NBA Comparison: AJ Price

Strengths: Young lead guard with upside … Has ideal size for a point guard in the NBA, standing 6’3.25" in shoes with a 6’5.5" wingspan … Well-rounded athlete … Good speed with the ball in his hands … Solid strength with the frame to potentially add a little more muscle … Aggressive in transition, displaying good instincts and finishing ability … Great perimeter shooting ability … A very natural spot-up shooter from mid to long range … Shot a very respectable 41.3% from behind the arc this season … Adequate passing ability and he doesn’t turn the ball over a lot (averaged over 2 assists per turnover) … Keeps his teammates involved … Not a selfish player by any stretch … Only recently turned 20 years old and has a lot of room to improve … A very solid defender with strong potential. Rick Barnes called him the best defensive guard he’s had … Very solid person, impressive character …

Weaknesses: Very green as a prospect and leaving college so prematurely as a PG could severely inhibit his long term development … Is currently more of a shooter than a scorer … Very raw as a floor general and some question if he’s more of a combo than true PG … Shared ball-handling responsibilities at Texas, and never had the chance to really show off his creativity with the ball … Not used to creating offense for himself off the dribble … Doesn’t look comfortable around the rim … Great shooting numbers from outside, but shot only 42.8% from inside the arc which points to his mediocre slashing/cutting skills … Playmaking ability has potential, but he has a lot to learn before he can be considered a quality full-time point guard …

Overall: Ideally Joseph would have stayed another few years at Texas where he could have continued to see a lot of playing time and improve his all-around game … Instead he chose to take advantage of the weak draft class and declare as a freshman with the hopes of being drafted now instead of competing with incoming point guard Myck Kabongo next season … Could be an interesting second round pick if a team falls in love with his potential and is willing to invest in and wait for him …

Tyler Ingle 6/9/11