The JUCO Files Part 24
It's simple: JUCO is college basketball's backbone. There's a world of talent to discover, of which many belong in Division I. Here in-depth analysis on five must-follow prospects for D1 coaches:
Why JUCO?
It’s not only the Diego Pavia case that’ll potentially lead to NJCAA athletes maintaining their four years when they transition to the NCAA. Fringe D1 prospects must go play JUCO basketball to maintain their valuable minutes while developing must-have skills and going through adversity. The result after two years is a associate’s degree and valuable experience today’s average D1 program seeks.
Instead of paying average players a lot of money in the portal, they’ll gladly shift to JUCO prospects who’ll come in fresh, and are in most cases even better prepared than their D1 peers. It’s a situation where everyone wins.
That’s why I focus on JUCO prospects who should play Division I basketball. I’ve written 15 articles last season, covering close to 100 players of which a majority signed a deal with a D1 or D2 program. I’m ensuring to keep this part of my newsletter at the same status, trying to grow the number of players to over 100. With more and more exposure, these less-coveted prospects will also receive a fair chance to put their name out there.
All previous articles, totalling to over 100 players, can be found here.
Prospects
1. Dylan Griffin — San Diego City College
Shooting Guard — 6’4” — Freshman — San Diego, CA
Link to Bio and Stats — Link to X Profile
One of the best scorers in the California JUCO scene. Griffin’s a good athlete with great lateral pace and instincts to create angles. He’s a no-brainer Division I player with a bright future. With great positional size, Griffin can play both guard positions, but he’s naturally more of a two than a one. Great slasher with decently tight handles while showing good creativity to find his scoring angles in the paint. Decent core but improving footwork makes him a problem to stop.
At close to nine rebounds, Griffin’s making a living in the paint. He’s getting to the charity stripe with such ease and his strength and physicality are great reasons. He’s not a good three point shooter yet at 21.1% but the lack of gravity there doesn’t stop him from getting downhill. He finishes with both hands and embraces physicality in the paint. At 210 pounds, he’s getting to the line with eight attempts per game while showing good touch around the basket. That led to him scoring over 21 points per game so far this season.
At over three assists per game, he’s unselfish and that’s the mindset he brings to his defense as well. With over three stocks per game, he’s showing out as a weak-side helper while playing the passing lanes without gambling for steals much. His defense is translatable to the next level and that’s giving him a two-way impact for San Diego City College this season. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s a starter for many mid-major programs who should add him to their watchlist sooner rather than later.
2. Aliou Diallo — Colby Community College
Point Guard — 6’0” — Sophomore — New York, NY
Link to Bio and Stats — Link to X Profile
Diallo’s mainly standing out as a defender. He’s a great athlete with good burst and lateral speed to impact the game. Despite being a six-footer, Diallo’s game is built to succeed as a defender. Great hands and he’s creating a steal per game while he’s playing as Colby’s leading guard. On top of that, his ability to get downhill and collapse defenses has stood out immediately. Great composure as he’s naturally drawing help defenders when he gets two feet inside the lane. That’s where his game starts. With a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, he’s showing flashes of what his value at the next level will be.
He might fit next to a more ball dominant guard at the next level. Because he’s the type of player that doesn’t need many touches to impact the game. He’s getting downhill with ease, but the lack of physicality often leads to bad shot attempts, explaining why he’s finishing under 40% of his attempts so far this season. The lack of touch is mostly caused by inconsistent shot selection, where Diallo shows some tunnel vision. He’s not shying away from being a volume three-point shooter, with him scoring over 30% on that end being a feasible number for the next level. The importance of him getting to the charity stripe is the main value because he can make advantages out of his paint touches. Working on his composure when he creates angles while not forcing too many shots is the main emphasis in what he must improve in the next few years.
He’s the younger brother of Providence-alum Alpha Diallo—now playing for one of the Euroleague’s top teams in Monaco—and a long-time pro in Europe and one of the best defenders on the continent. That’s clearly running in the family, as Diallo will impact a college program’s defense with his screen navigation. The need to get stronger is there, but there’s a starting role for him somewhere at the low-major level. He’s a name many college coaches should add to their watchlist.
All JUCO Prospects
I’ve written numerous articles like these. As of now, I covered over 100 JUCO prospects, which all can be found here.
Note: I’m still busy with getting Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter NCAA approved. For college coaches that would like to subscribe, I offer a $6 per month package with the standard coverage of solely the articles.
Paid subscribers get full access to this article which will cover two more in-depth scouting reports.