This was not one of his better games, but make no mistake Hale is definitely one for mids and high majors to keep an eye on. Brownsburg was physical with him today, and it was tough to get the ball in to him. Hale is very long and a good athlete. He runs the floor hard and play at the rim. What he didn’t show today was a game facing the basket, but he has it.
Hale can face and drive, has range to 15′ consistently, and can take contact and finish. While Brownsburg’s Julian Mavunga got into foul trouble, only one was a foul in a defensive situation involving Hale. Two were loose ball situations, and one came while trying to take a charge.
Defensively, Hale is a shot blocker, and while he struggles a little away from the basket, it’s pretty easy to see he will have the lateral quickness to eventually guard a perimeter PF.
I heard a couple of non-partisan people today commenting they were disappointed in his overall skill set. It’s there. He played vs. two 6’8″ D1 players today who are two years older. He competed but just didn’t get enough touches to be very productive.
Hale is a good one for sure.
