NBA Comparison: Lonzo Ball/Dante Exum

Strengths: A tall and rangy PG, is a legitimate 6’5 and has long arms … Uses his height to his advantage, showing outstanding court vision and flashes of the ability to make difficult passes and shots over smaller guards … Great passer and facilitator, creates multiple easy shots every game (7.1 apg currently) … Has good timing with his assists, often making pocket passes or zipping dimes across the court to cutters and shooters before the defense has time to react … Blossomed into the primary scorer this season for Iowa State after being more of a secondary role player as a Fr., more than doubling his scoring from 6 ppg to 15 … A versatile player who has experience playing in different roles on the perimeter, contributes in just about every aspect of the game … Ultra efficient, especially for a player with his usage rate (22.4%), Haliburton has never shot less than 50% from the field and 40% from 3 in either of his 1st 2 seasons of college basketball … Also takes pretty good care of the ball, averaging around a 3.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio for his career … Active feet and hands as a defender, competes and is adept at jumping in the passing lanes (2.4 spg) … Rebounds as well as you’d expect for a taller PG (6 rpg as a Soph) … A quick guard, shows a nice 1st step going in either direction and doesn’t have much trouble penetrating and getting to the paint or turning the corner in the pick and roll … The base is there for him to become a solid shooter from NBA 3 point range in time, has a high release and decent shooting touch … Able to get his shot off pulling up from mid-range considering his height, quickness and high release, and can currently stick shots from 15-18 ft with some effectiveness … Would fit well in an up tempo system, good in transition … Iowa State’s offensive floor spacing is similar to that of an NBA scheme, so he’s going to be somewhat prepared for the offensive flow of an NBA game … A relative late bloomer, wasn’t a top 150 recruit out of HS … Will only be 20 years old next season if he leaves for the NBA Draft in 2020, and considering the big strides he made from Year 1 to Year 2, there is reason to believe he has even more untapped potential to continue to grow …

Weaknesses: The main question about Haliburton is his narrowly built frame, as he is about 180 lbs and will need to add more strength if he wants to be able to defend more than just PGs and realize his true defensive potential as a versatile weapon on that end of the court…Shooting fundamentals are somewhat crude when spotting up, shoots a push shot with little elevation … While he can make you pay if you leave him open, his shooting is much less effective when contested due to a slow shooting release. Similar to Lonzo Ball struggles to create in ISO situations as his jumpshot is easily blocked due to a long, unorthodox shooting motion … Will have to prove he can make shots from NBA 3 point range, despite his good percentages in college … Can struggle with physical guards, sometimes can be pestered into turnovers … Not necessarily a natural scorer despite considerable uptick in his scoring in the past year, doesn’t have a bag of tricks to create for himself if he can’t beat you with his quickness at the moment … Though his numbers have improved and he’s the best prospect on Iowa State, his team has struggled this season more than you’d typically associate with a player discussed as a potential high 1st round pick …Though quick and shifty, doesnt possess explosive leaping ability and is mostly a below the rim player …

Overall: Haliburton emerged on the scene as a Swiss Army knife type of role player as a Fr for Iowa State who showed intriguing passing ability (4:1 A:TO) and length as a defensive-minded wing playing heavy minutes, but really started generating a 1st round buzz after his play for the FIBA USA U19 squad that won the Gold in Greece in 2019 … The momentum from that tournament has led to a breakthrough Sophomore season that has answered a lot of questions about his projections into the NBA … He has improved his totals nearly across the board, and has proven to be a standout playmaking PG in college basketball with his great passing and vastly improved scoring … He needs to add more pounds to his frame and gain more strength to be more effective in the NBA, as well as prove that his great shooting numbers aren’t a fluke by being a consistent shooter from the NBA 3 … Still, he has a very well-rounded game, has flourished in an expanded role, and has the potential to improve even more with some correctable weaknesses … Expect him to be selected in the 1st round in 2020 if he decides to forego his final 2 seasons …

Jorrye Nixon 1/30/20