June 16, 2014

Excessive proximity to camera lens may or may not reflect level of in-your-face defensive tenacity.

Majok Majok is, as the name suggests, Ater Majok's cousin. That is something they have in common.

Majok Majok was a double double machine last season. That is not something they have in common.

Double Madge was helped in his double doubleness by the quality of his competition and the quality of his team. He was also incredibly hindered by the quality of his team, or the lack of it. Ball State were very poor last year - therefore Majok, as one of the better talents on an untalented team, received a lot more of the ball on offense and a lot more minutes than he may otherwise have merited. He also received a lot more defensive attention, and he did not handle it well. Doubled on most possessions - not because he's a great offensive creator, but because no one else was either - Majok struggled badly with them, finding it difficult to pass back out, fight through to finish, shoot over the top, or read and react quick enough. He was regularly put in a position he was overmatched in, and the turnover numbers above attest to how well that went. He was planned for specifically by defenses and hugely hindered by the lack of help, with no one able to routinely feed him the ball in good spots or provide any spacing to alleviate the pressure on him.

Nevertheless, you don't do double double without ability, and Majok has some. He has more of it than he does physical tools, arguably. An out and out paint player, Majok's measurements aren't great for the position, nor any position really. Slender and neither fast nor explosive, Majok can be pushed about by bigger players in the paint, hasn't the food speed to keep up with opposing fours, and yet ideally has the height for that position. His skills, however, are exclusively those of an interior presence.

On offense, Majok scores in subtle ways. He creates little in the post and has little mid range game, but he does slip open and always makes himself available on the interior. Aware and active, Majok found ways to get himself open on a team with no one who could collapse a defense or create in the halfcourt, or without being able to isolate regularly himself. He has little jump shot and a bad free throw stroke (not helped by leaning back unnecessarily), his spindly frame making it difficult to routinely get position in the paint and post, yet he is a decent enough finisher around the basket.

On the down side, Majok does not run the court, and his passing game is limited to the most basic ones. He is at least willing to try and pass the ball, aforementioned problems with double team notwithstanding. He also travels or loses the ball with regularity when asked to put the ball on the floor for more than perhaps one dribble - Majok is effective when asked to catch and finish, not when creating.

Defensively, Majok has some areas or concern. He has not the strength to keep bigger opposing post players out of optimum position, and tends to grab opponents to make up for it. He needs to do his work earlier, get lower in his stance and avoid touch fouls - not laterally fast and too easily pushed around, Majok needs to body up as much as he can, use his decent wing span (long enough to block his man straight up) to contest, and to do so without fouling. Where Majok does the bulk of his work is on the glass; slightly stronger than he was, Majok works hard to get rebounds and pursues the ball, boxing out consistently and fighting for position even when overmatched physically.

Playing where he did got him a double double average, which will get him professional work. It would perhaps have been more beneficial had he had the opportunity to play with a true point guard, yet two straight seasons of double double play make him a useful commodity at the right standard of professional league. There is no way, however, that Majok Majok will play in the NBA. Just one more thing he has in common with Ater.

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