JD Notae
Note: Notae is expected to sit out the 2019-20 season unless he requests and is granted a waiver from the NCAA.
Position: Guard
Class: Finished sophomore season in 2019
Height: 6-2
Weight: 185
Stats: 15.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.3 turnovers, 1.6 steals
42.7 percent FG, 32 percent 3-point FG, 72 percent free throws
Per 40: 21.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 4.5 turnovers, 2.2 steals
Atlantic Sun stats: 17.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.8 turnovers, 1.6 steals
44.6 percent FG, 32.7 percent 3-point FG, 74.1 percent free throws
Strengths
• Explosive player who excels at penetrating and getting to the rim. One of the first details of Notae's game I was made aware of was his first step, which was described as good-to-great.
In Jacksonville’s two games against high-major opponents last season - Indiana, Notre Dame - Notae averaged 16 points on 7-of-13 from 3-point range, and as a freshman, he scored 18 points against Georgetown in his second career game, 19 at NC State and 22 at Michigan.
In January 2018, Notae scored 25 points in his Atlantic Sun debut and drew praise from North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll. Following the game, Driscoll likened Notae to North Florida's former conference player of the year Dallas Moore, who is generally thought of as the best player to come through the program and currently playing professionally in Italy.
"He really has a great feel for who he is, what he is and what he wants to do," Driscoll said that night. "He's not shaken by anything."
Notae made a large improvement in 2-point efficiency during his sophomore season. He shot 37.8 percent on 233 such looks as a freshman, but lifted that percentage to 50.2 in his second year at Jacksonville. His 3-point accuracy dropped off in 2018-19 to 30.3 percent. However, he showed the ability to hit the 3 as a freshman, finishing seventh in the league at 40.8 percent.
"He didn't mind shooting the ball and tended to play a lot of 1-on-1, especially when they needed points late in the game," said Garry Smits, a Jacksonville basketball writer for the Florida Times-Union.
• Can rebound in bunches. Notae is not a prolific rebounder, according to Florida Times-Union reporter Clayton Freeman, who covered a number of the guard's games at Jacksonville the last two seasons, but he did grab five-plus rebounds 24 times in 2018-19, including three 10-plus rebound games.
Against Indiana last season, Notae set a then-season high with three offensive rebounds. Later in the season he matched that mark against current Arkansas assistant Corey Williams and Stetson, and finished with 13 boards against eventual NIT finalist Lipscomb, which, in fairness, was missing its star forward at the time.
Notae recorded a 20.3 percent defensive rebound rate as a sophomore, which ranked 231st nationally, according to KenPom. That figure rose to 24.5 percent in Atlantic Sun play, placing him fifth in conference-only games. He was the only player in the league under 6-4 to rank in the top 20 in that category.
• Solid defender. Notae, at least on the surface, appears to be the best defender or have the greatest defensive potential of the now four transfer players Eric Musselman has committed to Arkansas.
"I bring playmaking and scoring, but also defense," Notae told WholeHogSports on Wednesday. "I can guard bigger people and I feel that I'm a good defensive rebounder."
Notae's 3.2 percent steal rate during the 2018-19 season ranked 101st nationally, per KenPom. He totaled five steals in Jacksonville's games at Indiana and Notre Dame, and four at Michigan as a freshman. Smits says Notae is "pretty good" playing passing lanes, which played a role in his impressive steals figures and 99.4 defensive rating last season.
“Notae comes from a high school program in Newton, Georgia, that's known for high-pressure defense,” Freeman said. “Jacksonville head coach Tony Jasick credited that background for his defensive intensity. That aspect of Notae's game will be a natural fit for the Razorbacks tradition.”
A bit contrary to Notae's quote, Smits added that Notae at times had difficulties matching up with bigger shooting guards in the Atlantic Sun like Garrison Mathews (6-5, 204) at Lipscomb, who held the league's top offensive rating among players with a usage rate - a measure of personal possessions when a player is on the court, assigning credit or blame when his actions end a possession either by making a shot, missing a shot that isn’t rebounded by the offense, or committing a turnover - higher than 28 percent.
Weaknesses
• Prone to hot and cold streaks. Essentially every college basketball player experiences ups and downs throughout the course of a season in terms of production. It happens. And the final five games of Notae's career at Jacksonville is a prime example of that.
Notae finished with seven points on 3-of-14 shooting against North Florida; 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting against NJIT; nine points on 4-of-11 shooting against North Alabama; 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting against Florida Gulf Coast; and four points on 2-of-12 shooting - 0-of-7 from 3 - against Liberty in the Dolphins' season finale.
"Before that finish, though, he had led the team in scoring in seven consecutive games," Freeman said. "When he's on, he can be deadly."
In Jacksonville's 2018-19 season opener against Florida A&M, Notae scored just two points and was 0-of-8 from the floor. Over the next five games, he averaged 13.6 points on 17-of-28 inside the arc before exploding for 40 points on 16-of-22 shooting against NAIA Florida Memorial.
In Jacksonville's 24 wins with Notae, he averaged just shy of 18 points per game on 48.6 percent from the floor, and in 36 losses, he put up 14.1 points on 37.5 percent shooting. In those wins, he also knocked down the 3 at a 40 percent clip.
• Turnover prone. As a sophomore, Notae committed 19 turnovers in the first four games of the season against less-than-stellar competition - Florida A&M, Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon, Southeast Missouri State - which was a cause for some concern. Then, in another five-game stretch to begin Atlantic Sun play last season, he turned the ball over 24 times.
In February, he committed 18 more miscues in a four-game span.
It should be noted that Notae finished with the highest usage rate (30.0) in the conference last season and was charged with leading a largely average Dolphins offense, which can be a lot for a young player to shoulder. With a handful of other ballhandlers already on Arkansas' roster, his load will be lighter and he should be able to generate offense a bit more efficiently playing alongside more talented teammates.