Jaden Springer: 6'4", 204 lbs. 18 years old

Basketball bloodlines are always looked upon favorably in professional evaluation circles.

It definitely bodes well for Jaden Springer, 6’4” Tennessee guard, to have people such as his father Gary and cousin DeAndre’ Bembry to lean on for advice regarding the game and the work ethic necessary to succeed at a high level.

Family ties can end up being major reasons for success, which led me to be high on Cole Anthony in last year’s draft because his father Greg raised him in a household which taught maturity, professionalism and most importantly the game itself.

It’s pretty easy to tell when watching Springer that he was raised under a similar support system because of his demeanor and intelligence on the court.

On either end of the floor, Springer never looks lost. Jaden knows what he’s good at and knows how he can fit in even when things break down. He keeps his head up and has that confidence to step up and hit a shot or make a play when called upon. Springer isn’t shy from shooting at high volume or guarding the other team’s best matchup.

That level of confidence fuels star potential in the NBA. If you don’t have that alpha mentality, you may still be a good player in the league but there’s only so far you can go.

And there were plenty of times where Springer showed some impressive shot making qualities on the offensive end of the floor. Transition finishes, powerful drives through defenses, contested makes at the rim, and tough mid-range jumpers or pull-up threes. Just looking at that list and knowing none of the context around it, you come away with the conclusion that this prospect has a three-level scoring package which is rare for anyone to come into the league with.

There are flaws with at least one level of his scoring ability, but Springer attempts looks from every area on the floor with the confidence that he’s going to knock it down. Even from just watching film, the energy he plays with and the swagger pop off the screen. Some people call that an “it” factor, like that kid just has “it” regardless of what that actually means because the definition varies from person to person. But in my humble opinion, I’d agree with that sentiment should it be offered to explain that magnetic quality that surrounds Springer’s offensive game.

The majority of his game is set up not just by his willingness to penetrate the defense or take a jumper, but by the power exhibited within every move he does on the court.

It’s hard to describe through writing, but when watching Springer on film it’s one of the more common words used to describe his game because of the ferocity on display when he tries to rip through defenses or create separation off a dribble move for a shot. His moves aren’t quick twitch or shifty, but he makes guards bounce off of him. There’s no better word to describe that with than power.

Now for all of the positives that come from a guard having a solid frame to continue to build upon, it can also be a downfall depending on the rest of that player’s development.

At lower levels of basketball, players come through every year using their strength and brute force to mow through competition and get to the basket with ease. That doesn’t always work once you get to the upper levels of college and up through to the pros. An over reliance on physical build and toughness can be a major pitfall and stunt growth depending on the athlete.

Springer has real skill make no mistake about it, but some of those concerns rear their ugly heads when he gets a little too confident in his natural abilities.

Whereas his teammate Keon Johnson plays at a calmer tempo on offense and doesn’t force just anything and everything, Springer’s do-it-all persona comes to a crashing halt at times when he ignores making the easier play in front of him and tries to be a hero. Multiple defenders, the whole team coming over to help, sometimes it doesn’t matter. When Springer makes a decision to act, pretty much nothing is going to stop him from getting to that spot. Yes, that can lead to some impressive contact and sometimes acrobatic finishes, but it can also get him into trouble and lead to really bad misses or foolish turnovers.

Getting too thick into the teeth of the defense is one of Springer’s worst habits. What exactly did that lead to? Drives into a defender who had the better angle on him to swat his shot into the first row, or getting stuck in no man’s land trying to pass in or out leading to a steal and easy runout in transition.

Those types of plays happening consistently would land Springer on an NBA bench faster than you can say turnover.

Sometimes the willingness to make a play happen need to be quelled by the understanding of what happens if that play goes wrong and knowing how to back away and re-approach the situation. It’s ok to pull out of a drive, reset and find something better (unless of course you’re late in the shot clock and have to force something up, but we’re talking about early-mid offense here). The best point guards in the NBA turn down instant scoring gratification to make something smarter happen for someone else.

That’s the development that will need to take place for Springer. It’s not that he can’t pass the ball, but the willingness to abandon a drive or a shot isn’t always there and that’s what separates the good guards from the great ones.

These are issues that came up when Springer wanted to get to the rim, but they also showed up when he would take one or two dribbles, come to a jump stop in front of multiple defenders and force up a fadeaway mid-range jumper that clanked off the front of the rim and had very little chance of going in given the natural arc on Springer’s shot.

When Springer didn’t force himself into shooting a fadeaway contested mid-range pull-up, he actually converted on enough of those looks to give a scout like myself confidence that could be a weapon he improves upon and uses as a go-to at the next level. The problem is that the poor shot selection led to bad mechanical habits to develop leading to the inconsistency and poor percentages.

If I had to name one player for Springer to sit down and watch as much film of as possible, it would be Devin Booker.

When he came into the league, Booker was incredibly young (18, which is the same age Springer will be on draft day) and viewed as not much more than a catch-and-shoot gunner with enough promise to potentially develop into a good decision maker off the dribble.

I’d argue Springer has shown ability off the dribble for the Volunteers that Booker didn’t have the chance to display when he was at Kentucky. But Booker was so technically sound in his mechanics from the perimeter that his transition into pull-up scoring maestro was more natural than it likely would be for Springer.

Regardless of the type of shot Booker takes, his elevation and release point never change. Booker remains vertical, doesn’t angle his body or speed up his release. Everything about his shot is consistent, and if Springer could bring some of that into his game it would benefit him leaps and bounds, and that would start with the shot selection.

Getting to a spot where he’s not hounded by multiple defenders, altering his mechanics to not always lean back on his shot and bringing the release point down just a smidge could lead to much more consistency inside the arc, and these are all fairly reasonable changes to ask Springer to make. And should he adapt his mid-range shot and refocus his efforts to doing so, that could put him on a similar career trajectory to a scorer like Booker. That’s a potentially scary proposition for the rest of the league.

The good news is that Springer proved in college that he can be a lethal catch-and-shoot threat when left alone, and he even showed comfort into stepping back off a dribble and firing from behind the arc. When shooting from deep, he doesn’t fade back and is much more straight up and down. With how he shoots the ball from deep now, it’s not hard to picture him being able to rattle off a healthy diet of threes in the league. The fact that he does have that level of consistency, along with him being a great free throw shooter, at least give credence to him rounding out the rest of his jump shot arsenal.

While there are flaws to his offensive game that should hopefully ease up during his growth and maturity as a guard prospect, the good news is that defensively I really can’t see any holes to his game.

The only caveat I’ll give with that statement is that at least defensively he’s pretty pigeon-holed into guarding either backcourt position. It’s not that he can’t hold his own on a switch if he gets caught on a post-up by a wing or something along those lines, but I wouldn’t want him guarding someone 3-5 full time. And that’s perfectly ok, not everyone in the NBA can swing massively up or down on defense.

With that being said, the work that he can do both on and off the ball on the perimeter is pretty solid stuff. On the ball, he’s attentive, sits in his stance, moves well with the player in front of him and holds his own because of his strength base and low center of gravity. I would actually take clips of his stance and on-ball defense if I could and show it to some other guards in this class as tape to study off of. From a technical standpoint, he’s as sound as they come.

One of the only qualms I have about his on-ball work is that he doesn’t have those same quick hands that other steals artists do in the league. Generally the best point of attack defenders can get in there and pick up a steal when needed, like the Baylor guards for example. Both Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell react well with their hands to create advantages off ball handlers who can be a little careless at times.

I don’t foresee Springer contributing heavily in that department once he sets foot in the league, but he did average over a steal per game in college so there could be indicators on film that I’m just missing.

Off the ball, he does a great job at keeping his head high and makes sure he’s always looking to see what’s going on around him. Springer isn’t always the quickest to react so he can play a passing lane or force a turnover in that regard, but he’s always willing to rotate when called upon and help when needed. And as stated, his build as a guard helps him at least fight against bigger matchups so that’s always a plus when he does have to pick up a drive or hold his own on occasion down low.

Not often do freshman guards rate out on the defensive end quite like Springer does by Synergy. He registers no less than the 61^st percentile in every major category on that end of the floor, and as “Very Good” in every play type where he could be left on an island including spot-ups and isolations. When he’s left to figure things out on his own, Springer can get the job done which gives coaching staffs in particular a little ease when looking to gauge how many minutes they should give him during his rookie year.

So at a bare minimum, Springer has skills both offensively and defensively that he can hang his hat on to earn minutes right away in the NBA. And that’s a crucial aspect to player development that can get overlooked at times during the evaluation process. Sure a player may be pretty raw in some areas, but if he can hold his own on defense and make an open shot when the ball swings around to him, that gives him a chance to at least get on the floor and up to speed with the style of the NBA game.

I’ve been admittedly back and forth on where I personally would draft Springer. The more I look at his overall case as a draft prospect, the more I come back around to him as someone I can justify looking at with a mid-late lottery selection. There are only so many players who can be drafted in that range, and there are a number of prospects who will have profiles with lottery-level grades from Draft Deeper this year.

But not all of them will have complements in there like what I said earlier regarding handing Springer some Booker film to study. Star comparisons or film study recommendations shouldn’t be taken lightly. The comment I’ve made consistently through this whole process with Springer is that if there’s one player I had to put money on to explode and over-produce their likely draft slot, it would be Jaden. His confidence, background and skill set all project pretty well in the league.



Whether he’s able to reel in his decision making and fix some of those mechanical issues in his pull-up attack remain to be seen. Could he become a point guard in time as he continues to study the game at a high level? I can’t rule it out. Does it even matter if he does? In my mind no, but it’s an intriguing outcome to think about.

Wherever he lands in the draft, as long as he grinds and commits to putting in the hours to hone his basketball craft I’m confident he’ll succeed. I would fault no NBA GM for taking him with a lottery pick.