Breaking down a Magwood explosion

Thoughts and clips from a 30-plus point game from Auburn signee Kaden Magwood

Auburn basketball had plenty of reasons to celebrate yesterday.

The No. 2 Tigers took down No. 16 Purdue in dominant fashion, leading by as many as 33 points in a 19-point win. Auburn was locked in on both ends of the court, defeating Purdue in just about every way possible — not just in the talent department.

That came after Johni Broome’s injury was deemed much less serious than originally feared, leading to him playing (and dominating) Purdue.

After that, Auburn signee Kaden Magwood scored 36 points and hit a game winner over five-star Arkansas commit Meleek Thomas in an Overtime Elite game.

With the Purdue game speaking for itself, I decided to do a breakdown of Magwood’s big game with a focus on skills that could translate in year one at Auburn, a season when Auburn will be rebuilding most of its roster.

Magwood also did a lot more than hit the game winner, he scored the final eight points for his team, had some impressive assists, and showed out against some SEC level defenders.

Below is a clip, and accompanying thoughts, of almost every field goal Magwood had last night and a few others notable plays, followed by some concluding thoughts.

The Breakdown

First, the favorites… the ones that really stood out.

This was my favorite clip of the game that didn’t come in final minute of the game. Here, Magwood gets a bigger defender on his heels and bullies him to an easy layup. Magwood does a lot of his damage with deep-reaching dribble moves but shows off his ability to breakdown any defender thrown at him here.

Onto the game-winning stretch. Magwood demanded the ball in a point guard role down the stretch and made several good decisions and big shots.

Blows by Thomas and finishes with his offhand.

A lot of guys hit game winners in high school, but Magwood has the confidence and desire necessary to keep doing it.

Skills that will easily translate to the college level

His ability to catch and shoot is probably the safest bet to translate. Magwood sees the court well and moves well without the ball and has a quick shot with a high release point. It’s a skill that’ll be featured no matter how Auburn’s roster shakes out.

Magwood creates a lot of space off the dribble against Thomas here. His dribble moves aren’t quite as deep-reaching as someone like Tahaad Pettiford, but they’re similar, effective, and already working against SEC caliber athletes. He can be a go-to option if needed and he will be at some point in his career.

Magwood constantly pushes in transition, with or without the ball in his hand. I expect we’ll see a faster pace on next year’s team. Not only will Auburn be without Johni Broome, the most consistent halfcoirt threat in college basketball, but Jahki Howard and Tahaad Pettiford are also elite in transition. Also worth noting is the ball placement on this layup, which would have kept any would-be shot blockers away from the ball.

He has a knack for finding good looks early in the shot clock, something some guards have excelled with at Auburn. He’s a confident and capable shooter.

Other plays worth mentioning

Range for days. Even if he doesn't take as many pull up threes in transition, I still expect to see a lot of the same actions that we see to free up Miles Kelly also working for Magwood. Even the plays/actions that won’t be as readily available at Auburn show off his elite and versatile shooting.

Magwood is a true three-level scorer. His quick, high shot lets him get midrange shots off in traffic.

He looks more than comfortable fading away over a bigger defender here.

Plays a step ahead of the defense when it comes to finding and creating his shot.

Magwood shows good awareness here and recovers fast enough to block a three.

His ability to finish through contact and finish off-balance was noticeably improved from last season.

Big fan of the awareness shown on this pass. Magwood knows where his teammate will be and doesn’t hesitate to throw the pass.

Magwood’s passing probably won’t be on par with what Auburn fans are used to seeing from their lead guards, but it will be good enough to play as a change of pace point guard if needed. The same goes for his handle.

Conclusion

At the least, Magwood can be a good catch and shoot specialist in year one at Auburn. Depending on how Auburn’s roster fills out, he can also play some point guard, can be a go to scorer, and can be a secondary facilitator. His versatility makes him valuable on an Auburn team with very little known about next season’s roster.

His catch and shoot ability and isolation scoring is already college ready. Most of his other offensive skills are serviceable enough for him to take on bigger roles and will likely develop into strengths whenever his experience clicks.

This was just my second time watching Magwood in a full OTE game, and the first game I watched him in wasn’t recordable or repayable, so this one carried more value.

OTE isn’t really a league that emphasizes defense, so I don’t think we’ve seen what Magwood is fully capable of on that side. That critique could also be seen as a knock on his competition, but Magwood was going blow-for-blow with a top 10 overall player. So regardless of the totals, the skill set and confidence are there for the Auburn commit.

In this game, it wasn’t like Magwood didn’t face any defense and he didn’t simply find a weak spot in the defense. He just played his game, found ways to break down the defenders in front of him, and was confident on catch and shoot looks. These kind of games are bound to happen with his range, skill, and confidence. They might not be to the same extent in college, but they’ll happen when the opportunities arise, and even more often when the game slows down for him.