Before diving into the second part of this series and capping it, here's some other guys to watch that we didn't cover in this series:

Ariel Hukporti

Rocco Zikarsky

Mantas Rubstavicius

Alex Toohey

Now, on to the rest of the scouting:

AJ Johnson

6-5

160 pounds

12/1/2004 birthdate

QDI

This is a guy that just really isn’t ready. He is sooooooo physically underdeveloped. He doesn’t have a rotation role and is definitely just aways away. AJ does have NBA skill and some of his creation flashes stand out. Nonetheless, he’s a come back and see later guy. There is a chance that it would pay off for a team willing to predraft him, but right now he's a 2025 guy.

Raptor

AJ is a prospect that has NBA skills, but a lot of physical limitations. His small frame really hurts him in a lot of really important areas of basketball , but it especially shows up in his defense. AJ gets pushed around easily by most players on the court and is a target for opposing teams because of that. In all reality, AJ is going to need more time to put on a little bit more weight to his frame before he can find a role in the NBA, so he could be a guy we are looking at in a future draft class rather than this one. However, his elite speed and skill on offense give me hope that he can have a role on an NBA team one day. I think teams should be looking at AJ as a guy who can be a scoring punch off the bench, nothing more. Would I draft him this year? That entirely depends on what he looks like next year when the draft is a lot closer and we have seen more from him in the NBL. In all likelihood though, AJ is a guy to be looking at in the future.

Amdaymond

AJ likely will be a 2025 guy due to (a) playing time and (b) the fact he's not ready to step onto an NBA court. The baby face says it all, and he will need to strengthen his frame to handle NBA physicality. However, in the game I watched of him, not all was that negative for the guard. On offense, he has a tendency to get cut off, play out of control, and get stripped in tight spaces and traffic. However, he plays with some fluidity and long strides, and he has some real confidence in his handle to get into moves in his bags, like stepback and bursts to the rim. There's some real playmaking potential to his game, he just has to harness and polish it. Defensively, he's so young and the technicality isn't there despite effort. He dies on screens and can get blown by due to improper footwork, but has the tools and the want to to play defense, which gives me hope. Overall, I'll be intrigued to see how this piece of clay forms and will continue monitoring Illawarra not only for Olbrich, but for AJ's development as well.

Taran Armstrong

6-5

185 pounds

1/15/2002

TheRaptor

Taran Armstrong is such an elite playmaker. If he was drafted in one of the last couple of draft classes, I would’ve argued that he was the best passer in the draft. His court vision is astoundingly good for someone of his age, and that alone makes him a draftable guy. He isn’t nearly as good in other areas of the game, but the passing is good enough to make him a guy I would take somewhere in this draft.

Amdaymond

Similar to what the Raptor said, Taran just pops because of the passing. Elite processor with vision and the feel to make mind blowing deliveries as well. And also, I've noticed some marginal defensive improvement, as well as added muscle to his game. That makes him a very intriguing bet even with the shooting concerns.

Trentyn Flowers

6-9

205 pounds

3/8/2005

TheRaptor

This is a prospect I am excited for. Flowers does so many things right on the court, and those things help teams win basketball games. He has a super high motor, putting it all out on the court every single game. His passing ability is far beyond what I was expecting when I first watched him, and he has so much potential as a defender. Trentyn Flowers should be able to carve out some sort of role in the NBA, and I would be looking at him as high as the late lottery-mid first round range if I was a GM. Trentyn Flowers = good basketball player.

Amdaymond

If you follow NBL you would know Trentyn Flowers had one of the worse starts to an NBL career one could imagine. He was tormented by someone I now nickname the NBL Next Star Prospect tormentor, Parker Jackson Cartwright, whose quick hands demoralized his handle in the backcourt and exposed to all NBA draft scouts that he definitely was not a point guard, and not able to handle pressure. That left a sour impression in a lot of draft junkies' mouths and I didn't even watch the game against New Zealand because it would change my objective stance on Flowers' game. However, I like the way he's adjusted and responded for Adelaide to a different role. Off ball, his cutting stood out, and if he can shoot (attempting shots at a solid volume this season which is a decent sign), he'll be playable in that facet. He actually showed some really impressive ball skills ... in transition. The only real time Trentyn is really able to create is when he has a leveraged situation is able to attack guys with a head of steam. For that reason, I think he'll be really good as a grab and go wing who can just run out and make plays in transition. The half court stuff is much more murky however. He can dribble and make some moves, but he can't really get by guys off a standstill and seems like the guy who'll just rely on his height to get floaters off when he doesn't get to the rim. That likely won't always work, especially if he'll play more as a wing. Overall, I feel like Trentyn may have enough skills to be an off ball connective piece who can maybe run a pick and roll, which isn't terrible.

Lachlan Olbrich

Amdaymond

Lachlan is about a polar opposite of Ariel Hukporti, who we'll discuss later. He's not gifted as a vertical rim protector, not the quickest in terms of ground coverage, and doesn't have a ton of length either. But his craft is not in question, and his IQ and processing is exquisite. Lachlan's offense is the main sell, so we'll start there. The transition/grab and go stuff is interesting, but the amount of off the dribble pop in the half court is super impressive, and the way he's able to craftily get his shots off in the paint against other bigs is excellent. He can sneak around opponents using his understated burst, post a smaller guy up with a hook shot, or when confronted by a really long rim protector loft a floater. His touch is amazing, and his concentration at the basket, even with contact (which he creates very well against bigs not great with contact absorption) is very impressive. His handle is also very solid for his size as well. As a roller, he should be able to contort his body to finish at the rim effectively and use his craft despite not being a premier lob threat. He also flashed some short roll passing reads as well. One of the key things Lachlan will have to do is shoot, and the shooting indicators have not been great. In NBL 1 last season, I believe he shot very well on low volume, but there haven't been great indicators so far. His free throw percentage isn't auspicious, and he seems to be hesitant to shoot threes. He's going to have to learn that skill, and then he can truly skyrocket up boards.

On defense, Lachlan is just a smart processor, and that may very well get him by in the NBA. He can read offenses, slide into correct position in help, has correct contesting technique and verticality, and plays superb defense as a pick and roll defender, guarding two people at once with perfect positioning. He won't block many shots in the NBA but he will contest them, as his ground coverage for help defense is not bad at all and his length is decent. I envision him stopping most bigs in the league, as he's decently bulky and is able to slide and move his feet well to stop them. In terms of switchability, Lachlan will get burned sometimes, we have to face it. But he tries on that end and uses every inch of his length to make it hard for guards. Purely from being a good team defender, I feel Lachlan will be at least passable as a defender. And considering the potential offensive package he brings to the table, that might be enough.

The biggest issue with Lachlan is whether his archetype can really fit into the NBA and give him a reasonably high ceiling. Will his creation translate to the NBA against better athletic competition?Will he be able to play 4 and shoot? Can he play 5 and be a good enough rim protector to fulfill the role? These are all logical conclusions about Lachlan that need to be answered. Personally, I think he's a 4. He's certainly not 6-10 from the film I saw and I think he's going to need to shoot to have a chance to stick. If he can do that, I could see him becoming a Swiss Army Knife for a team asa guy who can play all over the floor, is active, and just a good, winning basketball player. But in my opinion, he has shoot to raise his ceiling from potentially in a playoff rotation to a starter.

Ben Henshall

Amdaymond

We all knew he was going to be overshadowed by the attention surrounding Alex Sarr, but I'm glad Ben Henshall is also getting respect among the community. Ben's main skill is the shooting, which is extremely impressive. Textbook form, can get into his shots with great arc, can shoot off movement, has good balance and deceleration into his shots coming off a hard sprint and get into shots with multiple footworks (hop, 1/2). I can 100% see him running off of screens and even getting into off the dribble jumpers when need be. But what surprised me about him was the craft he possesses for scoring the ball, even despite some finishing issues (particularly with smoking layups). He's deceptively pretty strong and decently athletic, which allows him to take tight angles and finish at the rim, and his handle's good enough to manipulate his defenders with misdirection. Plus, he's an amazing foul drawer, capitalizing by getting easy points off of that and also off of transition, automatically adding value towards a team. I trust him as a connective passer and a guy who could at times run a pick and roll with good enough playmaking ability, as nothing bad stood out in that regard, and he can make good connective decisions, attacking closeouts with IQ and making the right play. He's not perfect, making mistakes at times with the ball in his hands, but I definitely see the vision for Henshall offensively.

Defensively, I'm pretty confident he's going to hold up as a team defender because he's pretty aware and shows a want to to play defense, as well an ability to playmake at times. His screen navigation needs some serious work, and he's prone to miscommunications in that regard, but Henshall isn't a pushover defensively, sliding his feet and being strong enough to execute wallups. Of course, he has the benefit of playing with Alex Sarr in the majority of his playing time on the court, which obviously aids him in some of his errors. However, I think Henshall should be able to hold up as a point of attack defender.

Overall, I was very impressed by Henshall in the Perth tape I watched, and am excited to see how this season ends and whether he gets on NBA draft boards. I legitimately think he can carve out a role in the league.

Bobi Klintman

Amdaymond

Klintman is going to be a very interesting playmaking wing bet in this class, and I think he has a leg up on others because he's playing in the NBL and getting professional experience. To my surprise, given he has a high center of gravity and just doesn't look like the most athletic player, his defense was solid. He shows flashes of being able to slide his feet and get stops defensively. However, his recovery speed isn't great when he does get beat, and against super athletic wings, say the Thompson twins, I'm worried about him getting beat, which is why I regard him as more of a combo forward than a wing. In terms of help responsibility, he should be fine in that regard as long as he doesn't ball watch too much. In terms of offense, his playmaking skills are very impressive considering his size, but similar to Trentyn Flowers his real advantage is going with a head of steam in transition. His half court offense isn't always pretty as he can get cut off pretty easily at times with his lack of burst, and doesn't have an elite handle in tight spaces. However, he does show some occasional Ben Henshall esque craft at times using hesitations and his body to get into the paint, which gives me some hope for some production in the half court outside of cutting. He needs to be able to shoot, which he hasn't shown so far in this NBL season. Part of the reason, from what I can tell, is probably leg strength and arc, but if he can fix that, I think he'll be a decently valuable connective wing who can play both sides at a good level and make NBA rotations.