Greyhounds: Ayton as good as advertised

PORTALES — Standing at an imposing 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds, then-University of Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton sure looked the part of star to Eastern New Mexico men’s basketball onlookers, who had to face the highly-touted McDonald’s All-American in a preseason exhibition game last November in Tucson.

In the Wildcats’ matchup against the Division II Greyhounds, Ayton had 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes of a 91-63 win.

Ayton, the Pac-12’s Player of the Year and a consensus First Team All-American for 2017-18, expects to be selected No. 1 overall by the Phoenix Suns in tonight’s NBA Draft in Brooklyn, and most prognosticators don’t think he’s wrong.

“His game is unbelievable and you don’t really appreciate how big and skilled he is until you see him in person,” Greyhounds coach Tres Segler said. “I stepped out of the locker room before the game, earlier than usual, and watched him warm up. My first thought was, ‘He’s the No. 1 overall pick.’ It’s incredible how precise his post move is with both hands.”

The Wildcats’ big man was expected to be one of the top prospects even before last season began, and he did not disappoint. Ayton finished the ‘17-18 season with 20.1 points and 11.6 boards per game, and drew comparisons to David Robinson and Anthony Davis from ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams.

Two ‘Hounds, then-junior Arcaim Lallemand and then-sophomore Isaac Maldonado, were tasked with guarding the big man. Lallemand (6-6, 200) and Maldonado (6-7, 200), two of the biggest Greyhounds, were still at a significant size disadvantage.

Lallemand guarded Ayton most of the game, and could certainly see the freshman’s skills at different times.

“He used his size a lot, and us as an undersized team at the time, we made up for that with our athleticism,” Lallemand explained. “When we would play, it seemed a lot like we could kind of get him to be less aggressive when it came to scoring, by jumping at contested shots. Against me, he had to use pump fakes a lot, which was kind of annoying, playing a guy that’s 7-foot-2.”

Lallemand said that the biggest thing with Ayton and his Arizona teammates was not getting certain calls that they’re typically used to getting. For Lallemand, he believes that kind of got into Ayton’s head early in the game.

“They were kind of used to getting certain calls, when it came to contact. That was something he kind of struggled with — he would kind of complain to the ref or his coach like, ‘That should be a foul.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not gonna back down and neither are you. So, you’re just gonna have to keep playing through it.’”

Eventually, Lallemand said that Ayton settled down, and it was pretty much over for ENMU. Arizona’s 47-31 halftime lead nearly doubled when it was all said and done — not a huge shock, as Arizona was ranked No. 3 in the preseason.

Segler, who attended the University of Texas and was an assistant there from 2003-09, had the opportunity to coach numerous NBA players, including San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge and reigning NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant.

While Durant may be on a whole different level, Segler feels Ayton stacks up with Aldridge. According to Segler, Aldridge was a player that vastly improved his shooting range through his time at Texas, and that’s played no small part in six All-Star selections.

“Any kind of pick and roll offense in the NBA, if they know you’re strictly an under-the-basket kind of guy, you can scheme for that,” Segler said. “But if (Ayton) can pick and pop and make 18-foot jumpers, you can’t really gameplan for that. Most of the time, he’ll have the advantage.”

Lallemand thought Ayton did show some frustrations on the defensive end when things didn’t go well on the offensive end. Nonetheless, Lallemand and Segler were impressed with Ayton’s skill and his the respect with which he competed.

Segler came away especially impressed with Ayton, and believes he could transcend the NBA.

“Just like (Durant) changed the mold of what a 6-10 athlete can do, DeAndre can do that with centers,” Segler said. “The center position has kind of disappeared in the NBA, but a guy like DeAndre can make it cool again.”