NBA Comparison: Latrell Sprewell

Strengths: NBA athlete with a great deal of upside left to develop … Shows the ability to break pressure and handle the ball as a lead guard … Explosive finisher and shows excellent speed to convert fast break dunks and a great first step to get by defenders off the dribble … Fiery competitor … Good ISO player with his ability to handle and a quick burst to get by defenders on the perimeter … Shows the potential to be a high usage type of player at the next level with his ability to create shots for himself and handle the ball proficiently … Could develop into a go to scorer with his natural nose for creating baskets and aptitude making plays off the dribble … Very comfortable bringing the ball up the floor, and doesn’t seem to be fazed by pressure as he can dribble through double teams or find the open man with ease when defenses decide to press … Puts forth great energy on the defensive end of the floor and appears to have solid understanding of spacing and getting into a low defensive stance … Excellent size for a shooting guard at 6’5 and with a near 7-foot wingspan … Great shooting form … Shooting near 40% from three through five games and appears to have a very smooth shooting motion with range out to college 3. He should be able to extend out to NBA 3 point range without much difficulty …

Weaknesses: Due to being an unheralded recruit, may take some time to establish himself within the Notre Dame program … Currently a bench player, fighting for minutes (19 mpg) through consistent and mistake free play, instead of having the luxury to play more freely and make mistakes … Shows a great deal of potential, but is still in a sticky spot for being a one-and-done as he has players that have more seniority and experience in front of him on the Irish depth chart, and Notre Dame obviously has a vested interest in his returning next season … Needs to learn how to move better off the ball. Stay in motion more and set up defenders to run them off screens with timing … At 185 lbs, could stand to add an additional 10-15 lbs, an NBA weight training program will help him add core strength and become better balanced and able to withstand contact from opponents and finish through fouls around the rim … Hitting just 65% on FTs through five games. His shooting motion should allow him to be an 80%+ FT shooter eventually,

Outlook: Projects as a two year lottery pick with a chance to go as high as top 5 with two years at Notre Dame. With 2022 being seen as a weak draft, there will likely be the opportunity for him to enter as a one-and-done and could go as high as 10-20 range if he continues on his current progression … Wesley has two way star potential for the NBA level, but needs to continue to develop and put in the work to get there. At this point he still has a long ways to go to cement his draft stock and convince NBA teams he’s worthy of a first round “project selection” a la Joshua Primo in 2021 …

Notes: Native of South Bend, Indiana … Considered a four star prospect entering college. Was rated 82nd by ESPN, 100th by Rivals and 111th by 247Sports coming out of high school … Averaged 26 points and 6.3 rebounds as a junior in high school … Led his high school team (Riley) as a senior (2020-21) to a 19-7 record and Class 4A Championship …

Aran Smith 11/25/21

Notes: Measured: 6’3.0” barefoot, 6’4.25” in shoes, 8’7.0” standing reach, 187.2 lbs, 6’9.25” wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine …