NBA Comparison: James Harden/D’Angelo Russell

Strengths: Fultz has elite physical tools for an NBA point guard at 6’5” with a 6’10” wingspan … He has big, strong hands, excellent feet, a solid frame, terrific body control, and he absorbs contact very well … He is very imaginite, shifty with the ball in his hands, can finish above the rim with regularity, and is an explosive leaper off of one foot or two feet when he has momentum … Fultz has great extension and finishing ability at the rim due to his length and large hands; his size and length allows him to get off his pull-up jumper and elevate over the top of other guards; also at times will utilize his size advantage in the post against smaller defenders where he can shoot over the top of them … He is a strong, physical player who does not shy away from contact, and he does a great job of going into the chest of the defender and maintaining control in the air so he can finish acrobatically … He uses his size to get to good scoring angles at the rim; his length also allows him to finish at the rim and make it difficult for defenders to contest his shot … Fultz has a very smooth all around offensive game with tremendous scoring instincts and the ability to put the ball in the basket from all three levels consistently … He has the makings of an elite go-to scorer, which is so valuable and rare at the next level … He can be effective playing both on and off the ball as a playmaker or scorer; an outstanding pick and roll player, excellent creativity and decisiveness as a ball handler … He does a great job of changing speeds and getting to his spots on the floor … In transition he pushes the ball up the court, gets downhill, and uses his elite body control to finish at the rim off the break … Fultz’s knowledge of how to use change of speed and directions is unusually advanced for someone his age, a skill that will translate to immediate success at the next level … Off the pick and roll, he does an excellent job reading his defender and has the ability to pull up all the way from three-point range if the guard goes under the screen or if the big man does not come up to help … He also has an excellent hesitation move that freezes the big man when he does come up to help; he has a deadly pull-up jumper off of the hesitation move, similar to the way Kevin Durant used this move so effectively at Texas … Fultz has an assortment of quick dribble moves from stepbacks, crossovers, spin moves, etc. if the guard gets through the screen … He’s also comfortable using his size, particularly when getting into his mid-range pull up; covers ground very well, uses long strides and consistently gets to the rim in one dribble when penetrating off the pick and roll … He has unique change of direction ability as well, which he uses in the paint to get by bigger defenders … He is a talented isolation scorer who uses hang dribbles and hesitations effectively; can make tough shots off the dribble; able to rise into jump shots off a one-two step and is comfortable making contested jumpers … His respectable pull-up game allows him to get to the rim much more easily when in isolation situations … He does a great job utilizing hesitation crosses to get in the lane and score; also does an exemplary job of being deceptive and unpredictable off the dribble … It is difficult to defend him because of his wide variety of dribble moves … He is not an elite catch and shoot player but more than capable of knocking spot up shots down from the perimeter … He has smooth mechanics with NBA range; also does a good job of knocking down shots when coming off screens where he has excellent balance and shot preparation … He’s very good at attacking closeouts as well, to pull up or finish at the rim … His great instincts are particularly shown in these situations; crafty finisher at the rim, has soft touch on two foot floaters with good balance; can stretch in the air around long defenders with his length; great finisher with his left hand where he gets excellent extension … Fultz is a creative, willing passer with an outstanding feel for the game; has a higher assist percentage and lower turnover percentage than Lonzo Ball … He will be a dangerous playmaker with NBA spacing and better shooters around him … He is dynamic in the open court and can make passes from numerous angels in transition … He does a great job of keeping his head up and finding big men running the floor or shooters on the wings in transition … He is also a terrific passer off the pick and roll, where he uses creative wrap around passes; will split the defenders off of ball screens and find big men in the short corners for easy conversions … Fultz is very patient off the pick and roll and does not force the issue often;will wait for the play to develop before making passes. He does a good job of using both sides of the floor and can make passes over the top due to size and length. Fultz must improve his focus and intensity, but he has the tools to develop into a lockdown defender at either guard spot; uses his body well to stay in front and has quickness to run stride for stride with smaller guards. His 6’10” wingspan makes him tough to shoot over; does a good job of being physical with bigger guards inside and can make things tough for big guys down low off of switches. He can cover a lot of ground, as shown by several chase down blocks this past season at Washington; also shows good instincts off the ball and has good timing on rotations from the weak side in the half court; a very low risk, high reward player; one of the most complete college guards in the last decade.

Weaknesses: Fultz is a very hard worker off the court who has shown dramatic improvement each year since his days in high school, but he can play with more consistent intensity in games … The game comes too easily for him, and he can take plays off particularly on the defensive end … He can be loose with the ball at times on offense … Especially turnover prone on his spin dribble … While fairly quick with his feet and creates extremely well with decption and hesitation, he’s not the fastest player running in the open floor … Fultz played on a bad Washington team but some question whether he can lead a team the way a star should at the next level given the low number of wins this past season … On defense he can be a little too upright at times, which causes him to struggle containing the dribble; his closeouts on perimeter can be lazy and out of control … He does not always fight through screens, allowing shooters to get open looks or quick guards to turn the corner; will lose focus of his man often when off the ball, frequently beat on backdoor cuts … Fultz is not overly turnover prone, but he can telegraph passes at times and be a bit lazy in this area, leading to avoidable turnovers … His shot selection is poor at times, but this may have been the result of having to carry the team at Washington … He will settle for a lot of tough mid range jump shots; has greatly improved shooting but still a bit streaky, more of a tough shot maker than pure shooter at this stage … He has a tendency to shoot on the way down on pull-up jumpers … He misses short a lot and needs to put more of an emphasis on getting legs into his shot … Fultz does not have the quickest first step and struggles to turn the corner against more athletic defenders … Will have to rely more on craftiness and deception to become an elite scorer in the NBA …

Notes: 2016 McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic Selection …Five star signee ranked in the top 10 by all major recruiting services … Member of the 2016 Team USA Under-18 team that won the the FIBA Americas World Championships in July … Named MVP of the FIBA Americas Championships … 2016 All-USA Maryland Player of the Year … set the school’s single-season record for assists with 278 … As a junior, averaged 16.5 points and was named the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year…Did not play varsity basketball until junior year of high school…First Team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman team…Averaged 25 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per-40… Had the highest PER of any freshman in the country, and the 12th highest PER for an 18-year old in the past 16 years.

William Desautelle III 5/16/17
 

Strengths: A 6’5 combo guard with elite level skills and athleticism … Has ideal size and length for the position. Good athleticism and a solid body … Lightning quick first step and changes directions extremely well … Creativity is one of his trademarks … Solid leaping ability especially off of one foot. Extremely agile with standout body control … Attacks gaps in the defense and takes it hard to the rim with aggression. Finishes well through contact. Good slashing ability. Gets where he wants off the dribble and uses screens well … Good court vision and passing ability … Can score for himself as well as make plays for others … Very streaky. Has the ability to heat up quickly and go on big runs … Good pull up jump shot from three … Plays well in transition, using his imagination and creativity well … Draws fouls and gets to the free throw line with ease … Can fill up the stat sheet in all categories … Rebounds and blocks shots well for a guard … Tough and willing defender; shows great potential with his size, length, and quickness … Anticipates and jumps passing lanes … Plays with great confidence … A competitor …

Weaknesses: Jump shot has improved and he can fill it up from outside but is a bit of a streaky shooter … For a guard with a scoring mentality, he has room to become more consistent … Doesn’t score much from midrange at this point, usually all three pointers or getting all the way to the rim … Good at challenging the defense at the rim but doesn’t show much of a floater … Hits difficult shots but should look to improve his shot selection at the next level … Has added some strength to his body but his legs could still stand to add strength … Has a star quality and attitude but will need to continue to develop his leadership abilities …

Outlook: Fultz is entering his freshman season at Washington. A late bloomer who played junior varsity as a high school sophomore, but blossomed into one of the top prospects in the 2017 draft class. Fultz earned MVP of the FIBA Americas Championship in Chile to earn gold averaging 13.8 points, four rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 3.2 steals per game while shooting 54.7% from the field.

Evan Tomes 9/27/16