Quinton Hosley

Quinton Hosley had a decent game, hitting on two spot-up shots from 18 feet out, a fade-away jumper from 15 feet, and scoring on a lay-up and a jam in transition. On the downside, he airballed another 18 footer, missed on a lay-up off a cut to the basket, and missed on a right-handed lay-up off a right-handed drive. His dribbling looked pretty sloppy whenever he put the ball on the floor, and that’s been a noted weakness of his based on our scouting. He got to the free throw line a few times by putting the ball on the floor, but he usually looked like he was on the verge of losing the ball on these possessions, not having a compact dribble, which is vulnerable to pokeaways by the defense.

On the defensive end, Hosley started the game off by playing some aggressive off-ball defense, cutting off the passing lanes and pushing his man out of his comfort zone, though he eased up a bit as the game went on. He wasn’t scared on switches where he was matched with smaller, quicker guards like Brandon Heath, though he did have some trouble getting around screens, which the opposition threw more of at him later in the game.

Hosley has a chance to get drafted in the second round this year, as he has some nice upside and an NBA body, but he will need to work on improving his ball-handling to play the wing consistently in the NBA, and his outside shot could use some work, as he only shot 32% from behind the arc on the season, even though he’s shot the ball pretty well here.

Fresno State has struggled under the weight of NCAA sanctions in recent years, but new coach Steve Cleveland appears to have a star in junior college transfer Quinton Hosley. A 6'6 slashing small forward, Hosley originally signed with Providence after one year of junior college, but needed another season at that level to make the grade.

This past week, Hosley exploded for 35 points in Fresno State's win against Nevada. In addition to going 5 of 8 from 3-point range, he also battled admirably with Nick Fazekas on the defensive end. Hosley plays a bit of combo forward for the size-challenged Bulldogs, but clearly has the build and athleticism of a power wing. His shooting form is sound, albeit streaky, and he has a motor that allows him to be a factor on the glass and in the open court. Hosley followed up his big outing with 18 points and 16 rebounds against Julian Sensley and Hawaii.

It would be nice to see Quinton Hosley against some high-major competition, but we have another year and a half to get a better read on him. Put us in the "intrigued" category, for now.