NBA Comparison:  CJ Watson

Strengths:  Combo guard with explosive leaping ability … Creative scorer with excellent playmaking/perimeter skills … A slick ball handler and creative ISO threat … Scoring minded player capable of creating for himself by driving by opponents or hitting shots from the perimeter … Excellent athleticism for a point guard … Plays big for his size. 6’5 wingspan helps make up for lack of ideal height some … High level scorer at 21 ppg for the past two seasons … Plays the passing lanes well and gets out quickly for breakaway dunks … Long arms assist as an on ball defender … Sets up defenders well on drives with hesitation moves, and possesses a quick first step … Crafty and fearless at driving to the basket … Has the Harden side-stepback as part of his repertoire … Solid shooting mechanics. A good, though not great shooter (Career 35% 3P, 80% FT%) … Upped his assist numbers to 3.9 per game as a senior, though a bit of a 2-guard masquerading as a point …

Weaknesses: More of a scorer than a facilitator and severely lacks size for a shooting guard … His age is a detriment as he turns 24 in February, limiting his upside … Has not played against a high level of competition consistently in the Mountain East Conference … Despite having a big singspan at 6’5, he’s extremely undersized considering he’s not a pure point and is just 6’1 in shoeas and has a 8’0 standing reach … Compounding the problem is the fact that he has a thin frame at 180 lbs, meaning he will likely be posted up by bigger points and becomes a match up problem defensively … Athleticism likely to be limited by the speed and strength at the NBA level … Not always engaged defensively … Vision and passing ability are more of a shooting guard than a point … Doesn’t really create scoring opportunities for teammates …

Overall: An undersized scoring guard. May struggle to find a role in the NBA due to defensive and size issues … Has a lot of creativity and his explosiveness helps … Will need to improve his shooting and get stronger to stick in the league …

Notes: Measured: 6’0.25” barefoot, 6’1.00” in shoes,  8’0.50” standing reach,  178.4 lbs, 6’5.25” wingspan at the 2020 NBA Combine … native of Orlando, Florida …

Aran Smith 11/14/20