KSR Film Room: Chris Livingston

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It was only a week ago that Coach John Calipari landed Shaedon Sharpe, the nation’s best shooting guard. Now, he has received a commitment from the top ranked small forward, Chris Livingston. The train isn’t stopping anytime soon either as Big Blue Nation will now turn their attention to Cason Wallace.

The five-star recruit, ranked number four overall in the country by On3 Sports, chose the ‘Cats over Tennessee State, Georgetown, and professional opportunities. He had recently removed Memphis from his final list.

Kentucky moved quickly to become the favorite in Chris Livingston’s recruitment. The staff made sure to see him play several times on the 3SSB Circuit in July even while most of the eyes were on the Nike EYBL Circuit. John Calipari, Orlando Antigua, and Chin Coleman then opened the in-person recruiting period last week with a visit to Livingston at his school. By doing so, the hard work paid off as eight Crystal Ball and six FutureCast predictions were logged in the Wildcats favor in the month of September. Ultimately, Livingston moved his commitment date up a month and chose to rock the Kentucky blue.

At 6’7″ and 220 pounds, Livingston is the perfect size for Coach Cal’s shift to a four-out, one-in style of play. After dominating the Akron basketball scene at Buchtel High School, Livingston will take his talents to Oak Hill Academy for his senior season.

Let’s step inside the KSR Film Room to break down the game of Kentucky’s newest commitment, Chris Livingston.

Attacking the Basket

There is no debating the fact that Chris Livingston is at his best attacking the rim off of the dribble. He has the size, athleticism, and physicality to dominate almost any defender. When opponents put a larger defender on him, he is took quick. When opponents try to go smaller he is too big and strong. His 6’7″ and 220 pound frame provides the ultimate matchup problem.

While Livingston needs to continue to tighten up his handle on the perimeter, he is an excellent straight line driver. He is patient on the perimeter and explodes to the rim at the end of his drives. Unlike most high school prospects, he finishes off of two-feet a lot which is an excellent quality to have.

Attacking closeouts and breaking down mismatches on the perimeter will be Livingston’s money-maker at the next level.

If Chris Livingston were to have a signature move, the spin move would be it. It is a great way for him to rely more on his strength as opposed to raw ball handling ability to beat defenders off the bounce. As you can see in this clip, the spin move allows Livingston to get his shoulder passed the defender. At that point he easily finishes the and-one through contact on the block. Also, the kid he is going up against isn’t just a random opponent. That player just committed to Wisconsin at the same time as Livingston’s decision.

It will be a common theme, but you have to highlight Livingston’s patience on the wing. So many high level prospects can’t wait to start dribbling the basketball. In contrast, Livingston sizes up his defender and reads the defense before putting the ball on the floor. Limiting his drive to three dribbles greatly increases his likelihood of success.

Here is another look at Livingston’s elite driving ability from the wing. Once again, he takes his time before starting his attack. He begins his drive with a quick jab-step to his right and a subtle shoulder fake that shifts the feet of his defender. As soon as that happens, the 6’7″ forward is able to get downhill for a straight line drive to the rim.

His ability to drive it hard to his left on this play is impressive. I love how quickly he gets downhill and how he attacks the rim in a straight line. The first clip took three dribbles and this one took only two for him to finish at the rim. Those are the types of drives that will work at the college level.

Chris Livingston is one of the best straight line drivers in the country. Again, these are the type of drives that translate to the high-major level. Evaluating a prospect that doesn’t dribble too much is very refreshing.

On this play, Livingston starts to come off the ballscreen but quickly changes direction as his defender fights over the screen. Once he rejects the ballscreen it takes just two dribbles for him to explode for the dunk. He is just a beast when he can get downhill to the basket.

Shooting

If driving to the basket is what Chris Livingston does best, then his improved outside shooting is what has made him a top five prospect nationally. He still isn’t a true knockdown shooter, and there are some concerns with his form which which we will address, but he makes enough to take the open ones.

Throughout the summer with We All Can Go, Livingston knocked in threes consistently. Most importantly, he shoots the ones he knows he is supposed to shoot. This isn’t a guy who is going to force bad shots or take crazy ones off of the dribble. He plays to his strengths and displays a basketball IQ beyond his years when it comes to shot selection.

At Kentucky, the goal should be for Livingston to be a guy that makes about one three per game at a 35% clip. If he can do that, then the sky is the limit for how good he can be.

The most exciting part of evaluating Chris Livingston film is how much of what he gets done in high school and AAU ball actually translates to the college game. Usually, you have to simply evaluate talent and traits but that isn’t the case with this prospect.. That is why even the best recruits have a learning curve at the high-major level. They typically have to learn what actually works against the best players. For Livingston, his game translates without a lot of tweaking.

In this clip, his teammate attacks a closeout and draws the help of Livingston’s defender. After the dribble penetration, the five-star forward is left wide open at the top of the key for a catch-and-shoot three which he knocks down. These open, inside-out threes are the ones that he makes and he knows he is supposed to shoot.

Yet again, Livingston makes a play that you absolutely could see at Rupp Arena next season. As the ball is driven into the paint, Livingston “replaces” up towards the wing from the corner. His defender helped into the paint on the drive leaving him wide open for the catch-and-shoot three. He may never develop into a guy that makes 60 or more threes in a season, but Livingston is reliable enough to knock down shots like you see in these clips.

The small shooting form concerns around Livingston primarily center around letting the ball travel too far out in front of his body. He dips the ball low on the catch, sometimes below his waist, which leads to a long ball path into his release. As a result, the slow release keeps him from squeezing off more contested shots, but that is okay for a guy who isn’t out there as a pure shooter. Livingston has a tendency to let the ball get too far out in front of his head at the release point which results in him pushing the ball to the basket as opposed to a smooth shooting stroke. This is a minor detail and his form continues to get better, but a few small changes could really improve his three-point shooting consistency.

Versatility

Coach Calipari isn’t allowed to speak publicly about recruits until they have signed on the dotted line. However, that hasn’t kept him from alluding to how he plans to use Chris Livingston in the new and improved Kentucky offense. Moving to more of a “four guard” lineup requires somebody with guard skill to play the four and Livingston is the perfect fit. At 6’7″ and 220 pounds, he has the physical tools to match up with bigger bodies while also possessing the guard level perimeter skill.

Kentucky has had a lot of great players under Coach Calipari. However, guys who can consistently make plays like this are still few and far between. Livingston’s ability to go coast-to-coast makes him the perfect small-ball four man in Coach Cal’s offense. Also, the skill level that it takes to make the little stutter step at the top of the key and change speeds to beat his man off of the dribble really jumps out on film for a player of his size.

If you jog back on defense Chris Livingston is going to make you pay. In this clip he gets up to grab the rebound and explodes down the floor to the rim for layup. As you can see, it takes him very little time to get end to end with the ball. It takes him only two dribbles to get from half court to the rim. The five-star forward is a beast in transition that will give opposing defenses headaches.

Coach Calipari usually likes to has his finger on the offense as much as possible, but with guys like Livingston in the lineup he may be more comfortable turning over the keys to the talented group of players that he has assembled in Lexington.

The Kentucky staff has always valued offensive rebounding. When it comes to that skill, Livingston should be a plug-and-play type of guy. His explosiveness and strength makes him perfect to crash the offensive glass.

On this play, Livingston comes across the lane from the opposite wing to track down the miss. Then, after corralling the rebound, he gets up to finish through contact displaying excellent body control.