2024 NBA Draft: Midseason scouting report on Matas Buzelis, Ron Holland and other G League Ignite prospects

ORLANDO, Fla. — The G League Ignite went 0-2 at the G League Winter Showcase and are struggling in the first half of the season with a 4-12 record, the worst start since the team's inception three years ago. This season's team had the most young talent on the roster with seven draft-eligible players who chose the Ignite over the college route.

Heading into the season, Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland were two of the top high school prospects who both played in the McDonald's All-American Game, one of the highest honors for high school seniors, and chose the Ignite over top college programs like Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas and Florida State. The Ignite also added Tyler Smith and Izan Almansa from Overtime Elite, Thierry Darlan and Babacar Sane from the NBA Africa Academy team and had London Johnson returning for his second season.

"We continue to grow and we're going through tough times, but it just makes us stronger as a team," Buzelis told Yahoo Sports after the 113-90 loss to Grand Rapids on Thursday night. "We're just continuing to progress each and every day and get better.

"We've been through the struggles of playing against NBA players playing in the G League. Players in college don't get to go through that struggle and they don't know what it's like to play against professionals, so when we're playing in games in the G League against players that are playing to feed their families, it's definitely different than playing in college."

The players coming into the Ignite's season knew it wasn't going to be easy facing much older and stronger players as 18- and 19-year-old prospects. Even in the tough losses, they are learning through adversity.

"There's definitely a grace period when scouting the Ignite players," one NBA scout told Yahoo Sports. "These are 18-year-old kids going up against grown men fighting to make an NBA roster and you're more projecting on their upside and watching what they do over the course of the season."

The G League Ignite are halfway through the season. Yahoo Sports breaks down the development of each player projected in the first round (Holland, Buzelis and Smith) and gives further analysis on the other four players eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft.

Matas Buzelis

Buzelis returned to the court early in December, after starting the season with an ankle injury, and strung together a solid two-game stretch where he scored a combined 46 points (including the winner over Rip City on Dec. 12). He has really improved his inside-out game. The Ignite were 4-2 in his first six games back and Buzelis has brought needed length on the perimeter and rim protection with his 6-foot-11 frame.

"I didn't get to play basketball for two months and the energy I brought to the team just came from there," Buzelis said. "I love to play basketball so I was just excited to return to the team."

Buzelis possesses a combination of size and versatility. He is showing early signs as a playmaker in the grab-and-go and made some excellent reads off the wing in the second game at the G League Winter Showcase.

"Honestly, I've always been a playmaker and it's something I'm comfortable doing," Buzeliis added. "My coach played me as a point guard when I was little and at [this] level or the next, I'm just going to always do what's asked of me."

Buzelis is averaging 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in eight games this season.

Ron Holland

Holland was the No. 1 recruit coming in this season, according to 247 Sports, and exhibits upside as an NBA wing. There are not a lot of players in this draft class who get downhill and finish at the rim like Holland.

Where he's been most productive this season for the Ignite is on the defensive side of the ball. He has the length to guard four positions on the court and finds different ways to disrupt the defense, forcing five or most steals in two games so far this season.

Holland's 3-point shot still needs some work and he can be turnover-prone at times. There's something to be said about the way he competes, how tough he is and how he is able to get shots off in iso situations toward the end of the shot clock. Holland leads the Ignite in scoring, averaging 18.5 points per game, and has added 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 15 games this season.

Tyler Smith

Smith started the season hot as a 3-point shooter and got the attention of NBA scouts early. He's since cooled off from the 3-point line but has been very productive with his touches and impactful during his time on the court. The biggest improvement he's made is his footwork in the pick-and-pop, getting his feet set, and being decisive when choosing to slip in ball-screens.

"That has been a main focus in my development," Smith told Yahoo Sports. "The bigs in the league, they drop a lot so I can just pop for a 3 or drag them off the rip, so that's what I've been working on this season. Even with these losses, I'm still a competitor at the end of the day, no matter what the score is, and I'm going to keep playing hard."

The 6-11 forward is averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 22.4 minutes off the bench halfway through the season.

Other players at a glance

Landon Johnson looks more comfortable with the pace of the game in his second season with the Ignite. Johnson is stronger with the ball and has started to clean up his turnovers as of late, committing only two turnovers at the G League Winter Showcase. Johnson, a 6-3 point guard, has started to create more separation off the dribble and has scored 20 or more points three times this season.

Izan Almansa excels as a rim-runner who matches the physicality of players in the post. The Ignite lost center Eric Mika to a season-ending injury in September and the brunt of guarding the post has fallen on Almansa. He started all 16 games so far and is averaging 8.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Thierry Darlan had limited minutes to start the season after recovering from a severe ankle dislocation he suffered in February. He has tremendous size and length at 6-7 with a 7-2 wingspan. He's still adjusting to the professional game and threw the ball away at times the last two games. He projects more as a perimeter player than a primary ball-handler at the next level and is averaging 5.4 points per game.

Babacar Sane has played in only eight games this season and has helped the most defensively, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game. Offensively, he establishes position early and has shown improvement in the high-low situation with Smith and has become a better passer out of the double-team.