2021 PG Chucky Hepburn (Bellevue West, Wisconsin Commit)

[Realhoops]

https://www.wowt.com/content/sports/Sop ... 35401.html

[yankeejay]

Last game 20 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 7steals. News that Wisconsin is coming to see him play. ????Why no CU love.

[JacobPadilla]

What do you mean by "love?" An offer? He's shooting 29% from 3 after shooting 26% last year (both on heavy volume) and he's 6' tall.

Creighton's not ignoring him, though. Hunter Sallis is just a much easier projection to the next level. Chucky's a heck of a player but there are questions still.

[Chicagojayfan]

It's a little early to be offering. He's just a freshman. He still has a ways to go to be a Big East-caliber player. If he doesn't grow any more (which is possible considering he's already taller than his older brother and his dad isn't a tall man), it could get dicy. Shooting has to continue to improve.

If there's anyone who should offer his summer, it would be Omaha. Creighton's playing it the right way - keeping an eye on him, staying in touch and gauging his progress.

There is potential there, but you are entirely correct here. CU has to evaluate potential for the system and for the conference level of play.

I think our coaches have done a great job of evaluating and recruiting the right kids from the Omaha area. It's really hard to second guess their decision making

[bluejayfan00]

I'm sure Chucky will be a fine D-1 player, but Hunter Sallis is the in-state kid we should be going all out for.

[cujaysfan]

two very small PGs on roster is a legit question/problem.

plus CH doesn't seem to shoot as well - if he can run an O and finish like Mo - that's a bit different - but not sure exactly what his game is.

[whtblu]

I'm sure Chucky will be a fine D-1 player, but Hunter Sallis is the in-state kid we should be going all out for.

I haven't seen Hunter play, but have seen Chucky play a couple of times. I went in expecting a lot just because of the hype that goes with CH. As a result I think I was less impressed than I would have been had I known nothing about him prior. With that said, I was incredibly impressed with his court vision and passing. Definitely the strength of his game in my opinion. Kind of a true point guard in that "pass-first" sense. Not that he doesn't/can't score...just more impressed by his ability to set others up.

[JacobPadilla]

I'm sure Chucky will be a fine D-1 player, but Hunter Sallis is the in-state kid we should be going all out for.

I haven't seen Hunter play, but have seen Chucky play a couple of times. I went in expecting a lot just because of the hype that goes with CH. As a result I think I was less impressed than I would have been had I known nothing about him prior. With that said, I was incredibly impressed with his court vision and passing. Definitely the strength of his game in my opinion. Kind of a true point guard in that "pass-first" sense. Not that he doesn't/can't score...just more impressed by his ability to set others up.

That's a pretty good evaluation of him. I'd say Chucky's best trait is his feel for the game. That shows up in all the different ways he impacts a game — playmaking (as you said, he's a great passer), defense (great at reading ball-handlers and has quick hands to pick pockets or get in passing lanes), rebounding (tracks the ball well) and yes, he can score as well. Chucky's got a lot of tricks in his bag with good footwork and ball-handling ability, and he's continuing to progress as an athlete (he has a handful of dunks this season and they even drew up an alley-oop for him in a recent game). He really is a terrific basketball player. The shot is the thing I worry about the most at this point.

[cu8493]

I don't think Ryan Sears ever shot over 40% from the field (or right at about 40%), certainly not from 3, where I think he was a lot closer to 34-5%. In fact, I can remember some games where teams backed way off of him, and he had a number of 3-13 type games. Those could be frustrating games. But, he also averaged almost 3 steals per game and was very effective at pushing the ball, particularly in transition. He averaged 4-5 assists per game and about that many rebounds, I believe. A PG can be effective even if not a threat to bomb a bunch of threes if he can move the ball and has the vision to find guys in the right spots. I like what I read about Chucky (though it sounds like he has to improve shoot some even to get to where Sears was - but I assume that will come with some hard work and maturation). The timing would be good, as Z would be a senior his freshman year, I think, and Alvin would be a junior (assuming no redshirt), so a good time to bring in the next PG. I certainly like teaching a really good play-making PG to shoot better than spending 2 1/2 seasons trying to shoehorn a shooting guard into the PG spot.

[Jayfan3535]

I'm sure Chucky will be a fine D-1 player, but Hunter Sallis is the in-state kid we should be going all out for.

I haven't seen Hunter play, but have seen Chucky play a couple of times. I went in expecting a lot just because of the hype that goes with CH. As a result I think I was less impressed than I would have been had I known nothing about him prior. With that said, I was incredibly impressed with his court vision and passing. Definitely the strength of his game in my opinion. Kind of a true point guard in that "pass-first" sense. Not that he doesn't/can't score...just more impressed by his ability to set others up.

That's a pretty good evaluation of him. I'd say Chucky's best trait is his feel for the game. That shows up in all the different ways he impacts a game — playmaking (as you said, he's a great passer), defense (great at reading ball-handlers and has quick hands to pick pockets or get in passing lanes), rebounding (tracks the ball well) and yes, he can score as well. Chucky's got a lot of tricks in his bag with good footwork and ball-handling ability, and he's continuing to progress as an athlete (he has a handful of dunks this season and they even drew up an alley-oop for him in a recent game). He really is a terrific basketball player. The shot is the thing I worry about the most at this point.

Chucky is quite easy to project to the next level IMO. Yes he is shooting 29% from 3. He is also shooting 55% inside the arc and 77% from the line. If you watch him shoot it is easy out to about 25-26 ft. The encouraging thing is that it is just a matter more of refinement than anything being wrong mechanically with his shot. He is similar to josh dotzler (pre SIU injury) (I know, easy comparison with other bell west kid, but have seen them both a ton and there are similarities) with a much more refined offensive game. I think most would agree that had Josh stayed healthy he could have played at any just about any level collegiately and been a very good point guard.
Chucky has much more potential to add range to his game than Josh ever would have. He is also much more vertically explosive. His anticipation skills are similar and he averages between 10-12 deflections per game. When he is locked in and focused defensively he is as good of a high school defender as I have seen. He does tend to have the type of game where it can appear as he is coasting or disinterested at times which he needs to work on. But he just turned 16 a couple weeks back I believe so a lot of that is maturing.
One thing I have rarely seen from Chucky is him being sped up. Teams have pretty much stopped trying to press. He advances the ball so well and keeps himself under control at all times. His turnovers are rarely forced by anyone. Simply a matter of him being occasionally careless or trying to force things that aren’t there.
I hope that the Jays pick up their recruitment of him this summer and extend the offer. They are still sitting in a decent position especially with the Nebraska debacle (whoever they hire should keep Lewis...and if they do he has been point man and is doing an excellent job of recruiting Chucky). Either way it will be interesting to continue to watch all these kids develop.