NHR Spotlight: Trae Berhow
Trae scored 29 points with 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals in the season opening win last Friday night. NHR was on hand and this is what we saw from Berhow in a more in-depth breakdown. Athletically: Trae will…
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Continue ReadingTrae scored 29 points with 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals in the season opening win last Friday night. NHR was on hand and this is what we saw from Berhow in a more in-depth breakdown.
Athletically: Trae will be the most athletic player on the floor in just about every game he plays this year and he is definitely a good athlete. A division one athlete no doubt. In comparison to his competition he is far and above them when it comes to physical gifts. When it comes to basketball players across the nation in a comparative sense I would say he is about the average athlete for what you would see in a good mid-major program.
Shot: I would say Berhow is about a 34-35 percent three-point shooter with his feet set (based on what I’ve seen in the past) but in this game there were few chances for that. Most of his jumpshots came on the move and he often had to fall away a bit to get the space needed because there was so much attention on him. Trae has no issue getting a look and he has really good lift on his attempts. You can without a doubt tell he has been working on his one and two dribble pull-up game in both directions as he looks more comfortable shooting on the move than he has in the past. Needs the percentages to increase when shooting on the move this year but that will come.
Handle/Creation: Comfortable enough ball handler that he played point guard for part of the game, and his attack handles either pushing in transition or facing up and attacking looked very good. I would say Berhow lost some of his control of the ball when he was faced with pressure and had to change a direction quickly but outside of that this is a shooting guard that handles fine.
Finish: Berhow is very long and has a nice controlled touch going at the rim. Love how he has the body control and strength to keep squared and complete a play despite contact and/or a contesting defender. He finished very well going at the rim and drew several foul calls after getting into space. Definitely a guy that will battle to get the ball up on the rim.
Defense: This is not a star player that goes back and takes time off on the defensive end. Berhow is a fantastic defensive talker, he knows defensive positioning, he works to make box-out hits regularly and is an excellent rebounding guard/wing, and my favorite part was repeatedly talking through screens and often jamming them so the ball screen could not be set. I was more impressed with what he did defensively because this is a well taught defender that blew up several possessions and then finished other possessions with a d-board off the rim. Both of these things led to Royal transition chances. Also, Berhow moves laterally extremely well so whenever he’s defending a ball screen (from either vantage point) the Royals come out fine.
Other: This is a guy that teammates loved regardless of how many shots he took. He did a lot of creating for others and he played as hard as anybody on defense so his teammates definitely respect what he does. Normally when players have the ball in their hands as much as Trae does there is jealously but not from the Royals. Those kids cheered on the floor and from the bench every time he made a play for himself or others. His efforts on defense, on the ball, off the ball, rebounding, and everywhere else were at a high level. He works hard to always improve and will battle with anybody. Not only does he have physical gifts, a good attitude, and developing skills but Trae works hard in all ways so kids love playing with him. Also, he is a two. Has the abilities to play the two at the next level but his tough enough to also guard bigger players as a three if his team went smaller.