My first experience watching Tommy Chatman was at the Breakdown Fall League last year, in a game against East Ridge that went down to the wire. Chatman was on fire the whole game, hitting plenty of mid-range jumpers and was exceptional in finishing around the basket. As I was new to Minnesota hoops, I had momentarily confused him with Division 1 commit Jarius Cook, because he looked the part of a Division 1 caliber player. Capping off his performance, Tommy hit the game winning layup at the buzzer to defeat a talented East Ridge squad by 1 point. (Tommy's highlights from that game linked here.)
Fast forward 10 months, and Tommy is entering his senior season with high hopes of bringing home a state title to Park Center. Watching him at the Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo recently, it was easy to see how much more polished and improved Tommy was as a player. One thing that really stood out was his increased athleticism. He was showing the ability to dunk with ease, throwing down some nice dunks in transition, including a high flying alley oop. The added explosiveness will make him an even more dangerous scorer, as he will be able to finish at the rim around taller defenders more easily.
Also noticeable was Tommy's court vision and passing. In the past I had pictured him more as a scoring 2-guard, but he's now looking the part of a point guard with his ability to distribute the ball for easy looks to his teammates. Multiple times he was able to launch a long outlet pass to a streaking teammate for a transition layup. In the half court he showed great vision and patience on his drives, drawing in help defense and quickly dishing the ball for an open look. It was hard to overlook the hints of flashiness he put on some of his passes as well, drawing off defenders with his eyes before dropping some sweet no-look dimes.
As a scorer, Tommy looked just as dangerous as I have seen him in the past, but seems to have added a few go-to moves off the drive. Most noticeable was his spin move. Particularly in his fourth game, he was able to earn a few easy looks with a nice spin off the dribble drive. He was good at reading the defenders body to feel where the open space to turn would be, and although he missed a few easy chances off the move, it will prove to be very effective come the high school season. Another move he commonly utilized was a hop-step into the lane. Tommy was great at splitting two defenders with this move, where he then showed off a soft teardrop finish in the lane. His highlight video from the expo will be linked at the end of the article.
Over the past year, Tommy has proved to be a high caliber Division 2 prospect, earning offers from a number of quality programs including Northern State, Winona State, Concordia St. Paul, and a handful of others. I have Tommy ranked as the #15 player in the state for the class of 2019, though his ranking should rise when I update them prior to the beginning of the high school season. He has seen solid Division 1 interest, and if he can put together a strong senior campaign, he could be one of those Ryan Larson type of players who sees a few Division 1 offers late into his senior year.
2017-18 Stats: 11 ppg
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