Big East NBA Draft prospects
Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 11:42 amI'm not a real big NBA fan but I've been trying to keep tabs on what is being said about Doug McDermott's NBA prospects. By all accounts he did really well at the combine this week. I'm really interested to see what happens with Semaj too.
Michigan's Nik Stauskas, Creighton's Doug McDermott, Michigan State's Adreian Payne, Virginia's Joe Harris, Cincinnati's Sean Kilpatrick and North Dakota State's Taylor Braun went through a combination of drills, 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 games for a couple of hours while I sat courtside. Here's what I learned."
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During early shooting drills, Stauskas had the lead early, hitting 47 of his first 50 attempts. At the end of the workout, it was McDermott who couldn't miss, beating everyone with 13 3-pointers in 35 seconds. Usually in these types of workouts, it's the rims that get weary. Here, it was the nets that were worn out by the end. And that longer-distance NBA 3-point line? None of the players had any issues with it. All of them have deep, effortless range.
Of the crop, Stauskas looks like the best shooter off the dribble. That's going to make him appealing to teams that want more than just a shooter. McDermott has a picture-perfect release off the catch. His shot looks the same every time.
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Shots are logged every day. Each player takes roughly 100 3-point attempts during a workout. On most days, Stauskas and McDermott are shooting about 85 percent. That's really remarkable.
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McDermott looked a little leaner than I saw him in college play, and he was moving well laterally in drills -- a key indicator for NBA teams worried about whom he'll guard at the next level. He's still not going to be an all-world defender, but on the other end, he's going to be hard to stop. I was impressed with his arsenal of offensive moves Tuesday. While he might struggle a bit defensively, he's going to be a matchup nightmare on the other end. If you guard him with a 4, he's going to take you outside. If you try to guard him with a 3, he has a terrific array of post moves.
McDermott is No. 13 on our Big Board, and I could see him cracking the top 10 in certain scenarios."