NBA Draft Profiles: Jamie Skeen, VCU

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Stats: 15.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 41.9 3PT%

Age: 23, senior

Size:

• Listed: 6'9", 240 lb
• Official: 6'6.5" (no shoes), 6'8" (with shoes), 7'1.25" (wingspan), 8'10.5" (reach), 242 lb

Strengths: Skeen has developed into a fairly dangerous inside-outside threat. His reputation throughout his career has been as a face-up forward, and that rep is well-deserved; Skeen shot 41.9% from three this season and became a dangerous pick-and-pop threat for VCU in their run to the Final Four. He's also added a solid interior game. He's got some bulk and a soft touch inside, which allows him to finish around the rim. He doesn't have a huge variety of moves on the block, but he is effective with what he does have -- spins, drop-steps, jump hooks over his left shoulder.

Weaknesses: Skeen is a bit small for an ideal NBA power forward, checking in at just 6'8" in shoes. And while he does have a nice wingspan, he's not overwhelmingly athletic or explosive. Its possible for undersized power forwards to thrive in the NBA (Brandon Bass, Paul Millsap, etc.), but one of the areas where concerns have been raised is Skeen's rebounding. He did average 7.3 rpg and had some impressive games against quality competition (14 boards against Tennessee, 10 against Kansas in the Elite 8), but NBA scouts are the kings of the nitpickers, and Skeen's lack of dominance on the glass will be a concern. Skeen's post-game, while effective in college, does not have an abundance of advanced moves. He's effective with what he does, but simply going over his left shoulder is not going to work as an undersized four in the league.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: A mix between Robert Horry and Rodney Rogers. Both Horry and Rogers carved out long NBA careers by playing the role of a big man that was able to step out and knock down a three ball. Rogers was probably a better scorer than Skeen and Horry was more athletic (and more clutch?), but the same kind of career arc is what Skeen will be hoping for.


• Worst Case Scenario: If Skeen is able to hang around on the back end of NBA rosters, Brian Cook isn't a bad comparison. But I think the worst case scenario for Skeen is a career in Europe. He's got the skillset -- physical forward, can knock down a jumper -- that European teams love. It isn't the NBA, but there is certainly money to be made in Europe.

Outlook: Skeen's collegiate career was a winding road. The 2006 player of the year in North Carolina, Skeen injured his knee before enrolling at Wake Forest, but still managed to make the ACC all-freshmen team. After seeing his minutes get cut as a sophomore, Skeen transferred out of Wake early in his junior year after being suspended by the school amidst academic troubles. He ended up at VCU, where he didn't really burst onto the scene until this season. Despite all of those issues, Skeen has drawn rave reviews for his work ethic and his coachability from everywhere he has been associated. Skeen has been through a lot in his career, and it has helped him mature as a person and a player. He doesn't have the skill set to be a star in the NBA, but if he continues to work hard, carry himself professionally, and accept the role he is assigned at the next level, he's got a chance to carve himself out a nice NBA career.

Draft Range: Mid-to-Late 2nd Round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "Skeen was special in the tournament and saved his best for last : a 26-point, 10-rebound outburst against Kansas' NBA-sized front line and 27 points against Butler in the Final Four. Skeen's a true inside-outside player. He battles for position in the paint and he can let it fly from 3-point range. He's not going to be a lottery pick, but he's moved from certain free agent to a legit shot at getting drafted -- either in the late-first round or the second round."


• Draft Express: "Though he continues to show flashes of a face-up game, he is most effective in the post, where he has evolved into a gritty finisher. While his footwork and touch around the basket are much improved, his post arsenal remains limited and predictable as he lacks much in the way of countermoves. He is best when executing a simple spin move into a jump hook over his left shoulder, where he can create space using his bulk and finish with his soft touch. He must work on improving his off hand, as his effectiveness as a post-scorer finisher is limited at the next level."


• Swish Scout: "Fundamental forward who can be utilized in the high pick and roll because of his ability to pop out and knock down the perimeter jumper or open three. Skeen has great strength, length, basketball IQ, and motor, but he lacks great athleticism and refinement on his offensive post game that could force him into being a back up."

Highlights:




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Jamie Skeen's winding road to the Final Four

This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

It changed all the way back in November.

Prior to VCU's Preseason NIT consolation game against UCLA, VCU center Jamie Skeen said at a team dinner that he wasn't getting the ball enough.

"We were at dinner. I just made a joke about it at first," Skeen said with a laugh after that game in November. "My coach took it seriously. He said 'Okay, we're going to get you the ball for real.' I said that would nice."

The 6'8" Skeen would score 10 points in the first five minutes of that game, finishing with 23 points and nine boards as VCU knocked off the Bruins. He's barely slowed down since, leading the Rams in both scoring and rebounding. Most recently, he had 26 points, 10 boards, and hit four threes as VCU knocked off Kansas in the Elite 8.


It hasn't always been this easy. Skeen's college career has been a long and winding road, one that has required as much patience as anything.

Back in 2006, Skeen was the reigning high school player of the year in North Carolina. A top 100 recruit, he was headed to Wake Forest. He started 24 games as a freshman in 2006-2007, averaging 7.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg playing along side Kyle Visser. As a sophomre, Skeen saw his minutes cut, but much of that was due to the addition of James Johnson, an eventual first round pick. With Jeff Teague also on the roster, Skeen started just six games and averaged only 5.6 ppg and 4.1 rpg, but he was a key piece of the front court rotation.

In 2008-2009, Wake Forest was loaded. Teague and Johnson carried the Demon Deacons, at one point being ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.

Skeen was supposed to be on that team, but he wasn't. He had to sit out the first semester at Wake Forest due to some academic problems he had at the school, and instead of appealing he decided to transfer to VCU. He wouldn't get eligible until the end of the fall semester in 2009-2010, which means that Skeen was forced to sit and watch both his old team and his new team take part in the NCAA Tournament.

When he finally was allowed back on the court in December of 2009, Skeen didn't immediately see the court. He was stuck behind yet another future first round pick in Larry Sanders.

It wasn't until this season that Skeen finally got his chance.

And he has shined. Skeen averaged 15.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg, leading VCU in both categories. Not just on the court, but in the classroom as well, where Skeen is scheduled to graduate this spring.

"He's come a long way, a long way," VCU head coach Shaka Smart said earlier this week. "He's matured. He's developed as a person. He's done a really good job of putting himself in a position where he's on track to graduate this spring. His attitude is one of humility and wanting to be coached and to get better."

On the court, Skeen has been arguably the most important piece for this Rams team. While VCU has a couple of other options in the post, Skeen is the only one that is any kind of scoring threat. In fact, VCU is at their best when they surround Skeen with four guards that can shoot. It creates space for him to operate inside, and with his ability to shoot the three, he makes VCU a very difficult team to defend.

"He became our go-to guy," Smart said. "He was going to get as many touches as he could handle. Now we've been able to go to him over and over and over again, and he's responded. He's led us in scoring, rebounding. He's been at times a point forward for us. We can play through him."

"I'm just so happy for him because he did go through some adversity earlier in his career. Really happy that it's finishing the right way."

The most ironic part in all of this?

Skeen left a Wake Forest team that had Final Four potential. He went to VCU and has led a team that barely got into the NCAA Tournament to the Final Four. He's put himself on the radar of NBA teams.

Who would have thought that transferring to a team in the CAA would have ended up being the best move that Jamie Skeen could have made?
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March Madness is officially here: VCU wins on a ... BUZZER BEATER!

And we have our first buzzer-beater of March Madness 2011!

Down 60-57 with 18 seconds left, Drexel's Chris Fouch came off of a flare screen and drilled a deep three to tie up their CAA Tournament quarterfinal game against VCU. But after a timeout from head coach Shaka Smart, the Rams got the ball into Jamie Skeen on the block, and the Wake Forest transfer his a gorgeous, spinning layup off the glass for the 62-60 win.

That was a lot of explanation for a play which I have video of:



Skeen finished with 24 points. We've said since back in November that Skeen was the key to this VCU team. For one possession, at least, he made us look smart.

Now, to be fair, Kyle Weems hit a game-winner last night for Missouri State as the Bears overcame a late, nine point deficit to beat Southern Illinois in Arch Madness:



But look at the clock. There were 1.4 seconds left on the clock. In the BIAH Official Lexicon Handbook of March Madness, a buzzer-beater has to be a shot that is in the air when the buzzer goes off. If there is still time on the clock, it is a game-winner. You can't hit a walk-off homerun in the top of the ninth, can you?
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