Kalem Buford @PrepHoopsTN/AboveTheRimGym Fall Combine Recapture
Kalem Buford (Pearl-Cohn) gifted the @PrepHoopsTN/AboveTheRimGym Fall Combine with grit.
How did he measure against the competition?
- Class of 2020
- 5’8 1/2″
- Wingspan — 5’10” or 70″
- Height w/o shoes — 5’8 1/2″
- Height w/ shoes — 5’9 1/2″
- Shoe Size — 10 1/2
- Hand Span — 8.0″
- Hand Length — 7.5″
- Standing Reach — 7’5″
- Peak Reach — 9’8″
- One-Step Vertical — 27 inches of 2’3″
- Lane Agility — 11.20
- Summer Combine Ranking — #57
Left-handed point guard. Last winter, Kalem Buford played for (K.I.P.P.) in Nashville. He is at Pearl-Cohn attending classes now.
Areas for Improvement
Kalem Buford is just an ok shooter from mid-range. He appeared to have a hiccup in his release. The final split-seconds of his shot contained a little “junk”, aka, non-fluid motion.
Fast feet. Mostly lost or spinning wheels like a drag racecar without the basketball in his hands. His greatest weakness appeared to be court awareness, ala moving without the basketball. Until the basketball found him, Kalem generally stood still like his feet were in concrete. Everybody benefits from movement with and without the basketball. Defending a static man requires no effort and no focus for defenders individually and the defense broadly. Kalem is fast, and even if he wasn’t, he must challenge his defender more.
Projects as a point guard, but he needs better court savvy and greater understanding of spacing and passing angles.
The Foundation
Catch-and-shoot game was promising. In the last year especially, Kalem worked with Next Level Basketball Skills Trainer Jeremy Pope. The results are encouraging, but not complete. He still needs to get that shot more fluid and ocnsistent.
The speed of Kalem Buford stood out. His lane agility time was better than average (11.20 seconds). His feet moved quickly and the legs are strong enough to be a problem for defenders. Further, Kalem Buford dashed up the floor with purpose. Explosion from the defensive rebound to the forecourt was absolutely his best contribution to the 5-on-5 unit.
For what it is worth, Buford’s hands measured 7’5″ x 8’0″.
Cared about defense. Much like he was a better on-ball attacker, Kalem was a better on-ball defender than off. He tended to stray or relax when his man did not have the basketball. The strong legs and commitment made him a solid mover laterally. He could check almost any guard one-on-one.
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