Memphis assistant coach dishes on what Heat rookie Achiuwa could become
What could Precious Achiuwa evolve into one day when the rim-protecting, glass-cleaning, double-double-producing rookie emerges from the Heat’s world-class development program?
Memphis Tigers assistant coach Cody Toppert has an idea:
“Jerami Grant meets Bam.”
In other words, a combination of Bam Adebayo’s ball-handling and versatility and rebounding and ability to defend every position (all very good for a man his size) with a splash of Denver power forward Grant’s evolved offensive game (38.9 percent shooting on three-pointers).
Toppert says the floor for Achiuwa (the absolute worst realistic scenario in Toppert’s opinion) would be Achiuwa filling a sixth man role in his NBA career.
The ceiling? “All-Star.”
And what’s most likely? “Starter on a contender.”
Toppert’s projections are based on observing Achiuwa — and working with him every day during a season when he led all college basketball freshmen in double-doubles with 18.
“In today’s NBA, he fits,” Toppert told me. “He’s a round peg in a round hole. He has length, agility, sheer size [6-9]. His second jump may be better than his first jump. He has elite athleticism.”
Toppert said Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn called the Memphis coaching staff to pick its brain about Achiuwa the day after Miami drafted him.
“What Chris liked about the film was we used him a little as a Bam,” Toppert said. “The interesting thing is he and Bam could play together. Precious started at our ‘quote unquote’ four [power forward] and slid to ‘quote unquote’ five [center]. But positions one through four are interchangeable.”
Toppert’s breakdown of Achiuwa’s game:
▪ Defensively: “He can guard five positions. To get our win against Houston last season, he switched on a point guard, defended him well. His agility comes from his background playing soccer. He does a great job forcing difficult shots. He’s a tremendous weak-side rotating defender.
“He has incredible instincts when he needs to rotate, and he protects the rim. He helps them on the defensive glass immediately as well. If you are in a switch situation [players switching the players they’re guarding], his sheer physical strength will allow him to [thrive] down low.”
▪ Offensively: Though his three-point shooting remains in the developmental stages (13 for 40 last season, 32.5 percent), Toppert said he “has the upside to be a 36 to 38 percent spot up three-point shooter in the NBA. He’s made some fundamental mechanical adjustments to increase his efficiency beyond the arc.”
Those changes involved his hips, as opposed to his release.
Toppert said when Achiuwa arrived at Memphis, he took 100 unguarded three-pointers a day and could make 50. Now he’s above 60.
He doesn’t have much of a midrange game — which isn’t in vogue in the NBA today anyway — but “he finds opportune times to cut and does damage on cuts to the basket, with elite athletic finishes, catching [lobs] and finishing. He’s quite a good left-handed finisher. He has a nice floater. He can finish through contact.
“He’s not a post player, not a back-to-the-basket player. But Bam never posts up. Precious doesn’t have a hook shot or an up-and-under move, but there was none of that with [Memphis teammate and No. 2 overall Golden State pick] James Wiseman or [Phoenix Suns center and former No. 1 overall pick] De’Andre Ayton, either.”
▪ Other parts of his game: “He’s got a high motor, great offensive rebounder and a nose for the ball. He can get a rebound like Bam and ignite the break. But he has to do it responsibly [he had 87 turnovers, 30 assists last season]. He can screen and roll, attack close-outs.”
But the intoxicating athleticism is only part of the story.
Toppert said Achiuwa’s work ethic is elite.
“I never saw him leave practice right after practice,” Toppert said. “He was here early every day and stayed late every day. He had an agenda of what he wanted to do and made that a reality through sheer hard work. He’s built for the Heat culture.”
And the people skills and leadership were also advanced for a freshman.
“He’s very mature,” Toppert said. “He comes into a room, says hello to everyone and that room becomes more positive when he enters it.”
One snapshot, in particular, still resonates — last Dec. 19, the day Wiseman — the team’s best player — left the Memphis program to focus on preparing for the NBA.
“We had a team meeting that day,” Topper said, “and [we] were talking about roles and Precious pours his heart out, says ‘next man’ up and his words were a real rallying cry for our guys. We won 10 consecutive games [during that stretch].”
Achuiwa made clear Tuesday that he appreciates Toppert and the other Memphis coaches.
At Memphis, “I pretty much had a whole NBA coaching staff in coach Penny Hardaway, [former Heat guard] Mike Miller, Cody Toppert and Darby Rich,” Achuiwa said. “Just being around those guys, I was able to learn a lot from them. We pretty much ran an NBA-style offense.
“Them putting me in positions and situations like that, I felt like helped prepare me for this moment, that first beginning process, instead of just coming in very clueless. I have a foundation just because of those guys. Penny texted me a couple days ago, two days ago, and then just told me about Miami Heat culture. He pretty much told me, ‘Stay consistent.’”
ACHUIWA WEIGHS IN
The Heat rookie addressed several issues in a Zoom session with reporters Tuesday:
▪ Though he hasn’t played in a game since the college season ended prematurely in March, he said that does not “mean I’m not ready to play. I’ve been working out a lot, every day to stay ready for when the moment comes. I don’t see that as going from zero to 50.... I bring a lot of energy to the team. My game is just based around energy.”
▪ Achiuwa has been working out with Tyler Herro since the draft two weeks ago: “Me and Tyler, we connected the night right after I got drafted. We’ve been in communication pretty much the next day. He told me as soon as I got out here, he reached out to me and we’ve just been talking and we wanted to get into the gym. He explained [the Heat terminology] to me and told me what to wear.”
Achuiwa said that after the draft, “I reached out to Jimmy [Butler] and he reached out to me. We talked and he pretty much just said, ‘Hey, welcome. We’re glad to have you. At the end of the day, the goal is winning.’ He emphasized that. For me, I want to win. Winning feels so good, and I respect that. That’s all I’m about. Doing whatever it takes to win basketball games.”
▪ Achiuwa recently posted videos of himself rooting for the Heat during the playoffs. Why was he a Heat supporter long before the team drafted him?
“I love to watch when people play hard, when people play together, when people play to win. That has been Heat basketball. During the playoffs, I watched pretty much almost every game in the bubble, and I watched Heat basketball. I just enjoyed watching when the Heat play. It was winning basketball. Everybody was locked in the moment.
“Everybody had the same goal. It was like all five guys were as if it was just one person. They were so in sync and they understood each other. It was just beautiful basketball to watch. That’s what really made me a fan of Heat basketball during the playoffs.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 3:46 PM.
