I can't say I'm the world's biggest fan of the current state of the transfer portal in college basketball. However, I always enjoy seeing guys who began their career at the NAIA level transferring to division one and continuing to play at a high level. There's a ton of talent at the NAIA level that never gets the chance to play higher level basketball because not all scouts give much attention to those players. Luckily for all of us, the scouting department at Morehead State doesn't fall into that category, because they discovered Riley Minix.
pc: Kadin Ray/The Trailblazer
Minix was next level during his four years at Southeastern Florida. He was good enough to be named an All-American after his junior and senior season. It was in that senior season where he truly showed out, averaging 25.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. This stellar statline was bolstered by fantastic shooting splits: 59% from the field, 37.6% from three, and 80% from the line. You would think numbers like this would land Minix on a high-major division one team for his fifth year, but I guess they just weren't paying enough attention. Instead, he landed at Morehead State of the OVC, and he has been great so far this season for the Eagles.
At 6'7" and 230lbs, Minix is listed as a guard. He does have guard-like traits that you will see if you keep reading this, but I personally would list him as a forward/wing. It is hard to categorize him due to his vast skillset. He's a fantastic post-up player with the strength of a small ball center, but then he'll bring the ball up the court before dishing it out to the open shooter, showing off his ability to be an offensive hub. He can space the floor with his catch-and-shooting abilities from deep, and he's also a fantastic above the rim athletic threat. All in all, he's one of the better off-ball scorers I've seen across college basketball this year.
I want to start off by breaking down his post tendencies. Just from the film I watched I picked up very quickly that he's most comfortable with his back to the basket. His experience allows him to be a fantastic decision maker from this position. He's elite at scoring using his deep bag of post moves, and he's a great kickout passer when the double-team inevitably comes.
I don't think I'll break down every clip separately simply because, for the most part, it's self-explanatory. However, I will say one thing before I lay the rest of the post scoring clips out. Pay attention to the two different tactics he uses depending on the defender. If the defender is bigger than he is, he will always use some sort of spin move or he'll face up and absorb contact. He is very agile for a guy playing like a big. If the defender is smaller than him he overpowers them with a series of bumps. When he does this he doesn't lower his shoulder, I couldn't find one example of Minix being called for a charge in this situation.
Most of the time Minix takes it in for a layup in these situations, but sometimes he'll throw a fadeaway jumper in the mix. This is most common for him when matched up against a bigger defender. The best example I could find of this actually starts when he tries to take the big off the dribble at the perimeter. The defender stays with him, so he gets into his post-up before deciding to go with the fadeaway.
The final layer to his post-up game, and the layer that makes him the most dangerous, is his ability to kick it out. A lot of post players struggle when the double team comes. Whether it's forcing a shot or just turning the ball over, the majority of college bigs struggle with the double team. Minix doesn't have that issue, because he's a fantastic passer out of the post.
Those are two examples I liked. The first one he moves into his scoring motion, but he finds himself under the basket attracting help defense. He actually scoop passes it out to the open shooter. In the second clip he matches up against a smaller opponent, but because the opposing team had already seen him beat this defender in the post they send the extra defender. He knows this is coming, and it looks like he never thinks about going for a shot. Instead, he easily kicks it out to an open shooter. Here's one more example of him doing the same thing.
I want to stay in the paint for a minute. We've gone over Minix's acumen backing down a defender on a post-up, but how else does Minix get his buckets close to the basket? The answer is very evident when you watch him play, he moves off-ball.
Coach Spradlin at Morehead State has done an excellent job involving Minix in actions like the one you just watched. He's a fantastic pick-and-role big, as he's a look a lot of team's aren't used to seeing. I've already mentioned it, but when he plays the four or even the small-ball five he's way more agile than your usual big man. His off-ball movement when he's playing in the frontcourt is deadly, because defenders just can't keep up with him.
Baseline cut looking Mason Plumlee-esque? (Deep cut, I know) Very impressive stuff. Jumping from block to block to avoid the contest with a nice reverse finish is a great example of his guard-like tendencies. He's a very dynamic scorer working off-ball.
First off, I'm not sure if that fake pass did anything, but it was cool right? The finish itself was a tough one over a bigger defender, but what I want to focus on is what got him there. He almost drags his defender to the ball handler on the pick-and-roll, and then he gets deep into the paint for when the excellent entry pass comes his way. Small stuff, but stuff that has allowed him to be a very solid scoring threat. Here's one more pick-and-roll clip against a good Indiana team.
Here are two clips of Minix sealing his defender and getting the ball on the goalside. Not going to break these down too much, but just wanted to show another example of how he creates his shot without the ball in his hands.
Just to make sure I cover all of my bases, here's a clip of Minix getting a bucket with a tough finish off the dribble. I didn't get a ton of clips of him doing this because it's the most ordinary thing he does on offense, but he's very good off the dribble as well. Like his post-up game, he's too big for guards and too quick for bigs.
Before I move into other aspects of his game, I wanted to talk about his mid-range game. I already included one clip of him hitting his fadeaway on a post-up, now I want to highlight his other mid-range tendencies.
First, a very smart clear out to give his guard space and options. The option that was chosen was to give Minix the ball and let him go to work. He once again displays his agility against bigs, going in for what looks like a layup attempt before spinning off into the fadeaway. The defender actually does a decent job of getting the contest up, but Minix is too good of a shot maker for that to matter.
Then you have his floater game, which he doesn't utilize incredibly often, but when he does he's very solid. I included these shots in his mid-range numbers, which is why I'm talking about it now.
Oh, wait! I nearly forgot that he is a very athletic finisher. I have some dunks here for you. Off-ball cuts leading to lob finishes. Slicing through the lane before finishing it. Finally, a one-handed slam with some angst behind it.
The final scoring aspect of his game that I want to go over is his three-point shooting. He's only shooting about 30% from deep this season, but from past splits we know he's a good shooter. He shot around 40% pretty comfortably while he was at Southeastern Florida. He has good mechanics, he takes the right shots, he just needs to find his groove. With all of that being said, I did cherrypick some clips of him shooting the three that impressed me.
I'm not going to break down every clip separately because they are all very similar. He solely operates on catch-and-shoot opportunities, but there's nothing wrong with that. He gets to his spots, sets up quick, and has decent speed on his release. He's solid on the pick-and-pop, in transition, and as a relief option when his teammates run into trouble.
Two traits Minix possesses that aren't necessarily scoring traits that I think will translate to the professional game are his rebounding and vision.
He's a tenacious rebounder, averaging 9.4 boards per game on the season. Over three of those are on the offensive end. His athleticism and strength are massive advantages for him in this department, and his tough shot making abilities immediately translate following the offensive board.
As far as his passing is concerned we already went over his kickout passing in the post. However, what stood out the most to me was his cross-court passing and passing in transition. He has a quick trigger on his cross-court passes from multiple different positions. Sometimes it's from the post, sometimes it's from behind the arc, and it's almost always an overhead pass to keep the ball away from defenders.
His transition passing isn't anything spectacular, a lot of times it's just an extension of his post passing. However, he does push the pace in transition (we will go over this a little more in a minute) a very valuable trait for a forward to have.
And with the seamless transition...let's talk about Minix in transition. I included a rebound put-back in transition in the rebounding section. Now I want to go over Minix scoring in transition. By scoring I mean end to end scoring, not receiving a pass. I showed a clip featuring that talent in the three-point shooting section of him hitting a corner three in transition. Instead, I want you to see how well he moves in transition with the ball in his hands before getting a bucket.
Clips like this, and his passing, and off-ball movement show just how position-less he is. He can score from every level of the floor, he can rebound on both ends, he can defend 2 through 5. Riley Minix really is one of the most dynamic players not only among mid-major players, but among every player in division-one basketball.
I didn't get any clips of Minix on defense, but you'll just have to believe me when I say he's a solid defender. He averages over a block and over a steal per game, and has had multiple games this season with multiple steals and blocks. From the clips shown it should be very evident that he is a very strong and agile defender. He's not necessarily the guy you put on the other team's best player, but he's just as versatile on that end as he is on offense.
The only weaknesses that stood out to me while watching his film were:
Age (Obviously, he's a fifth year grad-transfer)
Turnover prone with too much usage
Eagerness to take mid-range jumper when it's not the best decision on the table
He can't control age, and I actually think that experience has helped him stand out this season. The turnover issue is more of a coaching problem. He's not a point guard, and it's silly to use him as one. He hasn't had a bad turnover game since early in the season, so this issue has gotten significantly better over the course of the season. Finally, his shot selection is fine for the most part, but sometimes he goes into hero mode. He's the top guy, and in certain situations he will take a tough jumper that he shouldn't be taking because he can. That won't be the case at the pro level, so I wouldn't be too worried about it.
As far as Minix as a prospect is concerned, he's hard to evaluate. His age alone will keep him out of the draft and most likely take his name out of contention for being signed on the open market by an NBA team. However, he's talented enough to make a Summer League and G-League roster, and at that point all you have to do is show out, work hard, and earn your shot. If he decides to go the overseas route he will make it easily and succeed. All in all, he's talented enough to play professional basketball, the only question is at what level and where at. I personally like taking chances on NAIA guys, because you won't find players who work harder. For the time being, keep your eyes on Riley Minix and the Morehead State Eagles.
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