San Francisco Dons guard Jamaree Bouyea fell short in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But he made a case for his pro future during his short stay.
Bouyea, who was already on the radar for many NBA draft scouts, came into the game ranked in a draftable range on my latest big board. It is not a good idea to overreact to any single game when we have a much larger sample size to pull from.
However, we have more than enough long-term evidence to suggest Bouyea is ready to make his mark at the next level. His performance was just another feather in his cap.
Biggest draft stock bounce of the day has to be San Francisco’s Jamaree Bouyea who had 36 points in a fantastic game against Murray State. He’s old, which limits his draft ceiling, but has looked all year like a NBA player. Well deserved spotlight here.
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) March 18, 2022
The 6-foot-2 senior came into the game against Murray State with plenty of pomp and circumstance. We touted the matchup as one of our favorites from a scouting perspective, writing:
“Bouyea isn’t a prospect who is guaranteed to hear his name called on draft night. But if he plays well in the tournament and has at least one or two big games, that could quickly change.”
Bouyea did exactly that, managing a career-high 36 points against Murray State. He also added 3 rebounds as well as 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Jamaree Bouyea has been awesome. Has been getting to the rim and finishing and has shown nice shot-making ability. He may be an older prospect but should definitely get second round looks for the 2022 NBA Draft.
— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) March 18, 2022
During the final game of his collegiate career, Bouyea was on the floor for every single minute of the action in a duel that went into overtime. He was able to connect on four 3-pointers during the process, but that wasn’t even the most impressive aspect of his on-court success.
He was 4-for-6 on his field-goal attempts at the rim, per Bart Torvik, and he was also brilliant at drawing contact from his opponent to earn his trips to the free-throw line.
According to research from NBA draft analyst Will Morris, among NCAA guards, Bouyea ranked third-best in unassisted field goals at the rim this past season.
Meanwhile, based on my own research derived from data via Hoop-Math, Bouyea led all consensus top-100 NBA draft prospects in total unassisted 3-pointers recorded during the regular season as well.
JAMAREE BOUYEA FROM DEEP 😳
That was nasty. pic.twitter.com/gNnCpdD9so
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 18, 2022
Not only did Bouyea hit an insane step-back 3-pointer to send his NCAA tournament game into overtime, but he also hit another during extra time that was perhaps even more impressive.
Shot creation is a wanted commodity at all levels of basketball and that is exactly what Bouyea brings to the table.
Earlier this season, on Jan. 20, he scored 25 points against a Gonzaga defense that otherwise ranked as one of the best in the nation in 2021-22. He was also able to shoot an absurd 8-for-10 from beyond the arc in a victory over UNLV earlier this season.
He is an elite scorer as the ball-handler in pick and roll sets and although we only got to see one game from him during March Madness, he gave us plenty of reason to believe in his long-term future as a basketball player.
