[The following scouting report is part of a series on potential 2024 draft prospects from Sports Business Classroom alumni.]

PJ Hall
Frame: 6’10″, 235 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Clemson Tigers
2024 Draft Age: 22
Stats via www.sports-reference.com

Offense

Hall’s biggest offensive strength is his process around the rim. As he has gained more experience throughout his collegiate career, Hall has learned to throw his weight around down low. He often uses his stout lower body to seal off defenders for an entry pass. Hall relies on drop steps and elbows to turn around and get off shots. He uses a soft left hook primarily against players his size and smaller. Hall can finish through contact with his right hand and has excellent touch overall.

Hall tends to struggle against bigger and more athletic defenders around the rim, as his lack of explosiveness vertically shows itself when he cannot rise over defenders and finish. As a result, he is not a great rim runner and is mainly looking to operate out the short roll and find another teammate. Hall made 68.3 percent of 186 shots at the rim while being assisted with 55.1 percent of these shots, according to www.barttorvik.com.

He thrives passing out of the short roll. Hall knows where to deliver a pass and when to thread a needle to a cutting teammate. His ball placement on his passes is sharp, especially when providing an entry pass to an offensive player posting up. Hall averaged 1.4 assists with a 10.8 assist percentage this past season. He has flashed upside operating in dribble handoffs, using his physicality to seal off opposing guard defenders trying to get around him, then handing the ball back to his guard when his man has been sealed off. This plays into his screen setting, where Hall uses his size and strength to set hard screens that make it difficult for defenders to get over or around. 

Hall statistically took a step back from behind the arc in his senior season. After 39.8 percent on 83 attempts in his junior season, that number decreased to 31.5 percent on 165 attempts this year. As the rise in attempts would suggest, Hall was especially trigger-happy this season and almost exclusively shot his attempts off the catch, with 98.1 percent of his makes assisted. He managed to get many open looks through pick and pops, where his screen setting helped create advantages for defenders scrambling to guard the ball handler. Hall’s form is sound mechanically, with a high release and proper ball placement. He could hold his follow-through longer, as he frequently drops his hands immediately. He will need to hit these looks to survive in an NBA rotation. 

Despite the low percentages, he was a solid free throw shooter throughout college, making 78.0 percent of his free throws on 396 total attempts. His mechanics carry over to these shots, suggesting he will be a better shooter at the next level than he showed this year. 

Hall’s touch also expands to the mid-range, as he often relies on push shots and floaters. He opts for these shots when open momentarily, whether because his man is in deep drop or helping on the ball handler, resulting in another defender having to come to tag him. However, when a defender does have enough time or is quick enough to contest the shot attempt, Hall’s lack of explosiveness does stand out again. He shot 43.3 percent on 141 attempts while being assisted on 42.6 percent of these shots.

Defense

Hall’s physicality allows him to be a factor on the defensive glass. His understanding of positioning in the post offensively translates defensively. He throws around his weight and uses his lower body strength to move players around. 4.8 of his 6.4 rebounds per game came on this side of the floor, with a defensive rebounding percentage of 18.0 percent. 

Around the rim, Hall’s timing and IQ allow him to square up on shot attempts and send them back when leaping off two feet, leading to him averaging 1.4 blocks per game, with a 5.6 block percentage. He does struggle when asked to come over from the weak side and make a play, as his aforementioned vertical athleticism hampers him. 

Hall’s capability of guarding in space is an issue, as his footspeed hinders him from staying in front of guards or quicker wings. Because of this, he projects as an off-ball defender, guarding other fours or the slowest person on the opposing team. 

Looking Ahead

After intriguing many at the 2023 combine, Hall returned to Clemson for his senior year, filling the stat sheet but leaving many questioning different parts of his game. Will he be able to knock down threes in the NBA, and how much will his lackluster athleticism hurt his game?

Hall projects to go in the middle of the second round. He is a potential floor-spacing four-man with some connective skills. However, he must silence concerns about his outside shot and athleticism to stick as a rotation player.