A Close Look in at Jayson Tatum - Duke's Dynamo
As a Rhode Island basketball fan and an Atlantic 10 men's basketball viewer, I can only imagine what would have happened if Jayson Tatum had committed to the Saint Louis Billikens. If the Saint Louis team committed to the local university, he would have altered the Billikens basketball program forever. Tatum's commitment to Coach Mike Krzyzewski satisfied me in many respects simultaneously - as a college basketball fan, as a Duke basketball fan, and as a Rhode Island basketball fan. By picking the Blue Devils, he was not wreaking havoc in the Atlantic 10 and he was also putting his talents on full display for a national championship contender in Duke.
When he finally started suiting up for the Duke Blue Devils, Jayson Tatum showed that he is a dynamic basketball player. Unlike with some highly-touted recruits in recent time, Tatum lived up to his billing and arguably, went beyond that. Although Tatum and his fellow Blue Devil, Harry Giles, are the best of friends, there is no mistake that Tatum is expected to be selected in the draft before Giles. While both players are extremely talented (I will be featuring Harry Giles in the future) and injuries prevented them from being on the court for ample time together, Jayson Tatum showed that he can excel on the court, no matter who is alongside of him. After all, the man from Saint Louis, Missouri has been labeled as the best isolation player in the entire 2017 NBA Draft.
Offensively, Jayson Tatum is an elite talent because he can handle the ball at 6'8 and he can score at every level on the basketball court. Tatum's adept scoring ability at the rim is a result of his body control when laying the ball up and his use of his body to shield off his defender. If the dominant small forward has a head of steam when driving to the rim, the defense better move out of the way or risk getting dunked on. Furthermore, his shooting range extends to beyond the arc and defenders having to respect his driving ability means that he can beat teams from the three-point line. All in all, when Jayson Tatum starts roaring to the crowd, the opposition may as well leave the court. At that point, the game has been taken over by the small forward and the game is effectively over.
Defensively, Tatum has to draw some comparisons to elite-level defenders that are currently starring in the NBA. He has a good anticipation for when the ball is going to come off a driver's hand and as a result, he can make the necessary block. An extremely underrated part of the Saint Louis native's game is his uncanny ability to use his great hands to pile up the steals and score off the opposition's turnovers every single time. When Tatum's defense is on par with his offense in a given game, his team wins.
NBA scouts and basketball fans witnessed firsthand the manner in which Tatum can overtake a game and put his team on his back, when necessary. There is no greater example of this takeover ability than when he pushed his team to win the entire ACC tournament, winning four straight games in four straight days in the Barclays Center. Let's not go off the deep end and say that his Blue Devil teammates did not help him but make no mistake; the ACC tournament was Jayson Tatum tournament. His play throughout the four days reconfirmed what many people like myself already knew, Jayson Tatum is a NBA lottery pick and a future professional basketball superstar.
I hope that when the NBA Draft Combine finally arrives, the teams at the top of the draft (the Boston Celtics!) do not pass on a special talent like Jayson Tatum.
