NBA Comparison: Jared Jeffries

Strengths: Wilson was a late bloomer this season for Michigan, and he particularly broke out in the NCAA Tournament demonstrating numerous abilities that offer intriguing under the radar NBA potential … He was a key player in turning Michigan’s season around on their way to the Big Ten tournament title and a trip all the way to the Sweet 16 in March, after an up and down regular season … After averaging just 11 points per game in the regular season, he exploded in the tournament, averaging 18.5 points per contest and 3.5 blocks in three games, showing his ability to perform in big moments … At 6’10” and 240 pounds, he is quite a fluid mover and runs the floor very well in transition with long strides … He is also a good cutter without the ball, allowing him to get loose and get easy baskets at the rim … Wilson has good length with a 7’3” wingspan and can finish above the rim in space when receiving passes off of cuts or in transition … Wilson also demonstrates some good perimeter skills for his size, offering potential as a stretch four man in the NBA, which is essential nowadays for modern NBA big men … He has shown to be a dangerous pick and pop threat (37% 3s) and has good mechanics with a quick release and high release point … The defense has to respect his ability to catch and shoot, and he does a good job of attacking closeouts with his footwork and solid ball handling ability to counter when the defense prevents him from catching and shooting … Wilson is a good straight-line driver with both hands, but he likes to drive to his left so he can get to his floater with his right hand … He has good touch on his floater and is able to get his shot off over a lot of defenders with his size and length … Wilson has also shown a respectable face up post game and has an excellent face up jumper off of his inside pivot … He also has excellent footwork in the post and the ability to make jump hooks with either hand … On the defensive end, Wilson is rangy on the perimeter with the ability to keep smaller players in front off the dribble while still being able to contest jumpers with his length. He also has good closing speed on the perimeter and can chase guards off the perimeter due to his fluidity … He also has good lateral quickness and can switch/hedge out on ball screens and still recover … He also offers upside as a rim protector with his length and solid timing once he can refine his defensive awareness … He can also use his length to get in passing lanes and force turnovers off the ball.

Weaknesses: Wilson has some outstanding physical tools, but he still needs to learn how to maximize them with consistency … Often times instead of getting all the way to the rim and finishing with his length, he will settle for contested jumpers even when switched on a smaller player … He has a tendency to float on the perimeter when matched up with smaller players instead of posting up and using his size … He has great skill, but he will settle for a lot of contested jumpers early on in the shot clock … Wilson does not have great vision and can improve as a passer out of the post … He has a good handle for his size but will try to do too much at times and over dribble instead of relying on primary ball handlers, which leads to avoidable turnovers … Wilson needs to improve his physicality and toughness in the post, as he does not work hard to get good position against players his size … He also is not a great finisher in traffic and does not get to the free throw line that often (2.3 FTA per 40). He is skilled but he shies away from contact and mostly relies on finesse rather than physicality. He has great upside on the defensive end, but he needs to improve his awareness before he reaches that level … He can be late to hedge out on ball screens and often gets beat off the ball on cuts … He can do a better job of staying low and being in a good stance to maximize his explosiveness … He also does not always see the ball well, which makes him late to come over to the ball side and help out when needed, and he does not always jump to the ball from the weak side … The biggest thing he could improve upon, however, is his production on the glass … In 30 minutes of action last season, he averaged only 5.3 rebounds per game … With his combination of size, length, and athleticism, that number should be much higher … Improving his toughness and learning how to get good position down low will allow him to be much more of a factor here …

Notes: Given name is DeVante Jaylen Wilson … Born Feb. 19, 1996, in Mt. Shasta, Calif… Son of Taniya Ballard … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science & the Arts … Played at Capital Christian School (2014) under coach Devon Jones … MaxPreps All-NorCal first team, California All-State second team and Division IV Most Valuable Player (2014)…Golden Empire League MVP (2014) … U-M’s Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player (2017) … U-M’s Loy Vaught Rebounding Award (2017) …

William Desautelle III 6/2/17