NBA Comparison: Ramon Sessions/Andre Miller

Strengths: Confident lead guard with a good amount of mismatch potential … Excellent size for a point guard, standing 6’5.25" tall with a 6’7.5" wingspan … Strong finishing ability due to size and body control … Powerful first step, which is surprising considering his lack of great foot speed … Very aggressive … Can drive well with either hand … Uses hesitations, spin moves and crossovers to break down his defender in isolation situations … Has the potential to use his size in the post against smaller point guards … Very gifted passer in a half-court offense … Tremendous court vision … Led the Big Ten in assists per game his sophomore year, averaging 6.7 on the season … Operates well in pick-and-roll situations, keeping his head up and displaying excellent timing on passes … Good frame with the potential to hold a little more muscle … Good teammate and a vocal leader on the floor … A true point guard with a good feel for the position and at just 20 years of age has solid potential …

Weaknesses: Doesn’t possess any outstanding athletic qualities … Not an explosive leaper … Lacks great speed or quickness … Lacks a great understanding of how to control transition opportunities, often attempting to force the issue despite being outnumbered … Underdeveloped catch-and-shoot ability hurts his potential to play well without dominating the ball… Prone to taking ill-advised shots … Shot only 25% from behind the arc last season … Only an average defender due to lack of lateral speed … Struggles to recover after being screened … His age is both a positive and a negative. At 20, he’s got upside, but will likely take some time to be NBA ready, and learning the NBA position on the fly is a challenge …

Overall: One of the best passers in the draft and he’s only a sophomore, so he still has a lot of room to improve … A reliable outside jumper would really round out his offensive game … A sleeper. Has starting point guard potential, and should be a 1st round pick in this year’s draft …

Tyler Ingle 5/29/11