Re-Introduction to Jamal Branch

Moose

Moose

Well-known member
I think Branch is vital to where this team goes this year. Just thought a little refresher might be appropriate.

4 star PG ranked 65 overall and 14th best PG in his class.

Ht:6'3"
Wt:170 lbs
Shooting:Outstanding
Rebounding:Outstanding
Handle:Good
Passing:Outstanding
Strength:Developing

Here are the PG rankings for his class. The bolded guys are the ones Rivals felt most comparable to Branch. All stats are this year unless otherwise noted

1- Marquis Teague- NBA
2- Josiah Turner- Somewhere haha
3- Tony Wroten- NBA
4- BJ Young- 18.0ppg, 3.4 apg, 1.1 tpg
5- Myck Kabongo- NCAA hell after going for 9.6ppg, 5.2 apt, 3.0 tog
6- Ky Madden- 6.1ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.0 tpg
7- Jahii Carson- 18.6ppg, 5.4 apg, 4.1 tpg
8- Quinn Cook- 10.9 ppg, 5.7 apg, 2.9 tpg
9- Ryan Boatwright- 14.4 ppg, 4.6 apg, 2.2 tpg
10- Chris Jones- JUCO
11- Tyrone Johnson- 3.3 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.8 tpg last year and transferred
12- Shannon Scott- 6.0 ppg, 4.7 apg, .7 tpg
13- Tracy Abrams- 11.6 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.0 tpg
14- JAMAL BRANCH- 4.4 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.2 tpg
15- Cezar Guerrero- 5.6ppg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 tpg last year and transferred
16- Shane Larkin- 16.3ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.0 tpg
17- Deville Smith- 4.2 ppg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 tpg last year and transferred
18- Kedren Johnson- 17.0 ppg, 2.9 apg, 3.3 tpg
19- Naadir Tharpe- 4.0 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.4 tpg
20- Jabari Hinds- 7.6 ppg, 1.9 apg, 1.1 tpg
21- Jerome Seagers 3.4 ppg, 2.4 apg, 1.7 tpg
22- Myles Mack- 15.4 ppg, 2.6 apg, 2.3 tpg
23- Darwin Davis- 12ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.0 tpg
24- Brett Kingma- 3.4 ppg, .4 apg, .2 tpg last year before transferring from ORE to WSH St
25- Spencer Dinwiddie- 16.2 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.1 tpg
26- Trey Burke- 16.9 ppg, 7.4 apg, 2.4 apg

Some other notes-

Jerry Meyer serves as a national scout and recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. He played at Lipscomb University where be became college basketball's all-time career assist leader. Meyer earned Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Tennessee as a high school junior and senior. He has served as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt and also co-authored the book, "Basketball Skills and Drills."

A silky-smooth combo guard who possesses an athletic burst, Branch is developing into a high-level point guard. A natural scorer, he can also play the role of a distributor. On defense, Branch gets his hands on the basketball quite a bit with his athleticism and anticipation

Rivals picked him as 2nd best perimeter defender- The Buzz: Branch, who is headed to Texas A&M, has held down some of the top point guards in the country. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1191392

He actually used to play football- The Buzz: The Texas A&M signee was actually known as a pretty good football player early on in his career before giving it up to focus on roundball. A versatile guy, he could probably play on either side of the ball. On offense, we could see him as a running quarterback. But because of his great hips, range and closing quickness, he projects nicely as a defensive back.
 
Thanks for posting the above.

"Shooting:Outstanding"
I didn't know that. That helps. Anything that spreads out opposing defenses even more is most welcome.

Of course we are all really rooting like crazy for this one: "Passing:Outstanding"

One other thing... it's interesting to see such a dispersion of results of the other top guards. Really hit or miss it seems. Hopefully ours is a big hit..
 
He will play on Dec 21 vs UNC Ashville
Looking forward to seeing him play
Could be a big factor in making our season a success
 
For those who want to see game video against us from last year....

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I know this is old, but watch the video and it is obvious that he can do things passing the ball that we are incapable doing without him right now. Branch should make a big difference.


=youtube_gdata_player
 
I know this is old, but watch the video and it is obvious that he can do things passing the ball that we are incapable doing without him right now. Branch should make a big difference.


=youtube_gdata_player
Click to expand...


I didn't realize he shoots lefty...Funny I saw him shooting around before a recent game and thought his shooting was not all that great (he was shooting righty)...
 
Again, from the clips, and it is just a highlight video, he has some real passing skills.

=youtube_gdata_player
 
Branch will help with the half court offense and he should also help us hit a few 3s. He can give the dribble penetration that really helps get players open. Those videos showed some great dribble drive, and dish. I really see him improve the whole team just by being a true PG.
 
Branch has a few great floaters at the end of this video.
Click to expand...


Forget the floaters, look at some of the amazing passes he makes. Kid threads the needle. We don't have anybody who can pass like that right now, which is why his potential impact is so great.
 
Branch has a good three point shot, he drives well, he passes well, he will be able to drive the lane and create open shots for Dlo, Marco, and Greene. If Branch can be a good distributer our slashers like Jarkarr, Sir'Dom, Amir, and Felix can get into to the lane. Chris could get some easier dump-off baskets. I only see the team improving from this point on.
 
Branch has a good three point shot, he drives well, he passes well, he will be able to drive the lane and create open shots for Dlo, Marco, and Greene. If Branch can be a good distributer our slashers like Jarkarr, Sir'Dom, Amir, and Felix can get into to the lane. Chris could get some easier dump-off baskets. I only see the team improving from this point on.
Click to expand...

I know it was a very small sample size at the beginning of the season, but Branch didn't look good at midnight madness. I would actually say he looked pretty bad. That's why I'm holding my breath...we can't expect him to be a savior. Hope I'm dead wrong.
 
Branch has a good three point shot, he drives well, he passes well, he will be able to drive the lane and create open shots for Dlo, Marco, and Greene. If Branch can be a good distributer our slashers like Jarkarr, Sir'Dom, Amir, and Felix can get into to the lane. Chris could get some easier dump-off baskets. I only see the team improving from this point on.
Click to expand...

I know it was a very small sample size at the beginning of the season, but Branch didn't look good at midnight madness. I would actually say he looked pretty bad. That's why I'm holding my breath...we can't expect him to be a savior. Hope I'm dead wrong.
Click to expand...

He has been practicing with the team and has been off for a year toning his styles. I think he will make an impact within his first few games. 2 or 3. but we will see
 
Branch has a good three point shot, he drives well, he passes well, he will be able to drive the lane and create open shots for Dlo, Marco, and Greene. If Branch can be a good distributer our slashers like Jarkarr, Sir'Dom, Amir, and Felix can get into to the lane. Chris could get some easier dump-off baskets. I only see the team improving from this point on.
Click to expand...

I know it was a very small sample size at the beginning of the season, but Branch didn't look good at midnight madness. I would actually say he looked pretty bad. That's why I'm holding my breath...we can't expect him to be a savior. Hope I'm dead wrong.
Click to expand...

And Christian Jones looked great :)
 
Branch has a good three point shot, he drives well, he passes well, he will be able to drive the lane and create open shots for Dlo, Marco, and Greene. If Branch can be a good distributer our slashers like Jarkarr, Sir'Dom, Amir, and Felix can get into to the lane. Chris could get some easier dump-off baskets. I only see the team improving from this point on.
Click to expand...

I know it was a very small sample size at the beginning of the season, but Branch didn't look good at midnight madness. I would actually say he looked pretty bad. That's why I'm holding my breath...we can't expect him to be a savior. Hope I'm dead wrong.
Click to expand...

Maybe he's better in actual games.
 
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