Assessing Cody Williams, Baba Miller, and Jamir Watkins’ Performance in the 2023 Sunshine Slam Championship
November 21st, 2023
By Alan Lu
It was a fast paced affair between Florida State and Colorado in the Sunshine Slam Championship, but it was a little scoring game that had plenty of misses and turnovers. It went to overtime, but Florida State was able to get a tough win over Colorado. In the meantime, there were some strong performances from Colorado’s sensational freshman forward, Cody Williams as well as from Jamir Watkins and De’ante Green on Florida State.
Jamir Watkins goes up for a shot on Tristan da Silva in a November 21st game that was played between Florida State and Colorado today.
(Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press, via Newsday)
Cody Williams had a solid, all-around showing in his team’s loss to Florida State. He particularly excelled at scoring on strong drives to the hoop, and he showed that he can do so in traffic. He would score on hustle plays, and he also showed that solid shooting touch from the outside.
He generally did an adequate job of passing and handling the basketball, and he’s an unselfish player that will make the extra pass. Williams was also able to bring the ball up amid pressure successfully. However, sometimes he would try to do too much on offense, which would lead him to commit some turnovers.
He did a pretty good job of rebounding the basketball. Plus, he also played solid defense in this game. Williams also did a good job of getting his hands on passes to help his team get steals and deflections, and he would use his length, athleticism, and instincts to force turnovers. But every once in a while though, he would over-help in the paint, and he would end up giving up open jumpers that would lead his team to allow long-range baskets.
Overall, Cody Williams played well, and for the most part, he did a good job of making plays and playing within himself. He did start to force the issue too much towards the end, but he made plenty of high-level plays, and he is a very talented prospect that could end up being a likely lottery pick in the 2024 draft.
Baba Miller is a tall, very athletic forward that showed off some skills on both ends of the floor, but he also was quite turnover prone, and tended to fade into the background too much at times on offense. Still, he made some plays that showed why some of the draft community feel that he has a vast amount of untapped potential as a prospect for the NBA.
Miller didn’t take many shots in this game, but he was able to make a couple of them to show off his tantalizing potential. He drove up court after getting a steal, and went coast-to-coast to score on an emphatic, two-handed slam. Miller also showed off some long-range shooting skills. He struggled to make mid-range jumpers, but Miller was able to make an open, spot-up three after moving off the ball to get it.
As a playmaker, Miller looked to be about average. He’s an unselfish player that can handle the ball and make the extra pass. He was able to make some solid passes to get the ball to his teammates, and he also threw a long inbounds pass to set up a score for a teammate on the break. However, he was also quite turnover prone. Sometimes he would throw inaccurate passes, and he would tend to throw bad inbounds passes that would get intercepted.
He didn’t grab many rebounds, but Miller was able to haul in several boards when he was on the floor. He also was terrific defensively. Miller did a great job of blocking shots, contesting them, and jumping passes to get steals, and he is a rangy defender whose length, athleticism, and presence would prove to be disruptive to his opponents.
Overall, Miller is a talented prospect whose defense may be ahead of his offense, but he showed glimpses of his vast upside by making solid plays on both sides of the ball. He’ll need to refine his skills in the half court on offense, and he’ll need to take better care of the basketball, but his size, athleticism, and versatile skill set could enable him to be a first round pick in the 2024 draft.
Florida State’s 6-7 junior point forward, Jamir Watkins played very well in his team’s win over Colorado. Watkins excelled at scoring on smooth drives to the hoop, and he showed good balance and scoring touch around the basket. He also was able to throw down a thunderous dunk in traffic. He was able to make an open, spot-up three off the catch, but he was unable to make three-pointers off the dribble.
Watkins also displayed decent playmaking skills. He showed the ability to find teammates on the move and can push the pace with the ball in his hands, but sometimes he would over-dribble, which would lead him to commit turnovers.
Also, Watkins did a great job of rebounding the basketball. He also defended well, as he would get his hands on balls to get steals, and he also rotated to block a shot from the weak side. Overall, Watkins had a strong showing, and he is a skilled wing that may be one of the more underrated prospects in the draft.
Florida State’s 6-9 sophomore forward, De’ante Green excelled at attacking the hoop to score the basketball, and he defended very well, as he would stay with his opponents and block shots to help his team get stops. He would score on hustle plays, as well as off the dribble and out of the post. He is an athletic, energetic big man that made solid plays on both ends of the floor, and he could end up being a second round pick in a future NBA draft.
Other Notes:
Colorado’s Tristan da Silva put forth a mixed bag in his team’s loss to Florida State. On one hand, he did a good job of passing the ball to cutters and making quick reads to notch assists. He also showed that he can score on hustle plays in opportune times. However, he did not shoot the ball well or score well in one-on-one situations, and he also tended to be too careless with the ball at times, as he would throw passes that would get intercepted.
On the bright side, he defended well, and he would frequently jump passes and get his hands on balls to get steals. Da Silva also would contest threes to force misses, and his length and instincts would enable him to force turnovers on that end of the floor. Overall, Da Silva didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well as he did against Richmond, but he showed off some intriguing passing and defensive skills in this game. He is a second round prospect for the upcoming draft, and if he could be a more consistent outside shooter, he could be a very solid prospect for the next level.
KJ Simpson had an up and down showing in his team’s loss to Florida State. After having played very well against Richmond, Simpson was inconsistent as a shooter and shot maker, and he struggled more against the length and athleticism of Florida State’s defense. He was able to score on some hustle plays in addition to making threes and shots off the dribble, but he also missed plenty of tough shots in traffic.
Simpson generally showed a fairly solid ability to throw interior passes to get the ball to his teammates. Also, he did a great job of rebounding the basketball, and he also defended fairly well.
Overall, Simpson had a solid tournament overall, but he struggled to make shots consistently in this game against Florida State. In general, he’s an agile, scoring point guard that can make shots and run the team at the point, but he had trouble against the longer, more athletic Florida State defenders. He’ll need to show that he can hold his own against length and athleticism at higher levels, but his ability to make plays on offense could enable him to project into a backup point guard role at the NBA level.
Florida State’s Darin Green Jr. had an up and down game in his team’s win over Colorado. He was very streaky as a shooter, but he was able to make some timely threes off the catch, as he especially excelled at making shots from the corners. He struggled more to score off the dribble, and he didn’t really look to pass the ball that much. He was very good defensively, and he is an active defender that would intercept and poke balls away to help his team get steals.
Overall, Green is an agile, skilled combo guard that can shoot, score, and defend, but he’ll need to be more consistent in games. Still, he is a talented prospect that could project to be an effective role player in the NBA.
Colorado’s Eddie Lampkin Jr. didn’t really have a very good game, as he struggled to score in the post or around the basket due to lacking lift or elite athleticism. On the other hand, he was persistent in trying to do so, and his strength and ability to get close to the hoop would allow him to score in the post or off put backs at times. Lampkin passed the ball well, and he especially showed an affinity for finding cutters, and he is a good passer out of the post. Overall, he struggled to make plays consistently, but while it’s uncertain if he will be able to make it to the NBA, Lampkin could end up carving out a solid playing career in professional basketball.
Luke O’Brien had his ups and downs, but he was able to throw down some high-flying dunks in this game. While he didn’t shoot the ball very well overall and didn’t always finish plays in the paint, he was able to drive in to score on some very impressive plays against Florida State. The 6-8 senior forward is an energetic, athletic player that can make hustle plays on both ends of the floor. He also was able to make a nice drop off pass on the break once, but also would sometimes commit careless turnovers. Overall, he could be a player to watch in the future, and if he improves his outside shot, he could project into a 3 and D role in the NBA.
All in all, those are my thoughts on how Cody Williams, Baba Miller, Jamir Watkins, and other various prospects fared in this game. Thanks for reading.