2015 NBA Draft Watch List: Juniors, Part Two

It’s just a few days from the start of college basketball season and the road to the 2015 NBA Draft has begun.  It’s time to start taking some early looks at players who are already on the NBA’s radar, or have enough skill or potential to break through this season.

The junior class is an impressive group with many prospective NBA players, many who possibly could have made the jump to the league already.

These are not meant to replace scouting reports, which will come out during the season.  These are not all-inclusive and just meant as a brief primer for those who want to track draft prospects throughout the season.  These are also not in any particular order other than who I choose to write about each post.

Georges Niang, Iowa State, Forward, 6’8, 230

(2013-14, 30.1 mpg) 16.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.6 apg

47.4 FG%, 72.1 FT%, 32.7 3FG%, 54.8 TS%, 52.6 eFG%

28.5 USG%, 8.0 REB%, 23.6 AST%

Niang emerged as one of the best all-around offensive forwards in the country last season, and was a big part of Iowa State’s 28-win season.  The Cyclones’ offense often flowed much better when it ran through Niang, who can score inside and out, and has very good court vision and passing ability.  Niang can be put in multiple spaces on the floor on offense, and his skill set is a great fit with Iowa State’s spacing. He can be used as a screener on the perimeter, where he does a good job opening up into either a pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop situation.  Niang has shown good ballhandling skills for his size, and can get to the basket in isolation situations against many other forwards. He uses his body well in the low post, creating a solid base, and showing good footwork and nice touch around the basket. Niang also has a very good understanding of how to use angles and the backboard to get good shots in the lane area. As I mentioned, Niang has great court vision and can find open teammates out of the high or low post, or occasionally on a drive to the basket. Defensively, Niang does a good job defending in the low post, using his body well to force his man away from the basket. He shows a good understanding of what he should do on defense, though he is often too slow to execute.

What he needs to show this season: Niang is a very skilled offensive player, though his perimeter shot can be hard to watch. His shooting motion is slow and he gets almost no lift from his legs, making many look just like a long set-shot. It works when he has plenty of time and space to get his look, but that won’t work at the next level. His ability to exploit defenders in the post is very good, and he should look to get the ball there more often. As physical as he is on the defensive end, he doesn’t look to draw contact much at all on offense, and his free throw total is abysmal for the amount of shots he takes. At times, Niang overestimates what he is capable of, especially when looking to create off the dribble, and he can lose control. Defensively, Niang knows what he should do, especially when guarding on the perimeter, but his foot speed is very slow and many players have little trouble beating him off the dribble. He has to adjust his positioning and learn to play angles better. Also, Niang can get a bit too physical in the post, using his arms to push, and picks up a lot of needless fouls. He needs to put in more effort on the boards, including the defensive end. Niang is a special talent, but his physical ability needs to improve for the next level. Teams will like what he can do, but he needs to work on his body more.

R.J. Hunter, Georgia State, Guard, 6’6, 190

(2013-14, 33.5 mpg) 18.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.9 spg

44.4 FG%, 88.2 FT%, 39.5 3FG%, 62.3 TS%, 56.6 eFG%

25.5 USG%, 10.5 AST%, 3.5 STL%

Hunter was the Sun Belt Player of the Year last season, beating out lottery pick Elfrid Payton for the honor, and he spent the summer attending the LeBron James and Kevin Durant camps for the top college players in the country. Hunter has good size at the shooting guard position, and his smooth, quick release on his jumper ensures he gets plenty of good looks.  While he has versatile offensive skills, he doesn’t go to them very often, with over 60 percent of his shots last season coming on three-point attempts. Still, when you hit 40 percent of them at that volume, the points add up quickly. Hunter is also capable of posting up smaller defenders, and he can face-up out of the post or hit the quick turnaround jumper. He is a good ballhandler and can attack the basket well to his left or his right, uses long strides to get to the rim, and he can finish with either hand around the basket.  Hunter runs the floor well in transition, either on the wing or pushing the ball himself, and he is capable of getting to the basket or spotting up behind the arc for an easy jumper. On defense, Hunter uses his length well to disrupt passing lanes, and he keeps his feet and hands active on and off the ball.  He also uses his length well to close on perimeter shooters.

What he needs to show this season: Hunter has that feel for the game that is tough to teach, though I’m sure his father, Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter, had a lot to do with how well he understands the game.  It would be great to see Hunter show some more of his versatility this season on offense, though it’s hard to find a problem with a good three-point shooter taking as many as he does. Still, at the next level, Hunter will need to show more of his ability to get past his man and either hit the mid-range jumper or take the ball all the way to the basket. Hunter does need to work on building his body, which would help him absorb contact on the way to the basket.  Another key area for Hunter to work on is how he moves off the ball. He needs to work on coming tighter off of screens, as well as going to multiple moves to lose his defender. Defensively, Hunter has a tendency to play on his heels when he is on the ball, allowing his man to dictate easily where he wants the play to go. Hunter has the skills to make an impact at the next level, now it’s about getting physically stronger and polishing his skill set.

Chris Obekpa, St. John’s, Forward/Center, 6’10, 236

(2013-14, 20.1 mpg) 3.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.9 bpg

56.3 FG%, 40.5 FT%, 54.1 TS%, 56.3 eFG%

11.7 USG%, 10.2 OREB%, 16.5 DREB%, 13.4 REB%, 15.7 BLK%

Obekpa is long and athletic, and even after two college seasons, he is still really raw.  Obekpa’s strength comes on the defensive side. He has good awareness and continues to improve as a help defender. He uses his long arms and quick leaping ability to block shots, and he could still get better if he continues to work on his timing. Obekpa also defends well in pick-and-roll situations, doing a strong job hedging out on the ballhandler. On offense, Obekpa showed development in both his post and perimeter games last season. He does a good job looking to use his lower body to seal off the defender in the post, and he can do a good job cleaning up shots around the rim and getting easy put-backs. Obekpa also showed some ability to hit short and mid-range jumpers, though getting good looks was tough for him.

What he needs to show this season:  Obekpa is still primarily a rim protector, but there is still a lot of untapped potential. He is capable of guarding both post and perimeter and his fundamental defensive skills continue to get better. He does need to do a better job rebounding on the defensive end, and a lot of that may need to come with strength development. Obekpa can be easy to muscle away from the basket, and he can have some trouble with positioning, and it affected him on both ends of the floor. On offense, he doesn’t have the move set to handle being pushed away from the low block, so he needs to develop at least a few go-to moves to get to the basket. Also, Obekpa has problems as a screener in pick-and-roll situations as he didn’t seem to understand the need for spacing and would just stand around after the screen, keeping an extra defender up there with him. He needs to work on the fundamentals of pick-and-roll basketball. There is a lot of potential here, but at times, Obekpa seemed to regress on the floor, and his playing time was inconsistent.

Fred VanVleet, Wichita State, Guard, 5’11, 195

(2013-14, 31.7 mpg) 11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.9 spg

48.4 FG%, 83.0 FT%, 41.8 3FG%, 61.3 TS%, 55.2 eFG%

17.9 USG%, 4:1 A/TO, 33.6 AST%, 3.7 STL%

VanVleet was the on-court leader for a Shockers team which went undefeated through the regular season and lost their only game in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.  Even as a sophomore, not many college point guards showed the kind of control on the floor that he did, even when teams looked to turn up the pressure. VanVleet is a very good ballhandler and he gets the team into their offense quickly. He has great vision and is an excellent passer in all kinds of situations, including post-entry passes, drive and dish, and pick-and-rolls. VanVleet makes very good reads off of screens, and when he looks to go to the basket, he turns the corner quickly on the screen and shows nice acceleration, leaving the defender behind him. VanVleet also uses screens well to set up his long-range jumper, which he sometimes needs because of his size. When he gets into the defense, he uses his body very well to protect the ball and get to the basket or hit an open teammate off the help rotation.  If the help defense drops on him, he can hit the mid-range jumper or a floater in the lane. VanVleet makes very good decisions in transition, and he shows a nice speed burst to beat defenders to the basket.  He is also a smart transition defender, knowing how to try and slow up the break by stopping the ball. On defense, VanVleet has very good awareness, moves his feet well, and is strong on and off the ball.  He does a good job denying passing lanes when pressuring, or sitting back a bit and jumping lazy passes.

What he needs to show this season: It’s hard to find much wrong with what VanVleet did on the court last season. He could make his reads quicker in high screen situations, and he can work on being a stronger finisher around the basket, though he does a very good job drawing contact.  He does need to build his strength, especially to be able to his long-range jumper quicker. He needs to create a lot of space and time because of his size, and when he does miss, it is often short.  On defense, VanVleet adding strength will also help him defend more physical point guards, as well as helping him when dealing with screens on the perimeter. VanVleet is a coach’s dream at the point guard spot, and even with an NBA looking to bigger point guards, VanVleet has the special kind of talent and leadership ability to be popular among NBA teams.