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23 - Malachi Richardson

6-6, 200 Shooting Guard
Syracuse Freshman
Birthday
01/05/96 (28.2 yrs)
Hometown
Trenton, NJ
High School
Trenton Catholic
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
9
Defense
8
Strength
8
Quickness
7
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
7
Ball Handling
7
Potential
8
Passing
7
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: Rashad Vaughn

Strengths: Nice size and well-built at 6-foot-6, which is prototypical for an NBA 2-guard … Long and athletic … Wingspan is a massive 7-foot … Has the potential to fill out his frame nicely … Versatile player, especially on the offensive end … Has a smoothness to his game … Capable of getting hot from three when in rhythm … Can shoot off the dribble with his feet set … Has an effective one-dribble (with either hand) pull-up jumper … Has solid scoring instincts … Capable of taking his man off the dribble … Loves to take advantage of one-on-one situations … Attacking style offensive player, making him a consistent threat to get to the rim … Good at finding ways to slash and slither his way to the basket and finish … When he gets to the rim, he’s shown that he can finish in traffic and with either hand … He can also finish through contact … Effective scorer/finisher in transition … Has a nice burst off the dribble … Can play above the rim … Has shown that he can facilitate an offense in the half-court … His passing ability is a bit underrated … Makes good use of an array or ball fakes … Shows good lateral quickness on the defensive end … His length, athleticism and competitiveness/effort makes him a great defender on the perimeter … Does a great job playing the passing lanes and forcing turnovers … Plays with passion and a high effort level … Has a strong work ethic … Even as a freshman, he displayed good leadership qualities and often led his teammates by example …

Weaknesses: He can be very inconsistent with his offensive production … Nice athlete, but not "standout" … Not as explosive as his counterparts … Ball-handling can improve, especially in the half-court … Improvement in his ball-handling with help him with getting all the way to the basket more consistently on his drives … Needs to work more on driving and finishing with his left hand … Shooting form/stroke looks unorthodox at times … Instead of shooting the ball he tends to fling it … Release point should be higher … For being such a streaky and inconsistent shooter, he  sometimes relies on his jump shot too heavily … Prone to going ice cold from the field and disappearing offensively during games … Shooting efficiency needs improvement … Doesn’t always show that he has a good feel for the game … Richardson will force the issue on some possessions … Leading to silly turnovers and bad shot selections … Needs to work on getting good shots off within the flow of his team’s offense … Overall decision-making needs to improve … A few years older than most players in his class because he reclassified …

Overall: Richardson, a former McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic selectee, averaged 13.3 points on 36 percent shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while starting every game this season for Syracuse … The freshman saw his draft stock rise after putting up a string of solid performances throughout the NCAA Tournament, including scoring 23 points – 21 in the second half – to lead the Orange to comeback victory over Virginia in the Elite Eight. He also scored 17 points in the team’s Final Four loss to North Carolina. Although Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim often got on Richardson for his poor shot selection, he was able to make up for it by playing well when it mattered the most. In a nutshell, Richardson is an attacking guard and a streaky shooter who can shoot the lights out on any given night. If his ball-handling, decision-making and overall shooting consistency continues to improve then he can be terrific scorer at the next level. He’s a bit of a raw talent but has a ton of upside and will likely get selected mid-to-late first round of this year’s draft if he decides to not return for his sophomore season.

Notes: Measured 6’5.5 (with shoes) 191 lbs with a 6’10.5 wingspan at the 2013 LeBron James Skills Academy … Measured 6’3.25, 198.8 lbs, with a 7’0 wingspan and 8’7 reach at the 2014 USA U18 tryouts … Measured 6’5.5 (in shoes) 193 lbs, with a 6’11 wingspan at the 2014 Kevin Durant Skills Academy …

Tajh Jenkins 5/7/16

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