Some players have a natural feel for the game, some don’t.
It’s hard to describe feel to someone but it’s noticeable when watching.
Guards have the ball in their hands a majority of the time, by default, so it’s often first noticeable with them. They make the decisions, they control the game and their pace of play sets the tone for the rest of the team.
Early on in the season, Alabama freshman guard Collin Sexton seems to have it.
He rolled out of bed scoring 20+ points in his first three collegiate games, followed by 40pts vs. Minnesota and 30pts two weeks later vs. Arizona. That’s quite the start.
While it’s clear Sexton is an aggressive, lead guard looking to attack offenses, his decision-making early on has paired for quite the threat. His assistant percentage sitting currently at 24.3% won’t be at the top of any leaderboards but there’s more to look at when watching him play.
Alabama head coach Avery Johnson has put the ball in Sexton’s hands to make plays, as evidenced by the clips below.
Johnson runs the same pick-and-roll play three separate times within a few minutes of each other vs. Arizona. Sexton was making the right reads and Alabama was getting buckets when they needed them.
Oftentimes, you will see players who are mechanical and not playing off feel by pre-determining moves or reads. Instead of taking what the defense gives them and reacting to how they defend the play, they will have a set plan or move in mind. That, more times than not, leads to a turnover or a missed play.
Here, Sexton let’s his instincts take over and while the same play, the defense plays him different all three times. Instead of trying to predict how the defense will play him or what move he’ll make, Sexton reads the defense correctly and gets good looks off all three.
The first instance in this set, Sexton stays patient coming off the double high screen. He knows the defender is trailing behind him, thus having the trailing defender on his hip. Once the second screen defender makes the commitment to show hard, Sexton slips the gap and let’s his next-level athletic ability to do the rest.
The second time, Arizona’s talented freshman Deandre Ayton plays the pick-and-roll differently. Instead of electing to do a hard show, Ayton flattens and waits for the guard to recover from the double-high drag screen. Sexton once again, stays patient, sees Ayton caught in-between covering and letting the guard recover but also that his defender has gone under the screens. As Mark Jackson says, hands down, mans down. Sexton is shooting the 3 at a 47.1% clip to start the season, which is tough for college defenses to defend with his ability and first step quickness to get to the rim.
Finally, as oftentimes defenses will do, when a player is hot and has burned them on a similar action a few times previously, they will overreact. Sexton doesn’t force the issue and makes the correct read. Here, both defenders immediately blitz Sexton coming off the first screen. Alabama junior Donta Hall makes the correct read as well, slipping the screen with both defenders blitzing. Instead of running into a trap, Sexton sees the slip and finds the open big. While the play doesn’t result in a positive possession, Sexton shows his ability to read and react.
Three plays, all the same, with three different reads.
Basketball plays happen quickly and players have to make the right decision within a split second.
Sexton has taken well to college basketball and shown poise that is usually seen in upperclassmen, not a player nine games into their college career.
Cleaning up the assist-to-turnover ratio will be one thing to monitor going forward. For someone with an attacking style and not having a high assist rate it comes with the territory. But as the season progresses, you’ll want to see an effort to set up is teammates more, through his drives, and take better care of the ball.
So far, Sexton has the qualities you look for in a guard that a team will spend a draft pick on.
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