Player of the Day: Tyler Lydon #20 - Syracuse

Strengths:
- 3 point shooting: Lydon is a good 3 point shooter. His length and quick release allow him to get his shot off.
- Versatility: Though Lydon's strengths as a defender may be hidden in the Syracuse zone, he is 6'9 with a 7'0+ wingspan and good athleticism. Lydon can guard anyone from a Shooting Guard to a Power Forward.
- Post feeds: Lydon is an ideal player for the triangle. He feeds the post well as he can see over defenders.


Weaknesses:
- Soft: Lydon avoids contact at all costs. Offensively, he prefers to hover around the perimeter and take 3 pointers, and defensively, he rarely contests shots and commonly gets stripped on the defensive boards.
- Boxouts: Lydon almost never boxes his man out. When the shot goes up he stares at the ball rather than trying to find a body to boxout. He gives up countless offensive rebounds with these tactics.
- Defensive effort: Lydon's closeouts are slow, he doesn't contest shots, and his rotations are late.


NBA Potential:
Lydon is not an NBA player. Draft websites have him as a potential first round pick because of his natural gifts, but I don't see teams drafting him even close to that high. Lydon makes no impact on the game scoring, rebounding, or defensively. I imagine he will be a net negative for any professional team he plays for. He reminds me of Skal Labissiere last year, who was also drafted because of his athletic gifts, but avoids contact at all costs.


Verdict:
- 2nd round pick
- Will play in the D-League but eventually settle for a contract in Europe.

Player of the Day: Jawun Evans #1 - Oklahoma State

Hi Everyone,

I will be writing a daily post on an NCAA prospect likely to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft. For my first post, I will look at Jawun Evans, the PG from Oklahoma State.

Jawun Evans

Strengths:
- Dynamic using ball screens: Evans likes using high ball screens to create shots; either pulling up from 3 or getting in the lane for his patented push floater.
- Pace: Evans plays at an extremely fast pace and forces opponents to do the same.
- Shooting - Evans is a good shooter, having shot close to 50% from 3 in his Freshman season, and shooting well above 50% in his Sophomore season on 2.7 attempts per game.
- Speed: Evans is very fast and does well changing speeds and beating his man to spots to get the shots he wants.

Weaknesses: 
- Size: Evans is only 5'11, which means his speed and overall skills need to be that much better than the average player at the next level. He almost always settles for floaters or midrange jumpers rather than getting to the rim because he has trouble finishing over larger defenders.
- On-ball Defense: Evans struggles to stay infront of his man on drives. Though he does a good job of fighting around screens, he has more trouble when players simply drive to the hoop.
- Selfish - Evans is a score-first PG. Using ball screens he is primarily looking to score and does not get his teammates involved enough.
- Defensive effort: Evans will give up on plays when he gets beat or is late recovering. Rather than crashing the glass he will stand around hoping his teammate gathers the rebound and gives it to him.
- Settling: Evans is a pure scorer. While Oklahoma State may rely on his scoring, he triggers shots the moment he sees some room. He needs to do a better job of picking his spots and getting teammates involved more.

NBA Potential:
Evans is a quick guard capable of putting up big scoring numbers, but his lack of basketball IQ will hurt him at the next level. No professional team will allow him the opportunities currently presented at Oklahoma State. His poor on-ball defense, combined with his lack of size will make it very tough for him to make an NBA roster. He would have to continue scoring at a very high rate to be able to stay on the floor, which I don't see happening.

Verdict:
-Undrafted
-Will not make an NBA team