Alonzo Gee

Austin's Alonzo Gee was up next and went with a windmill.

Alonzo Gee Dunk #1



For his second dunk of the first round, Gee does a double clutch, 180 reverse jam.

Alonzo Gee Dunk #2

Alonzo Gee was one of the players we were most intrigued with coming to Boise this week, and he did little to dispel that notion. Showing elite athleticism with a very well-built body, Gee made countless impact plays in his two games he played, mainly on dribble drives started from the mid-range area, where he took advantage of his long strides and explosive first step to get to the rim.

Gee still isn't the greatest in terms of advanced ball-handling, but he has done a good job figuring out the best ways to utilize his athleticism, relying on subtle changes of direction in combination with his very good body control. At the basket, Gee is capable of finishing over defenders and is extremely aggressive, never shying from contact.

Gee's jump shot is still a work in progress, but it appears to be improved from what we saw at Portsmouth eight months ago, as he looked smooth hitting some mid-range jumpers here, even pulling up on occasion. He lacks range on his shot in a major way, though, which is probably one of the biggest things holding him back from getting called up at this point, as he’s made just 2-7 attempts from beyond the arc on the season, and wasn’t a very prolific long-range shooter in college either.

On the defensive end, Gee has great physical tools and show flashes of effective defense, doing a good job hustling off the ball, but he's a bit inconsistent here, and his man-to-man stance leaves something to be desired. For him to find a spot in the league and stick, this is probably the biggest area he will need to work on, as it is definitely where most of his untapped potential lies.

If Gee continues the great play he's shown for the first 15 games of the D-League season, it wouldn't be surprising to see him called up by season's end. He’s been one of the first names mentioned in conversations we’ve had with NBA scouts this weeks.

Since the last time we wrote about him, not much has changed with Alonzo Gee, as his junior and senior stat-lines are nearly identical, while he hasn’t added much to his game skill wise. Gee did a good job showing off his strengths here at Portsmouth, playing unselfishly with a high motor and really making good use of his physical tools (measured in at 6‘6.5 in shoes with a 6‘10 wingspan).

Offensively, Gee has shown flashes of skills in all areas for awhile, but he’s yet to put it all together to create a complete package. His True Shooting percentage is a very disappointing 51%, with few legitimate draft prospects in our database ranking below him. Gee’s lack of three-pointers and poor free-throw shooting both heavily contribute to this number, so improving his shot, both from the field and the line, should be among his priorities. As has been the case for some time, when spotting up, Gee is actually not a bad shooter, averaging 1.13 points per possession on catch-and-shoot jumpers according to Synergy Sports Technology, however he falls off to an abysmal 0.65 PPP on off-the-dribble jumpers. The good news for Gee here is that if he is able to claw his way onto an NBA roster, he’s not going to be burdened with being a team’s go-to option as he was at Alabama, where he actually took more shots off the dribble than he did spotting up, a big cause for his horrible efficiency.

While Gee’s shot should be the top item on his to-do list, he could also work on being a better finisher at the basket, as in spite of his excellent physical tools, he doesn’t show great creativity, struggling when dealing with weak side defenders. Gee also doesn’t have the greatest footwork or change of direction ability in the lane, not showing much ability to slide around defenders, often leading to awkward situations or turnovers. His ball-handling shows nice flashes here and there, using crossovers in combination with his excellent straight-line speed and explosiveness, but he’s probably best off playing as an opportunistic slasher on and off the ball when a lane opens up, a role he’ll need to adjust to.

Gee helped himself the most at Portsmouth by showing how he can adjust to not being his team’s offensive focal point, a role he seemed immediately more comfortable with. By playing unselfishly, looking for his teammates on offense, while putting in extra effort throwing his body around and deflecting passes on defense, Gee had a very strong impact in his team’s games, while also contributing a bit in the scoring column, albeit still probably trying to create too much, leading to some awkward shots. Gee also threw his body around in the lane, attacking the glass on both ends of the court, something he’s capable of contributing well from the small forward position.

Defensively, Gee still has many of the problems he had last year, losing focus at times off the ball while showing inconsistent fundamentals on the ball, not always staying in a low stance. In spite of this, his lateral movement still seems pretty good, though he may have some problems against NBA small forward if he doesn’t polish up his form and really buckle down on this end of the floor. As shown here at Portsmouth, Gee is a huge threat in the passing lanes when he’s putting in the effort, possessing the size and athleticism to really break up some plays, though he hasn’t always been consistent in applying that effort.

Looking forward, Gee is probably still on the outside of the second round bubble, but he may be in some team’s discussions. With his physical brand of basketball and NBA caliber body and athleticism, he’s likely someone teams may want to get an extra look at, which should give him some opportunities to show what he’s capable of. Regardless of if he’s drafted, Gee should have a few chances at making a team’s roster through training camps and summer leagues, and if he can adjust to being a role player similarly to the way he did here at Portsmouth, while also putting in some work on his shooting over the summer, he may find his way into the league, if not now, then possibly after a few couple of years of seasoning overseas.

Alonzo Gee has done a good job steadily improving his game in his three years at Alabama, and could place himself into draft discussions by continuing to do so as a senior. Gee upped his points and rebounds per game while dropping his turnovers as a junior, though the increased usage also hurt him on the efficiency end, as his FG% dropped to 42% and his 3PT% to 31%. Even worse, his overall TS% is just 50%, which is fifth worst among every senior in our entire database.

Looking at Gee’s game, as has been mentioned before, the first thing that stands out is his outstanding athleticism and build, as he’s very explosive and strong for a small forward, with a body more mature than his age. His skills still haven’t quite caught up to his physical gifts, but he’s been making progress, and he’s definitely not just an athlete.

On the offensive end, Gee’s at his best attacking the basket, using his explosive first step on straight-line drives and going up strong over the opposition. Despite not having great creativity at the rim, he makes up for it with excellent explosiveness and the ability to finish through contact or draw contact to get to the line. His dribble is still a work in progress, especially his left hand, and his dribble with either hand can look high and awkward at times, but he’s effective when he gets the right openings, quickly leaving defenders in his dust when he has a driving lane. While his crossover has developed well and doesn’t look bad, he doesn’t look very fluid when changing directions with the ball, even when just making subtle misdirection steps. Gee’s also developed a decent right-handed floater to use in the lane, and while it’s still a work in progress, it’s fairly effective already.

While Gee does a good job at the basket, converting for 1.25 points per possession on shots around the rim (data courtesy of Synergy Sports Technology), his PPP falls off to a very low 0.85 on all jump shots, which account for nearly half of his entire offense. This is one of the primary reasons his efficiency is so low at this point.

Gee doesn’t have a bad jump shot, and is actually pretty good when open, whether he’s spotting up or pulling up. In these situations, his shot is fairly consistent without many mechanical problems, the biggest minor issue being he doesn’t always fully extend his release. The problem comes when he’s guarded by defenders. Whether pulling up off the dribble or spotting up, in these situations, his shot runs into all kinds of problems. He often fades away with the ball, not getting his legs underneath him, the inconsistency of his extension becomes more severe, and he tends to rush his shooting motion in general. All of these issues contribute to his PPP on guarded jump shots being a very bad 0.56, compared to 1.16 when unguarded. The good news for Gee is that there probably won’t be many teams at the next level requiring him to take so many closely guarded jump shots, but the bad news is with Richard Hendrix gone, more of the offensive responsibility will likely fall his way, requiring him to create these shots at least as much as he did last season, if not more. If he can improve on this problem area, it would do great things for both his efficiency and his draft stock.

On the defensive end, Gee does a good job on man defense, playing aggressive and effective defense. His defensive stance is inconsistent, and arguably could even be called sloppy, as he goes in and out of fundamental stance randomly, but his foot speed is pretty good, and his length and athleticism allow him to often recover from behind when beat. He has a lot of bad habits that could become more severe problems at the next level, but he shows very good potential as an individual defender with his tools. Off the ball, he’s not quite as effective, losing focus and sagging off his man at times, while also not doing a great job fighting through screens, but once again, his athleticism and length allow him to make up for that when he rushes out to contest shots, which he does do consistently.

While Gee is still somewhat of a project player, as his skills, while developing, are largely unrefined, he’s made great strides in his time in college, and seems to be continuing to improve, with a few decent weapons already at his disposal. His potential would most likely be as a role playing defensive wing who can slash and spot up shoot, so working on those areas should be his biggest priority. Continuing to improve his ball-handling also wouldn’t hurt, but he’s still awhile away from the point where NBA teams would be asking him to use that skill consistently. Looking at the draft, he could certainly be in second round discussions, and is someone scouts will almost undoubtedly like to see in the pre-draft camps.

Known primarily just as an athlete coming out of high school, Gee has consistently improved his perimeter skills throughout his two year stay in college. His freakish strength and athleticism are now coming around, molding him into a productive player rather than just another athletic marvel.

Given our intro, it’s obviously clear that athleticism is Gee's major selling point. While only 6-6, he has exhibited the ability to soar over some of the biggest players in the SEC. It is not an uncommon occurrence to see him snatch a rebound amongst the trees, come down with the ball, and then jump straight back up from a static position to finish with a powerful dunk. This routine display of such an explosive vertical leap is very uncommon from a perimeter oriented draft prospect actually owning skills to back up his athleticism.

Leaping ability aside, Gee’s athleticism and strength translates into a number of other areas as well. He uses his explosive first step to make up for his relatively marginal ball handling ability, making him a little less predictable on the offensive end. Once at the rim, the chiseled 220 pound frame he owns comes into play, allowing him to absorb contact and finish at the cup against bigger, heavier players. Gee is great at moving off the ball making cuts to the basket, setting up overplaying defenders well and then explosively bursting backdoor, often finishing with a powerful slam.

Over his sophomore campaign, he proved to be a consistent shooter mechanically from beyond the three point arc, both off of the dribble and from a standstill. The results were not consistent however, with Gee looking like a lights out shooter at times and then like someone who was uncomfortable playing that far away from the basket in others. Attacking the rim, though, there are few players in the SEC who compare to Gee. His lightning first step combined with his great strength and body control make him pretty tough to stop when going to the basket in a straight line. Putting points on the board is not a problem for the swingman, given his ability to soar over the large majority of opposing wings.

Although Gee has shown flashes of potential as a scorer from beyond the arc and at the rim, he struggles mightily from midrange, having really no resemblance of a pull-up jumper. Also, while his ball handling skills are rapidly improving, they could still use a bit of refinement. Gee’s dribble can be a little high at times, and overall he is still considered a pretty average ball handler for a wing player.

While Gee is a downright freak athletically, unfortunately that is not enough to get him by as a defender. He often struggles getting through screens, especially off of the ball. The effort exerted on the defensive end is nowhere near that of his offensive end, as he lacks the intensity and desire that fuel his game. Throughout the games we observed, Gee was a bit slow closing out on defenders under control, leaving him at an immediate disadvantage. It appears that with his immense physical gifts, he should have the potential to eventually become a solid defender, but will need instruction in terms of proper defensive fundamentals first before that happens.

Given the promise that Gee showed last season, it could very well be possible that he opts to test the waters this June if he is able to continue to build upon the flashes of brilliance he showed last season. The graduation of Jermareo Davidson and unfortunate injury to Ronald Steele will leave a far bigger role for Gee within the Crimson Tide offense. Also, playing with a legitimate low post presence in Richard Hendrix will provide more one on one opportunities on the wing for him. Anyway that you look at it, Gee enters the season as one of the top wing players the conference has to offer, and one who will have the chance to dramatically increase upon the 12 points per game he averaged as a sophomore.

Alonzo didn't do anything spectacular in the game, but he just had a knack for putting points on the board within the flow of the offense. He isn't the best ball handler, but Gee is a good slasher who I can definitely see contributing at the next level where he should step in very nicely with the departure of Kennedy Winston to the NBA. While I don't really see him as a prospect at the moment, anything can change over the next four years.