NBA Comparison: Aaron McKie

Strengths: Experienced 2-guard with great toughness and leadership … Became the heart and soul of the overachieving Gamecocks team … Has improved in his senior year to become a consistent outside shooter … Shows good form on his jumpshot, performing especially well in catch and shoot situations … Gets his feet set quickly and has a quick, concise shooting motion, solid mechanics … Bigtime rebounder for a 6-5 shooting guard … Really enjoys contact and has no trouble battling hard on the boards against bigger players … Attacks the rim more with brawn than burst … Loves to drive right into defenders. Does a good job of getting to the line by initiating contact … very effective at both getting to the line and converting (83% ft) … Has a solid 6-9 wingspan … Defense is the hallmark of his game. Puts a lot of effort into that end of the floor … Hard worker with a mature (4-years of experience) attitude … Shows a solid make up to be a contributing role player … 

Weaknesses: At 22 doesn’t have much upside left to develop … Not the quickest or most explosive of athletes … Does not finish off many plays with dunks at the rim, except on breakaways. Seems to have lost some of the explosiveness that he displayed in high school … Not great at scoring in isolation. Lacks a great first step … May struggle some to get shots off as he lacks a quick first step and doesn’t get a ton of lift on his jump shot … Without much lift, he probably will not be as effective driving to the rim at the rim … 

Notes: SEC player of the year in this his senior season … Lead South Carolina to an improbable run to the Final Four … Put up an amazing 40 point, 20 rebound performance … Measured 6’4.5 (in shoes) 198 lbs, with a 6’9 wingspan at the 2012 LeBron James Skills Academy … Measured 6’5.5 (in shoes) 214 lbs, with a 6’9 wingspan at the 2014 Kevin Durant Skills Academy

Aran Smith 4/1/17

July 20, 2012