National analyst weighs in on UK signees at McDonald’s All-American practice, how they fit next season

UK basketball signees Keldon Johnson and Immanuel Quickley have been here at the McDonald’s All-American Game festivities all week representing the Wildcats, and the reviews heading into Wednesday night’s all-star game were positive.

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi talked to the Herald-Leader about both players following the third straight day of practices Tuesday.

Going into the week, Rivals had Johnson ranked as the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2018 class and Quickley ranked at No. 15 nationally.

It doesn’t sound like either player did anything to hurt his standing.

Keldon Johnson

The 6-foot-6 small forward from South Hill, Va. — playing his final season of high school at Oak Hill Academy — has impressed throughout the week with his energy level, and Bossi has singled him out in each of his daily practice reports.

He was especially impressed with how Johnson quickly found a role in his West team’s practice.

“You don’t know how coaches are going to run things, and the West practice has been more like a traditional, early season basketball practice without a lot of running, so there are limited opportunities,” Bossi told the Herald-Leader. “And instead of just jacking it, like a couple guys were doing, he just found his stuff in the flow. He was aggressive. He scored at the rim. He had some midrange stuff. The outside jumper looked good. So I thought that — for kind of a weird practice situation — he really did a good job of inserting himself in there and making what he could make happen, happen.”

Johnson has been a highly touted prospect for a while, but his position at the next level has always been a little difficult to peg. He’s typically been listed as a small forward, but he hasn’t performed like a complete perimeter player in the past. That’s changing, for the better.

“Even as recently as a year ago, I thought he was kind of a combo forward,” Bossi said. “He did the bulk of his scoring from 15 feet and in and was kind of a mismatch problem. He still has that interior scoring, but he’s really learned to face up and put the ball on the floor to score from midrange. I wouldn’t classify him as a knockdown shooter from three just yet, but he’s become a shooter that you have to respect. You can’t just run away from him. He’s out there, he’s willing to shoot, and he’s developed that confidence.

“And I think the biggest thing is he’s really gone to work on his body. He’s gotten stronger and leaner and more athletic and quicker laterally. And I think that’s really helped him. Now you see him, and he’s a true small forward.”

Johnson has clearly worked on his game in his one season at Oak Hill Academy, and the Cats are getting a tough perimeter prospect who can do a little bit of everything offensively.

“He can go make things happen,” Bossi said. “And I think he’s just a natural scorer. He has kind of a knack for finding those open spots. So when you combine natural instinct to find open spots on the floor with improved ability to handle the ball, it does wonders for you.”

Immanuel Quickley

The McDonald’s practice format maybe wasn’t the best setting for Quickley, an unselfish point guard who is always looking for the best offensive option — meaning lots of passing — but is also a capable scorer and often gets the ball back when he’s running the point.

As a result, the 6-3 prospect from Bel Air, Md., was sometimes left out of the action.

“He’s just kind of running things,” Bossi said. “He’s been kind of what you expect: steady. He’s going to stay in front of his guy defensively, take the open shot when it’s there and otherwise move the ball. He’s more of a traditional point guard.”

A common sight this week: Quickley brings the ball up the court, passes to a teammate, then tries to get open somewhere on the perimeter while that teammate, instead of looking to kick it back out, takes it to the basket himself or puts up a jumper.

“There hasn’t been too much shot-jacking going on, but it’s a lot of dudes who are used to being the alpha guy, and I think Immanuel is used to giving it up and it’s eventually going to come back around to him, which doesn’t happen as much here,” Bossi said. “And you kind of have to adjust to that a little bit. It’s not people being selfish, it’s just people being their usual kind of selves. … If you give it up, sometimes you can’t expect it to come back, or you have to go get it. Instead of waiting and clapping.

“And that’s not really his nature, to do that. But he’ll be fine.”

Where Quickley has shown continued improvement is with his perimeter shooting, a clear point of emphasis for him over the past couple of years.

“He’s knocked down some open shots, which has been good,” Bossi said. “And he hasn’t turned them down, which is always key. It’s one thing to knock them down, but with some guys, you have to wait and wait for them to shoot. He’s taking them when they’re there.”

The national analyst went into more detail about Quickley’s evolution as a shooter.

“When I first saw him between his freshman and sophomore year, you liked him because he was already about this size and he had reasonable speed, and he was just strong getting to the rim,” Bossi said. “So you figured he was going to be a to-the-rim guy, but as time has gone on, he’s expanded. He’s become a reliable jump shooter. I don’t know that he’s going to come in and shoot 45 percent from three, but you’re going to have to account for him.

“If they’re playing screen and roll, you’re going to have to really think hard about going underneath that screen, because he can pull up at the top of it. With him and (Quade) Green, that’ll be something that they’ll both be able to do, so it’ll be kind of interesting to have that dynamic. This year, with Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), most guys are going to go under the screen, because he wants to get to the rim. Next year, you’re going to have those guys who have that chance to pull it or make something else happen.”

Bossi, and many others in the recruiting world, are interested to see what exactly does happen with a UK team that should have as much shooting as just about any other in the Calipari era.

Unless Gilgeous-Alexander makes a surprise decision or the Cats add someone else to the backcourt, which is still a possibility, it’ll also be a departure from the bigger, stronger Calipari point guards like Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox, Andrew Harrison, John Wall and others.

Add to that equation the possibility of a couple of experienced upperclassmen (Wenyen Gabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones) and the seeming lack of an elite, can’t-miss NBA prospect.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Bossi said. “Assuming Shai goes to the draft, you’re going to have two kind of non-traditional Calipari point guards with Quickley and Quade Green. Not those big, physical drivers. Quickley’s probably a little better at going to the rim than Quade — because he’s bigger and stronger — but they’re both more like ball-mover point guards and midrange and out scorers. So it’s going to be kind of a little bit different deal. It’s going to be a totally different team than we’re used to seeing from them, all around. I think it’s kind of a mystery to see what it’s going to be.

“There are probably going to be a couple of older guys. There’s not that top-three or top-five guy coming in where you know, ‘All right, this is going to be our first option.’ It’s going to be ‘to be determined’ right now.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 10:26 AM with the headline "National analyst weighs in on UK signees at McDonald’s All-American practice, how they fit next season."