UNDR RADAR SPOTLIGHT: JONAH RADEBAUGH MHP RIESEN LUDWIGSBURG 2021-2022

Jan. 8, 2024

Photo Credit: BasketItaly Puntoit

Background:

After a promising second season in Ludwigsburg (including being named to the all-Champions League first team), Jonah Radebaugh has significantly increased his stock and will garner significant interest, especially among teams in the ACB Spain. The former Northern Colorado Bear of American-Montenegrin nationality, a walk-on during his freshman year at Northern Colorado who completed 4 seasons as a Bear, with accolades including first-team All-Big Sky in 2020 and a 3× Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, 2019 & 2020.A Swiss army knife on the court, a modern "combo" guard who can split time at the point guard but also play off the ball as a floor spacer or slasher. High-level motor with 32 minutes per game during the regular season (ranked 1st in the league) and delivering a solid 18.7 PTS per 40 minutes.However, what probably best defines his game are his elite defensive skills.

Defensive Profile:

Elite defender. A combination of lateral quickness and the ability to keep feet "stuck" to the floor using "short-quick-steps" allows him to stay in front of the ball, jump over screens, and pressure the ball in the full court. Combine this with the ability to really use his hands & body well, contesting shots without fouling, hand pressure on the ball, and defense on the pass line (2.4 steals per 40 minutes ranked 5th + 9th ranked in deflections per 40 mins), where he is able to disrupt the offensive team & force turnovers. As a rebounding guard, he is logging 5.5 defensive rebounds per 40 mins, good for 14th best among all league players—all the ingredients of an elite defensive guard.

Offensive Profile:

Playmaking:

Neither strictly a PG or SG, but has plenty to offer in both playmaking, scoring, or floor spacing capacity. Registering 4.6 assists per 40 minutes during the regular season (36th percentile), where most of his damage is done in pick & roll situations, with a solid ability to pass off the bounce with one hand against "lateral helps" or "next" and the ability to "see the floor," pass to the roller or open shooter vs both pressure and drop coverages with good efficiency.Going left in pick & roll is probably where he is best able to generate his own offence, with an effective left-right step-back + strong right-left crossover to put pressure on the basket. Logging only 1.9 turnovers per game (30th percentile) shows good efficiency and basketball IQ in the playmaking arena.

Scoring (with the ball):

He's solid attacking the basket, but perhaps his biggest area of future development here, with a below-average 1.0 on shots inside the arc. His clear strength here is shooting off the dribble, both left and right, able to elevate well over bigger defenders and use the step back well to create separation.

Play without the ball:

When he doesn't have the ball, he's a constant threat as a floor spacer. A highly efficient 1.2 PPS3 (ranked 15th among league players) represents not only his ability to really dial it in from beyond the arc but also efficient shot selection. It's rare you see Jonah force a shot outside of the natural flow of the offense. Understands well change of speed and spaces to cut off ball where he is able to score some easy baskets.

FIGURE 1: Points per shot (PPS) vs league average

Screens:

Jonah is preferably a driver. He isn't the quickest to get his shot off in the off-screen situations and is often forced to put the ball on the floor. If he can add off-screen shooting to his game, it will perhaps take him to another level.

Play types:

Figure 2: Play Types By % (Plays Leading to a Shot)

k-means clustering (grouping algorithm), it's possible to identify current act players who have a similar offensive and defensive profile (using normalized play-types data). Perhaps the closest comparisons include the likes of Erik Quintela, Adam Hanga, or Oriol Pauli, "combo-position" players who are able to impact the game both offensively and defensively, on and off the ball.

Table 1: k-clusters similar profile players ACB Spain

Conclusion:

A player who will be very interesting within Europe's elite leagues and a player who is clearly on the rise. His basketball IQ, defensive ability, and capacity to perform multiple roles offensively make him interesting and a good fit for leagues such as the ACB. An improvement in his mid-range game, finishing from 5-10 feet (floaters, etc.), and ability to shoot better off screens will help take his game to the next level.