Jamal Mashburn's son is really good at basketball

by:Mrs. Tyler Thompson07/13/17

@MrsTylerKSR

One of the hottest players in the 2020 class has a very familiar name. Jamal Mashburn Jr., son of the UK legend, turned heads last night at the Under Armour Finals in Georgia, scoring 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds despite being one of the youngest players in the tournament. Unlike his father, Mashburn Jr. plays point guard, but according to Scout.com’s Brian Snow, who was in the gym last night, he shares his father’s high basketball IQ:

At this point in his development Mashburn is someone who plays on the ball, but his first instinct is to score. He is a more than capable passer, and in fact he showed pretty good floor vision, but it is his scoring that separates him as a player.

What is impressive is at just over 6-feet tall, Mashburn can score from all three levels on the floor. He isn’t yet a great three point shooter, but he more than showed the range on Wednesday night, and the release and rotation are tremendous on his shot. While he can make threes, it is his mid-range game off the dribble and his ability to finish in the lane that are impressive. Mashburn is very strong and functionally understands how to use his strength to finish through contact. On top of that he is excellent changing speeds with his dribble, and tends to get by defenders despite not having elite quickness.

Will Mashburn Jr. follow in his dad’s footsteps at Kentucky? He’s in the 2020 class, so don’t expect any major action from John Calipari for a while, but it’s worth mentioning that Rick Pitino watched him last night and he recently visited Louisville. Hmm.

Check out Snow’s piece for more on Mashburn Jr., and watch his highlights below:

https://youtu.be/m9IhEZvoaGk

 

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