Away we go! Starting with the Point Guard position as it relates to the NBA Draft...
The Payton's are everything to Oregon State hoop |
Denzel Valentine - Michigan State. 6'5" 220, SR. ...The undisputed floor-leader of the Spartans in 2016 is Denzel Valentine. He recently won Big Ten Player of the Year honors in a season where he averaged 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game. Valentine has two triple-doubles this season (games against Boston College, and Kansas). I like Valentine's 6'5" size as it projects to the next level. He is a smart ball-player that dissects opposing defenses with his ability to read and react. He owns a 2.02-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is one of those players that is "all over the court". He has improved his three point shooting with each season, now converting at a 44% clip. He is a career 78% foul shooter. Valentine leads the NCAA in box score plus/minus. Michigan State is +17 (per game) with Valentine on the floor. While his athleticism is average at best, Valentine still projects as a potentially valuable starting NBA guard.
Dunn has upside |
Melo Trimble - Maryland. 6'2" 175, soph. ...Trimble averages 14.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. He has a really nice shooting stroke (37% 3-pt, and 86% FT, career). In his second season as the Terps leader he sacrificed some scoring for being a better play-maker that sets up his teammates. This is a wise move by the heady guard who at 6'2" will be better suited to playing Point Guard as opposed to Two-Guard in the NBA. His career assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.57-to-1 (borderline for a PG). Trimble is excellent at drawing fouls on penetration. He led the Big Ten in free throw attempts in 2014-15, and was fifth in that category this season. Defensively, Trimble needs to improve. His defensive rating of 100.0 is slightly worse than the Maryland overall team DEFRTG of 98.2. ...We view Trimble, at this stage, to be a potential top-tier backup at the next level.
Tyler Ulis - Kentucky. 5'9" 155, soph. ...The diminutive Point Guard was the SEC Player of the Year for 2015-16. Ulis is a "real" Point Guard with a 3.71-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. That kind of decision making ability is indeed rare in such a young player. Ulis averages 17.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. His 7.2 assists per game was best in the SEC. He shoots 37% from beyond the college arc, and he is a rock-solid 84% at the line. If there is a concern about Ulis in the NBA it is clearly his liability on defense. His DEFRTG numbers are significantly worse than the Kentucky team DEFRTG. As of today, we view Ulis as a potential tempo-changing backup in the NBA.
The others specifically on our radar:
Monte Morris - Iowa St. 6'2" 170, jr.
Thomas Walkup - Stephen F. Austin. 6'4" 195, SR.
Fred VanVleet - Wichita State. 6'0" 195, SR.
Kadeem Allen - Arizona. 6'3" 180 jr.
Lorenzo Bonam - Utah. 6'4" 215, jr.
Luke Kennard - Duke. 6'5" 180, frosh.
Frank Mason Jr. - Kansas. 5'11" 185, jr.
Isaiah Taylor - Texas. 6'1" 170 jr.
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