grayson-allen-hd.jpg

3 - Grayson Allen

6-4, 200 Shooting Guard
Duke Senior
Birthday
10/08/95 (28.4 yrs)
Hometown
Jacksonville, FL
High School
Providence
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
7
Defense
7
Strength
8
Quickness
8
Leadership
8
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
7
Potential
6
Passing
7
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: Bob Sura/Courtney Lee

Strengths: Competitive, sometimes overly so shoorting guard with a pure shooting stroke and solid ability to attack the rim … Underrated athlete with a 40.5 inch vertical (measured at Combine) … Was Duke’s big late game hero in their last NCAA title three years ago … What can’t be taken away from Allen is his career production and his willingness to sacrifice for his team … As a player, Allen is a streaky guy who can score points in chunks from the perimeter when he’s dialed in … At his best he is a knockdown shooter from distance, capable of catching fire. especially if he’s not accounted for … Looks to maneuver around hard closeouts … He has the ability to put the ball on the floor and create some offense, and is pretty good at scoring on the move without the ball too … Solid leaper who is capable of playing above the rim in space, and with adequate body control … Has some good natural ability, and when focused he can shoot well whether stationary or off a screen or curl, and is relatively comfortable creating for himself and his teammates … Pretty decent pick and roll player with a willingness to feed bigs on their way to the rim … Not a selfish player, will put his body on the line on both ends, and is pretty adept at taking charges … Generally puts in good effort on the court, improved his activity level with each passing season … Had to embrace a “villain” persona, assumed a leadership role on a young team in his last season, and there is something to be said about how he adjusted his mindset and role playing with basically a new cast of players in each of his seasons at Duke … A 80+% FT shooter throughout college career …

Weaknesses: Will turn 23 in October making him one of the older prospects being considered for this year’s draft … A bit undersized for a SG at 6′ 4" with a 6′ 7" wingspan and a 8′ 1" standing reach, so he has prototype size for a SG that also has experience playing point … His style of attacking the basket and then flailing his arms after meeting contact will not work as well at the next level … Over the course of his career, Allen often proved to be an undisciplined and erratic player … his tripping incidents were a little blown out of proportion by media, however he didn’t make himself any fans with his behavior … Is the type of player that doesn’t seem to always have a short memory, and will compound a bad shooting performance by letting it effect the rest of his game … Sometimes his decision making is questionable … Will take unnecessary risks when looking to create, and has a habit of jumping in the air with nowhere to go as a passer and when finishing at the rim, leading to bad possessions … Does not handle length and athleticism that well, can be smothered when hedged by athletic bigs and struggle to contain dribble penetration when matched up with quicker, more athletic players … Ordinary handles, does not show much creativity with the ball and will not strike fear in the hearts of NBA teams in an isolation set … Has some rigidness to him, tends to play too upright when handling the ball which limits his quickness attacking defenders…Only shot 45% or above from the floor in 1 season in his career (2015-2016), which is concerning …Well-documented history of dirty plays and meltdowns during games, which very likely has been dissected by NBA teams that have interviewed him … His effort is to be commended, but the fact that Duke had to switch to a zone defense to mask the team’s defensive lapses is alarming … Has experience playing as a lead guard, but it is tough to see that translating to the next level considering some of the holes in his game …Was not as effective a player with teammate and projected lottery pick Marvin Bagley in the lineup this past season …

Overall: Allen burst onto the scene after scoring 16 points to help Duke win the 2015 National Title game as a little used Freshman off the bench, and went on to have a storied career in Durham …I’m going to go out on a limb and say Grayson Allen has been the most polarizing player in the country, for one of the most polarizing programs in the country the past 4 seasons …  He has some character concerns that have been addressed during the draft process, not to mention some areas throughout his game that need work, but not many played through as much public adversity as Allen did (even though he caused most, if not all of it himself) … Owns a skill set that can be honed into production as a bench shooter/scorer at the next level, and he has shown that he is capable of playing in the bright lights at times, but he has to work on his overall consistency and show he has the mental toughness to make it … It is possible that he is selected in the late 1st round, but he could be picked in the 2nd round as well

Notes: Measured: 6′ 3” barefoot, 6′ 4.5” in shoes, 198.0 lbs, 6′ 7.25” wingspan, 8′ 1” standing reach, 5.55% body fat, 8.25 inch hand length at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine … Measured 6’4.5 (with shoes) 189 lbs with a 6’6.5 wingspan at the 2013 Kevin Durant Skills Academy … 2014 Jordan Brand Classic and McDonald’s All-American participant … Won the 2014 Powerade Jam Fest and American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk contests … Named to the 2015 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team … Named to 2015 ACC All Academic Team … Currently leads the ACC in Offensive Win Shares (4.2 WS) and Win Shares (5.1 WS) this season

Jorrye Nixon 6/20/18

Strengths: Allen came to Durham with the reputation of being a knockdown shooter and after an okay freshmen campaign (35 percent from three) is now looking the part as a sophomore (44 percent from three on high volume) … For his career, he holds a 62.4 percent true shooting percentage … Since his breakout game in last year’s NCAA Championship Game, Allen has continued to be an offensive force for Duke … Capable of shooting efficiently in both catch and shoot and off the dribble situations … Given any room to get off a shot it’s likely to find the bottom of the net … Accepted the challenge early in the year of being the Blue Devils go-to guy and has flourished in the role … A leader who plays with both passion and confidence … Plays with great energy and always seems mentally prepared and a step ahead … Creative when driving to the basket, utilizing his big hands to palm the ball … Has put a few unsuspecting defenders on posters … Straight line speed is above average and helps him flourish in transition … Uses his jumping ability to snag rebounds that you would think were out of his range …  Positions himself well to be in the right place for rebounds …  Excellent free throw shooter (85.8 percent for his career) … Willing defender … Understands team defensive concepts … Body shows that he works hard in the weight room to maximize his natural strength …

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal size and athleticism for a shooting guard. While he gets a lot of dunks on drives, he doesn’t possess the first step to get past elite defenders nor the athleticism to stand out at the position in the NBA … Need to work on his in-between game … At this point he generally does all of his damage shooting the three or taking the ball right to the basket … Avoids contact when attacking the hoop … Tries too often to jump around defenders instead of through the impending contact … Despite an up tick in play is averaging less than one additional free throw attempt per 40 minutes this year (6.6 free throw attempts as a freshman and 7.2 FTA this year) … Needs to become more comfortable with the ball in his hands … If you take away his first two options he often struggles to improvise … Not much of a creator with the ball … Doesn’t have the handle to make plays for others … Lacks a certain feel for the game in terms of making those around him better … At just 6’5", and with a small wingspan, he’s on the shorter side for a two guard … Hasn’t shown the ability to be a consistent defender … Can be caught fighting for rebounds unsuccessfully instead of rotating back for transition defense … Not very agile, lacking lateral speed …

Notes: Measured 6’4.5 (with shoes) 189 lbs with a 6’6.5 wingspan at the 2013 Kevin Durant Skills Academy … 2014 Jordan Brand Classic and McDonald’s All-American participant … Won the 2014 Powerade Jam Fest and American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk contests … Named to the 2015 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team … Named to 2015 ACC All Academic Team … Currently leads the ACC in Offensive Win Shares (4.2 WS) and Win Shares (5.1 WS) this season

Overall: Allen has two things coveted for an NBA wing player, a sweet shooting stroke and explosive athleticism … If Allen can craft himself into a solid defender, there will be minutes and opportunities available to him in the modern pace and space NBA … In games against NBA level competition has underperformed this season (seven points on 3/18 shooting versus Utah, and six points on 2/11 shooting versus Kentucky) … Could use one more year at Duke to complete his development into a two-way wing …

Brandon Jefferson 2/10/16

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