JaVale McGee - NBA Draft Prospects

Numbers: 14.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.8 bpg, 53% FG, 53% FT, 33% 3's

About Him: JaVale McGee has an unbelievable upside. He is a full 7 feet and has a wing span of 7'6". He is an explosive athlete that can run the floor. Although he is fairly slender right now, he has the broad shoulders and the frame where he could bulk up. He has great hands and a soft touch in the paint, with a decent array of hook shots and turnarounds which he finishes with great extension. Defensively, he has great timing and uses his athleticism and length very well blocking shots, especially when coming over from help side. The problem is that he has a very long way to go until he fulfills his potential. He is very weak when it comes to establishing position in the post, and as a result is settles for bad, off-balance shots way too often. He cannot pass out of the post at all, and his assist-to-turnover ratio is a horrendous .25:1. He is lazy defensively, gambles for steals, doesn't finish plays, doesn't hustle, cannot move his feet and gets pushed around on the block. According to Synergy's "PlayType QuickTable's stats", McGee was scored on 66% of the time when the man he was defending got the ball in the post (and that was playing in the WAC, not a conference with overwhelming post players).

Comparisons: Patrick O'Bryant, Andrew Bynum

Bottom Line: McGee is an NBA player, the question is how good will he be. If he works hard at improving his strength and his ball skills, he could become an all-star center. He could also be out of the league after his rookie contract.