Scouting the Opposition: Is Jonas Tibayan ready for the college game?

(Photo Credit: FIBA)

Basic Information
Name: Jonas Tibayan
Age: 18
School/Team: CKSC Blue Dragons
Years of eligibility left: 0 (Graduating) 
Committed to: NU Bulldogs
Height: 6'3"
Position: Power Forward
Projected Position: Combo Forward

Quick Hits

Strengths:
- Strong body
- High Basketball IQ
- Very coachable
- Is a great team player

Weaknesses:
- Limited upside
- Still relatively raw
- No clear position yet in collegiate basketball

Only a select few people are given the opportunity to play for the National Youth Team. It's a honor anyone would grab in an instant. To be named a Batang Gilas standout is something special.

But to be named a Gilas Cadet member at the tender age of 17? It's something else. At first glance, it means that you're a player who's more than ready to make it to the big leagues. You're not just expected to do well in the collegiate level. Some expect you to go ahead and dominate in an instant.

Jonas Tibayan happens to be a High School standout who was named in the Gilas Cadets team that played in the SEABA Cup last year. He wasn't able to receive much minutes in that tourney, but the very fact that he was named in the team, as a 17 year old prospect nonetheless, is an impressive feat in itself.

But, is Jonas really as ready for the college game as his accolades suggest? To answer that, we'll be analyzing four key components of a player's game: Offense, Defense, Physical Tools and Basketball IQ/Intangibles. 

Offense

Among all the components of Jonas' game, this is probably his biggest weaknesses. There are two factors which contribute to this: His lack of size and the skill set which matches the physical tools which he has.

Jonas is 6'3", and that's probably being very generous to him. Ideally, the position that you should be playing offensively with that kind of height is as a wing player. The bare minimum is to have decent enough handles for you to be able to penetrate down low (just look at Thirdy Ravena). Having a good shooting stroke only helps your cause.

Sadly for Jonas, he has neither of those skills mastered just yet. The Chiang Kai Shek standout played as a big man for most of his High School career, either playing as a small ball center or his natural position, the power forward position. He plays as an old school power forward, which means that he gets most of his baskets from the inside with the use of his strong frame. His jumper doesn't look too good, even though he would attempt some during his time with the Blue Dragons. He's a bruiser through and through.

Sadly, that's not how fours are expected to play today. And even if Jonas opted to play as a forward in College, he wouldn't excel as much as people want him to since he's too undersized. He'll be serviceable offensively somehow, but not for extended minutes.

That doesn't mean that there isn't any hope. He has two possible routes which he can go to: completely revamp his game and turn himself to a full-fledged wing...

... or go the Draymond Green route. It's a heck of a difficult route, but given Jonas' defensive intensity (more on that later) and IQ, it could happen.

Defense

Remember the Batang Gilas U16 team that played during 2015 and beat China in the process? Jonas played excellently behind SJ Belangel, Jason Credo and Gian Mamuyac, scoring 7 points along with 5 rebounds and 5 STEALS. But let's not stick too much with the stats. Let's discuss how he got to that point in the first place.

Before tip-off, one of the Chinese players looked at Jonas, then told one of his teammates in their native tongue something along the lines of "Sino tong skwater na 'to?" then proceeded to laugh afterward. What this Chinese player didn't know was that Jonas studies in Chiang Kai Shek, a CHINESE school. That means somehow, Jonas understands Chinese given his educational background. Obviously, this ticked Tibayan off. He was pumped up, and proceeded to play the game of his life against the formerly unbeatable Chinese squad. Mamuyac managed to score a ton, but Tibayan's amazing defensive stand may have been the key for that Batang Gilas team.

Jonas is a good defender, who utilizes mostly his smarts to be able to shut down opposing offenses. His body is strong enough for him to take hits from bigger players, and he has relatively quick feet so that he can stretch his defense to the perimeter.

Can this translate to the college game? With regards to playing imports one on one, don't bet on it. He's too small for that. He won't be shutting down guards as well from the perimeter. His feet aren't quick enough. What he can be is a solid anchor who plays great help defense, boxes out like crazy for rebounds, and uses his high IQ to try and steal the ball from bigs who post him up.

Physical Tools

His offensive game is something that can be fixed, but unless Cherifer or Growee manages to produce something that will turn Tibayan into a 6'8" beast, his physical tools are going to be his biggest weakness for his career. 

For the position that he's playing right now and his projected position, he's going to be deemed as a player who's too short. He has a decent wingspan, but he doesn't have the height and the athleticism for him to be dominant. He has a strong body, but he lacks the length to be a huge threat against opposing foreign student athletes. 

There's not much to say, to be honest, with regards to his physical tools. They're okay, sure, but they're a weakness for sure. His offensive game can at least by developed, but things like his height and his length can no longer be fixed. He can get faster, he can get stronger, but there are limits to what he can do. 

Basketball IQ/Intangibles

If there's something which should leave fans hopeful with regards to Jonas' chances at turning into a big time player, it's this: He's an incredibly smart basketball player.

You will rarely see Tibayan take bad shots. He makes great decisions with the basketball during the limited time that he holds it, and off the ball, Jonas knows how to position himself for easy baskets. If he won't be getting himself points, you'll see him setting screens for his teammates, or even acting as a simple decoy to give others open looks. In terms of his IQ offensively, he's a coach's dream.

Defensively, he's a really smart player as well. Jonas knows when to make the correct rotations, and rarely will you see him go for risky swipes at the ball when defending someone one on one. When a teammate gets beat one on one, he'll make the correct recovery, enough for the offense to be stifled.

 

At the same time, Jonas is very coachable. He's open to receiving criticism from his coaches and is obedient in following instructions. For all his issues with his physical tools and offensive game, his IQ and overall effort is surely enough for a coach to consider giving Jonas minutes.

Overall

At worst, Jonas will be a decent enough role player. He'll be a Nick Collison kind of guy for NU. Sets good screens, hustles for the ball, but he doesn't get heavy minutes.

At best, Draymond Green. This is a heck of a dream. Achieving this will require a ton of work on his offensive game, and his speed and athleticism have to improve somehow.

If there's a reason to be hopeful regarding Jonas, it's that he's an incredibly smart basketball player. Having that IQ does wonders for a player. The challenge for him is finding a way to fuse his high IQ with a solid skillset offensively. 

Is he ready for the college game? Honestly, not yet, if we're hoping that he'll be an instant impact player who will win Rookie of the Year. He still has a lot of holes in his game, and Jonas still has to transition his game to the perimeter. But he has a high IQ and his incredibly hardworking. If everything falls into place, Jonas Tibayan could very well become an impact player for the NU Bulldogs in two years time.