NBA Comparison: Kent Bazemore/Jordan McRae

Strengths: After spending four seasons at Kansas State, Wes Iwundu has developed into a very versatile, two way wing capable of playing both the two and three spot in the NBA … Wes stands about 6’7’’, and possesses an excellent 7’ wingspan, and an equally impressive 8’8.5’’ standing reach … He came into college extremely lanky, and while still not a bruiser, he’s filled out nicely, and weighs in at a defined 205 pounds … In addition, he’s a high level athlete with both quickness, and leaping ability at his disposal … These physical traits, and playing in a defensive oriented system has allowed him to develop and excel as a defender … At the next level, he looks to have what it takes to be quite effective defending the 2, and while perhaps overmatched physically at the 3, he will have the versatility to switch and at least be capable defending a good portion of NBA small forwards … Iwundu is also a good positional defensive rebounder (5.3 defensive per game, and 6.4 total) and paired with his ball handling ability, he’s quite effective cleaning up defensive misses and pushing the ball in transition … Regarding his ball handling, he’s very good, especially at changing pace, and utilizing a quick first step … Wes often plays the role of a primary distributor for the Wildcats, and dishes out an impressive 3.5 assists per game … From a scoring standpoint, he’s definitely a drive and transition threat first, but has improved as a shooter over the years … He was once a poor free throw shooter, but has risen his clip at the charity stripe to a respectable .758% … While he projects as a complimentary offensive player in the NBA, he’s carried a large offensive burden for K-State and is currently averaging 12.9 points per game in a low scoring system … Iwundu does a little bit of everything, and has often come up big when his team needs him most … His versatility has allowed him to consistently flirt with triple double lines while playing excellent defense … This ability gives him appeal as a role player in the NBA because he can effect the game in many ways without being a primary focus on offense …

Weaknesses: While Wes has improved a shooter, he’s still not particularly a good jump shooter … He’s always been a low volume three point shooter, and while sporting a nice 36% split as a senior, he’s attempting just 2.4 attempts per game (the first time in his career he’s averaged more than .9 attempts per contest.) … While this shows improvement, the longer line projects as an adjustment that will likely take Iwundu time to become adept shooting from that distance … He’s also just a 36.7% shooter on his two point jumpers (hoop-math.com) which is barely better than he is from beyond the arc … His damage is primary done in transition and driving to the hoop, so this may limit his offensive effectiveness in the NBA … He’ll likely not be a focal point on offense at the next level, but for a player like him, the corner three will be a necessary part of his game to improve … At this point his upside is fairly limited as well … Even four year players improve when they make the jump to the professional ranks, but Wes doesn’t have a major NBA calling card … He’s projects to be a plus defender at the two spot, but he’s still going to be overmatched by many NBA small forwards, and he doesn’t fill the role of a player who can fill it up off the bench in the scoring column … He’s good at everything, but not great at one thing … That can often be the difference between a long term NBA career, or one that results in playing overseas after a year or two as a low minute reserve …

Overall: Wes Iwundu definitely has some appeal due to his versatility, athletic ability, and his prowess as a collegiate defender … He’s improved beyond the arc, but still has some room to grow before he’s a threat at the NBA level … His passing, and and talent in transition are also strengths … The key for Iwundu will be continued development … He’ll certainly get a shot to play NBA ball whether it’s as a second round draft pick, or as an undrafted free agent, but his progression as a jump shooter, as well as some overall fine tuning of his game will be the difference as to whether he is an NBA mainstay or a export to Europe … A strong "first four" performance against Wake Forest has his stock on the rise …

David Ray 3/15/17