austin-rivers-hd.jpg

Austin Rivers

6-5, 203 Shooting Guard
Duke Freshman
Birthday
08/01/92 (32.7 yrs)
Hometown
Winter Park, FL
High School
Winter Park
Team Site Profile
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
7
Defense
7
Strength
7
Quickness
9
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
9
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
9
Potential
8
Passing
7
Intangibles
8
2012 Mock 10
Big Board 10
94 Overall:

Analysis

NBA Comparison: OJ Mayo

Strengths: A dynamic scorer that can effortlessly create offense for himself off the dribble … Has solid size for either guard position … Recently measured 6’5" in shoes with a 6’7" wingspan … Very quick with the ball in his hands … Has an extremely quick first step and the ball-handling ability to take advantage of it … Solid athlete, though he isn’t the type to play above the rim … Is more of a long jumper than a high jumper … Surprisingly adaptive in the air … Shows good body control despite smallish frame … Confident shooter with range that extends beyond the NBA three-point line … Quick trigger on the perimeter and doesn’t need a lot of space to get a good shot off … Shoots very well off the dribble or out of the triple-threat position … Very smooth ball-handling ability … Tough to stop in isolation situations … Excels at breaking down defenses with sharp and consecutive changes in speed and/or direction … Chases contact … Gets opposing big men in foul trouble and shoots a decent amount of free-throws (5.4 free-throws attempted per game) … Plays very well in pick-and-roll situations … Knows how to read and exploit the reactions of screened defenders … Is not afraid of pressure situations … Burned North Carolina earlier in the season with a deep game-winning three-pointer over the outstretched arm of center Tyler Zeller … Supremely confident … Plays with intensity on the floor … Can be an effective defender when he actually gets low in his stance and bodies-up his man … It isn’t uncommon to see him dramatically improve his defensive posture (and subsequently, his defensive effectiveness) late in close games … Comes from an NBA family … Father is ex-NBA point guard and current NBA coach Doc Rivers …
 
Weaknesses: Is highly ball-dominant … Will likely need a team to be tailored around his ability to create off the dribble in order to play up to his potential offensively … Not a true point guard … Can get over-aggressive and mistake-prone at times when looking to get to the basket … Averaged 2.3 turnovers per game during his freshman season at Duke, against only 2.1 assists … While he can penetrate with the best of them, he currently lacks the sheer vision of a primary facilitator … Has done a good job of adding muscle to his thin frame, but needs to continue to become stronger … While he’s a creative finisher, he also has a tendency to rush shots around the rim … Shot 65.8% from the stripe, which is a very disappointing number for somebody that creates as much contact as Rivers does … Effort is usually underwhelming defensively … Doesn’t collect a ton of steals … Has been criticized for having a bit of an ego, though many people believe that this added confidence makes him a more dangerous player …
 
Overall: Rivers is an exciting prospect and a potentially electric offensive player at the next level … However, there are a number of concerns about his ability to adapt to the NBA … He hasn’t yet proven that he can be an effective player without dominating the ball and he hasn’t yet shown the vision that most teams would feel comfortable with in a starting point guard … A team in the lottery will most likely be willing to take a chance on him though, regardless of his positional concerns …

Tyler Ingle 6/14/12

Strengths: Rivers is a 6’4 guard with enough size and length (6’7 wingspan) to function as both a PG and a SG … A good athlete, with excellent fluidity and agility, and adequate explosiveness, speed, and quickness … Really good at changing speeds, and displays more of a smooth, controlled game than most players his age … Great 1st step … Shows sound ball-handling skills, and has few problems creating for himself off the bounce … A natural scorer … Able to score at all 3 levels very well …Very good shooting skills, with NBA range already … Is a threat to make jumpshots off the dribble from as far as 25 feet, which is intriguing … Plays with aggressiveness, and is a playmaker with the ball in his hands … Clever finisher around the rim, who utilizes reverses and the net and rim to shield shot-blockers from the ball … Uses floaters and pull-up jumpers well when cut off by defenders before he makes it all the way to the hoop … Can score in bunches, and is fearless about getting his shots up … Pretty good pick and roll player … Can certainly play up-tempo, and fits well in an offense that runs … Also good in isolation, as a threat to shoot, pull-up, or get in the paint … Not bad basic passing skills, and will find teammates if the D collapses on him … Can get steals on D and isn’t afraid of jumping in the passing lanes … Enjoyed an outstanding HS career, and scouts have been keeping an eye on him virtually since he was a Soph. in HS … Has a very strong pedigree with his father, Doc, being one of the elite head coaches in the NBA with the Boston Celtics … Reportedly has a good work ethic, and he has put on considerable weight and gotten stronger over the past year

Weaknesses: Although Rivers is very aggressive, he also can be selfish and ball-dominant at times … Prone to pounding the ball and overdribbling looking for his shots … Often demonstrates poor shot selection, shooting shots out of range of normal offense or under duress … Is also used to trying to shoot himself out of slumps, and settling for contested jumpers off the dribble … Physically, Rivers is pretty mediocre for an NBA guard … He’s a bit of a tweener guard, although he’s more of a SG and has enough size to play there … Doesn’t show great floor vision, and often looks to pass as a last resort … At times, Rivers will pout and show bad body language on the court. He’s developed a bit of a prima donna attitude which hopefully will change as he matures … A fairly nondescript defender, who hasn’t been known to compete hard on that end … His potential on D is also limited …

Overall: Rivers is a talented scoring guard will be able to put points on the board at any level … His jumper is strong, his ability to operate off the dribble is very good, he has the bloodlines, and he can’t be accused of not being aggressive … He needs to get more mature, continue to get stronger, be less selfish, and work on his D though … He’s still a likely eventual lotto pick, his offensive skills are just too good to be ignored …

Notes: Son of current Boston Celtics coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers … Measured 6’5 203 lbs, with a 6’7 wingspan at the Kevin Durant Skills Academy.
 
Jorrye Nixon 6/24/11
 

Notes: Measured 6’5 (in shoes) 203 lbs, with a 6’7 wingspan at the 2011 Kevin Durant Skills Academy.

 

YouTube Clip – 9/8/2010

YouTube Clip – 9/3/2010

 

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103 Comments

  2. NBA comparison: Doc

     NBA comparison: Doc Rivers/O.J. Mayo?

     

    His game is nothing like his dad. And it isn’t similar to OJ’s either besides the 3-point shooting touch and the scoring mentality. Austin has a MUCH quicker first step and better handles, whereas OJ is a better passer. Austin’s game resembles more of Jamar Crawford’s or Monta Ellis’s in my opinion.

  3. He is a little Jamal Crawford

    He is a little Jamal Crawford mixed with a little Rodney Stuckey and maybe even a slight touch of Chauncey Billups. He is a combo guard that would be a really good 3rd good on a really good NBA team. I like him for what he is. Probably a mistake to try and make him a starting PG or SG for a NBA team though.

  6. The OJ Mayo comparison is

    The OJ Mayo comparison is right on point. He’s going to jack up a lot of shots in the NBA

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  19. I think Auston Rivers will be

    I think Austin Rivers will be a Big Name in the NBA. He is a great player and improving his weaknesses will help him be a great player or not the best player in the future.

     

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  20. I think Auston Rivers will be

    I think Austin Rivers will be a Big Name in the NBA. He is a great player and improving his weaknesses will help him be a great player or not the best player in the future.

     

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