. We’ll share it with, you know, whoever, thank you for listening. Thank you for giving me a chance. And I really appreciate Dustin for letting me, you know, look on other draft content. Thank you to everybody. Very appreciative, you know, stay safe and, uh, we will talk to you next week.

[00:24:31] Peace.