NBA Comparison: Luke Harangody

Strengths: Hard working, versatile forward who shows excellent determination and toughness …  Went from a solid player on a mid major (Indiana State) as a sophomore to transferring to Wake Forest and becoming and standout player on an ACC team … A solid leaper with the ability to throw down dunks on the break and on back door cuts … Solid passer with an unselfish, team approach … A solid shooter in the mid-range on catch and shoot plays … A career 37% three point shooter on 1.5 attempts per game … While not a huge weapon as an outside shooter, the potential is certainly there for him to become one … Despite being a junior, won;t be 21 until November making him young for his grade … Scored a solid 34 inch max vertical at the combine … Shows solid basketball instincts and plays an unselfish brand of ball. Has very good vision and passing skills for a forward at 3.7 assists per game to 2.7 turnovers … Solid though not outstanding on the boards at 6.6 per game. Lack of length hurts his ability to hunt rebounds against longer and more athletic opponents … Has very good instincts and anticipation as his 1.7 steals per game can attest …

Weaknesses: Lack of speed makes fully utilizing his skill set a challenge at the NBA level … Unlikely to be able to get by NBA defenders off the dribble … Extremely slow feet will prove to be a big hurdle in defending and creating offense for himself … Benefits from today’s position-less game, however he may struggle as a slow forward lacking great speed on the perimeter and great athleticism and length on the block … Has just a 6’9 wingspan, so getting shots off in the paint could prove to be a challenge for him … A career 74% free throw shooter who has decent but not great touch on his shot. Scoring may be a challenge for him, and as a below average athlete, getting playing time as a defensive liability could prove difficult … 8’8 standing reach is not great for a player with just average leaping ability …

Outlook: A late bloomer who spent two seasons at local Indiana State after not being heavily recruited out of high school … Had a strong performance in the Combine athleticism testing with a standout time in the shuttle run (sub 3 seconds), prompting some to conclude that he has a first round promise after he decided to skip the scrimmages (granted he doesn’t play fast and it would be unwise to put too much weight into combine testing numbers … Figures to be a second round pick with solid size and scoring ability as a combo forward … The key for LaRavia will be learning to score at the NBA level and using his versatility to exploit mismatches as a forward with both face up and post skills ….

Notes: Measured: 6’6.75” barefoot, 6’8.0” in shoes, 8’8.0” standing reach, 227.2 lbs, 6’9.5” wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine …

Aran Smith 6/14/22