By James Blackburn

Kevin Dillard (G, 6’0”, RS JR)

Game Scouted: Dayton @ St. Louis

Stats

2-10 FG, 7-9 FT, 3 reb, 2 assist, 11 TP, 1 steal, 1 TO, 30 min.

Box score

St. Louis wins 58-50

Kevin Dillard Dayton Basketball
Photo: DaytonFlyers.com

Strengths

Lightning quick guard who uses his size to his advantage to get to the rim. Very difficult for defense to stay in front of. Has the ball on a string and is an above average ball handler- effective right to left crossover move that froze several St. Louis defenders this game. Excellent P/R player with ball in his hands- seemed to always make the right decision off this action- knew when to turn corner- which he has the ability to do, knew when to shoot pull-up, and knew when to hit screener with pass either when he rolled or popped.

Excellent passer who keeps his head up when dribbling- makes the right pass. Very explosive going to his right- especially the P/R. Has an above average pull up jumper. Can get to the rim and paint area at will, where he can pull up, lay it in with contact (draws contact and fouls at high rate) or kick to an open teammate. Split the double team and had an old fashioned 3 point play for a much needed basket with about 3 minutes to go in the game. Gets to the line and makes defenses pay- shoots over 80% from line- automatic FT shooter- shots rarely hit rim. Makes good decisions overall- 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. Leads team in assists with over 6 a game. Only had 2 today but should have had many more- gave teammates a lot of open looks, but Dayton had a tough time shooting the basketball- at one point in first half, they had only made 2 FG in an 11 minute stretch. He really distributes the ball well- throws passes all over the HC set- knows spacing and where teammates are.

Good defender. Excellent help defender- is aware where his man and where the ball are at all times- not once did I see him out of position. Leads teams with 38 steals for the season.

Weaknesses

Shooting is still inconsistent, especially from 3 where he is shooting barely over 30% for the year. Gets good elevation on shot and has decent form, but tends to fade at times and his misses are erratic and he often misses short. Needs to improve ability to go left. Not near as explosive going left as he is going to his right off the pick, is a bit hesitant. In 15 P/R situations that I tracked, he went to his right 9 of the 15 and he shot or went for a lay up in over half of those. Of the 6 times he went left he passed the ball or pulled it out 4 times and shot it the other 2- only once did he completely turn the corner and get to rim going to his left (got fouled on this play). Tends to pull up or pass going left and get to paint going right. Tends to jump in air to make passes at times, does so because of size and he is not able to see over bigger defenders- got caught in the air on baseline once this game for his lone TO. Even though he has over 68 TO’s for the year, he has over twice as many assists and if you account for the fact he plays over 30 minutes a game and he has the ball in his hands more then anyone on the team, that number does not seem as bad. Though he is a good defender- he is a better off ball defender then on ball- at his size in order to show he can play in the NBA, he must hound the ball more and keep his man from getting by him- did not see that from him today.

Overview

Kevin struggled for the most part today shooting the ball against a very good defensive-minded Rick Majerus team that has held 5 teams under 50 points so far this season. He still showed the ability to get to the basket almost at will and got to the line where he hit 7-9 FT’s. His teammates did not help with his assists numbers as they struggled to hit shots, many of which were open looks set up by Dillard. Dayton relies heavily on Kevin for his scoring and his playmaking skills, putting the ball in his hands the majority of the time and allowing him to create off of picks. He is leading the team in points and assists in a very deep A-10 conference that boasts 9 teams with an RPI of 100 or better. Has 1 year left of eligibility. Turned his ankle with 30 seconds to go in game and did not return. Was Mr. Basketball in state of Illinois coming out of HS in Chicago.

As far as Kevin’s NBA prospects, he has several things going for him. For one, he has an ability that transfers from college to the pros and that is speed. NBA GM’s love PG’s that can get into the paint, because that is what NBA offenses are predicated off of and Kevin can do that. Dayton also runs an NBA style offense by spreading the court and setting a lot of ball screens which the NBA does a lot of. His size will hurt him some but not a ton. His game reminds me of other smaller framed PG’s who are quick and can get to the rim- names like Ty Lawson, Ish Smith, and Kemba Walker come to mind. He is not the explosive scorer like Walker, but is almost as quick as these players. I believe with another year of playing at a high level, he would be a good mid second round pick for a team needing a solid back up PG.


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By James Blackburn

UNC Basketball John Henson
Photo: Flikr/compacflt

James scouted UNC last year against Wake in February.

In this report, James takes a look at how each of these players improved in their respective weaknesses from last season.

UNC wins 68-53

Box Score

(Reports from UNC @ Wake game on January 31, 2012)

Harrison Barnes, 6’8”, F, SO
Strengths
Showed grit and toughness on the boards (4 rebounds in first 6 minutes). Rebounding numbers per game are down a bit from last season, 5.8 to 4.6 so far this year- but strong performance shown tonight. Hard to get rebounds when you have Henson and Zeller feasting on the back boards. Form is picture perfect. Excellent physique and NBA level build.

Weaknesses
Must improve defensively- watching this game- seems to have almost taken steps backward in this area- poor close outs- had a tough time defending Nikita Mescheriakov. Slow release- won’t be able to be a player who gets shots off in the NBA coming off curl screens or cuts with an NBA 3 guarding him.

Overview
Looked focused in warm- ups. His straight away set 3’s looked good- strongest spot and shot. He also shot a lot of 1 dribble pull ups going to his left. Has a high release, but it has not seemed to speed up any from last year. Hard worker- will be a true professional- a player you won’t have to worry about both on and off the court. Will be a top 10 pick- speed and athleticism are average compared to an NBA SF, which is what he will play- better shooter though than average 3.

Tyler Zeller, 7’0”, F/C, SR

Strengths
Had a nice pass to Barnes out of double team- improved passer from last year. Great rebounder- sticks with it- physically dominated Wake Forests bigs inside. Does a great job of absorbing contact and takes advantage on the FT line (over a 75% FT shooter)- nice touch on FT line. Very strong base. Hook shot is pro-ready.

Weaknesses
Limited offensively- back to the basket offense only- hasn’t showed me the ability to step out or face up yet. Questions about his ability to stop pro-level guards from turning the corner.

Overview
Warm-ups- His right hook shot over his left shoulder looked good- shot over 30 of them from multiple angles- even looked good from 3rd hash mark. He also practiced a spin into a left hook shot that banked in. Went to Zeller a lot early. Averaging almost 10 rpg and shooting almost 60% from the field for the season ( both career best). Did very well against Wake Forests post players, but I still question how he will do against NBA centers. He is a safe first rounder.

John Henson, 6’10”, F, JR

Strengths
Left hand hook is pro ready. Athleticism allows him to shade on screens and get back to man quickly. Influences every shot taken in his vicinity. His midrange game looks better, but he will need to continue to work on it. Excellent defensive rebounder- chins ball every time (154 def. boards for season- leads team- averages 9.9 rpg- also leads team)

Weaknesses
Must improve perimeter defense- stands up instead of getting low in defensive position. Brought ball down too low when in post. FT’s are very inconsistent. Has added muscle (220lbs), but must continue to get stronger- got pushed too deep several times.

Overview
In warm-ups FT’s looked better then last year, but still must improve in that area (shooting 45% from line this year). His off hand placement needs to be more consistent, sometimes it floats on top of the ball and when this happens his misses are all over the place. When he keeps his hand on the side it looked good. Henson has improved every season- he has put on muscle, developed a solid post game, and continues to influence the game defensively in the paint. In my opinion he is on the verge of being a lottery pick in a deep upcoming draft. Will fit in nicely with a team who needs a long, athletic PF, full of upside.

Kendall Marshall, 6’3”, PG, SO

Strengths
Moves the ball with precision, accuracy, and quickness against man 2 man and zones. Hit an open in game set 3- good arc, rotation- looked just like warm-ups. Knows exactly where teammates are going to open up, cut, etc. and gives the ball in perfect scoring position. Passes the ball up-court better then any PG in America. Quick hands defensively- deceptive.

Weaknesses
Slow lateral movement defensively- really struggles to keep opposing guards out of paint. Needs to develop a shot off the dribble. Too passive offensively (shooting only 43% from field on barely over 5 shot attempts per game)

Overview
In warm-ups his set 3 ball was not near as flat as it was last season- his arc is better. In Marshall you know you are getting a poised, pass first PG (over 200 assists 21 games into season). I question how well he is going to do in the pros because of his defensive woes. A team will and should take a chance on him in the second round- I don’t know if his skills warrant a first round selection.