DJ Augustin - NBA Draft Prospects

Numbers: 19.2 ppg, 5.8 apg, 2.9 rpg, 1.2 spg, 44% FG, 38% 3's, 78% FT

About Him: Augustin is the best point guard prospect in the draft that isn't named after a flower, and he may be the best pure point guard. He can do everything offensively. His best asset as a point guard is his vision. He is excellent in the open floor at finding his teammates, keeping his head up as he pushes the ball. In the half court, he can penetrate on anyone. He is very quick, he has a slick and crafty handle, and excels at hitting the open man at the right time. He has a tendency to hold on to the ball and over dribble (he would dribble out the entire shot clock way too often), but that was more a result of a stagnant Texas offense and the fact his teammates defer to him. The biggest change between Augustin his freshman and sophomore was his scoring. Freshman year he had to defer to Kevin Durant, but this year was his coming out party offensively. He can score in a variety of ways. He is a great shooter with NBA range, either off the dribble or catch and shoot. He can't finish above the rim like a Derrick Rose, but he can finish in the lane because he is slippery in the lane and has a knack for getting the ball off the glass with either hand. He can hit floaters out to about 12 feet, and has a deadly little fadeaway off the dribble. He will drive to the right and create his separation by fading away and shooting a high arching shot. Defensively, he is above average, but is not as strong as he needs to be yet. He is pretty quick laterally, but could still use some work on this aspect of him game.

Comparisons: Somewhere in between Steve Nash and Jameer Nelson

Bottom Line: Augustin is going to be a very good point guard in the NBA. He is very similar to Nash in that they have comparable skill sets, smaller statures, and are true point guards. But Nash has won two MVP's, and it is tough to project a player to be that talented when he doesn't even look like he will go in the top 5. He will probably end up being a better than average point guard with a long NBA career.