Last recruiting cycle, Louisville Men’s Basketball had an excellent recruiting class in place by the time the inaugural Louisville Live had rolled around. They used Louisville Live to add the final piece to the class, C Aidan Igiehon. This recruiting cycle, the Cards used Louisville Live to jumpstart the class as they landed their first 2020 commit and it’s a big one.
Breaking: Louisville has landed top-ranked JUCO prospect Jay Scrubb, a source told @UofLRivals, then confirmed by his father. Here’s the full story with quotes from his dad.https://t.co/uKN5qXNfy2
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) September 28, 2019
IM HOME BABY , 502 YALL MISS ME ? ❤️#CardNation🐔 #COMMITTED @LouisvilleMBB pic.twitter.com/S3706d28K0
— Walking bucket (@jscrubb1) September 28, 2019
2020 JUCO 4 Star Jay Scrubb committed to the Cards today, as first reported by Jake Weingarten. Scrubb is a Louisville native and played at Trinity where he was a teammate of current UofL freshman David Johnson.
Scrubb is a 6’6 220 lbs SG that currently plays for John A. Logan College in IL. He entertained offers from schools such as Memphis, Cincinnati, Alabama, and Texas Tech, among others, before choosing the Cards. He was ranked the number 1 JUCO prospect according to 247sports.
What does Jay Scrubb bring to the Cards? Well, his highlights say a pure scorer with an excellent feel for the game.
Scrubb can score at all three levels; at the rim, from the mid-range, and from the three-point line. He is one heck of an athlete, has great length, and is able to really fly. When Scrubb gets to the rim, he is very strong and can finish through contact. His ability to move without the ball gets him a lot of open shots and a lot of shots at the rim. He is a good ball handler as well. Scrubb is an excellent offensive rebounder as well. His shot is quick, it is a smooth stroke, and his height and length make it hard for a defender to really defend it.
With that broad overview, let’s get into a little more detail about his skills.
Shooting
Scrubb is a dead eye shooter from both the mid-range and three. His shot is from the three-point line is a nice easy stroke and very repeatable. He shoots it a little like a set shot while his mid-range shot is more like a traditional jumper. Scrubb has a very quick release. He also is not afraid to post up and hit turn around fadeaways. He hits them very consistently. Scrubb shot 54.9% from the field and 46.4% from three in 30 games last year for John A. Logan. Those numbers back up what I saw in his highlights. Scrubb is a high level shooter and will fit perfectly in the backcourt for Coach Mack.
Athleticism/Leaping Ability/Stength
Scrubb is an unbelievable athlete. He has a quick first step that allows him to beat defenders with the ball in his hand and get to the rim. Once Scrubb gets to the rim, he can finish in a variety of ways. His length allows him to get the ball around block attempts and lay it in. However, Scrubb’s ability to leap allows him to finish most of the time with dunks. He can get up with the best of them and he finishes with power.
Scrubb is also very strong. This allows him to post up and bully defenders to the rim, finish through contact, and just overpower smaller defenders he may have guarding him. His strength makes him an excellent rebounder as well.
Scrubb is going to be a matchup nightmare for opponents which, in turn, makes him exactly the type of player Chris Mack loves.
Moving Without the Ball
An essential part of playing SG is being able to move without the ball to get to open or to get to open spots in the defense where you can utilize your skills to score. Scrubb is very adept at doing this. He reminds me of Samuell Williamson in this regard.
Scrubb will find his way to the post when he feels he has a height or strength advantage on a defender. When posted up, he can hit fadeaway jumpers or back down the defender to the basket and finish over them.
He is very good at going back door and recognizing when a defender is too focused on the ball and he will go to the rim for alley oops and dunks. There was a play where he sat on the baseline and when his PG got in the lane, the PG found him, much as Louisville PGs would find Montrezl Harrell, and he would get the feed for the dunk.
He can give and go and he can find his spot around the arc and be set up for open threes, which he drains. As a SG or SF in Mack’s system, Scrubb will flourish because of his ability to move without the ball and get open.
Rebounding
Watching Scrubb rebound is something to behold. What I love is that he is a relentless offensive rebounder. He gets quite a few buckets on put-backs. Obviously, all of his physical gifts come to bear in utilizing this ability. He can get up over defenders and tap the ball in the bucket or grab it and go back up strong. On the defensive end, he can fly in from the wing to get the ball and his strength allows him to block out guys that may be physically bigger. His ability as a rebounder is shown in his rebounding numbers. Scrubb averaged 8.9 rebounds a game at John A. Logan last season. Coach Mack’s defensive system relies on getting the defensive rebound and having a player that can rebound out of the SG position like Scrubb will be a luxury Coach Mack will love having.
Jay Scrubb is the kind of player Coach Chris Mack loves. He is tough, strong, an excellent shooter, and a smart player. He can make shots from anywhere on the court, he can finish at the rim, and finish through contact. Scrubb can rebound at a high level from the 2 spot and can flat out score. Scrubb doesn’t have to have the ball to be an effective scorer. He is very adept at finding open spots on the floor and then getting baskets. He is a passing PG’s dream. The only fear with Scrubb is that NBA scouts have been checking in on him and it appears that the NBA is a strong possibility. However, it appears the chance to play for his hometown university and with his former teammate David Johnson, were just too much to pass up. If he does make it to campus, UofL will have another very strong team in 2020-2021.
*all stats courtesy of loganvols.com
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