Underrated Player Report: Jimmie Orange, West Monroe
It’s not easy for a basketball player to stand out at a football school like West Monroe, which makes Jimmie Orange even more impressive. The Rebels have what might be the best lefty in northeast Louisiana and someone that I…
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Continue ReadingIt’s not easy for a basketball player to stand out at a football school like West Monroe, which makes Jimmie Orange even more impressive. The Rebels have what might be the best lefty in northeast Louisiana and someone that I think colleges should give a look. Here’s why this senior could be a hidden gem for some program out there:
- I saw him in the Don Redden Memorial Classic a few weeks ago and he was deadly from 3-point range. He had hit three of them in the first 2 minutes, 40 seconds of the first quarter and made one more that was easily college range before the end of the quarter. He hits from the corner, the wing and the top of the key. Combine that with his quickness and West Monroe’s dedication to keep the ball in his hands and it makes him brutally difficult to defend unless you have one guy good enough to shadow him all game. (Most teams probably don’t.)
- I grade him as a pretty good passer, too. He’s going to be on target pretty much every time and he flashed the ability to get creative with his passes, taking inventive angles to get the ball to the corner, for example, to start the offense.
- I may have been most impressed by his composure against Rayville: the Hornets love nothing more than to press and throw bodies all over the place, which is why Rayville games almost always end up in the 80s or higher – they’re constantly turning you over and creating easy buckets. Orange was not phased by Rayville’s pressure at all, always seemingly under control when handling the ball.
- I host a radio show here in Monroe/Ruston, The Morning Drive on ESPN 97.7, and we had West Monroe coach Kyle Hill on the show recently. I asked him about Orange and he said he’s, “a real floor general for us,” that will take the open shot when it’s there. Hill also said, “the best part of his game is he’s a willing defender. Most of the time he defends the opponent’s best guard.” I concur with that: I like his on-ball defense, particularly. I did see him make a questionable off-ball decision or two throughout the Redden, but that’s the only negative mark I had on his report and even that was exceedingly rare.
Final takeaway: College coaching staffs know more about the game/transitioning from high school to college than I do, but I think the institution as a whole would be foolish to not give this kid a shot. He has all aspects of the game – ball handling, shooting, willingness to defend, passing and temperament – required to transition well to the college game. Even if he needs a little bit of time to transition to the speed of the college game, the potential for a well-rounded product at the end should be worth the roster spot.