NBA Comparison: Royal Ivey

Strengths: Wanamaker is one of those guys people don’t give fancy labels to, he’s simply a basketball player…A 6’4 combo guard with a strong build…Has improved his body a good bit over time, trimming down his once chubby frame…Shows great basketball IQ, plays within himself and makes great decisions…His best skill as a player is undoubtedly his passing ability…Outstanding court vision and shows great ability to put the ball in tight windows to find cutters…Not one to get tunnel vision…Was a true triple doble threat in the Big East, with solid scoring, passing and rebounding skills…Can operate from mid-range with his floater…Moves well with the ball…Is a vocal leader…Works hard on D …

Weaknesses: Wanamaker lacks athleticism in a major way and it will hold him back on both ends…Pretty slow and shows no explosiveness…Won’t be a slashing, isolation, or transition threat in the pros like he was in college…Started the year shooting very well from the 3-point line but cooled off a bit an shot a mediocre 34% at the end of the year on a limited amount of attempts…Won’t put pressure on the defense with the ball in his hands…Although he’s a good passer, he’s not a good enough slasher to pose a problem in the drive and dish…Rarely gets separation from defenders…Play fundamental D and works hard, but is lacks lateral quickness in a major way so he’d struggle against pro wings…Wasn’t all that efficient a finisher at the rim in the Big East, and will likely be even worse against better teams and athletes …

Overall: Wanamaker developed into a prospect as a Sr. and improved every part of his game a good bit each year he was at Pitt…Very experienced and mature and was a team leader in his last 2 years…He has nice passing skills and feel for the game, but he’s a bad athlete who will struggle to adjust his game to the pros because of it …

Jorrye Nixon 6/20/11