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CBT Quotables, Part III: Ben Simmons, Josh Jackson and Diamond Stone

NBPA Top 100 Camp

Kelly Kline/Under Armour

Kelly Kline/Under Armour

Over the course of July’s live recruiting period, we at College Basketball Talk will be posting anonymous quotes from coaches about the prospects that they are watching and recruiting. With coverage from the EYBL Finals at the Nike Peach Jam and the UA Finals, the second open period of the month has provided coaches more opportunities to see their recruiting targets in competitive settings.

Here’s what the coaches had to say, with quotes cobbled together from a handful of conversations we had:
MORE: Quotables Part I | Quotables Part II | All our content from the 2014 July Live Recruiting Period

PF Ben Simmons, No. 1 2015: “He’s more of a four in college, but I think he’s a three in the pros. His vision is tremendous. No need for an outlet pass when he gets a defensive rebound, he takes it himself. Run offense through him, don’t let him just be a facilitator in college. He’s too good for that.”

SG Josh Jackson, No. 1 2016: “Josh Jackson is really talented, but I think three or four guys are better than him in 2016. He makes too many careless mistakes and takes too many bad shots to be the guy in that class.”

SF Jaylen Brown, No. 3 2015: “If Jaylen Brown is hitting shots from the perimeter, it’s over. Good luck stopping that dude in transition because he’s powerful and great with a full head of steam.”

C Diamond Stone, No. 6 2015: “Diamond Stone is tough to handle on the inside. And he’s a heck of a passer, too. He’s just settled into a routine, lately, of settling for too many jumpers.”

C Sedee Keita, No. 46 2016: “I saw him two years ago and said there’s no player there. I saw him last year and he was better. Now, you can see it coming. Needs to learn how to score, but he will be good.”

PF Tomas Murphy, 2017: “I just don’t think he’s gotten better in the last year. Players are catching up to him in size and he’s not dominating. Soft touch, decent post moves, needs to add strength and grow into his body. Think he’s closer to Alex than Erik.”