NBA Draft Stock Watch: Conference Tournament Week (Part Two)
Stock Up:
Brandan Wright, 6-10, Freshman, Power Forward, North Carolina
3 Game Average: 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 22/32 FG, 3/7 FT
Jonathan Givony
Clearly the second most impressive performance in the ACC tournament (after Brandon Costner) belonged to Brandan Wright of North Carolina. Not looking like he broke a sweat the entire weekend, Wright needed to step for the Tar Heels since Tyler Hansbrough wasnt himself playing with a broken nose.
Wright glided up and down the court effortlessly in every moment he was on the floor, not forcing a thing and looking extremely comfortable in his role as a finisher in and around the paint. At times you feel like things are just too easy for Wright at this level, as hes never asked to go outside of what he does best and is therefore a little more difficult to evaluate than the Odens and Durants of the world, who need to shoulder much bigger roles for their teams. This is exactly why he managed to shoot nearly 70% from the field from the tournament, and is converting 66% of his field goals on the year.
Regardless, he seems to be showing a little more every game he steps out on the floor, for example in knocking down a 14-foot jumper from the baseline or creating a little bit off the dribble for himself. He gets his points primarily though moving off the ball intelligently within Carolinas loaded lineup and presenting himself for easy catches and finishes within 8 feet of the hoop, usually with his gorgeous left-handed jump-hook.
What did stand out more than anything was the phenomenal athleticism, length, touch and instincts he has at his disposal. Hes a fluid athlete with excellent quickness and body control, able to explode off the floor effortlessly to finish bounce passes with a two handed dunk, catch alleyoops thanks to his terrific hands, block shots on occasion, or put-back any offensive rebounds that are lurking around the rim. One play that showed how his tools can be brought together all at once occurred deep in the second half of UNCs blowout victory over Florida State. Wright ran the floor smoothly in transition with his guards and was thrown an errant alley-oop lob well out of his range, but somehow managed to still elevate and get a finger tip on the pass as it was sailing out of bounds to convert the basket with his left hand. These are the kind of instances where it clearly doesnt hurt to have a 7-5 wingspan. On another simple play against Boston College, Wright went over the top of a couple of Golden Eagle defenders and stuck his hand in out of nowhere to tip out a defensive rebound to a streaking Bobby Frasor running down court for an easy layup in transition. You might not have thought much of it at the time, but there are only a select number of players in the NCAA who can make a play like that, let alone do it so easily.
Although he seems to be playing slightly harder than he did earlier in the year, phrases like effortless and too easy dont get to attached to him for nothing. For example, theres no excuse why a player with his tools should only pull down 11 rebounds over a three game stretch playing 30 minutes per game. This is the main beef scouts we spoke with in Tampa had with him, wondering just what kind of drive he has to be the best possible player he can be. Thats also where the comparisons to Channing Frye and LaMarcus Aldridge are coming from, although hes clearly an even more naturally gifted player than those two. If he played with even half the intensity of his teammate Tyler Hansbrough, we might even be having a discussion about him competing with Oden and Durant for the #1 pick. Its not that hes lazy, he just has a very calm and relaxed demeanor to him. Thats all nice and dandy playing alongside a roster that is chock full of NBA talent, but at the next level that just wont fly if hes to reach his full potential.
Its hard not to wonder how much better (or worse?) Wright might be if he was playing on a team with slightly less talent that allows him to just coast at times and score so easily off his terrific playmakers and the attention Tyler Hansbrough draws. Unfortunately, we might have to wait until hes in the NBA to find that out.
Wright glided up and down the court effortlessly in every moment he was on the floor, not forcing a thing and looking extremely comfortable in his role as a finisher in and around the paint. At times you feel like things are just too easy for Wright at this level, as hes never asked to go outside of what he does best and is therefore a little more difficult to evaluate than the Odens and Durants of the world, who need to shoulder much bigger roles for their teams. This is exactly why he managed to shoot nearly 70% from the field from the tournament, and is converting 66% of his field goals on the year.
Regardless, he seems to be showing a little more every game he steps out on the floor, for example in knocking down a 14-foot jumper from the baseline or creating a little bit off the dribble for himself. He gets his points primarily though moving off the ball intelligently within Carolinas loaded lineup and presenting himself for easy catches and finishes within 8 feet of the hoop, usually with his gorgeous left-handed jump-hook.
What did stand out more than anything was the phenomenal athleticism, length, touch and instincts he has at his disposal. Hes a fluid athlete with excellent quickness and body control, able to explode off the floor effortlessly to finish bounce passes with a two handed dunk, catch alleyoops thanks to his terrific hands, block shots on occasion, or put-back any offensive rebounds that are lurking around the rim. One play that showed how his tools can be brought together all at once occurred deep in the second half of UNCs blowout victory over Florida State. Wright ran the floor smoothly in transition with his guards and was thrown an errant alley-oop lob well out of his range, but somehow managed to still elevate and get a finger tip on the pass as it was sailing out of bounds to convert the basket with his left hand. These are the kind of instances where it clearly doesnt hurt to have a 7-5 wingspan. On another simple play against Boston College, Wright went over the top of a couple of Golden Eagle defenders and stuck his hand in out of nowhere to tip out a defensive rebound to a streaking Bobby Frasor running down court for an easy layup in transition. You might not have thought much of it at the time, but there are only a select number of players in the NCAA who can make a play like that, let alone do it so easily.
Although he seems to be playing slightly harder than he did earlier in the year, phrases like effortless and too easy dont get to attached to him for nothing. For example, theres no excuse why a player with his tools should only pull down 11 rebounds over a three game stretch playing 30 minutes per game. This is the main beef scouts we spoke with in Tampa had with him, wondering just what kind of drive he has to be the best possible player he can be. Thats also where the comparisons to Channing Frye and LaMarcus Aldridge are coming from, although hes clearly an even more naturally gifted player than those two. If he played with even half the intensity of his teammate Tyler Hansbrough, we might even be having a discussion about him competing with Oden and Durant for the #1 pick. Its not that hes lazy, he just has a very calm and relaxed demeanor to him. Thats all nice and dandy playing alongside a roster that is chock full of NBA talent, but at the next level that just wont fly if hes to reach his full potential.
Its hard not to wonder how much better (or worse?) Wright might be if he was playing on a team with slightly less talent that allows him to just coast at times and score so easily off his terrific playmakers and the attention Tyler Hansbrough draws. Unfortunately, we might have to wait until hes in the NBA to find that out.