The JUCO Files Part 28
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 four must-follow prospects for D1 coaches:
Why JUCO?
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, while programs can save on their NIL resources compared to when they’ll work the transfer portal.
All previous articles, totalling to over 125 players, can be found here.
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Prospects
1. Jaden Fitzhugh — Colorado Northwestern CC
Small Forward/Power Forward — 6’8” — Freshman — Glendale, AZ
Link to Bio and Stats — Link to X Profile
Fitzhugh is one of the more impressive forwards I’ve encountered at the JUCO level. Pure skill and a feasible role to grow into at the next level. The true freshman fits the mold of a power 3/4 who’ll space the floor, attack closeouts while standing out with his game away from the ball. At 32.7% on 49 three-point attempts this season, he’s showing a decent return on that end. The first two plays below show a good shooting form where he’s balancing his body well by setting his feet quickly while powering up fluidly at 180 degrees. That makes it feasible he’ll continue to grow as a shooter in the next few years.
Fitzhugh is very athletic, and that’s the path to him to continue to showcase his plus-defense at the next level. At 44 blocks and 23 steals in 28 games, he’s a surefire stocks machine. Great hips and vertical pop. The 20 second-mark shows two examples, one as a finisher and as a weak-side shot-blocker. This helps him as a rebounder as well, with the 36-second mark showing an example. The bounce is a big part of how he’s creating opportunities, and he’s mastered his physical tools very well so far.
He has a good feel in recognizing angles as a cutter. That’s the best part about him—his game is scalable. He can be a complementary four who’ll serve as a second forward because of how he’s impacting the paint with his rebounding. Decent screener. On top of that, he has the skill and decent handles to score out of closeouts—little right hand dominant but that’s okay considering he’s still improving on that end.
The touch around the rim is good, as he’s finisher over 60% from his two-point attempts. He’s only scratching the surface of what he can become, as there is serious high-major potential in his profile. Fitzhugh shows the complete package, and the best part is that he doesn’t have to scale his game up to being a team’s 1A. His role fits a wanted commodity of high-end complementary forwards, where I expect him to garner interest from many mid-major and some high-major programs this summer.
2. Andre Klaver — Vincennes University
Point Guard — 6’3” — Redshirt Freshman — Sterling, IL
Link to Bio and Stats — Link to X Profile
I’m all in on Klaver developing to a high-major starter for the class of 2027. Coach Franklin and his staff have a proven track record of developing guard talent at Vincennes, and Klaver’s next in line to bring his game to the highest level. When I evaluate point guard talent, I don’t care about flashy highlights or impressive solo shot-making that much. In today’s game exploiting, recognizing and making the best possible decisions out of the created angles is what makes a good point guard a potentially great point guard. That’s the potential I see with Klaver. He spent his freshman year at Augustana, a Division III program before committing to Vincennes, one of the NJCAA’s traditional blue blood schools.
At 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, Klaver’s been showing good returns with 44.9%/37.0%/73.4% splits. I’m usually not using numbers in my scouting reports, but it’s a clear first sign of his high feel for the game and consistent good decision-making leading to a good outcome. The best part is that Klaver’s a physical and tough guard. He’s a finesse-based player but with a fantastic understanding of the game. That’s what I prefer instead of players that rely on athletic advantages with more raw fundamentals.
The 4:36-mark shows a good example. Klaver’s hitting the strong side after seeing a double coverage, creating much better space for his team by forcing the weak side to adapt and leave options there. Right after he got off the screen, you see Klaver making it a ICE with hiding the ball toward the sideline, looking to the angle in the middle to hit the roller. The margins for error are vital here, that’s what NBA teams also focus on. He could have hit the roller right away, who then ran into the rotation from the weak side. Instead, he waits a split-second and draws the entire defense to ensure that the roller is left with a easy finish. He’s patient and composed under pressure, the 4:52-mark shows an example of him actively seeking the right pass underneath the basket. Great footwork to find the angle against the rim protector. He has a good feel as a interior scorer to use his craft and find space for duck-ins while showing soft touch around the basket.
The jumper needs some work. The 5:02-mark shows an example of how Klaver is shooting from the side rather than a fully-balanced 180 degrees from the basket. We’re in the era of many different types of forms leading to success, so there’s no perfect way. But, and this is a big reason why tweaking his mechanics might be worth it, to grow to a volume shooter, he has to keep the burden of his body as low as possible. Not jump too high, not bend his knees in too deep and keeping his feet stable so his body is fully balanced and he’s not pressuring the knee or ligaments as he’ll grow his volume as a shooter.
Overall, defensively I’m not worried at all. He’ll rapidly grow as a team defender at Vincennes. The feel for the game is undeniable, and that makes it feasible he’ll improve. From my conversations with Klaver, I immediately saw how he’s interested in improving his X’s and O’s. The 41 stocks on the season at Augustana also show a good return in the numbers column on that end. I’m very confident when saying Klaver will be one of the first JUCO sophomores to commit to a MM+ or HM program for their 2027 recruitment class.
All JUCO Prospects
I’ve written 27 other articles like this one in which I covered a total of over 125 JUCO prospects, which all can be found here.
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