What to expect from Mikey Williams and JJ Taylor in Tiger blue

“Mikey Williams is coming for the league.”

“Mikey Williams is the best 14-year-old basketball player in the world.”

“The shot, the handle, the length and athleticism … with how he’s (JJ Taylor) playing right now, at this age, he’s one of the best all-around talents I’ve ever coached.”

These are just some quotes on two of the most hyped prospects in the 2023 class: Mikey Williams and JJ Taylor. Both were ranked in the top 10 with Mikey as high as the top prospect in the class and JJ as high as 4th. However, looking at the current 24/7 composite rankings, both players have fallen drastically. Mikey ranks 26th. JJ is 70th. While there’s no denying their talent, and high school rankings don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, seeing such a major change is concerning.

Regardless, Mikey is one of the best guards in his class. He possesses an elite combination of playmaking, ball handling, and scoring. JJ compliments Mikey perfectly. The Chicago native can put up 30 on any given night and in a variety of ways. Both players on the same court is must see basketball and a constant highlight reel waiting to happen. With these two great players hooping in San Ysidro, CA, just 30 minutes from my home in San Diego, I had to see them for myself to get a better understanding of their skills, class ranking, and what they will bring to Memphis.

Friday, February 10 was Senior Night for the San Ysidro Cougars. Up to this point, the Cougars were 17-11 and 2nd in their conference with a 9-2 record. The stadium was ripe with anticipation for a matchup against the Montgomery Aztecs, 1st in the conference at 11-0. Though a regular season conference title wasn’t up for grabs, this was a pivotal game entering the playoffs. Everybody was excited to see what Mikey and JJ would do.

After a hard-fought game where San Ysidro led by as many as 17 points, the Cougars escaped with a 65-63 win. Keyword: escaped. Though there was a lot of good that led to the 17-point advantage, there was a lot of bad that caused that lead to evaporate. Let’s start with the good.

The Good

The best moments of the game were centered around Mikey and JJ’s dynamic two-man game. Their high pick-and-roll with Mikey as the ball handler and JJ as the screener was impossible to defend. If Montgomery didn’t trap Mikey coming off the screen, he’d have free reign to attack the basket. If Montgomery trapped Mikey, he’d find JJ on the short roll allowing JJ to either go to the rim or kick out to an open shooter when help comes.

Credit to him for making the right read in the short roll as well. JJ is definitely not a natural passer. But he made the right decision when choosing to find the open man or use his athleticism and go to the rim. Though Montgomery had nobody over 6’5, scoring in the paint looked incredibly easy for JJ. He has really nice touch around the basket and in the mid-range hitting some nice turn-around jumpers. Though each of his 26 points came on two pointers, barely any of his shot attempts seemed forced. He took advantage of what the defense gave him in transition and in the half-court.

For Mikey, he’s always been a gifted scorer and reminds me of Damian Lillard. He currently averages 24.4 points per game. But his poise and command as a point guard truly impressed me. Mikey was playing chess, while everyone else was playing checkers. Each time he brought the ball down the court, there was a sense of calm confidence he brought to the offense.

He was always 2-3 steps ahead of the defense knowing how to utilize his ball-handling to wiggle through traps in the backcourt or his athleticism to blow by lone defenders who pressed him. Montgomery realized pressing Mikey was a bad idea. Once the Aztecs laid off, Mikey would calmly bring the ball up and immediately get the offense running even pointing at teammates telling them where to go and what to do. Defensively, he showed enough effort to move his feet and had active hands to get steals. Though Mikey only finished with 8 points – more on that later, he also had 12 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. Mikey has all the tools to stuff the stat sheet at the next level.

The Bad

Let’s continue with Mikey. As mentioned before, he only had 8 points. That alone wasn’t the issue. Montgomery trapped Mikey 85% of the time and forced him to give up the ball. He only took around 7 shots the entire game, but the issue was his lack of activity off-ball. There were too many possessions that ended with someone other than JJ or Mikey taking the shot, which helped Montgomery get back into the game. I was hoping Mikey would either run to the ball to get it back, move off-ball to get open, or even set screens. But neither happened as he embodied all the bad aspects of James Harden’s game, while not showing enough of the good.

For JJ, I’ll put it bluntly. The good didn’t outweigh the bad Friday night. Javonte Taylor was horrible defensively. For context, he’s by far the tallest player for San Ysidro and was tasked with defending the rim. On the first possession of the game, he got caught ball-watching and let his man slip to the rim for a simple lay-up. I thought to myself, “Oh, it’s early. He’ll lock in.” Nope.

Regarding his interior defense, while he had 4 blocks and 11 rebounds, that was only because of his height. He should’ve had 7 blocks and 15 rebounds if he just pushed himself. However, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt in that he won’t be asked to play center and defend the rim for Memphis. He doesn’t get a pass on his perimeter defense, though.

His perimeter defense has to improve to be able to defend at the next level, and it starts with effort. The level of competition not being high was a blessing because if JJ defends like that for Memphis, it will be tough to rely on him in the game.

What to expect in Memphis

Mikey will bring improved playmaking, elite scoring, pure athleticism, and solid defensive effort. Is he the second coming of Derrick Rose? No. But losing Kendric Davis and Alex Lomax means that Mikey will get the keys to the offense from first day, and that should excite the city.

JJ Taylor is as fluid an athlete and as talented a scorer compared to anyone in the 2023 class. Once he gets a step on his defender, it’s over. His finishing ability and touch around the rim are too good. If he can add a good mid-range game and solid three-point shooting, and you’ll get someone who should average 18+ points per game next season. The defense is a concern and if JJ doesn’t heavily improve defensively, he may not have a chance to show off his scoring prowess.

Entering Memphis, both Mikey and JJ should have massive chips on their shoulder. For two high-profile high school athletes to drop in rankings so dramatically, they must enter college looking to prove doubters wrong. Perhaps the change in competition level, moving from a high school basketball program to a high-level college program, and the addition of other talented players next to them will help with their progression as hoopers. The sky’s the limit, but there is a lot of work needed to reach their potential. If they come close to it at Memphis, then next season will be one to remember.