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5 - Bernard James

6-10, 230 Power Forward
Florida St. Senior
Birthday
02/07/85 (39.1 yrs)
Hometown
Savannah, GA
High School
Windsor Forest
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
8
Defense
8
Strength
8
Quickness
7
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
7
NBA Ready
8
Rebounding
8
Potential
6
Post Skills
6
Intangibles
6
87 Overall:

NBA Comparison: Joel Anthony

Strengths: Standing a legit 6’10 240 lbs with a long wingspan, James has the look of a guy who can play PF or C in todays NBA…A southpaw…Pretty strong player who doesn’t back down from physical play…Also is an NBA caliber athlete, who shows good leaping skills and explosiveness and adequate ability to run as well…His standout traits lie in his defensive ability…One of the very best post defenders in the 2012 draft…Is a high-level shot-blocker, who has outstanding timing as well…Rarely bites on pump fukes, which is one of the more impressive things about him as a rim protector…Also not foul prone at all for the defensive stalwart that he has proven to be…A guy all slashers should locate on helpside defense…Pretty good on-ball post defender as well, with the size and strength to deny post position effectively…Has made life tough for a number of big man prospects during his 2 years at Florida State…Has the size and length to hedge screens well potentially, especially against smaller guards, if his coach doesn’t play a scheme that doesn’t require bigs to switch in pick and roll action…Effective and usually strong finisher on dump-offs…Doesnt get a lot of touches offensively, but just about all of them are high percentage looks…His left hand jump hook is his go-to move, and he is reasonably effective with it…Solid rebounder, but particularly good offensively…Probably has the most  interesting story of any of the prospects in the 2012 draft…Dropped out of HS at 16, later returned to get his GED, and then was in the Air Force for 6 years before he played at FSU as a 27 year old…His unique story explains why he could be ready to contribute to an NBA sooner than many rookies, and he has a maturity advantage over nearly every prospect in the draft…Could be a big fan favorite

Weaknesses:
James biggest weakness is his ability to contribute offensively…Not ever going to be more than a 5th option scorer, and lacks in nearly every area on the offensive end…His post game, outside of his jump hook is non-existant…Wont be a guy teams throw the ball to in the post with the expectation of him making a crafty move to score…Lacks fluidity with the ball in his hands…Very predictable when playing with his back to the basket, and can be neutralized by bigs with size…Makes no use of his right (weak) hand…Non-existent jump shot, and would be a better offensive threat if he developed a 15 ft game…Sometimes take too long to explode when gathering around the rim when contested, and can be susceptible to having his shot altered do to how long it takes him to go up…Lacking a bit in his footwork and lower body strength…Doesn’t have the best hands, and will bobble passes that hit his hands…Doesn’t rebound on the defensive end as well as a big man who sorely lacks offensive skill usually does…Not likely to pass the ball, mostly due to his role though…Struggled at times when FSU made him switch in pick and roll defense around the perimeter, and is a bit stiff in his movements laterally…Doesn’t play with much knee bend, thus struggling when trying to contain quick stretch PF’s, and may need to switch to C full-time where his matchups are less likely to face him up and attack him off the bounce…Given his advanced age, there are going to be major concerns about his ability to show a lot of improvement…Clearly has a lot of learning to do about the game, given that he hasn’t been playing organized basketball at a high level for very long… Not a guy to trust much at the foul line at all (50% as a Sr from the charity stripe

Overall: James is a really good post defender, arguably the best in the NCAA these past 2 seasons at FSU….He isn’t going to provide much offense at all, but his value is on D…He has the length, athleticism, and energy to be a really good defender against back to basket frontline players…The age issue is somewhat alarming, considering he doesn’t have much time to improve, but he has some NBA ready qualities if a team looks over his lagging offense….Has a great resume’  against some top level opponents …

Jorrye Nixon 6/18/12

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