I've been listening to the various interview podcasts of Jahaad Proctor since he committed to Purdue. I'm impressed as he sounds like a very grounded and mature young man. He's even a father to a 4-year-old daughter! People usually go to extremes in these circumstances. One is sinking towards an irresponsible absentee father, and the other is it quickly helps a young man mature because he now feels the responsibility to grow up and to provide. I think Proctor is clearly in the latter camp, just like Raphael Davis and Vincent Edwards had. I think it also reflects in his 3.8 GPA in sales and marketing.
His game has been compared to Terone Johnson, and I kinda agree,
Terone Johnson (Purdue, SR), 6'4, 198 lb
but I'd say with a major difference. Terone was a career 54.8% FT-shooter, while Proctor shoots 77.2% for his career. He is not the athletic type, but knows how to use his body and has a good mid-range game. The biggest knock on him was his low 3P% last year, but he explained that he was dealing with a shoulder injury. Not wanting to miss games while also not wanting the opposing team to scout the injury, it wasn't disclosed. He finally got treatment and proceeded to shoot 50% in his last 8 games (26 made, compared to making 51 for the entire season). Here are his numbers:
Jahaad Proctor (High Point -> Purdue), 6'3, 200 - 210 lb
His main competition for minutes will be Sasha and Brandon Newman. Newman is still in high school now, and here are Sasha's numbers:
Sasha Stefanovic (Purdue, RS freshman), 6'4, 195 lb
Even assume Sasha's will improve while Proctor's will take a hit due to better competition, they are still far apart that I think Proctor will be a clear upgrade. Obviously, we'd be thrilled if he could become the next Octeus, who actually IMPROVED his numbers (mostly) from Colorado St. to Purdue, despite joining the team only in October:
Jon Octeus (Colorado St -> Purdue), 6'4, 170 lb
But not everyone works out, esp. these 6'3, 6'4-ish guards. Last season there were two high profile ones transferring to power conference schools (both to the Big East), but none made a strong impact although both those teams did pretty well overall.
First is Joseph Chartouny, whom Purdue also tried to land IIRC, given his high ASTrate and the nation's #2 STL%. He was rated the #7 transfer by B/R last year. He went from Fordham to Marquette, and his shooting numbers actually IMPROVED as he became a lot more selective. However, what really killed him was the AST/TO, going from 134/69 to barely 66/47.
Joseph Chartouny (Fordham -> Marquette), 6'3, 205 lb
The other is Joe Cremo, rated the #3 transfer by B/R ahead of even Brandon Clarke. He went from a 22-win Albany team to Villanova, and with the massive exodus after their championship run, the expectation was high for Cremo to contribute. After all, a 45.7% 3-pt shooter would appear a match from heaven for the 3-pt shooting Nova. However, his shooting numbers PLUNGED, and he couldn't get to the line like he used to.
Joe Cremo (Albany -> Villanova), 6'4, 185 lb
So the million dollar question is, how will Proctor turn out? The pattern I see is that the rebounding numbers seem to translate pretty well, but you can expect the TOrate to go up b/c now defenders will be bigger, faster, and quicker.
On the positive side, I think Proctor's 3P% will improve if his shoulder heals, and unlike all the other 6'3/6'4-ish guard I look at, Proctor shoots a very solid 53% from the 2s (everyone else is < 45.4%).
On the negative side, Proctor drew a lot of fouls and that part may not translate so well. Octeus was OK, only going from from drawing 5.2 fouls per 40 mins to 4.5, but Cremo went from 5.0 to 2.0 and it appeared to totally destroy his game.
Time will tell, but I really like the maturity of this young man, and I will be rooting for him. He seems to be excited to come to Purdue, and on his social media he showed his little daughter wearing Purdue gear. My hunch is that he will be an opening day starter b/c his game is not only solely relying on getting to the line, and his 3-pt shooting should get back to high 30s. The key to his success is whether he can defend, and whether he can still maintain his game despite not getting to the line as often. But just keep a good attitude (I think he will) and I think he will contribute.
His game has been compared to Terone Johnson, and I kinda agree,
Terone Johnson (Purdue, SR), 6'4, 198 lb
- ASTrate: 16.6
- TOrate: 13.0
- FTrate: 34.0
- 3P%: 35.2% (37 made)
- 2P%: 42.7% (102 made)
- FT%: 58.1% (68 made)
- FD/40: 4.2
- ORB/DRB: 4.3/9.2
- %Shots: 24.3
- %Poss: 22.2
- ORtg: 102.5
- %Min: 73.4
but I'd say with a major difference. Terone was a career 54.8% FT-shooter, while Proctor shoots 77.2% for his career. He is not the athletic type, but knows how to use his body and has a good mid-range game. The biggest knock on him was his low 3P% last year, but he explained that he was dealing with a shoulder injury. Not wanting to miss games while also not wanting the opposing team to scout the injury, it wasn't disclosed. He finally got treatment and proceeded to shoot 50% in his last 8 games (26 made, compared to making 51 for the entire season). Here are his numbers:
Jahaad Proctor (High Point -> Purdue), 6'3, 200 - 210 lb
- ASTrate: 22.2
- TOrate: 13.8
- FTrate: 36.5
- 3P%: 33.1% (51 made)
- 2P%: 52.6% (141 made)
- FT%: 77.9% (120 made)
- FD/40: 4.9
- ORB/DRB: 2.0/11.1
- %Shots: 31.1
- %Poss: 28.0
- ORtg: 112.7
- %Min: 85.6
His main competition for minutes will be Sasha and Brandon Newman. Newman is still in high school now, and here are Sasha's numbers:
Sasha Stefanovic (Purdue, RS freshman), 6'4, 195 lb
- ASTrate: 6.5
- TOrate: 28.2
- FTrate: 18.2
- 3P%: 41.0% (25 made)
- 2P%: 31.2% (5 made)
- FT%: 35.7% (5 made)
- FD/40: 1.9
- ORB/DRB: 0.8/10.5
- %Shots: 12.7
- %Poss: 13.0
- ORtg: 91.2
- %Min: 28.4
Even assume Sasha's will improve while Proctor's will take a hit due to better competition, they are still far apart that I think Proctor will be a clear upgrade. Obviously, we'd be thrilled if he could become the next Octeus, who actually IMPROVED his numbers (mostly) from Colorado St. to Purdue, despite joining the team only in October:
Jon Octeus (Colorado St -> Purdue), 6'4, 170 lb
- ASTrate: 13.5 -> 18.3
- TOrate: 10.3 -> 17.5
- FTrate: 58 -> 64.4
- 3P%: 35.1% (26 made) -> 33.3% (16 made)
- 2P%: 41.6% (97 made) -> 53.7% (86 made)
- FT%: 74.2% (132 made) -> 72.4% (97 made)
- FD/40: 5.2 -> 4.5
- ORB/DRB: 3.5/12.8 -> 6.8/13.2
- %Shots: 21.3 -> 15.9
- %Poss: 20.9 -> 18.0
- ORtg: 110.3 -> 116.2
- %Min: 85.4 -> 71.1 (double-digit minute the entire season, including 39 mins in its NCAA-T game, starter from Day 1)
But not everyone works out, esp. these 6'3, 6'4-ish guards. Last season there were two high profile ones transferring to power conference schools (both to the Big East), but none made a strong impact although both those teams did pretty well overall.
First is Joseph Chartouny, whom Purdue also tried to land IIRC, given his high ASTrate and the nation's #2 STL%. He was rated the #7 transfer by B/R last year. He went from Fordham to Marquette, and his shooting numbers actually IMPROVED as he became a lot more selective. However, what really killed him was the AST/TO, going from 134/69 to barely 66/47.
Joseph Chartouny (Fordham -> Marquette), 6'3, 205 lb
- STL%: 5.6 (#2 in nation) -> 2.8
- ASTrate: 28.9 -> 22.3
- TOrate: 16.8 -> 34.8
- FTrate: 39.7 -> 30.0
- 3P%: 28.4% (40 made) -> 38.1% (16 made)
- 2P%: 44.6% (74 made) -> 52.6% (20 made)
- FT%: 69.7% (85 made) -> 62.5% (15 made)
- FD/40: 4.0 -> 2.3
- ORB/DRB: 2.5/16.5 -> 1.2/14.8
- %Shots: 21.9 -> 10.9
- %Poss: 23.6 -> 14.9
- ORtg: 94.9 -> 94.2
- %Min: 83.4 -> 37.2 (single-digit minute in 8 of last 14 games, after no single-digit in the first 20 games)
The other is Joe Cremo, rated the #3 transfer by B/R ahead of even Brandon Clarke. He went from a 22-win Albany team to Villanova, and with the massive exodus after their championship run, the expectation was high for Cremo to contribute. After all, a 45.7% 3-pt shooter would appear a match from heaven for the 3-pt shooting Nova. However, his shooting numbers PLUNGED, and he couldn't get to the line like he used to.
Joe Cremo (Albany -> Villanova), 6'4, 185 lb
- ASTrate: 21.8 -> 14 (15.3 in conference; 10.8 against Tier A)
- TOrate: 15.1 -> 19.2 (20.2 in conference; 22.9 against Tier A)
- FTrate: 40.9 -> 14.2 (18.8 in conference; 11.1 against Tier A)
- 3P%: 45.7% (74 made) -> 34.0% (34 made)
- 2P%: 45.4% (103 made) -> 44.1% (15 made)
- FT%: 81.8% (130 made) -> 68.4% (13 made)
- FD/40: 5.0 -> 2.0
- ORB/DRB: 2.0/11.7 -> 2.0/11.7
- %Shots: 24.8 -> 16.2
- %Poss: 24.1 -> 15.0
- ORtg: 120.0 -> 101.6
- %Min: 89.0 -> 41.0 (single-digit minute in BE-T and NCAA-T after double-digit all season long)
So the million dollar question is, how will Proctor turn out? The pattern I see is that the rebounding numbers seem to translate pretty well, but you can expect the TOrate to go up b/c now defenders will be bigger, faster, and quicker.
On the positive side, I think Proctor's 3P% will improve if his shoulder heals, and unlike all the other 6'3/6'4-ish guard I look at, Proctor shoots a very solid 53% from the 2s (everyone else is < 45.4%).
On the negative side, Proctor drew a lot of fouls and that part may not translate so well. Octeus was OK, only going from from drawing 5.2 fouls per 40 mins to 4.5, but Cremo went from 5.0 to 2.0 and it appeared to totally destroy his game.
Time will tell, but I really like the maturity of this young man, and I will be rooting for him. He seems to be excited to come to Purdue, and on his social media he showed his little daughter wearing Purdue gear. My hunch is that he will be an opening day starter b/c his game is not only solely relying on getting to the line, and his 3-pt shooting should get back to high 30s. The key to his success is whether he can defend, and whether he can still maintain his game despite not getting to the line as often. But just keep a good attitude (I think he will) and I think he will contribute.
