[kjhotshotParticipant]

I’m a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and I’m pretty excited that my alma mater finally has a player that could potentially get drafted in the NBA, Andrew Nicholson.

Right now, the mock has him projected at 39 and I’m trying my hardest not to be biased but I think this is a bit low. Nicholson is a big man with excellent footwork and soft touch. He’s developed a great outside game, hitting a high percentage of mid-range and three point shots. This is where I think NBA scouts will find him especially intriguing. On top of those factors, he’s coming on really strong down the stretch. With a strong showing in the last few regular season games and into the Atlantic 10 Tournament, I’m hoping he could be a first rounder.

Is anyone familiar with Nicholson’s game? If so, where do you project him and why? I’m just looking for opinions as the draft gets closer.

[PrometheusParticipant]

 He plays as a Pf/C at 6’9 220 for St. Bonaventure.  Theyre a fairly good team this year 15-10, 8-5 in the A10.  He’s a pretty efficient scorer, and gets a good amount of blocks and rebounds.  He is averaging 5 less minutes per game this year and has shown improvement in rebounding averaging 8 per game as opposed to 7.2 last season.  He shows a good ability to get to the line and has improved upon his free throw percentage.  With obvious considerations to his reduced playing time, his scoring numbers have taken a hit, but his FG% remains very high.

All in all, he is the best player on a middle of the pack team in a not so impressive conference.  He is undersized and in a season where he should have seen his role increased or at least remain level to last year, he has seen a decrease in playing time (I dont know why this is).  Though he has maintained his efficiency and improved as a shooter, I dont see him going any higher in the draft than he is listed at now unless he continues to .  A 6’8" 220 pound player in the NBA usually translates to a PF/SF tweener and Nicholson plays as a PF/C.  Example, Thaddeus Young is exactly the same size.  

This kid could be a solid NBA player if he can proove that he can consistantly knock down mid range jumpers, and continue to rebound against bigger players in the NBA.  He doesn’t have the means to do this right now because he’s playing at St Bonaventure, so its hard to ask a team to reach for this guy in the draft.  The only way I see his stock rising is if he performs well against elite level talent in pre-draft workouts

[kjhotshotParticipant]

Thanks for responding. I like the Thaddeus Young comparison and view him as what Nicholson should strive to be. The reason his minutes went down this year was because of a couple games in which he got into early foul trouble skewed them down. But you’re right, the only way I see him fitting into the NBA landscape is if he can consistently knock down mid range jumpers which he seems to be improving each game.

As far as facing elite-level talent, I did think he slightly outplayed Meyers Leonard when St. Bonaventure met Illinois earlier in the season and Leonard is listed as a lottery pick, so hopefully that will look good in his favor in the coming months as well as great workouts.

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