Basketball

Devin Thomas Wake Forest basketball scouting report

By James Blackburn

Game Scouted: Georgia Tech @ Wake Forest

Georgia Tech Wins 79-70

Box Score

Devin Thomas (6’9”, F, SO)

Stats
2-5 FG, 3-5 FT, 9 reb, 4 assists, 1 blk, 3 steals, 7 TP

Strengths
His ability to finish and use his right hand has improved over last year. Elusive and crafty post player inside. Finds ways to finish around the rim without finishing above the rim. Even though he lacks elite athleticism- he still finds ways to finish inside against bigger defenders. Underrated passer out of the post- keeps his eyes up and is able to hit open shooters and cutters. Is better than his 1.3 assists per game would indicate.

Plays the game with good aggressiveness and with an edge. Solid defender who plays the passing lanes and is not afraid to defend other bigs on the perimeter. Does a good job of creating a wall defensively in the post and defends without fouling. Fronts the post pretty well. Did a good job this game of not letting Miller establish deep inside post position.

Excellent rebounder who makes contact on the shot and isn’t afraid to get physical in the paint. Good frame and strength for the PF position. Showed the ability to grab a defensive rebound and push the ball in transition where he made a good bounce pass to a cutter for a lay-up- impressive for a player of his size. Sticks with his misses and works hard in the paint.

Weaknesses
His FT shooting is still a weak area as he has shot in the mid 50’s since he has been in college. His stroke looks better this year, but he needs to be more consistent from the line. Knocked down multiple FT’s today and looked comfortable shooting them.

Does a decent job of hedging ball screens, but needs to do a better job of getting back to his man who roles to the basket.

Not a great athlete who will finish above the rim. Gets loose and careless with the ball at times and has some unforced TO’s. His turnover per game are down this year from last year but he still averages over 2 a game which is not good (had 7 today).

Overview
Decent but not great game for Thomas today. Shows a lot of emotion on the court and really wants to win with his play. Has solid intangibles.

Plays the C position where he is a little undersized. Matched up against Georgia Tech C Daniel Miller this game who is 6’11”. Would like to see Thomas improve his midrange stroke and also develop the ability to put the ball on the floor in straight line drives. This would improve his chances to play the PF at the next level. I believe he could do a decent job of defending a PF at this stage.

Is a gritty undersized big who plays hard and rebounds. Offense has steadily improved since he has been at Wake. Is only a sophomore and has a couple of more years to continue to improve.

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