Class of 2018 - SG Eric Ayala (DE/IMG) to Maryland | Page 15 | Syracusefan.com

Class of 2018 SG Eric Ayala (DE/IMG) to Maryland

RF2044 said:
James Harden type player. Obviously not putting him on that level, but same type of game. Not a true point guard, but handles it well enough. Gets into the lane and dangerous both as a mid range shooter and taking it to the rim. Sets up his teammates off of drives [because he's a good scorer]. Pretty good shooter from 3. Scrappy, rebounds well for his size, etc.
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Jonny Flynn outplayed harden though
 
RF2044 said:
James Harden type player. Obviously not putting him on that level, but same type of game. Not a true point guard, but handles it well enough. Gets into the lane and dangerous both as a mid range shooter and taking it to the rim. Sets up his teammates off of drives [because he's a good scorer]. Pretty good shooter from 3. Scrappy, rebounds well for his size, etc.
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Hopefully not a Harden-like defender!? Harden might be the worst defensive player I have ever seen!
 
jgeorge322 said:
You missed taurean thompson this year. Bah-zing! Just kidding. Love TT.
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Haha!! If TT gets votes at some point in the next ten years for NBA MVP playing defense like he did this year, I might have to change my tune.
 
shizzah said:
Apologies because it may have been addressed earlier in this thread.

But can anyone who has seen Ayala recently give a description of his game - it's strange but even from his highlights I can't get a good read.

Is he a dominant type of combo guard a la Dion? Is he more subtle like Triche? Is he something else?
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I saw Ayala play against AJ Reeves at Brimmer and May about a month ago. I don't think he really fits into either box though if I had to pick I would say he's much more like Triche than Dion. Though he isn't nearly as strong or physical as Brandon, very few guards are. I would definitely say he's a combo guard though.

I'll start with saying he seemed like he was a great teammate. When he wasn't in the game he was one of the more vocal guys on the bench cheering and yelling out to his teammates which I thought was great. He seemed well liked and like guys on the team viewed him as one of the leaders. Also, players on a team know who can play and where the pecking order is and what not. Coaches, media, fans whoever can hype up certain guys or have their favorites but when you watch a game you can tell what the guys who are actually out there battling with each other who they respect and defer to. Having said that, on a team with a bunch of guys going to play at the next level across p5's and mid majors Ayala had the respect of his teammates and I think was the alpha there. They won pretty comfortably but every time B&M made a run Ayala would charge towards the ball and his teammates would be looking for him too to kinda steady the ship. He never admonished his teammates or showed anyone up. He was clapping and looked like a kid who genuinely has a lot of fun and loves playing basketball. Intangibles wise in that regard I liked him a lot.

He's a good passer and understands how to play the game. He was good about not letting the ball stick when his team was swinging it and saw the defense one rotation ahead allowing him to make real quick passes and attack through the air. He brought the ball up the floor against some full court man to man pressure and didn't look rattled or uncomfortable. His shot looks pretty sound and balanced. I wouldn't project him to end up being this deadly sniper from deep at the next level but I think he'll be a guy that if he's out there teams will have to respect him as a threat to make it. Defensively, they were in man the whole time. He'll be good at the top of the zone and I think we won't have to worry about him having his elbows glued to his ribs like some recent guys. I didn't see much one way or the other to suggest he will or won't be someone who causes a lot of turnovers up top but at the very least I don't think he'll be bad. The way he looks like he enjoys playing and all that I think he'll be active and understand the angles to take to disrupt passing lanes or close out on shooters.

I will say he isn't an explosive athlete. He was able to get to the rim but struggled to finish in the crowd and wasn't able to really lose Reeves when he would attack him in an iso situation. In his defense their offense a majority of the time had two bigs on the floor so spacing around the paint may have been crowded and raised the level of difficult but the game I saw he didn't stand out as an explosive, athletic finisher around the rim. Not to say he can't get to the rim and will never be able to create off the dribble I just think that probably is something we shouldn't expect from him on day 1 if he ends up wearing orange. A couple times I don't know if it was because it was a 15-20 point game but he looked like he lost focus a little bit and would do something dumb by letting the one on one battle with Reeves overtake the broader game. Like on a 2-on-1 fast break he was the defender back and he like was so focused on not letting Reeves score running the lane or finish that he didn't stop the ball and it ended up in an easy lay up. Not a big deal but just something I noticed.

Overall, for people who don't have time to read the lengthy above, he's a good combo guard who would be a nice program guy for us. Ideally, I think he could give us some depth off the bench as a freshmen and sophomore and play minutes as the third guard in the rotation and then as he develops can be a solid starter for us on a good team as an upperclassmen. I think he'll be a guy in time who is steady with the ball, active up top in the zone and will be able to knock down the open look when it's his turn or attack a defense from the weak side off ball movement or in unsettled situations. He looks like he'd be a good teammate to bring into the program, too. Would be a nice addition for us in the same mindset as many of our 2017 class in that he'll be a good player who can grow in the program and provide stability in the coming years providing depth while he naturally grows to play a bigger and bigger part of our success as the years go by. The biggest thing is to have realistic expectations. Let him be him and play his game and develop at his own rate. I've seen people call him Baby Harden on his youtube highlights/mixtapes and I don't know if I see the comparison. I'd be glad to bring him in.
 
o'sully33 said:
I saw Ayala play against AJ Reeves at Brimmer and May about a month ago. I don't think he really fits into either box though if I had to pick I would say he's much more like Triche than Dion. Though he isn't nearly as strong or physical as Brandon, very few guards are. I would definitely say he's a combo guard though.

I'll start with saying he seemed like he was a great teammate. When he wasn't in the game he was one of the more vocal guys on the bench cheering and yelling out to his teammates which I thought was great. He seemed well liked and like guys on the team viewed him as one of the leaders. Also, players on a team know who can play and where the pecking order is and what not. Coaches, media, fans whoever can hype up certain guys or have their favorites but when you watch a game you can tell what the guys who are actually out there battling with each other who they respect and defer to. Having said that, on a team with a bunch of guys going to play at the next level across p5's and mid majors Ayala had the respect of his teammates and I think was the alpha there. They won pretty comfortably but every time B&M made a run Ayala would charge towards the ball and his teammates would be looking for him too to kinda steady the ship. He never admonished his teammates or showed anyone up. He was clapping and looked like a kid who genuinely has a lot of fun and loves playing basketball. Intangibles wise in that regard I liked him a lot.

He's a good passer and understands how to play the game. He was good about not letting the ball stick when his team was swinging it and saw the defense one rotation ahead allowing him to make real quick passes and attack through the air. He brought the ball up the floor against some full court man to man pressure and didn't look rattled or uncomfortable. His shot looks pretty sound and balanced. I wouldn't project him to end up being this deadly sniper from deep at the next level but I think he'll be a guy that if he's out there teams will have to respect him as a threat to make it. Defensively, they were in man the whole time. He'll be good at the top of the zone and I think we won't have to worry about him having his elbows glued to his ribs like some recent guys. I didn't see much one way or the other to suggest he will or won't be someone who causes a lot of turnovers up top but at the very least I don't think he'll be bad. The way he looks like he enjoys playing and all that I think he'll be active and understand the angles to take to disrupt passing lanes or close out on shooters.

I will say he isn't an explosive athlete. He was able to get to the rim but struggled to finish in the crowd and wasn't able to really lose Reeves when he would attack him in an iso situation. In his defense their offense a majority of the time had two bigs on the floor so spacing around the paint may have been crowded and raised the level of difficult but the game I saw he didn't stand out as an explosive, athletic finisher around the rim. Not to say he can't get to the rim and will never be able to create off the dribble I just think that probably is something we shouldn't expect from him on day 1 if he ends up wearing orange. A couple times I don't know if it was because it was a 15-20 point game but he looked like he lost focus a little bit and would do something dumb by letting the one on one battle with Reeves overtake the broader game. Like on a 2-on-1 fast break he was the defender back and he like was so focused on not letting Reeves score running the lane or finish that he didn't stop the ball and it ended up in an easy lay up. Not a big deal but just something I noticed.

Overall, for people who don't have time to read the lengthy above, he's a good combo guard who would be a nice program guy for us. Ideally, I think he could give us some depth off the bench as a freshmen and sophomore and play minutes as the third guard in the rotation and then as he develops can be a solid starter for us on a good team as an upperclassmen. I think he'll be a guy in time who is steady with the ball, active up top in the zone and will be able to knock down the open look when it's his turn or attack a defense from the weak side off ball movement or in unsettled situations. He looks like he'd be a good teammate to bring into the program, too. Would be a nice addition for us in the same mindset as many of our 2017 class in that he'll be a good player who can grow in the program and provide stability in the coming years providing depth while he naturally grows to play a bigger and bigger part of our success as the years go by. The biggest thing is to have realistic expectations. Let him be him and play his game and develop at his own rate. I've seen people call him Baby Harden on his youtube highlights/mixtapes and I don't know if I see the comparison. I'd be glad to bring him in.
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Nice, thanks for the evaluation. Could you get a sense of his real height? Is he truly 6'3"?
 
o'sully33 said:
I saw Ayala play against AJ Reeves at Brimmer and May about a month ago. I don't think he really fits into either box though if I had to pick I would say he's much more like Triche than Dion. Though he isn't nearly as strong or physical as Brandon, very few guards are. I would definitely say he's a combo guard though.

I'll start with saying he seemed like he was a great teammate. When he wasn't in the game he was one of the more vocal guys on the bench cheering and yelling out to his teammates which I thought was great. He seemed well liked and like guys on the team viewed him as one of the leaders. Also, players on a team know who can play and where the pecking order is and what not. Coaches, media, fans whoever can hype up certain guys or have their favorites but when you watch a game you can tell what the guys who are actually out there battling with each other who they respect and defer to. Having said that, on a team with a bunch of guys going to play at the next level across p5's and mid majors Ayala had the respect of his teammates and I think was the alpha there. They won pretty comfortably but every time B&M made a run Ayala would charge towards the ball and his teammates would be looking for him too to kinda steady the ship. He never admonished his teammates or showed anyone up. He was clapping and looked like a kid who genuinely has a lot of fun and loves playing basketball. Intangibles wise in that regard I liked him a lot.

He's a good passer and understands how to play the game. He was good about not letting the ball stick when his team was swinging it and saw the defense one rotation ahead allowing him to make real quick passes and attack through the air. He brought the ball up the floor against some full court man to man pressure and didn't look rattled or uncomfortable. His shot looks pretty sound and balanced. I wouldn't project him to end up being this deadly sniper from deep at the next level but I think he'll be a guy that if he's out there teams will have to respect him as a threat to make it. Defensively, they were in man the whole time. He'll be good at the top of the zone and I think we won't have to worry about him having his elbows glued to his ribs like some recent guys. I didn't see much one way or the other to suggest he will or won't be someone who causes a lot of turnovers up top but at the very least I don't think he'll be bad. The way he looks like he enjoys playing and all that I think he'll be active and understand the angles to take to disrupt passing lanes or close out on shooters.

I will say he isn't an explosive athlete. He was able to get to the rim but struggled to finish in the crowd and wasn't able to really lose Reeves when he would attack him in an iso situation. In his defense their offense a majority of the time had two bigs on the floor so spacing around the paint may have been crowded and raised the level of difficult but the game I saw he didn't stand out as an explosive, athletic finisher around the rim. Not to say he can't get to the rim and will never be able to create off the dribble I just think that probably is something we shouldn't expect from him on day 1 if he ends up wearing orange. A couple times I don't know if it was because it was a 15-20 point game but he looked like he lost focus a little bit and would do something dumb by letting the one on one battle with Reeves overtake the broader game. Like on a 2-on-1 fast break he was the defender back and he like was so focused on not letting Reeves score running the lane or finish that he didn't stop the ball and it ended up in an easy lay up. Not a big deal but just something I noticed.

Overall, for people who don't have time to read the lengthy above, he's a good combo guard who would be a nice program guy for us. Ideally, I think he could give us some depth off the bench as a freshmen and sophomore and play minutes as the third guard in the rotation and then as he develops can be a solid starter for us on a good team as an upperclassmen. I think he'll be a guy in time who is steady with the ball, active up top in the zone and will be able to knock down the open look when it's his turn or attack a defense from the weak side off ball movement or in unsettled situations. He looks like he'd be a good teammate to bring into the program, too. Would be a nice addition for us in the same mindset as many of our 2017 class in that he'll be a good player who can grow in the program and provide stability in the coming years providing depth while he naturally grows to play a bigger and bigger part of our success as the years go by. The biggest thing is to have realistic expectations. Let him be him and play his game and develop at his own rate. I've seen people call him Baby Harden on his youtube highlights/mixtapes and I don't know if I see the comparison. I'd be glad to bring him in.
Expand...

Nice summary, osully--thanks for taking the time to draft such a comprehensive assessment.
 
o'sully33 said:
I saw Ayala play against AJ Reeves at Brimmer and May about a month ago. I don't think he really fits into either box though if I had to pick I would say he's much more like Triche than Dion. Though he isn't nearly as strong or physical as Brandon, very few guards are. I would definitely say he's a combo guard though.

I'll start with saying he seemed like he was a great teammate. When he wasn't in the game he was one of the more vocal guys on the bench cheering and yelling out to his teammates which I thought was great. He seemed well liked and like guys on the team viewed him as one of the leaders. Also, players on a team know who can play and where the pecking order is and what not. Coaches, media, fans whoever can hype up certain guys or have their favorites but when you watch a game you can tell what the guys who are actually out there battling with each other who they respect and defer to. Having said that, on a team with a bunch of guys going to play at the next level across p5's and mid majors Ayala had the respect of his teammates and I think was the alpha there. They won pretty comfortably but every time B&M made a run Ayala would charge towards the ball and his teammates would be looking for him too to kinda steady the ship. He never admonished his teammates or showed anyone up. He was clapping and looked like a kid who genuinely has a lot of fun and loves playing basketball. Intangibles wise in that regard I liked him a lot.

He's a good passer and understands how to play the game. He was good about not letting the ball stick when his team was swinging it and saw the defense one rotation ahead allowing him to make real quick passes and attack through the air. He brought the ball up the floor against some full court man to man pressure and didn't look rattled or uncomfortable. His shot looks pretty sound and balanced. I wouldn't project him to end up being this deadly sniper from deep at the next level but I think he'll be a guy that if he's out there teams will have to respect him as a threat to make it. Defensively, they were in man the whole time. He'll be good at the top of the zone and I think we won't have to worry about him having his elbows glued to his ribs like some recent guys. I didn't see much one way or the other to suggest he will or won't be someone who causes a lot of turnovers up top but at the very least I don't think he'll be bad. The way he looks like he enjoys playing and all that I think he'll be active and understand the angles to take to disrupt passing lanes or close out on shooters.

I will say he isn't an explosive athlete. He was able to get to the rim but struggled to finish in the crowd and wasn't able to really lose Reeves when he would attack him in an iso situation. In his defense their offense a majority of the time had two bigs on the floor so spacing around the paint may have been crowded and raised the level of difficult but the game I saw he didn't stand out as an explosive, athletic finisher around the rim. Not to say he can't get to the rim and will never be able to create off the dribble I just think that probably is something we shouldn't expect from him on day 1 if he ends up wearing orange. A couple times I don't know if it was because it was a 15-20 point game but he looked like he lost focus a little bit and would do something dumb by letting the one on one battle with Reeves overtake the broader game. Like on a 2-on-1 fast break he was the defender back and he like was so focused on not letting Reeves score running the lane or finish that he didn't stop the ball and it ended up in an easy lay up. Not a big deal but just something I noticed.

Overall, for people who don't have time to read the lengthy above, he's a good combo guard who would be a nice program guy for us. Ideally, I think he could give us some depth off the bench as a freshmen and sophomore and play minutes as the third guard in the rotation and then as he develops can be a solid starter for us on a good team as an upperclassmen. I think he'll be a guy in time who is steady with the ball, active up top in the zone and will be able to knock down the open look when it's his turn or attack a defense from the weak side off ball movement or in unsettled situations. He looks like he'd be a good teammate to bring into the program, too. Would be a nice addition for us in the same mindset as many of our 2017 class in that he'll be a good player who can grow in the program and provide stability in the coming years providing depth while he naturally grows to play a bigger and bigger part of our success as the years go by. The biggest thing is to have realistic expectations. Let him be him and play his game and develop at his own rate. I've seen people call him Baby Harden on his youtube highlights/mixtapes and I don't know if I see the comparison. I'd be glad to bring him in.
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Good stuff as usual, Sully
 
Ayala to me, is a bigger version of Jack Gibbs from Davidson. Same all around game and even looks like him. Gibbs was a gamer, just lacked size.
 
dasher said:
Ayala is Edelin with a jump shot.
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I haven't seen much of Ayala, but I really hope this is true. Because Edelin couldn't shoot, but he just knew how to control a game. And find the man with the most favorable matchup (not too hard when Melo is on your team) and exploit it.
 
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