The jump that Thomas Haugh has made from last year cannot be overlooked. With the transfers of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to Florida the hopes of a back-to-back National Championship run were at an all-time high, and with the departures of Will Richard, Alijah Martin, and Walter Clayton Jr. to the NBA there was certainly a need for someone to step up into the roles that were left behind. I’m not sure that many people would have suspected that Thomas would be the guy after his season last year, but he proved us all wrong.
Tale of the Tape
Team: Florida Gators
Position: Forward
Height: 6’9”
Weight: 215 lbs
Counting Stats: 17 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2 APG, 1.1 Steals Per Game, 1 Block Per Game
Shooting Splits: 46.4 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 76.4 FT%
Hardware/Honors: First-Team All-SEC, Potential All-American Team Selection (?)
Triumphs
The jump from year to year should not be overlooked. Haugh had a perfectly respectable 2024-2025 campaign, but to be asked to carry so much more responsibility AND deliver should be praised. Last year during Florida’s NCAA Championship season he averaged nearly 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game on decent shooting splits. He didn’t have many opportunities (only shot 6 times per game on average) but when he did get a chance he made it count.
Now when you compare that to this year, it is almost night and day. He added seven points to his scoring average, nearly doubled his shot attempts, sacrificed very little in efficiency (at least for his standards), and was able to step up on the defensive end as well. Not everyone that gets a green light can stay close to their previous efficiency numbers but Thomas was able to do that.
The counting stats look great but what’s going to get him to the league and keep him there is his ability to play without the ball. When we usually see these kinds of scoring jumps it’s because the ball is constantly in their hands but that hasn’t been the case this year. Lee and Fland still command a lot of the touches so Haugh has been able to take this leap by doing more of what he did well last year: off-ball cutting and rim-running.
Haugh has never seen a 45 cut he hasn’t liked and he is constantly running with his guys in transition. When Florida is in the half court set he also does a great job of relocating. You’ll see a few times in the video above where a Florida player will get a post touch and before you know it their dumping the ball off to Haugh who was in completely different position than he was at the start of the play. Taking advantage of the defense like this and being deceptive would be a welcome addition to any team in the association. Shooting nearly 63% around the rim doesn’t hurt either.
Shortcomings
Truthfully, there aren’t many shortcomings for Thomas other than a very glaring one; his shooting touch. He’s a great off-ball cutter, a good downhill attacker, and the percentages show that: he’s shooting nearly 91% on his dunk attempts and 63% around the rim that we just mentioned. Everything outside of that range? Could use some work.
Just looking at the 46.4 FG% you could say to yourself “yeah, that’s not very efficient, but he can work on it.” It gets a little worse when you realize that he’s shooting 32.4% from 2-point range that isn’t at the rim. Midrange shots are difficult (believe me I’m on a horrific midrange run at my local park) but in today’s NBA it’s vital to be accurate in your shot attempts, especially if you aren’t going to be the 1A, 1B, or 1C kind of guy.
His three point shooting, again, looks respectable on paper. On 5 attempts a game 33% is decent, but these are WIDE open shots he’s taking. Like, lick your finger and check the wind type of open. There’s a very good chance that he will get these same kind of looks in the NBA during his first few years, but depending on where he gets drafted there’s a chance that his coach won’t allow him to shoot through his mistakes and slumps. There is a silver lining in all of this and it’s that his shooting mechanics seem really solid. I’m not sure that he’ll ever be a 40% guy from deep but I also don’t think he’ll ever be any worse than league average once he get’s his footing in the NBA.
Is He Worth The Pick?
At the end of the day I do think that Thomas Haugh is going to be a very serviceable role player in the NBA. Will he be an All-Star? I doubt it. Will he be an elite 3-and-D guy? Elite might be stretching it. I do think that he has the intangibles to have a long career, though. He’s already played with NBA caliber players in a role player capacity. He’s been able to taste a bit of that “star player” role this year for the Gators, and now that he has a chance to be a first round draft pick I think he’ll be able to fall back into that role player mold very well.
For the Jazz specifically, we are in the midst of finding our role players for the future. A lot can be said about the play of guys like Elijah Harkless, Blake Hinson, and Brice Sensabaugh. I still believe in all of their futures but I know that the fanbase is split. The real question is how does the front office feel about them?
The way our first round pick is protected this year is if it falls between 1-8 we get to keep it, and if it falls after 8 it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder (of course it does). If our pick lands in the top 3 I think there is a very clear hierarchy we need to adhere by to find our next “Face of the Franchise.” If it falls between 4-8, I also think that there are better prospects we could select from because this draft class seems to be so deep. With that being said, I don’t think that it would be wise for us to take Thomas Haugh at 8 when we could have someone else with a bit more upside.
So much of your early career is dependent on where and who you get drafted to, and I think that Haugh would be best served to be drafted by a team that is ready to compete right now or in the near future: the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors, and the Charlotte Hornets come to mind. If we had another first round pick this year around the 12-20 range I would LOVE it if we could snag him, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for us unless our front office can make some magic happen after the season is over.
So is he worth the pick? I think so… just not for us. Just don’t be surprised when he’s an impact player for a Playoff team soon.
What kind of career do you think Thomas Haugh will have? Do you think Florida can repeat as NCAA Champions? Sound off in the comments!
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