NBA Comparison: CJ McCollum

Strengths: Sharp shooting point guard with a slight frame but a ton of upside if his body develops … Very cerebral and focused player with great maturity from a mental standpoint … “Slick”. Advanced offensive skill set … One of the purest shooters in this year’s draft … His release is clean, and concise … “Makes it look easy” … When he has time to get set and release the ball, he rarely misses … Quick and consistent shooting motion … Rarely forces up bad shots, and shows an excellent feel for the game … His passing ability is also very impressive as he shows innate vision and creativity … Makes his teammates better … Shows an excellent understanding of playing the pick and roll and can facilitate for teammates as well as come off screen for pull ups … Has the ability to make plays for his teammates as his passing ability sets up opportunities …He can spot teammates and drop the ball on a dime in the full court … Anticipates the game extremely well, on both ends of the floor … Sees plays before they happen, leading to breakaway steals, as well as passing teammates open for easy baskets … Pushes the ball up the floor well and sees the entire floor making excellent decisions … Solid ability to utilize runners in the lane, over the trees, to avert blocked shots … His 89% FT shooting confirms his elite level shooting stroke … Solid foot speed and quickness allows him to get by defenders and creates separation for scoring opportunities … Excellent ball handler, who is solid at getting by defenders off the bounce and can split double teams and handle full court pressure with ease … Also shows a solid ability to stop on a dime and pull up for shots … Despite lack of strength, plays with toughness and seems to fight through contact well … Finishes with either hand around the basket … Has sneaky athleticism, with the ability to get up and dunk when he gets the right momentum and is able to gather his feet … Has toughness, as shown by his surprising 4.5 rebounds per game … Has a fearless demeanor … Competitive player who plays with fire and passion … Never shies away from big moments, and seems to perform well at the end of games, when the pressure intensifies … One of the high risk/reward picks for this year’s draft who may have jumped the gun on a NBA career, but if his body comes around, watch out!

Weaknesses: At just 160 lbs, he has extremely thin legs and underwhelming overall body strength … Underdeveloped body likely means he’s a few years away from being NBA ready, especially from a defensive standpoint … Lack of body strength hurts him, as he struggles when he faces physical opponents and can get knocked off balance on drives … Improving his core and leg strength appears to be his biggest obstacle … Some players have a tough time adding and carrying muscle mass, so it will be interesting to see what kind of gains he can make … Will turn 20 on Sept 28th, so he’s not a young freshman … Can get up and dunk the ball on breakaways, but generally plays below the rim. Granted ball skills and shooting are more important long term for point guards than athleticism (ie Curry vs Westbrook) … Struggles some to finish plays around the rim due to his lack of leg strength and explosiveness … NBA readiness and ability to contribute immediately are both concerns as he’s extremely thin, even by college standards … Assist to turnover number was underwhelming and needs to improve (3.2 to 2.6) … Additional core strength should improve his leaping ability, but also his explosiveness off the dribble … Most of Terry’s offense came in pick and roll and spot ups and he rarely created off of isolation … Becoming better at working in space on isolation will be beneficial to him …

Overall: A late bloomer physically … One of the most intriguing “projects” in this year’s draft … Despite possibly “jumping the gun” on a pro career, he has one of the highest ceilings of any point guard in this year’s draft … Pending how his body develops, he can become a stand out in the NBA … He’s a natural shooter and playmaker with shades of Stephen Curry and Trae Young to his game …

Notes: Measured: 6’1.50” barefoot, 6’3.00” in shoes, 8’0.00” standing reach, 170.0 lbs, and 6’1.75” wingspan at the 2020 NBA Combine … Averaged 14.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, connecting on 40% from three and 89% from FT as a freshman at Stanford … Surprised many with his decision to enter the 2020 NBA draft as it was assumed he is a year away, however he figures to find a spot in the first round … Considering his age, it was probably a good decision to enter considering there may not be a college season, or at best an abbreviated one, and working with an NBA team’s strength and conditioning staff for the upcoming year would be beneficial …  Native of Minneapolis, MN …

Aran Smith 7/29/20