NBA Comparison: Trey Murphy/Todd Day

Strengths: Long, wiry athlete with NBA athleticism … Late bloomer … Bigtime shooter, among the top 3 point shooters available for this year’s draft … Possesses great form and knocks down threes at a high rate … Hitting 44.4% from behind the arch on a high volume, (3.6-of-8.1) per game and 90% from the line through two months of the season … Thrives in catch and shoot situations … High, concise release … Possesses a long frame at 6-7 with a 7-foot wingspan … Has an effective pull up jumper, and utilizes his length well to shoot over opponents … Big hands helps him corral the ball on rebounds and errant passes … Good vision on the break to find teammates … Shows some signs of being able to ISO and shoot off the dribble … Does a solid job of finding post guys with post entries … Coach able player …  Entered high school at 17 and is a young senior,  having recently turned 21 … Averaging 18 ppg in just 23 min of action coming off the bench at BYU over first third of season … Solid on the break, finishing with above the rim dunks when he gets an opening … Unselfish, team guy who has good vision and nice timing on passes … Considered a high level defender … Defense has a lot of potential due to his length, but remains a work in progress … Late bloomer who has improved considerably over the past season … Are his first 10 games just a mirage, or has he finally developed the confidence to unleash his natural talent? Considering his age and pure shooting ability, it’s likely the latter …

Weaknesses: A senior and just a career 7.5 per game scorer … Struggled for much of his college career, transferring twice and put up just 8.5 ppg on inefficient 38.6-fg, 34.3-3p, 68.0-ft splits as a junior … Concerning junior year, statistics wise, playing as a 20 year old at a mid major (2022 BYU) …  Still needs to add bulk … Doesn’t seem to be able to, or understand how to fully utilize his athletic gifts throughout games … Upper body strength remains weak and affects his ability to finish at the rim, through contact … An additional 20 lbs on his frame will allow him to play more physical on both ends … Shies away from contact … Rebounding must improve … His lack of rebounding numbers for his size may be partly due to lack of strength, but a concern relating to his willingness to play physical … Needs to become better at utilizing his athleticism around the basket … Only averages 1.3 FT per game. Considering he’s shooting 90% from the line, he could become a more prolific scorer by playing more physical, forcing the action and getting more trips to the line …. Was just a 33% three point shooter coming into the season. While the optics and stats through the first third of the season are phenomenal, it will require a full season of shooting at a high clip in order to solidify his draft stock … Still developing his isolation game … Must become a better ball handler … High level defenders can crowd him until he becomes more proficient at getting to the rim off the dribble … A candidate to struggle some initially at the next level considering his college career arch … Must learn to play with more defensive energy and intensity …

Outlook: Provides  “microwave” instant offense coming off the bench for BYU … The 21 year old out of Oklahoma is shaping up to be the 2024 NBA Draft’s top senior prospect … Projected as a possible mid-first round pick, but will need to show consistency throughout his senior year to prove that he’s really flipped a switch and become an impact performer and elite shooter …

Notes: Born in Ada, Oklahoma … Was a four star recruit out of high school … Started his college career at Texas A&M, as a sophomore transferred to Arkansas, and then transferred to BYU as a Junior where he has remained for the past two seasons …

Aran Smith 12/14/23