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2015 NBA Draft: Arizona’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

By Michael Whitlow

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There’s 10 days until the 2015 NBA Draft, and one viable option for the Chicago Bulls with the 22nd pick is Arizona’s lockdown defender (and superb athlete) Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Yeah, there’s a few that believe Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is the next Tony Allen.

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During his two years playing for Sean Miller in Tuscon, Hollis-Jefferson went from a promising athlete, to one of the best defensive players on one of the best defensive teams in the entire country.

Not only did Hollis-Jefferson rack up back-to-back sub-90 defensive ratings in the last two seasons for Arizona (89.6 and 87.8 respectively), his 6-foot-7 frame has NBA scouts drooling over his defensive potential at the next level.

Along with a NBA-capable frame, RHJ’s wingspan is slightly over seven feet (7’1″) and can guard multiple wing positions with no issues.

In this day and age of the NBA, players like Hollis-Jefferson have a role in the league, and a big one at that. Golden State forward Draymond Green is proving that to be true with his performance this season for the Warriors, who sit one win away from an NBA title.

DraftExpress columnist Josh Riddell wrote on Hollis-Jefferson’s defense by saying:

"Hollis-Jefferson was one of the best defenders in college basketball, and will need to make his mark on this end of the court at the next level as well. While he guarded multiple positions in college, he was best matched up against wings, where he can match their quickness and bother them with his strength and wingspan. He is locked in on this end of the court, taking pride in shutting down the opponent’s best scorer. He moves his feet well to stay in front of dribble penetration and can finish the play with a strong contest of the shot, blocking 1.1 shots per 40 minutes pace adjusted."

To further prove how good Hollis-Jefferson was on the defensive end, look at his stat line against D’Angelo Russell, the Ohio State star who will probably be selected inside the top five picks on draft night.

Sure, Arizona guard T.J. McConnell deserves some credit as well for Russell’s poor performance in the Round of 32 against Arizona, but Hollis-Jefferson forced one of the best players in the country into multiple tough situations during the game.

The guys at DX featured one sequence of the game where Hollis-Jefferson fought through two on-ball screens, and contested a Russell jumper.

Here’s the first:

Hollis-Jefferson fights through a screen during some FLOPPY action from OSU’s offense. (Photo Credit: DraftExpress’ breakdown of Russell vs. RHJ)

And, the second:

Along with Kaleb Tarczewski icing the PnR action with Amir Williams and D’Angelo Russell, Hollis-Jefferson fight through the screen to recover and contest an eventual Russell shot attempt. (Photo Credit: DraftExpress’ breakdown of Russell vs. RHJ)

On the second screen, RHJ gets some good help when Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski “ICES” the screen from OSU’s Amir Williams, and gives Hollis-Jefferson time to recover.

(Photo Credit: DraftExpress’ breakdown of Russell vs. RHJ)

RHJ is able to clog Shannon Scott‘s drive to the basket, which forces a kick-out to Russell on the wing. As Russell rises, he contest the shot attempt and forces a miss. With his athleticism, you’ll see this kind of sequence a lot at the next level.

The main concern with Hollis-Jefferson’s game is the offense. His offensive production may look good in the stat sheets (54.4 true shooting percentage in 2013-14, 57.3 TS% in 2014-15), but when you take a deeper dive into his production, it’s not great.

From Riddell again:

"Hollis-Jefferson isn’t a prolific offensive player at this point in his career and his 14.8 per 40 minutes pace adjusted ranked near the bottom of all players in our top-100. Most of his offense is derived from his athleticism and energy, as he runs the floor well in transition and is constantly cutting to open spaces in the halfcourt to get easy baskets. He finishes well around the rim, at a clip of 56.3% according to Synergy Sports Technology, as he uses his leaping ability to play above the rim. He absorbs contact well and can finish while drawing a foul, with his 7.1 free throw attempts per 40 minutes pace adjusted ranking as the most of any small forward in our top-100."

There’s no denying how good RHJ is in transition (1.21 points per possession in 44 opportunities), but outside of running the floor with the best of them, his production in the half-court is a struggle.

This is pretty concerning:

"He doesn’t create well off the dribble in the half-court as he looks tentative at times catching the ball in an attacking position from the perimeter. When he has a head of steam in transition, he is capable of getting to the rim through a quick, straight-line drive, but he isn’t always able to do so against a compact half-court defense. He can make plays off the dribble based on his athleticism alone at times, but struggles when challenged defensively. He isn’t great utilizing his off-hand, and he doesn’t have great ball-handling skills to get past his defender in tight spaces.More concerning is the fact that he isn’t much of a jump shooter, as his inconsistent form prevents him from being reliable from any kind of range at this point in his career. He made just six of 29 three point attempts this season (20.7%), the lowest among small forwards in our top-100 rankings and just 36.3% of all jump shots according to Synergy Sports Technology. His shooting mechanics need serious work, possibly a major overhaul, to turn into any type of shooter opponents need to respect.(Credit: Josh Riddell, DX)"

Hollis-Jefferson’s offensive game is a concern, which leads me to believe that the Bulls would be better off using their pick on a guy like Virginia’s Justin Anderson, a much-improved shooter who we’ve discussed before.

Like the guys at DX, I believe Hollis-Jefferson can definitely become a valuable role guy in the NBA. Tony Allen has shot 27.1 percent from three-point range in his NBA career, and he’s one of the most important pieces to the puzzle for Memphis.

With a new (offensive-minded) regime in Chicago, I believe less and less that Hollis-Jefferson will be the pick at No. 22 for the Bulls, but if they do indeed go this direction, the second unit will be a grind-filled five with guys like Taj Gibson and RHJ on the floor.

Next: 2015 NBA Draft: Bulls management and staff must agree on 22nd pick

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