 |
| (Photo Credit: SLAM Philippines) |
Name: Guilmer Dela Torre
Age: 19
School/Team: Arellano Braves
Years of eligibility left: 0 (Graduating)
Committed to: Arellano Chiefs
Height: 5'8"
Position: Combo Guard
Projected Position: Point Guard
Quick Hits
Strengths:
- Speed is fit for the college game
- Has range
- Is skillful
- Already a capable two-way player
- Hard worker
Weaknesses:
- Size limits his upside
- More of a points guard rather than a point guard at this stage of his career
- Shooting form needs work, current one may not work well against bigger, faster defenders
- Needs to be a better leader
No doubt about it, Guilmer Dela Torre has cemented his status as one of the top High School prospects in recent memory. Multiple Mythical Five accolades, practically a lock in the High School All-Star games which SLAM and the NBTC hold. He was able to do all of that with a fiery offensive game, with incredible range. There's no doubt about it, Dela Torre is a Top 5 prospect in his batch.
The question now is, can Guilmer bring his act to the College game? Having committed to the Arellano Chiefs already, he's set to follow the footsteps of guards such as Jio Jalalon and Kent Salado. No matter how you put it, that's a tough act to follow considering how well The Bus Driver (or The Cyclone, whatever floats your boat) and The Conductor have played for the Chiefs.
To answer that, we'll be analyzing four key components of a player's game: Offense, Defense, Physical Tools and Basketball IQ/Intangibles.
Offense
If there's a reason to believe that Dela Torre is Jio Jalalon 2.0, this is it. Dela Torre is easily the second best scorer in the Class of 2017, just behind UAAP Juniors MVP Juan Gomez de Liano. How exactly does he get his points?
He's a scoring guard through and through, using his remarkable speed and fearlessness to get his buckets. Dela Torre can slash to the buckets by outrunning you, capable of finishing through contact despite his small frame. Don't mistake his fearlessness to be something that is completely detrimental to his team. Over the years, Guilmer has learned to control this, since he does play the point guard position after all.
He also has great range, capable of knocking down shots from way out. Possessing this kind of weapon is what makes him so unpredictable as an offensive player, which makes him such a difficult player to guard.
Despite that, there's much work to be done with Guilmer's offense. For one, he has to improve his decision making as a point guard. Right now, he's more scorer than playmaker. His first tendency as a player right now is to get buckets rather than to set-up his teammates. Dela Torre averaged just 2.4 assists in his final year in the NCAA. In the High School level, that's not the best look out there, especially for a player who has no choice but to play as a guard in the collegiate level.
With regards to his shot, Guilmer has a low set point, which makes it easy for defenders to block his shot. Since he needs to have a quicker trigger in college, coaches will have to tweak his form a bit so that results will be better. It's not a matter of him changing his form altogether. Just small screws that have to be fixed.
Defense
It's known that to be a good defender, a player has to have the willingness to defend. If you don't have the effort to shut down opponents, then what's the point? Thankfully, Guilmer happens to be a willing defender.
Even though he carried a heavy offensive load for Arellano, Dela Torre still put a premium on the other side of the floor, doing his best to shut down opposing guards. Do note that he had to try and shut down some of the best guards in the country, such as San Beda's Evan Nelle, Mapua's Rom Junsay, and LSGH's Unique Naboa.
The primary issue with Dela Torre's defense is his size. In college, he'll be going up against far bigger guards, who could very well post him up to oblivion. The challenge for Guilmer is to bulk up so that he'll be able to somehow challenge stronger and bigger guards in college, and for his effort to not waver. After all, that's his biggest strength right now as a defender: his willingness to defend.
Even though he carried a heavy offensive load for Arellano, Dela Torre still put a premium on the other side of the floor, doing his best to shut down opposing guards. Do note that he had to try and shut down some of the best guards in the country, such as San Beda's Evan Nelle, Mapua's Rom Junsay, and LSGH's Unique Naboa.
The primary issue with Dela Torre's defense is his size. In college, he'll be going up against far bigger guards, who could very well post him up to oblivion. The challenge for Guilmer is to bulk up so that he'll be able to somehow challenge stronger and bigger guards in college, and for his effort to not waver. After all, that's his biggest strength right now as a defender: his willingness to defend.
Physical Tools
This is easily the biggest weakness of Dela Torre. As skillful as Guilmer is offensively and as good as a defender that he is, his lack of good physical tools limits his upside as a player.
He stands at just 5'8", which immediately makes him as somewhat of a liability defensively because of the limited number of players he can defend with ease. Offensively, how he plays is more fit for someone who stands at 6 feet tall rather than as someone who's definitely in minion territory.
That doesn't mean that all is lost with regards to Guilmer. After all, he still has his speed to rely on, which makes him a difficult cover for bigger, but slower guards. His body is also a work in progress, as he needs to get stronger and heftier so that he won't get easily pushed around by players in college. Dela Torre's speed can only do so much to cover his lack of length. The least he can do to make things better is for him to gain more muscle. Given his work ethic, that definitely seems possible.
He stands at just 5'8", which immediately makes him as somewhat of a liability defensively because of the limited number of players he can defend with ease. Offensively, how he plays is more fit for someone who stands at 6 feet tall rather than as someone who's definitely in minion territory.
That doesn't mean that all is lost with regards to Guilmer. After all, he still has his speed to rely on, which makes him a difficult cover for bigger, but slower guards. His body is also a work in progress, as he needs to get stronger and heftier so that he won't get easily pushed around by players in college. Dela Torre's speed can only do so much to cover his lack of length. The least he can do to make things better is for him to gain more muscle. Given his work ethic, that definitely seems possible.
Basketball IQ/Intangibles
With regards to his Basketball IQ, coaches have taken note that Guilmer needs to further expand this come the college level. They've taken note of how in the NCAA, most teams run one on one/isolation plays. This mostly benefits guards, and Guilmer happens to be a part of that group. In the Seniors Division and higher levels of basketball, teams follow particular systems already. Dela Torre is going to have to learn to run a system as a point guard, and not rely on isolation alone.
More than anything, Guilmer needs to work on his leadership. He isn't who you would categorize as an incredibly vocal player, as it was running-mate Carlo Abadeza who served as the leader for the Braves during their run together. In the Chiefs, he no longer has Abadeza by his side. He'll likely be expected to be one of the leaders of Arellano in the long run, and he'll have to improve on this aspect to be more effective.
More than anything, Guilmer needs to work on his leadership. He isn't who you would categorize as an incredibly vocal player, as it was running-mate Carlo Abadeza who served as the leader for the Braves during their run together. In the Chiefs, he no longer has Abadeza by his side. He'll likely be expected to be one of the leaders of Arellano in the long run, and he'll have to improve on this aspect to be more effective.
Overall
Physical tools be damned, Dela Torre is someone who's very well ready to make an impact in the collegiate level.
When I say impact, I don't mean that he'll be Rookie of the Year or a Top 10 player in an instant. What Dela Torre will be in his rookie year is a player who will serve as a spark off the bench, providing Arellano a ton of scoring and pesky defense.
Of course, there are things that have to be worked on. His decision making as a point guard has to be improved, some details in his jumpshot need tweaking, and he has to be a better leader. There's plenty to work on with Dela Torre. He's a hard worker, fearless, and is willing to do anything to win basketball games. Right now, he's a spark. In the future, if he's able to work on the various aspects of his game, he'll be a flamethrower who will be worthy enough to be compared to Arellano legend Jio Jalalon.
When I say impact, I don't mean that he'll be Rookie of the Year or a Top 10 player in an instant. What Dela Torre will be in his rookie year is a player who will serve as a spark off the bench, providing Arellano a ton of scoring and pesky defense.
Of course, there are things that have to be worked on. His decision making as a point guard has to be improved, some details in his jumpshot need tweaking, and he has to be a better leader. There's plenty to work on with Dela Torre. He's a hard worker, fearless, and is willing to do anything to win basketball games. Right now, he's a spark. In the future, if he's able to work on the various aspects of his game, he'll be a flamethrower who will be worthy enough to be compared to Arellano legend Jio Jalalon.
Comments
Post a Comment