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Matt Janning

Not in any ranking or draft
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Weight: 200 lbs (91 kg)
Position: PG/SG
High School: Watertown Senior School (Minnesota)
Hometown: Watertown, MN
College: Northeastern
Current Team: Kawasaki Brave Thunders
Win - Loss: 26 - 20

Articles

D-League Showcase Profiles: Call-Up Candidates (Part One)

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jan 17, 2011, 10:58 am
Joseph Treutlein

Despite not even being invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in this year's pre-draft process, Matt Janning surprised many people by making Phoenix Suns' opening camp roster, while he's now having a solid year in the D-League.

An extremely team-oriented, unselfish, off-the-ball type player, Matt Janning doesn't really fit the mold of your typical D-League guard, and that shows in his rather pedestrian scoring production. There are many times where Janning can go unnoticed in the team's offense, though he's constantly moving off the ball, maintaining good spacing, and making the extra pass when the ball comes his way.

Looking at his offensive skill set, Janning is an excellent spot shooter off the ball with a high and quick release, knocking down 43% of his threes thus far, having the rare distinction of having a higher three-point than two-point shooting percentage. He can also hit pull-up jumpers and has a good shot fake, but does so more out of catch-and-shoot plays as opposed to in isolation, not really having the ball-handling skills to shake his man consistently when matched straight up.

In terms of attacking the basket, Janning has a decent first step with the ball and has some crafty moves in his arsenal, but his advanced ball-handling is limited and he isn't the best shot creator.

As a passer, Janning shows great vision and is capable of making tough passes to cutters or occasionally operating out of the pick-and-roll, but most of his assists come as flow-of-the-offense passes, and he's not one to break a defense down off the dribble to find teammates. While Janning is a good passer for a two, he looks uncomfortable when forced to play the point, and even can get into trouble bringing the ball up the floor against tough pressure defense.

Defensively, Janning is an excellent communicator with great fundamentals while he has solid lateral quickness and has no problem playing tough perimeter defense. Not having the thickest build, Janning is however wiry strong with solid length, and more than holds his own in isolation situations.

Looking forward, Janning has a decent skill set while being an excellent team player with a very high basketball IQ, though it's clear his game is not particularly well suited for the D-League style of play. It's clear in watching him play he could be more valuable in a different setting, and because of such it wouldn't be surprising if he got called up for a test run at some point, though he could also have a very successful career overseas if he decides to go that route.

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