A Look at Jamari McDowell
The lowest-rated recruit in this year's class, McDowell has high upside and might see the floor early if Kansas is unable to shore up the bench through the transfer portal
Jamari McDowell looks like a player that we’ve seen Bill Self recruit more recently: an athletic wing who has high upside but is still developing as an all-around player. We’ve seen players that have been successful with this profile (see Ochai Agbaji), but we’ve also seen players struggle to get into the rotation and transfer out (Tristan Enaruna). Listed at 6’4 or 6’5 depending on the site you’re looking at, McDowell is also listed at 180 pounds. While some sites list him as a wing, he’s not a player who could defend at the four position at this point in time. McDowell seems like the type of player who could probably benefit a year watching and hitting the weight room in order to build up his body but might be able to make an instant impact with his shooting ability off the bench.
What They’re Saying
McDowell has a composite rating of .9513 and is the 101st rated recruit on 247Sports. He’s the lowest-rated member of this recruiting class, but has slowly been rising up recruiting rankings over the last year. Part of this could be due to his commitment to Kansas, but most evaluators seem to agree that there are attributes that could lead to success at a high level.
“Kansas is getting a hard nose high energy dawg that is an all-around hooper added to the team.” - Interview with On3
It appears that Self is recruiting players with toughness as trait they identify in themselves. The positive is that the tape has backed up the idea that McDowell is high energy. Interestingly enough, some evaluators have indicated that McDowell could turn into a player like Ochai Agbaji or Christian Braun, and Self said the same on national signing day:
“Jamari is the best shooter of the three. He can make a shot with range. At 6’4”, he’s got great size for his skillset and is a guy that I kind of see like as an Ochai (Agbaji) that you can throw lobs to and he’s a terrific three-point shooter.” - Bill Self
Self identifying him as the best shooter of the commitments does lead me to think he could have a spot in the first couple of years, but right now that depends on who the coaching staff is able to pull out of the transfer portal. If they pull out two wings, McDowell’s initial impact might be limited. It sounds like Harrison Ingram has become a priority for the staff which fills one spot, but the roster lacks wing depth heading into next season. McDowell could see minutes out of necessity.
McDowell is long and athletic with a solid frame that is only going to continue filling out. He runs and jumps with ease, covers the court, and gets well above the rim. While more wing than true guard right now, there is a skill-set that is clearly developing. Defensively, there’s clear tools with his length, size, effortless mobility, and a generally high motor. - Evaluation on 247Sports
The 247Spots evaluation is probably the most honest when explaining that the tools are there, but they aren’t as refined as you would normally see from a player ready to make a significant impact on a team with the expectations Kansas is going to have next year. They outline his athleticism, his motor, and his size as traits while saying he needs to work on his skills. There are worse places to develop skills than Kansas. The hope is that McDowell is able to develop these in practice and then step in when he’s ready. With the transfer portal, it will be interesting to see how Self and the rest of the staff handle the development of players when the opportunity to grab some of the best upperclassmen out of the portal will always be an option. Watching how this is balanced over the next few years is something that both scares me and gives me hope because Self is constantly adjusting with the game. McDowell could be a litmus test to determine how this new era will go for Kansas.
Breaking Down the Stats (Junior Season)
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to track down McDowell’s shooting information, which would have helped to validate Self’s statement that he’s the best shooting commitment. What you can see from the stats is a player who impacts the game on both ends. He scores, rebounds, assists, and steals the ball at impressive rates especially for a player who competed in the second highest classification in Texas. This highlights exactly what Self and the staff see in McDowell. The steals might be inflated due to his team applying full-court pressure while playing against teams that the tape indicates are overwhelmed by McDowell’s team’s athleticism. That being said, McDowell does take advantage of poor passes from opponents, quickly jumping in passing lanes to create transition opportunities. His rebounding number is probably due to his athleticism while playing against players that can’t match it. The assists number is also due to his athleticism and ability to get to the lane against players that can’t match up against him. This could change in college, which could limit his effectiveness getting to the basket and put more value on his shooting ability.
Breaking Down the Video
McDowell is obviously a player who will gladly push the ball in transition. When he has a chance to throw down a dunk, he’s going to take it. His team does get quite a few transition opportunities, which he helps to create by jumping into passing lanes when opponents make poor decisions. McDowell is a high-flyer who has supreme athleticism compared to his high school peers, but he isn’t a strong player at this point. He plays hard and with an edge, but you rarely see him bullying or bodying an opponent in his high school tape. He doesn’t finish through contact often when he drives, using Euro-steps or quickness to create open looks. That’s not a knock on his skills at all, just an observation that may create an adjustment period in getting to the rim until he adds some strength. The clips below help highlight his high motor and athleticism in transition. If Kansas remains one of the top transition teams in the country, McDowell could be fun to watch in the same way a former Jayhawk was.
Self said that McDowell was the best shooter in this recruiting class, and it’s easy to see why in these clips. His release is very quick, not as quick as Gradey Dick’s, but it still loads faster than Braun’s did. It’s not quite as pure as what Agbaji’s was, but it is consistent. In the two clips below, you can get an idea of how quickly he can get a shot off. Coming off of a dribble, McDowell leverages the space given to him by the screener’s defender taking an extra dribble to help square up to the basket and get a foot closer. While that might not seem like much, with the “Curry effect” (also known as the “Caitlin Clark effect”), it’s more common to see players get one dribble off of a screen and pull up. McDowell, reading that the defender took a step back instead of immediately hedging or attacking off the screen, took the extra time and space to set up his shot. It shows that he can read the floor well coming off of a ball screen and is still able to hit the shot with a man closing out. In the second clip, McDowell has a quick catch-and-shoot that we saw more with Dick this year. He does drop the ball slightly to load it, but it still comes out of his hands pretty quickly. In general, it feels like his shooting could be an asset to a team that needs to stretch the floor. McDowell’s ability to get a shot off quickly and consistently provides an opportunity to see the floor in offensive situations at the end of games or halves where stretching the floor would be necessary.
Former Jayhawk Comparison
Personally, I think the Agbaji and Braun comparisons could work, but he actually reminds me of a different recent Kansas wing: Lagerald Vick. Known for his electrifying dunks, ability to shoot 3s, and sometimes grumpy demeanor, Vick took a year or two to find his role within the team. His off-the-court issues are probably why he’s not mentioned alongside most Kansas players who were part of a Final Four team. McDowell and Vick both have other-worldly athleticism compared to their peers, though that could change for McDowell once he’s playing Division 1 basketball players on a nightly basis. Vick’s athleticism stood out in transition, and after looking at the tape, McDowell appears to have a slightly lower level of bounce but is still dynamic. He shoots better off of the dribble than Vick did and has a little more creativity. His release is also quicker, which will help him coming off of screens with less space than he’s experienced in college. McDowell appears to trust his handle more than Vick ever did, though Vick started to expand this a little more his senior season.
It will be interesting to see if he can find a role in his first couple of seasons at Kansas or if he’ll have to wait similar to Vick’s experience. In the past, if a player didn’t get minutes his first two years, it was easy for Self to sell them future minutes. With the transfer portal, we may see more players leave after a single season to seek immediate playing time. McDowell seems like he could be a really useful piece due to his shooting, even if he doesn’t play starter minutes over the next two years. While Self compared him to Agbaji, McDowell’s build and personality reminded me more of Vick. If he can provide the same level of shooting and excitement in transition, McDowell could be a fun piece to watch over his time at Kansas.