[JNixonParticipant]

20: Kenny Faried, 6’7 225, PF, Morehead State, Sr.

The modern all-time rebounding leader in NCAA history, Faried has a role that’s cut and dry for him as a prospect. Teams kept a close eye on his throughout the draft process to look at his measurable and how he fared against other good prospects. Physically, Faried wasn’t anything special at all. At 6’7 he’s a bit short for the PF, and he’s not exactly a big guy to make up for it as he has a slim frame that will need more weight. He does have a 7’ wingspan that helps him though on both ends. Athletically, Faried is extremely good. He shows very good explosiveness and leaping skills, and is excellent in terms of quickness and ability to run.

Offensively, Faried will never be confused for a scorer. Down low, anything besides a basic catch and finish lacks reliability for him. His explosiveness makes him effective at the rim and he looks to dunk everything he can though. Was an elite finisher at the college level, usually receiving the ball on catch and finish plays generated from his work off the ball or when a defender rotates away from him due to dribble penetration by his guards. Works well without the ball and gets garbage points. Shows an extremely basic back to basket game. Has only one real move and that’s a right handed jump hook. Lacks a left hand. Pretty narrow base, so he will have trouble sealing against NBA posts until he adds lower body strength. Showed nothing in terms of shooting ability in college, and will have to work on his mid-range shot to at least be a threat to the D. Not a fact as a scorer outside of about 5-10 feet from the rim. Not a ball-handler, unless he has a slow matchup and a straight shot to the rim. Poor passer, especially for someone who doesn’t utilize more than 2 or at most 3 dribbles. Struggles to read double teams. Not very good at the free throw line. His motor, length and quickness make him an unbelievable offensive rebounder, and thus gets him some easy garbage points. Ability to run the floor makes him a great transition player for a PF.

Faried has potential on D, but he’s fairly raw in his understanding of this end right now. Morehead State ran a 2-3 zone D, so he was stationery and could stand in the lane all game to block shots and rebound. Has the length and effort to be good on this end against the quicker mismatch PF’s in the NBA, but he needs more strength and experience/understanding of NBA defense. Pretty foul prone already against Ohio Valley Conference competition, despite playing in a zone D, so he’s probably going to be worse on an NBA floor in man-to-man in terms of foul rate. Very good rebounder on this end.

Faried has hustle player written all over him, and he understands that, but he’s very raw and needs to work on his body. He’ll get offensive rebounds and provides an explosive finisher, but he’s a poor post player with bad passing skills, won’t be a factor scoring and his touch is shaky. I see Louis Amundson 2.0, which isn’t the worst at all. He has a lot of learning to do though.

19: Chris Singleton, 6’9 230, SF/PF, Florida State, Jr.

Singleton is considered by many to be the best defender in the class and to have the most upside as a defender. Florida State was among top 5 defensive teams in the country every year Singleton went there and he was easily a main reason why. Physically, Singleton is a combo forward who likes to function as an oversized SF. At 6’9, Singleton is adequate for either forward position, and his great 230 lb frame is still filling out. 7’1 wingspan also allows him to play even bigger than he already is. He certainly has outstanding tools and looks the part of the prototypical combo forward in today’s NBA. Athletically, Singleton is also fantastic. His speed, quickness, explosiveness and leaping skills are all superb, particularly for his size.

On the offensive end, Singleton struggles a bit and didn’t manage to polish his skills all that much in college. As a shooter he’s very streaky. His spot-up shooting skills are decent, but he must continue to expand his range and stop breaking down his mechanics when he’s contested. Iffy shooting touch. He also has a habit of shooting jumpers off the dribble, and he’s terribly inefficient in these instances. Won’t ever shoot many off the dribble in the NBA, but if he works on his spot-up shooting fundamentals it will be for the better certainly since he’ll shoot most of his shots in that fashion. Slashing to the rim has always been Singleton’s weakness. His ball-handling skills are crude for a player who seems to want to be a perimeter guy. Very loose and high dribble. The ball noticeably slows him down when he looks to create offense and he’s not good at changing directions. Often settles for the aforementioned pull-up shots due to him not being able to get to the rim off the bounce. One thing he has developed is a functional post game to take advantage of the smaller SF’s he’ll often face. Has a jump hook that’s great because his quick leaping combine with length make it unblockable. Clearly worked on it over and over again, because the ball makes and misses the exact same ways most times. Not a very good passer and is a bit TO prone. Often will try to do too much on the floor and tends to play out of his strengths for long stretches. Can disappear for stretches of the game at a time. Not likely to ever be more than a 4th or 5th option when on the floor. Extremely effective in transition and good on the offensive glass.

Defense is where teams see Singleton’s most value. Has the size, length and athleticism to defend wings, combo forwards, face-up 4’s, and could be a nuisance in pick and roll D. Is a great shot blocker and ball-thief. Where Singleton struggles is with fouls. Gambles and bites on fakes very often, leaving him to susceptible to fouling. When beat, relied too heavily on his length and athleticism. Often gets in foul trouble and it effects how many stretches of a game he can play. Might not be able to compete on an NBA floor until he learns to stay out of foul trouble. Similar to Al-Farouq Aminu last year, Singleton will have to learn not to rely on his length and athleticism and actually play fundamental D more or he won’t be as effective against NBA players. Was good on D at FSU, but has learning to do still.

Singleton has his work to do. He’s a work in progress on offense, and he’s going to have to gain a better IQ on both ends. While he’s learning on D, is he good enough at anything offensively to stay on the floor? I have doubts. Singleton has the potential to be a nightmare on D and in the transition game, but until he gains experience, makes some fundamental adjustments and learns to stop relying on physical tools on both ends he won’t be on the floor a lot.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

I live in Florida and went to see alot of Florida State game this past season..Singleton might go in the lottery,late 1st round or early 2nd round..His defense is light years ahead of his offense….But he’s capable of being a starter next year on a nba team,based on his defense alone….He’s going to be 1 of those players that get drafted late and years later people ask why didnt this guy go earlier? He could average about 7 or 8 points next year on putbacks,garbage points & tip ins…

 

[r377Participant]

2 of my favourite prospects – i love the hard workers

good review…

[Author]

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