Jahmi’us Ramsey
Physical Traits
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 195 lbs.
Age: 19 (June 9, 1991)
College Stats
| Season | School | Conf | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 27 | 27 | 31.2 | 5.5 | 12.4 | .442 | 3.3 | 7.2 | .454 | 2.2 | 5.2 | .426 | 1.9 | 2.9 | .641 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 15.0 |
| Career | Texas Tech | 27 | 27 | 31.2 | 5.5 | 12.4 | .442 | 3.3 | 7.2 | .454 | 2.2 | 5.2 | .426 | 1.9 | 2.9 | .641 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 15.0 |
Strengths
Shooting. Ramsey has shown potential as an off-ball shooter, as well as someone that has the ability to pull up off the dribble and score from the perimeter. J.J. Redick he is not, but he’s not Emmanuel Mudiay trying to take 25-foot off-balance fadeaways either. He shot 42.6% on 5.2 3-point attempts per game at Texas Tech, and was one of their top perimeter scoring threats. He’s shown a good court awareness when it comes to spacing the floor, and he’s not going to be shy about pulling the trigger when his number is called.
Athletic profile. He was only 18 years old for his one season at Texas Tech, but he was able to physically keep up with everyone that he played with. He’s a good leaper, and he’s shown that he already has the strength to bang around with older players. He’s the kind of athlete that you really would like to see force turnovers, because you know you’re going to get a really impressive uncontested dunk on the other end.
Age potential. It’s hard to see him being as talked about as he has been prior to the NBA draft without considering his age. There are a lot of raw facets to his game, from his on-ball defense to his ballhandling, but if he’s already as successful as he has been, he offers the promise of a great future contributor.
Weaknesses
Inconsistency. With age comes wisdom, and with youth comes folly. He gets caught ball-watching on defense, and didn’t play with the kind of consistency that Denver has come to rely on from their starting shooting guard. The inability to string together good possessions, let alone games, had to be one of the reasons the front office was fine parting ways with Malik Beasley. Ramsey has a touch of that in his game.
Finishing. Nearly 30% of his field goal attempts came at the rim, and while he shot 52.5% there, about 46% of those were assisted (all stats courtesy of Hoop Math). If you’re going to be a 3&D guard, you need to knock down your perimeter shots, but you also have to be able to attack the rim, off the dribble, and present a scoring threat inside. If that part of a shooter’s game isn’t there, then they need to be so adept at scoring off screens they can make up for the lack of ballhandling and finishing near the rim. Why do you think guys like Dion Waiters and Reggie Jackson keep getting passed between teams?
Court vision. For a combo guard, the only meal he was ordering was buckets. There are times when he catches the ball, and only sees the rim, with anything else in his way collateral damage. He has a good sense of where to be on offense to be a shooter, but in order to take the next step, he has to do more.
Expected Outcome
Projected draft range: late first, early to mid second round
NBA Comparison: J.R. Smith
Highlights
Why Ramsey makes sense for Denver
The Nuggets can use more shooting, unless you think Troy Daniels is the answer to their floor spacing depth. When the Nuggets traded Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez, they lost two of their best shooters. Those two couldn’t get stops, so they weren’t going to break into Michael Malone’s rotation, but with them gone, the Nuggets weren’t able to threaten defenses as much with the shooting they had leftover. The Nuggets need an athletic guard to replace Beasley, and Ramsey fits that mold of a player.
The Nuggets will always go as far as their defense can take them, and if they can’t defend, Malone is going to wonder why they deserve minutes. Ramsey has the athletic profile to be a good defender, and has shown that he can play good on-ball defense when the situation requires it. That wasn’t all the time for the Red Raiders, and he’ll have to improve there to crack the Nuggets rotation.
He seems like a good kid, and the Nuggets need bodies. If they want to go with PJ Dozier and Monte Morris off the bench, Ramsey is a similar size to Torrey Craig, but is someone I expect to be a much better shooter.
Why Ramsey doesn’t make sense for Denver
He’s a few years away from playing in the rotation of a team as good as the Nuggets. The Nuggets need players that can contribute now, players on team-friendly contracts that can return a positive return.
With his inexperience and inconsistences, he would get taken off the court faster than you’ve ever seen, unless his offensive game is the most impressive thing the coaches have seen. I have doubts about his ability to speed up his shot, attack the rim, and make the right pass quickly and accurately when a pedestrian comes in front of him.
He’s not an immediate contributor for a playoff team, especially in the Western Conference.
Bottom Line
A first round gamble? Maybe if he really interviews well, and no team will bite on trading an early second round pick. But you have to be certain, because there are risks there that could not be beneficial to the team. The Nuggets traded Beasley and Hernangomez to a division rival to get rid of Clint Capela for the Rockets. If they don’t draft for potential now and invest in potential later, that’ll be a disappointing evening for me.
