The future is…

Strengths: With a rare combination of size, quickness and athleticism, he has the potential to change the way the point guard position is played … He has extremely long and explosive strides than not only give him a remarkable first step, but also unmatched ability to turn the corner … Using his incredible speed and ballhandling, he is almost unstoppable both in a half court setting and in transition … When he decides to attack, not many players can match up with him as he is relentless and constantly keeps the pressure on the defense … His ability to finish in the paint is where he is in a class by himself at the point guard position; he can finish above the rim in emphatic fashion, or use his creativity and complete plays in a variety of finesse ways using both hands … Reads his defender well and uses a wide repertoire of moves off the dribble such as crossovers, in&outs, spin moves, hesitation dribbles, all to get the defender off balance … Staying infront of him is no small task, but even then his stocky build allows him to take his defender all the way to the hoop once he has him on his hip … Uses his body well to shield the ball on drives and has remarkable body control and shot making ability even under the most difficult circumstances … Because of his strength and great footwork, he has the potential to play spot duty in the post (similar to Baron Davis) and create offense for his team playing with his back to the basket … He is not afraid of contact and he knows how to use angles and his body to draw fouls … Even for a point guard he is very efficient with his dribble, he doesn’t take the air out of the ball, instead attacks at the first opportunity … Although he is an incredible scorer, he still plays with a pass first mentality and more importantly he has shown that he can run a team … His 40” vertical and 6’ 8” wingspan not only help him offensively, but they also combine with all of his other physical attributes to give him the potential of being a top notch defender … Has proven to be a big time player and winner while performing at a high level in crucial games and taking his team to National Championship Game…

Weaknesses: He needs to become more vocal and establish himself as a leader (as most PGs in the league are) … Measuring out at 6’1.5” without shoes makes him a bit shorter than initially thought, but with his physical tools he still plays much bigger than his actual size … The biggest hole in his game right now is undoubtedly his shot, even though he shot a decent 34% from three and a pedestrian 71% from free throw, he still needs to become more consistent from the outside … He doesn’t necessarily need to become deadly from long range, but with the NBA being heavily predicated on pick & roll play, his ability to knock down mid-range shots coming off screens will be crucial for not only his success but also longevity, as he will be able to extend his career by not having to constantly go into the paint amongst the trees … In college he played in a system that was heavily dependent on isolation play and they also faced many zone defenses, which did not help him much in terms of developing his court vision and decision making … His team defense principles still need to improve as he is known to fall asleep on cutters and also lose sight of the ball on the weak side … Understanding help defense and reading screens are also concepts he struggles with, but there is no reason to think that he won’t change this in a very short time …