Magic 8 Baller: (Maybe) Magic Mike
After his freshman year at Dayton, point guard Mike Sharavjamts transferred to San Francisco. Can he conjure up some more consistent magic on offense there?
Basketball at its heart is both a game and an artistic performance. The best players have a different feel, as they seem to glide around the court and play in a poetic and beautiful way to watch.
Some could even call the work that they do magic. One of the greatest point guards of all time earned that nickname for his unbelievable court vision. Many other players have been called wizards, magicians, or other mystical names in the heat of the moment by bewildered fans and commentators who can barely comprehend the great play they just pulled off.
Any basketball player can conjure up a bit of magic every now and then, but it’s the truly special players who use their mythical powers on a more regular basis who deserve the most praise. Bursts of magic and their frequency are what many draftniks look for when watching young players to see if they are NBA-worthy.
For some, it’s easy to see: watching Zion Williamson rip rims off of their hinges at Duke was a brutal brand of magical basketball, while Cade Cunningham’s steady sorcery to uplift the Oklahoma State offense in his freshman year showed his paranormal guard play.
For others, you have to find the magic by looking just at the flashes. Tyrese Haliburton’s jumper may have been unaesthetically pleasing, but it was and still is a deadly weapon to pair with his passing. Few saw a superstar when they first watched Giannis Antetokounmpo, but there was enough untapped potential that the outline of a bright future was visible betwixt the mistakes he made on the court.
In this first edition of the new-and-improved Magic 8 Ballers, it’s a full-blown deep dive on an under-the-radar returner to college basketball: Mike Sharavjamts.
Sharavjamts who got some early season draft buzz that eventually tapered off, but with the 2024 still in flux, The Baskcrystball is taking a deep dive to consider what kind of player Sharavjamts is, how his skills look today, and what their outlook is for the future, with the help of a Magic 8 Ball of course!
Quick Shakes of the 8 Ball:
Jumbo Point Guard
21 years old, 6’9”, 2024 Draft Eligible
First Mongolian player to earn a D-1 scholarship
Played freshman year at Dayton (20 GS)
Transferred to San Francisco this offseason
Season/Conference Stats (from Basketball Reference):
Driving and Shooting
Before we dive into the scoring package for Sharavjamts, it’s important to consider the context of the team he had around him at Dayton. They boasted two other prospects in Toumani Camara and DaRon Holmes II, who led the team in shots. Sharavjamts also sat behind Kobe Elvis, Mustapha Amzil, and Malachi Smith in the pecking order, which limited his game.
Sharavjamts’ job was to initiate Dayton’s offense, which consisted of a lot of work out of the high post by the bigs while the perimeter players screened for each other to attack off of the catch. There were some pick’n’roll opportunities too, but those were less common than the off-ball movement mania.
Overall, advanced stats weren’t kind to Sharavjamts, as per Evan Miya’s BPR, he only ranked 75th amongst all freshmen players this year. BartTorvik’s BPM rankings were harsher, as he ranked 108th out of all freshmen this past season.
He shot only 47.9% from two-point range all season, which is frigid, although that number was more respectable at 59.4% during conference play. Per BartTorvik’s more in-depth shooting splits, Sharvjamts shot only 51.5% at the rim, which isn’t a high watermark, although his 18-40 mark from “other twos” was the highest for the Flyers this past year.
While scoring isn’t Sharavjamts’ strong suit, he does have some moxie with the ball in his hands that justifies his presence on-ball. Most, if not all of Sharavjamts’ drives came off of P’n’R, where he could manipulate and freeze defenses with his dribble to get a head of steam toward the basket,
Or they came in some form of transition, whether that was him taking it coast-to-coast or attacking a defense that was still recovering,
As a skinny guard with a high center of gravity, it wasn’t always easy for Sharavjamts to get by his man and attack the basket, but he showed enough magic using screens and finding his spots that it can be a weapon in his arsenal at the next level.
He’ll need a reliable jumper in his arsenal too if he’s going to succeed, and statistically, Sharavjamts was fairly mediocre as a shooter from distance. He shot 31.5% on 92 attempts during the year, averaging 2.6 attempts per game, while 79.5% of his shots from deep came off of assists. He was right in line with some of the other Flyers in attempts per game, but Sharavjamts’ tape hints at a more promising future.
As a shooter, Sharavjamts has a high release point on his jump shot, which gives him a good advantage on closing defenders. His form is pretty fluid as well, with no notable hitches even if it looks a bit unconventional with his right elbow, which bears out in or outside of the arc.
Sharavjamts’ jumper looks best when he’s spotting up behind the arc, whether above the break or in the corners, as he’s able to set his feet and stay balanced on his shot. Even when he misses, the overall process of his shot is good and hints at where he could best do damage at the next level from deep.
As a point guard, however, it’s going to be important for Sharavjamts to also shoot pull-up jump shots with the ball in his hands. While he’s perfectly willing to try those out, he doesn’t create enough separation or get his shot off quickly enough right now for them to be a threat.
Overall, the scoring package for Sharavjamts is still a work-in-progress, due to his physical frame and the lack of in-game opportunities at Dayton. It’s a bit concerning that his spot-up shot is his best shooting weapon when he’s an on-ball player who doesn’t create much for himself away from the basket, but it’s at least encouraging that he wants to get downhill, attack the rim, and isn’t afraid to shoot off of the catch or sometimes off of the dribble, which makes his outlook for each…
Driving: Signs Point to Yes
Shooting: As I See It, Yes
Passing, Ball-Handling, and Off-Ball
Most of Sharavjamts’ magic comes on the offensive end of the floor and what he lacks right now as a scorer, he makes up for as a passer and creator for others. It takes a special type of freshman to be a team’s starting point guard, especially at 6’9”, and it’s clear on tape that Sharavjamts can be a special player with the ball in his hands.
Right now, Sharavjamts is a solid ball-handler who is facing the same sorts of challenges that younger players do as they improve their dribbling. Since he’s taller, Sharavjamts’ dribble is occasionally high enough that defenders can poke it away from him. He’s also quite skinny without a lot of strength to hold back defenders that bodied him up.
Still, Sharavjamts has a plethora of different moves he can use to freeze the defense, whether it’s a hesitation, quick cross, or between-the-legs dribble. His dribbling isn’t built on flash, as most of his moves are meant only to get the defender out of position and not show some pizazz. Still, the end result is often a few extra inches of space for him as he heads downhill.
As a passer, the first thing that stands out about Sharavjamts is that he rarely lets the ball stick in his hands. Part of that was Dayton’s offense, which had the perimeter players dashing around screens to attack, but Sharavjamts frequently fired the ball ahead on fast breaks to get his team into the best position that he could.
Sharavjamts was the primary initiator for Dayton and he displayed his wide array of possible passes throughout every game he played. Sharavjamts puts the right pace on passes to shooters, hitting them in the shooting pocket, while also being a skilled post entry passer.
Though not the most important pass in a point guard’s repertoire, it was crucial for Sharavjamts to be able to make a variety of post entries, given how much of Dayton’s offense revolved around Holmes II and Camara getting good post touches after they sealed their defenders.
What’s more impressive is how Sharavjamts keeps his eyes up while he’s going full speed. His ability to hit pinpoint passes to spot-up shooters while on the move makes him a dangerous threat to bent defenses, which gives him real NBA value.
He also hit these passes at full speed out of the pick’n’roll, where his chemistry with DaRon Holmes II shone brightly and his ability to find players on the wing was a major boon for the Dayton offense too.
Although there wasn’t enough space for freewheeling in the Flyers’ offense, there were the few moments where Sharavjamts got to manipulate the defense with his eyes and deliver a magical assist without looking at his target.
It is a bit worrying that Sharavjamts only had a 2.6-1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, but most of his turnovers on film came from his lack of strength, not from misreading the floor as a passer. If he can beef up his body and get put into more optimal pick’n’roll situations, that ratio should start climbing in the right direction.
With his slick ball-handling that’s more functional than flashy, his deep bag of potential passes, and the processing speed to put the right touch and timing on almost every read required of him, Sharavjamts has a clear NBA skill as an on-ball creator for others with his passing. Whether he’s enough of a scorer remains to be seen, but his dishes and dimes are certainly up to snuff, which means his outlook in each is…
Ball Handling: Outlook Good
Passing: It is Decidedly So
On-Ball, Off-Ball Defense
It’s rare for NCAA freshmen to be magical defenders. For every Jarace Walker, Chet Holmgren, and Anthony Davis, there are hundreds of bad first-year defenders and hundreds more who fit more in the middle, with some mistakes but some solid showings. Sharavjamts fits mostly in that middle group, but he’ll need to keep improving on that end of the floor to not be a liability.
Despite his proclivity as an offensive weapon, all three of Basketball Reference, Evan Miya, and BartTorvik graded Sharavjamts out as more of a plus defender than offensive player, even though he averaged just 0.4 steals and 0.3 blocks a game. Most of that can be attributed to the lineups that he was part of at Dayton that were great defensively, as the tape doesn’t indicate he’s anywhere near a plus defender…yet.
Sharavjamts’ long arms stand out first when watching him on or off-ball, as it helps him to stay attached and contest shots that other players can’t. That’s not to say he’s deterring a lot of shots; opponents of any size were keen to try to shoot over him. It’s more that his long arms let him close out from a bit farther than most.
At the same time, Sharavjamts is a bit of a twitchy defender on-ball and not in a good way. He stays a bit too upright, is a bit too prone to fakes and dribble moves, and doesn’t have the foot speed that smaller players have to blow by him.
That’s not unheard of for freshmen, but it makes him an easy target for good drivers and creators at the college level. Sharavjamts will have to quicken his feet and keep leaning on his length to have a better chance of defending on-ball.
His off-ball work is a similarly mixed bag that has some flashes of quality but more youthful deficiencies that he’ll have to grow out of. While he does a solid job of staying connected and surveying the floor as an off-ball defender, Sharavjamts sometimes gets caught looking and loses his man drifting to an open area.
Again, not outside of the norm for young players, but not great for a team’s defense either. Sharavjamts is also not great at navigating or working through screens, mostly due to his skinny frame but also due to his foot speed.
Every once and a while, the off-ball ball-watching comes in handy, as Sharavjamts’ quick reflexes help him to snag some loose balls in scramble situations.
There’s a lot of work to be done to improve as a defender whether guarding the ball or not, but the scant flashes that Sharavjamts shows are enough to not completely write him off as a potentially solid defender at a later stage in his career, if he can make some big strides in a few key areas. Thus, his outlook for both defensive aspects are…
On-Ball Defense: Concentrate and Ask Again
Off-Ball Defense: Reply Hazy, Try Again
Overall 8 Ball Outlook:
In retrospect to Mike Sharavjamts’ freshman year at Dayton, a few key facts stand out: First, he wasn’t playing in an optimal offense for his skills as a downhill pick’n’roll driver. Second, there weren’t a ton of shots to go around with the other talented players on his team. Third, when given the chance, Sharavjamts can make magic happen with the ball in his hands.
In order to do so consistently, he’ll need to take a few major steps forward.
The most important step for Sharavjamts is getting stronger, as it’ll help him on both ends of the floor. More mass in his upper and lower body will let him create more separation when attacking the basket and reduce the turnovers from his lack of girth, while it’ll also keep him from being knocked around on defense.
Another important step for Sharavjamts is to develop more of a scoring bag that he can go to more often. His shooting stroke is fine, but can it scale up to be a pull-up weapon? If not, does he have the touch and overall package to be an effective rim finisher? It’s hard to imagine him having much of an NBA future if not.
Finally, being a more disciplined defender will help raise Sharavjamts’ floor as a player. It’s developmentally appropriate that he’s missing some assignments off-ball and working through some issues on-ball, but he needs to start to get better at one or the other next year to not start to be a minus to his team on that end.
With such a wide-open 2024 NBA Draft Class, there’s room for some unexpected magic to weave its way into the framework of the draft. At San Francisco, Sharavjamts should have a similarly talented team and a year’s worth of experience under his belt, along with the green light to be a jumbo floor general.
With enough tantalizing tools to be a potential first-round pick in next year’s draft, Mike Sharavjamts is armed and ready to bring a handful of magical moments to the Dons this season and possibly to the NBA right after.