Film Room: Brandon Garrison

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Big Blue Nation had to make it through an entire day on Monday without landing a commitment. After a busy weekend of loading up on Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, and Andrew Carr the Wildcats turned their focus to a pair of visitors. Both Great Osobor and Koby Brea came to campus on Sunday evening for their respective official visits. However, Tuesday morning’s commitment didn’t come from either one of them. In fact, it came from someone who hadn’t visited campus at all. Coach Pope landed Brandon Garrison over Arkansas and various other suitors in what was a bit of a surprise commitment. This staff continues to operate in silence on the recruiting trail.

Garrison, an Oklahoma State transfer, will have three years of eligibility remaining in Lexington. The 6’11” 245 pound center averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while starting 29 of 32 games as a freshman for the Cowboys. He was incredibly efficient around the basket shooting 57.2% from the field including 76% at the rim where nearly half of his shots were attempted. There is a lot of two-way upside here and the potential of having him for multiple years makes the addition even more intriguing.

The commitments are hard to keep up with at this point, but as always we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down the newest Wildcat. Garrison will provide front court depth and is a proven commodity at the high-major level. Oklahoma State wasn’t very good, but it still isn’t easy to step into a starting role at the center position from day one in the best conference in college basketball. The former McDonald’s All-American has the requisite skill level to fit seamlessly into the sort of offense we expect to see from Coach Mark Pope. He is excellent on the roll, can make mid-range jump shots, and is an underrated passer. Garrison fits the mold of other transfer portal additions as a high level defender as well. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at what the ‘Cats are getting in Brandon Garrison.

Interior Scoring

As a freshman in the Big 12, Brandon Garrison shot 76% at the rim while taking 47.2% of his shot attempts from that zone. That is incredibly efficient. There is a level of physicality to his game around the basket that you can’t teach. However, he maintains a soft touch and has more finesse to his game than you may expect. The 6’11” center is very effective out of the dunker’s spot, can drive it from the elbows, or score on traditional post up opportunities. Regardless of how he gets there, you can count on Garrison to be a high percentage finisher when he is at the rim.

You don’t necessarily need your 5-man to be super flashy scoring the basketball. Sometimes your job is to simply wait out in the dunker’s spot for a guard to make a play. Garrison has a good feel for interior spacing and plays off of his guards very well. He can slide along the baseline, circle to the front of the rim, or circle underneath depending on where the ball is driven. Being in the right position to receive a pass from the dunker’s spot is a skill.

It likely won’t be a big part of what he does, but Brandon Garrison is agile enough to make short drives from the elbows or high post area. Here you can see him fade away from the screen as Cincinnati ices it on the wing. Then, he takes one dribble and plays right through the chest of his defender. It takes incredible strength and balance to play through that level of contact and then finish this layup with your off-hand. That is a “wrong-footed” finish from a 5-man as well. Impressive skill level on display in this from Garrison.

Garrison won’t stretch the floor beyond the arc yet, but he can make mid-range jump shots. Here he is posting up against one of the best defenders in college basketball, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner. Instead of challenging the 7’1″ center at the rim, Garrison plays to his advantages. He faces up, takes one dribble into his chest, and then creates space for a fadeaway jump shot. Again, the skill level to make this play is really impressive.

This clip showcases Garrison in a traditional post up. The floor is spaced with four players on the perimeter and he gets a catch on the block. There are two parts of this clip that standout and should get you excited about him coming to Lexington. First, he is very patient with the ball. He uses the pass fake, takes two dribbles to the midline, and is not sped up. Then, after getting to the midline, he finishes with his left hand over his right shoulder. Many young big men would “have” to shoot this back into the defender with their right hand. Part of why Garrison is so high percentage inside is because of his ability to score consistently with either hand.

Ballscreen & Roll/Pop

Coach Mark Pope will likely use a lot of ballscreen and handoff action on the perimeter with his 5-man to initiate offense. That was a certainly a tenant of his offense last season at BYU with all of the Zoom Action they ran. Brandon Garrison will fit into that role seamlessly. He was excellent in the pick-and-roll at Oklahoma State finishing in the 76th percentile nationally, per Synergy, as the roll man. However, he has shown the ability to do more than just roll to the basket. His mid-range shot is consistent enough to pop to 15-feet and knock down the jumper. Also, he is effective on the short roll because of his ability to make one or two dribble drives to the rim. The options are endless of how Coach Pope can incorporate Garrison’s skill into his offense.

Part of being effective on the roll is being a good screener. Brandon Garrison is a physical screener and does a great job of getting himself open on the roll. He also has excellent footwork to be able to make tough catches on the run and still finish at the rim. This is not an easy catch, but he finishes through contact for an And-1 all in one motion.

Garrison does a great job of reading the defense and playing into the space they give him. Here, BYU ices the side ballscreen so he fades into the short roll and hits the mid-range jumper. Having the ability to make this shot puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

The ability to make the little jumper is nice, but plays like this are the money maker for Brandon Garrison. He rolls hard to the rim, gets beyond his defender, and then plays well above the rim on the lob. Sometimes spacing the floor vertically is as effective as spacing it beyond the three-point arc. Garrison’s ability as a lob threat on the roll will be very useful in Coach Pope’s offense at Kentucky.

This clip is another example of his ability to pop into space in the mid-range. The Oklahoma State ball handler doesn’t really use a screen, but Garrison spaces back behind the ball towards the top of the key. This is the equivalent of popping the ballscreen. As you can see, Hunter Dickinson simply doesn’t get out far enough to contest the 18-foot jumper. A lot of opposing 5-men will have a hard time getting out to Garrison and taking this shot away.

There might not be another clip that best encapsulates Brandon Garrison’s ability than this one. One of the things that makes him so effective on the roll is how he always finds the open space. He doesn’t just roll directly to the rim or down the lane line. Instead, he reads the defense and rolls into space. On this play that meant flattening out his roll a bit and cutting across the lane to get open. This is a really tough catch and finish without needing a dribble. Having the ability to score this, especially with your off-hand, as a 6’11” 245 pound freshman center is really impressive.

Rim Protection

There has been a common theme with Kentucky’s transfer portal additions so far this cycle. All of them are very good defenders. Brandon Garrison blocked 1.5 shots per game as a freshman at Oklahoma State and rates as a Top 25 defensive player in the portal per Evan Miyakawa. Similar to what sets him apart offensively, his agility and athleticism at 6’11” and 245 pounds makes him a very impactful defender. He has the strength to hold his ground on the block, the footwork to contain guards off of ballscreens, and the vertical athleticism to block shots at the rim.

Sometimes you just need your special athletes to make special plays. You can’t teach the athleticism and length it requires to high point this ball up around the square. It is going to be very hard to score on Kentucky at the rim next season.

Garrison also has the athleticism and footwork necessary to stay in front of a driver and still elevate to block the shot. He is guarding potential NBA lottery pick Yves Missi in this clip and absolutely dominates him. Having the ability to guard a face-up big man and still be physical enough to bang around down low is hard to find.

Plays like this showcase Brandon Garrison’s upside as a potential SEC All-Defense guy down the road. He switches onto one of the quickest point guards in the ACC coming off of a Zoom Action and keeps him from turning the corner. Then, you can see him communicating and keeping his head on a swivel around the front of the rim. Finally, he reads the spin move and comes from across the lane to swat the attempt away. This is a really high level defensive possession in a huge moment for Garrison.

If you want to see Garrison’s upside, go watch Oklahoma State’s game against Baylor. He finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a narrow five point overtime defeat. This blocks displays his timing, length, and ability to cover ground in a hurry. Garrison came from the opposite block across the lane line and blocked this layup attempt up above the rim. Being able to spell an elite shot blocker like Amari Williams with a guy like this will make it very difficult for opponents to score inside.

Evaluation

Brandon Garrison is a two-way center that finishes at the rim offensively and protects the rim defensively. He can score with his back to the basket, on the roll, or hit a mid-range jumper. That all-around skill level, which includes underrated passing ability, is what will allow him to fit seamlessly into a role for Coach Pope at Kentucky. The 6’11” big man was incredibly efficient as a freshman at Oklahoma State and drew fouls at a high rate. Then, on the defensive end, he was Top 100 nationally in block rate and Top 200 in defensive rebounding rate. Having three years of eligibility remaining is icing on the cake for the former McDonald’s All-American. Being able to have a guy like Garrison as a potential backup at the center position means your front court is in great shape.