"He’s exactly what you look for." - NBA Scout

It’s been a big year for the Notre Dame basketball team as they are off to the best start under head coach Mike Brey at 9-0. A big part of the success is due to the fact senior forward VJ Beachem has taken the next step in his game.

The Fort Wayne native declared for the 2016 NBA Draft last April to take advantage of a new rules that allows underclassmen to gain feedback from the NBA during the combine process. Beachem didn’t sign with an agent, so when he decided to return to school in May, it wasn’t a shock at all.

We caught up with an NBA scout and he agreed with Beachem’s move last spring.  

“I’ll always agree with a kid’s decision to test the waters to get some feedback from The League,” the scout told Irish Sports Daily. “More feedback is better than no feedback. The stuff he got back was that he needed to toughen up a little bit and that he needed to work on his defense.”

Through nine games in 2016-2017, Beachem is averaging 16.8 point, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, which is up from his per game averages from a year ago of 12.0 points, 3.9 rebound and 0.8 assists.

“He gets a lot of open looks at the three-point line,” the scout said. “I’d like him attack the basket more, but overall, VJ’s flip between two-pointers and three-pointers is pretty even. Coach Brey knows how to get the most out of a player and he’s doing a great job with VJ.”

On the defensive end, Beachem’s growth might not be on display until the ACC schedule or March, as Brey doesn’t need his 6-foot-8 senior to lock down an opponent’s number one player.

“I think the defense is more of a system thing,” explained the NBA scout. “You kind of look at Klay Thompson when he came out and his biggest knock was that he was soft and he didn’t play defense. That’s because his coach didn’t require him to play defense. Now, he is one of the top defenders in the league.

“VJ has the length and the physical ability to be a good defender. He will never get the number one assignment, because Coach Brey relies on him for offense. Notre Dame has Rex Pflueger and Steve Vasturia to play defense and that allows VJ to use more energy on the offensive end.” 

While the season is still very young, Beachem’s hot start is confirming what NBA scouts saw last season.

“I have talked to a lot of other scouts and we like him a lot,” stated the scout. “A scout from the Knicks and I were talking last year about Demetrius Jackson and he said ‘You know who you should be really looking at on that team is VJ Beachem.’

“He brought that up on his own, so it’s kind of interesting. He’s been on the radar and is on the radar for many NBA teams. NBA teams know who VJ Beachem. He’s a 6-foot-8 kid that can shoot the hell out of the ball and can explode to the basket when he wants to.”

Right now, Beachem is a fringe late first round to second round selection with ACC play and big games against Villanova and Purdue on the horizon.

“As we speak, DraftExpress.com has him in the second round and I don’t think that’s a far stretch,” said the scout. “He’s 6-foot-8 and he has a 6-foot-9 to 6-foot-10 wingspan. He’s an elite shooter and he has a good shooting motion. It’s a little heavy on the wrist, but besides that, his motion is smooth and clean. He’s a prototypical wing for the NBA. He’s exactly what you look for.”

Speaking of those big games, the scout doesn’t feel Beachem needs to have ‘huge’ performances against the elite teams, but it will help. Beachem and Notre Dame will have the nation’s attention this weekend, as the Irish play No. 1 ranked Villanova on Saturday at noon.

“I don’t think one big game is imperative, but he needs to do well at the same time,” explained the scout. “I think a really important thing teams take into consideration when evaluating a guy is level of competition. That’s why it’s hard to scout guys at Mid-Major conferences until they go up against elite players.

“It’s fairly important he does well against good teams, but it’s not essential. He can have one or two bad games, but it’s obviously better for him if he does well against the elite teams.”  

The NBA scout sees a Beachem in the mold as a former ACC player, one that can shoot it lights out and also has the ability to attack the rim when he wants to.

“I think a free-falling system like something Fred Hoiberg or Mike D’Antoni use fits VJ,” said the NBA scout. “The guy in the corner is going to get a lot of open looks. I think VJ causes a lot of matchup issues in college with his height and ability to shoot.

“He can be someone like Danny Green. They are very similar. They can make a lot happen on the outside, but have deceptive athleticism. VJ is a good slasher, but he’s going to be playing the 3 in the NBA, so he doesn’t need to dribble much, but he can add the ability to put the ball on the floor as his career progresses.”