JOHNATHAN MOTLEY
BIRTHDATE: 5/4/95
POSITION: Power Forward/ Center
HEIGHT: 6'9"
WEIGHT: 230 lbs
SCHOOL/ TEAM: Baylor
CLASS: Junior
OFFENSE
*Powerful frame with room to grow and tremendous length
*Not an explosive leaper but a good athlete who moves very well
*Great motor, competes hard for positioning and on the glass
*Runs the break hard, keeps his head and hands up looking for the ball
*Has some difficulty catching lobs and finishing, often has to bring it down and go back up
*Inconsistent with his shots below the rim, doesn’t have great touch
*Can grab boards and push the ball up the floor himself but can get a bit turnover prone
*Shifts around the paint and surrounding area to create passing lanes as the defense moves
*Sometimes contact really bothers him, other times he can fight through it and finish
*Follows his own shot strongly and pursues offensive rebounds outside of his zone
*Could eventually take slow footed bigs off the dribble
*Jumper needs a lot of work but isn’t a lost cause
*Inconsistent shot mechanics, shoots with his feet too close together, elbow is different often, starts his shots from different places
*Makes good contact on the ball screens he intends to roll, less consistent on screens he intends to pop
*Has struggled in PNR in college, too often asked to pop
*Could be a good roll man in the right scheme
*Has good footwork on the PNP, despite his struggles hitting the shot
*Works hard to establish post position, seals then makes himself a huge target with his wingspan
*Excellent turning his right shoulder on both blocks
*Likes to go left in the post and pull up back across his body. It’s an awkward shot that he hits and draws contact with
*Doesn’t have advanced post footwork but moves very fluidly and shows flashes of improving footwork
*Very effective when he catches the ball and makes a quick, decisive move
*Can short arm shots in the post
*Sees the double coming and does a good job passing back out to the wing
*Shows some big to big passing ability, can hit cutters coming from the wing to the basket and throw the skip pass to the crosscourt shooter
*Can also pass on the move
DEFENSE
*Runs the floor hard in transition defense
*Moves his feet well in space
*Competent when switched onto a wing on the perimeter
*Stays with the play and provides a good contest
*Generally takes up good help defense positioning but can be caught ball watching
*Sinks to about the free throw line when defending the PNR
*A little late to PNP shooters but his length allows him to still contest well
*Has the footspeed to hedge and recover
*Fights for post position, doesn’t give up ground easily
*Can overplay to one side in the post and be susceptible to spins and other counters back to the other hand
*Could do a better job keeping his hands up in post defense
*Has the length to deter and alter shots
*Has gotten his foul rate down but the decreased aggressiveness led to less blocks
KHAIRI AKILI -MARCH 16, 2017
Johnathan Motley is a big strong kid. He's listed at 235 but plays a lot bigger. Teams can't move him off his spot when he ducks in. He's got range out to the college line. He's mobile and runs the floor in transition. Motley is very active in the glass and is pretty good playmaker.
Motley is going to have to make some adjustments to the NBA game. He rarely faces up and unlikely will get the opportunity to play bully ball at the next level. The majority of his points come from posting up and the league is obviously shying away from that part of the game. His jump shot needs work still but he really doesn't need to take many of them at the college level. Motley also plays below the rim for the most part, thus a face game would do him wonders.
POSITIVES:
Big strong 4
Range out to the college line
Very good mobility
Owns the paint. Can't be moved off his spot
Runs the floor well
Active on the glass
Good passer
AREAS OF CONCERN:
Doesn't face up very often
He won't be able to bully his way
Baylor doesn't run a lot of PNR
Jump shot still needs work.
Doesn't really play above the rim
Will have to improve at finishing through contact when he rolls
JAMES BARLOWE - JANUARY 3, 2017