Syracuse Senior Weaknesses: Despite leading Syracuse in scoring, Joseph rarely showed the willingness, or the skill set, to dominate. Vibe of passivity, satisfied to be another piece in the puzzle. His shot creation with the rock in his hands is limited. 38% of his field goal attempts came from distance, which is hard to fathom given his physical canvas. As a result, his FG efficiency dropped to 42% when asked to carry more of the offensive load. Too many settles. While his ball handling has developed, he stills maintains a high dribble with an extreme favoritism to his right side. When he starts left he either pulls up or spins back right. Picks up his dribble at the first sight of congestion. Off the dribble moves are highly predictable. He seems to tighten up rather than be free-flowing with his movements, serving as a detriment to his first step. Lost some explosion in quickness and leaping departments with added bulk—stiffness. Deliberate jumpshot mechanics. Does not have wrist strength to convert off balance opportunities. Projecting his defense at the next level is exactly that; projection. He sat in a zone for nearly four full seasons, albeit, that zone did have man principles. Never quite fulfilled the promise he displayed during an eye catching sophomore campaign. At 23 years of age he’s old for his draft class placing real boundaries on further growth in his skills.
Strengths: Kris seems to be a quintessential swingman small forward … He’s a great athlete, with tremendous leaping abilities … He is always active, always trying to make something happen around the basket whether its getting tips or put backs … He’s an above average rebounder mainly due to his explosiveness, high energy and constant motor- always following shots and trying to make something happen around the basket … His long wingspan and athleticism give him potential to be good defender … Offensively he’s always looking for the open space … His short range game is good, not great, although seems to be improving with each game … Tends to shoot better off one dribble as opposed to catch and shoot … Has an explosive first step making for one or two strong takes to the rim per game when a lane is available …
Notes: Kris Joseph is the cousin of former Texas point guard and current San Antonio rookie Corey Joseph …
Jonathan Wasserman 2/17/09
Not overly impressed with
Not overly impressed with guys like this who really don’t have ideal SF size usually have to be something special to stick around for long. I don’t see anything in Kris Joseph as a Pro. If he is lucky he gets to be the 9th-13th man on a team.