NBA Comparison: Deshawn Stevenson

Strengths: 2-guard who started the season out extremly strong and is a talented player when focused and motivated … Pretty strong and has a good body for an NBA wing (6’6”, 218 pounds) that has yet to turn 19 … Strong Isolation player with a number of ways to score … Idolizes James Harden and has polished a few of his moves … Has the ability to nail step-back jumpers … Handles the ball well with combo guard potential … Has potential to be a good shooter (41.2% from 3-point range) … Can push it in transition as he has good speed … Has NBA level athleticism … Very quick … Can jump really high and explode to the rim … Does a good job finishing around the rim … Really good slasher … Has a good nose for the ball … He’s willing to crash the glass (7.2 rebounds per 40 minutes) … Good at scoring off tip ins and put backs … Aggressive … Plays to the whistle. Pretty alert defender … Has the tools to be a good NBA defender … Has the ability to force turnovers and go coast-to-coast for the slam (1.5 steals per 40 minutes) … Has a great deal of potential if he gets into the right situation and dedicates himself to becoming a focused professional … Plays with a swagger …

Weaknesses: Needs to improve his shot selection … Doesn’t always make the right play … Decision making as a whole needs to improve … Has a tendency to get out of control (1.4 assists & 1.9 turnovers per game) … Foul shooting needs to improve (52.2%). Would benefit from another year in school to polish his game and become a impact performer throughout the season … Didn’t get a ton of minutes his freshman year (22.1) so his sample size is a bit small … Talking to NBA scouts regarding Porter, there are a lot of off court concerns surrounding maturity and decision making … Has had a number of well documaneted incidents including a run in with Coach Andy Enfield, and it’s safe to say that Porter doesn’t have the best reputation for being a mature, team focused guy … Lacks discipline, focus, structure …

Overall: There’s a lot to like about Kevin Porter in terms of athleticism and skill  … He’s got all the physical tools to succeed in the NBA and looks ready from that standpoint … He certainly would benefit from another year of college just to improve his decision making and become a more mature player. However, it’s considered unlikely that he will choose to do that … A team will have to really love his talent and be willing to work with a player that in college was disruptive …

Ben Parker 4/8/19