NBA Comparison: Kevin Martin/Evan Fournier

Strengths: A sweet shooting, slender 6’5 190 wing with decent length and the frame to add on more muscle … Adequate quickness and leaping ability as an athlete … Has the raw ability to score the ball in a few different ways, and tends to be most effective off the dribble looking to convert baskets from the 15-18 ft area … Is active and savvy without the ball; got a decent amount of easy shots at the rim just by running the floor in transition, awareness on the offensive glass and making smart cuts to openings in the defense …  Also utilizes screens well to get space and rise up into pull-up jumpers or get into the lane with floaters/runners when he can’t get all the way to the rim …. A right-handed player who seems to favor going left … Good rhythm shooter with a high release that he uses to shoot over smaller players well, and has 3-point range that is still developing consistency … Occasionally showed flashes of being able to hit shots from deep off the dribble too … Was an 82% FT shooter as a Fr., illustrating solid shooting touch … A willing defender, had some success on that end as a Fr. in a tough, veteran league like the Big 10 … Had 4 games with multiples blocked shots as a Fr., which is good for a guard prospect…Has earned praise for being very coachable in HS, AAU and in his lone collegiate season at Michigan State … Still very early in his development stages and would be a teenager through about half of the NBA season schedule as a rookie …

Weaknesses: Needs to fill out his frame and get stronger, didn’t quite have the necessary physical or athletic traits to overcome his lack of strength consistently at the college level … Didn’t get into the paint or to the FT line much (2.1 FTA per game) this past season … Average ball-handler who doesn’t have a 2nd gear to cleanly blow by perimeter defenders & sometimes even your more athletic frontcourt match ups that he had in switches on an island, and in turn attempts a high number of contested jump shots leading to inefficiency (38% FG, 31% 3FG as a Fr.) … Settles more than some would like shot selection wise, and never quite seemed to be consistently within the flow of Michigan State’s offense last season … Not a natural playmaker (even 1.5 A/TO as a Fr.); tended to be overly deliberate in his approach with the ball in his hands offensively, making him easier to guard when advanced scouting and noticed tendencies came into play as the season progressed … The ability to hit the open man more when reading help defense would go a long way in opening up his offensive game … More steady than disruptive defensively … Had average production across the board for a draft prospect despite playing extended time (9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg in 30 mpg), and isn’t truly special in any one particular element of the game currently … A green player who has the groundwork to be effective in a few skills but needs time and polish to get there …

Overall: Christie came to Michigan State as a consensus 5-star prospect and was a Day 1 starter for a veteran Spartans team that made it to the Rd of 32 in 2022 … Christie played more of an off-ball role than he did previously in HS but he still showed the ability to help out teammates as a high IQ cutter and as a slasher with the ball … His mid-range game looked promising and he held his own defensively as a Fr. in a physically demanding, veteran Big 10 … Still, every area of his game could use more refinement and he needs to improve his physical strength to see other parts of his game rise (ie FT attempts, finishing through contact, dealing with the stronger build wings he’ll see at the pro level)…His shot selection and consistency will also need to develop, as well as his court vision and timing as a passer … All things considered he had an unspectacular Fr season, but he is still very young and there are some teams that will have interest him on Draft Day given his raw potential and HS pedigree …

Notes: Announced that he will sign an agent and remain in the 2022 NBA Draft … Measured 6’4.25 barefoot, 6’5.75 in shoes, with a 6’8.75 wingspan, 8’6.5 standing reach, 189.2 lbs and 4.8% body fat at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine …

Jorrye Nixon 5/19/22

Strengths: 6’6 scoring guard … Good size and length for position … Good form on jump shot with no wasted motion. Shoots well from midrange and 3PT. Shoots well off the catch or pulling up off the dribble. Shot 37.1% 3PT% on 5.8 attempts per game at the U16 Americas Championship in 2019 … Good touch on runner/floater and midrange scoring ability … Good free throw shooter. Shot 88.9% FT% over the Under Armour Association and 80% FT% at the U16 Americas Championship in 2019 … Unselfish and patient. Doesn’t force his scoring or overcomplicate the game … Moves well off the ball … Shows some ability to post up and uses size advantage … Averaged 13.1 points per game over the Under Armour Association and 9.5 points per game at the U16 Americas Championship in 2019 … Good rebounder for position … Light on his feet … Good shot blocker for position. Averaged 1.2 blocks per game at the U16 Americas Championship in 2019 …

Weaknesses: Has much room to improve strength in both upper and lower body … Isn’t real explosive … With scoring as being his point of intrigue as a prospect, he can still expand his offensive game. Can work on getting to the rim more and doesn’t show much slashing ability, tends to settle for contested midrange pull-ups at times. Doesn’t show much creativity with the ball or ability to break down the defense off the dribble … Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to show improvement with 2020 summer grassroot events cancelled but he didn’t shoot efficient in 2019 at 36.3% FG% over the Under Armour Association and 37.5% FG% at the U16 Americas Championship … Unselfish and solid moving the ball but doesn’t show advanced playmaking ability. Averaged 1.6 assists to 4.5 turnovers per game over the Under Armour Association in 2019 …

Outlook: Michigan State freshman … 2021 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year … Won Gold at the U16 Americas Championship in 2019 …

Evan Tomes 8/22/21