Marquis Rankin

Joseph Treutlein

A very quick and reactive point guard with a small frame and below average length, Marquis Rankin (#84 Scout, Unranked Rivals, #96 ESPN) is a dangerous player in the half-court both for his own scoring and playmaking ability.

Offensively, Rankin does the majority of his damage attacking the basket, taking advantage of his rangy first step and ability to finish with either hand in the lane. Despite his small stature, he has no problem throwing his body around and drawing contact, getting to the line very frequently and having no fear going into the teeth of the defense. He does a good job getting separation when he needs to by making reactive, rangy moves such as spins and crossovers, changing speeds and directions quickly to get past his man.

As a shooter, Rankin didn't show much here this weekend aside from a few spot-up shots, but appears to have good form and does a decent job from the free-throw line while also showing flashes of three-point range. Further developing this area will be key to his long-term success.

As a playmaker, Rankin does a solid job managing his team's offense, making mostly simple passes in the flow of the offense to get his assists, but also mixing in drive and dishes as well. He definitely looks to score more than pass when in the lane, but seems to have found a pretty good balance given his skill set.

Defensively, Rankin shows a good stance but is prone to being beat at times, as he's often physically overmatched and doesn't seem to put in as much effort on this end of the floor.

Despite the fact that his upside is limited somewhat by his average physical tools, Rankin appears to have the makings of a good college point guard and should be a steady contributor for Virginia Tech from day one. Further developing his playmaking and outside shooting skills will be critical to his long-term success, along with improving his defense.