NBA Comparison: Kyle Korver/Chris Mullin

Strengths: Crafty player whose consistent lefty stroke and ability to post up have made him a very difficult matchup … He prefers catching the ball just inside the 3 point arc, facing up, using jabs to create space and either letting it fly or taking his man off the dribble … His shot is a text book left handed release, it is very efficient with no wasted motion … Currently he operates mostly in the midrange, but has shown plenty of range to step behind the NBA arc … He gets minimal elevation, but he uses this to his advantage, as he can shot fake and make a move with very little effort … His understanding of spacing and movement could make him a great pick& roll player … For a player his size, his handles are pretty impressive, he is very comfortable pushing the ball in transition off a rebound or putting it on the deck and attacking his match up in the halfcourt … Going both ways he has a nice mid-range pull up that is very difficult to defend because he throws in a stepback and a fadaway to keep the defense guessing … With his back to the basket, he uses head and shoulder fakes before shooting his soft turnaround jumper … He has a fairly strong upper body that allows him to clear space and go to the glass ...

Weaknesses: For all the craftiness, his physical shortcomings are still fairly exposed … He lacks the explosiveness and athleticism to matchup with the PF position, and his mediocre lateral quickness and first step will give him fits defending wing players, or trying to beat them off the dribble … He needs to diversify his low post game, even though his jumper is a tremendous weapon, he will need to incorporate some new moves if he is to exploit smaller players … Settling too much for the midrange shot, makes him seem passive at times, rather than taking the ball to the rim and drawing contact, he seems to shy away from it … His dribbling gets him into trouble as he tries to push the ball against pressure or when he over penetrates into traffic … He shows flashes of his range and touch from the outside, but currently he is only attempting 2.2 threes per game, and shooting at a mediocre 36% (has not made more than 2 threes in a game) … He needs to become more consistent and prove that he can spread the defense game in and game out, but with experience and as he grows more comfortable playing away from the basket, there is no reason to think he won’t be able to accomplish this …

Borko Popic 1/11/09