NBA Comparison: Marcus Thornton

Strengths: Lefty off-guard with a nice shooting stroke ... Good scorer that can put points on the board in a variety of ways ... Confident in isolation situations ... No hesitation before pulling up for a jumper off the dribble ... Not the best ball-handler, but has an explosive first step that he uses to get to the rim ... Looks for contact ... Gets to the free throw line a lot (5.5 FTA per game in 2010-2011) and is pretty efficient once he gets there (81.1%) ... Great outside shooter with NBA range ... Good form if he gets himself squared up to the basket ... Is active off the ball ... Skilled at coming off of screens and setting himself up for an open shot ... Has the potential to be a solid catch-and-shoot player at the next level ...

Weaknesses: Poor decision maker ... Turnover-prone ... Takes a high number of ill-advised shots ... Forces a lot of off-balances shot-attempts, usually while being heavily guarded ... Only an average passer ... Coaches will not be asking him to play the point guard position and rightfully so ... Not an effective defender ... Doesn't put up a whole lot of resistance, even against the weaker Conference USA ... Hasn't really had the chance to prove himself against strong competition ...

Overall: Hurtt is a solid scorer at the college level, but he'll have a lot of trouble translating to the NBA ... His best bet is to find a niche as a spot-up shooter for a team that could use instant offense off the bench ...

Tyler Ingle 6/20/11