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43 - James Southerland

6-8, 221 Small Forward/Power Forward
Syracuse Senior
Birthday
04/28/90 (33.9 yrs)
Hometown
Bayside, NY
High School
Notre Dame Prep
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
9
Defense
6
Strength
7
Quickness
8
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
9
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
NA
Potential
6
Passing
7
Intangibles
7

NBA Comparison: Donté Greene

Strengths: An excellent shooter, Southerland is one of the most accurate players from three-point range in this draft … Plays with good energy and is streaky. When he gets hot, watch out … Excellent shooting form, one of this class’ purest shooters … Good size for a small forward, standing 6’8” with a 7’1” wingspan … Deadly on the catch-and-shoot … An NBA athlete who can play above the rim and finish alley-oops in transition in spectacular fashion … Quick shooting motion helps him get shots off without much space … Plays passing lanes well, as he averaged two steals per 40 minutes last year (would play free safety in Syracuse zone and intercept skip passes … Has developed solid mid-range game in addition to his outside shooting … Good free throw shooter (79%) … Showed good agility at the combine with a time of 10.9 in the positional lane agility test … One of the top players on Syracuse’s Final Four team …

Weaknesses: Somewhat one dimensional offensive player, as the bulk of his offense consists of jump shots … Has little ability to create his own shot and is hampered when defenders don’t give him the catch-and-shoot and he’s forced to put the ball on the floor … His draft stock could be hurt by his playing in Boeheim’s 2-3 zone, as his individual defensive ability wasn’t discernible in college. Syracuse’s system often leaves players way behind in picking up man defense … Weighs 221, but has a narrow frame: shouldes and hips, and doesn’t appear capable of adding much strength … At 23 years of age, he is one of the older players in this draft class … Not a particularly good rebounder for his size … Positional concerns as he’s too small to succeed as a 4, but his perimeter defense will hurt him in trying to guard NBA 3’s…

Notes: Missed six games last season while under investigation for an issue involving a term paper being suspected of being written by a tutor …

Overall: Southerland’s shooting ability and size will give him a look in the NBA as a stretch forward, but he needs to diversify his offensive game and prove he can defend NBA forwards on the perimeter in order to make an impact in the league…

Jacob Stallard 5/25/13

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