Cowbell Kingdom Draft Profile: Jimmer and Co.

Jimmermania hit the River City today.  BYU’s star guard Jimmer Fredette competed with a group of prospects, including Randy Culpepper, Tobias Harris, Tyler Honeycutt, Josh Harrelson and Sam Muldrow.  Rumors have Fredette going anywhere from no. 7, where the Kings pick, all the way to the late teens.  Harris and Honeycutt are projected anywhere from 15 to 25, while the other three prospects are second-round candidates for the Kings at no. 60, the last pick in the draft.

Videos and analysis after the jump.

Guards

Jimmer Fredette – BYU

The senior guard from BYU is known for his incredible shooting and scoring ability.  Whether his game translates to the NBA is unknown at this point, but rumors have him flying up the draft board because of his private workouts.  The Kings matched him up against the athletic Randy Culpepper to test his defensive skills and lateral quickness.  UConn’s Kemba Walker was supposed to battle Fredette but a scheduling conflict moved his workout with the Kings to next week.

Measurements:

• Height:  6′-0.75″ w/o shoes; 6′-2.5″ w/ shoes.
• Weight:  196-pounds; 7.7% body fat.
• Wingspan:  6′-4.5″
• Standing Reach:  8′-0.5″

Testing:

• Vertical:  28.0″ no step vert; 33.0″ max vert.
• Strength: 14 reps on bench press (185-pounds).
• Agility Drills: Lane agility- 10.42 seconds; 3/4 court sprint- 3.21 seconds.

Thoughts on Jimmer Fredette:

Jimmer was as advertised – a scorer with unlimited range who gives a great interview.  His personality is disarming as he effortlessly answered questions from a large group of unfamiliar faces.  As far as a scouting report, here are my impressions: Fredette has almost every shot in his bag, in a Steve Nash kind of way.  He pulls up from deep and creates space in the lane with a jab step fall away.  And on a drive today, he tossed the ball up so high on the glass that it looked like it would’ve gone over the backboard, before falling right in the rim.  Jimmer was quick enough to deal with the speedy Randy Culpepper on both ends of the floor and has much better muscle definition than I thought he would.

During the interview phase, Jimmer said he models his game after New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams  because of their similarities in size  After comparing the two, I was surprised with how similar they were statistically  I’m not saying Fredette has the upside of Williams, but the physical comparison was closer than expected.  Fredette seems to have a high basketball IQ, good passing skills and an understanding of offensive schemes.  If I was to point to one negative, Fredette plays on his heels, not his toes which will hurt his ability to stay in front of quicker players in the NBA.  If I were to make a judgement, I would say his flat-footed play makes him slower on the court than the gaudy numbers he put up at the combine.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7ij_Zwg0e0

Randy Culpepper – UTEP

Culpepper is an undersized shooting guard who can really light it up.  The senior out of UTEP averaged double figures all four years in college, including an impressive 19.3 points per game as a senior.  The 2009-10 Conference USA player of the year improved his passing numbers as a senior, but 3.1 assists per game might not be enough to show he can distribute at the next level.  Culpepper did not take part in the NBA combine, so many of his raw numbers are unknown, but his 34.5″ standing vertical is pretty impressive.  

Measurements:

• Height:  5′-10.5″ w/o shoes; w/ shoes N/A.
• Weight:  163-pounds; body fat N/A.
• Wingspan:  6′-2.5″
• Standing Reach:  7′-8.75″

Testing:

• Vertical:  34.5″ no step vert; max vert. N/A.
• Strength: N/A.
• Agility Drills: Lane agility- 12.32 seconds; 3/4 court sprint- 3.19 seconds.

Thoughts on Randy Culpepper:

Culpepper is quick on his feet and quick to toss up a jumper.  A true scorer, Culpepper did his best to direct traffic in the 3 on 3 portion of the tryout.  At 163-pounds, the UTEP product is wiry and athletic, but he didn’t come out for a post-workout interview.

Small Forwards

Tobias Harris – Tennessee

In his one season at Tennessee, Harris showed a wide variety of offensive moves both inside and out.  In 29 minutes per game, he averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds on 46 percent shooting.  While Harris has yet to establish himself as either a lockdown defender or perimeter shooter, he is only 18 and has plenty of potential.  Slated to go from 15 to 20 in the draft, Harris would be an option if the Kings move down in the draft, but a true stretch at no. 7.

Measurements:

• Height:  6′-6.5″ w/o shoes; 6′-7.75″ w/ shoes.
• Weight:  223-pounds; 8.4% body fat.
• Wingspan:  6′-11″
• Standing Reach:  8′-7.5″

Testing:

• Vertical:  31.5″ no step vert; 37.5″ max vert.
• Strength: 12 reps on bench press (185-pounds).
• Agility Drills: Lane agility- 10.96 seconds; 3/4 court sprint- 3.17 seconds.

Thoughts on Tobias Harris:

I like Harris.  He didn’t get the memo that everyone was there to watch Fredette.  The 18-year-old Tennessee product impressed with a variety of offensive moves in the post.  He seems to have limited range on his jumper, but he rebounded well, stayed in front of his man and came off as extremely mature in the interview portion.  This was the ninth stop on the draft trail for Harris and five of those stops included match-ups against Honeycutt.  I’m not sure that Honeycutt tested Harris on the defensive end so that question remains.  But he is a pretty fluid athlete with solid size and length.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Harris ends up being a much better pro than a lot of players who will be drafted in front of him.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiozr3dCasE

Tyler Honeycutt – UCLA

Much like Harris, the 20-year-old Honeycutt is still figuring out everything on the court.  However, Honeycutt is further along defensively, but not quite the offensive weapon Harris is.  Honeycutt averaged 2.0 blocks per game as a sophomore and has the physical attributes to be a quality defender at the next level.  At 190-pounds, Honeycutt needs to add weight and get stronger, and it was interesting to see how he held up against Harris who is 35-pounds heavier.

Measurements:

• Height:  6′-6.75″ w/o shoes; 6′-8.25″ w/ shoes.
• Weight:  187-pounds; 5.3% body fat.
• Wingspan:  6′-9″
• Standing Reach:  8′-9″

Testing:

• Vertical: 30.0″ no step vert; 37.0″ max vert.
• Strength: N/A.
• Agility Drills: Lane agility- 11.68 seconds; 3/4 court sprint- 3.07 seconds.

Thoughts on Tyler Honeycutt:

It’s really hard to get away from comparing Honeycutt with two other NBA players.  The lean, long-armed 20-year-old looks like a mixture of Tayshaun Prince and Matt Barnes, both defensive specialists in the pros.  Honeycutt mentioned that he weighed around 185-pounds, but he held his own against a much heavier Harris.  The Tennessee forward still got the best of him but not because of the strength issue as much as Harris being really developed offensively.  Honeycutt got his hands on a few balls, hit a jumper and ran the floor well.  On the interview front, he was bright, but not totally comfortable with cameras or the new faces asking the questions which is expected.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO6r2e1BVO8

Power Forward/Center

Josh Harrellson – Kentucky

With DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton both leaving after just one season at Kentucky, and Enes Kanter missing the entire season with injury,  Josh Harrellson got a chance to shine under Coach John Calipari.  Although his numbers aren’t incredible (29 minutes, 7.6 points, 8.7 rebounds), Harrellson showed signs that he might be a Jon Brockman type of player. 

Measurements:

• Height:  6′-8.5″ w/o shoes; 6′-9.5″ w/ shoes.
• Weight:  279-pounds; 15.2% body fat.
• Wingspan:  6′-11.25″
• Standing Reach:  8′-8.5″

Testing:

• Vertical: 30.0″ no step vert; 31.0″ max vert.
• Strength: N/A.
• Agility Drills: Lane agility- 9.20 seconds; 3/4 court sprint- 4.04 seconds.

Thoughts on Josh Harrellson:

Harrellson looks like a dirty work big with soft hands and decent touch around the rim.  Not the physical specimen of a Jon Brockman, Harrelson nonetheless set picks, rolled to the rim and made good decisions.  I’m not sure that he is ready to make an NBA roster, but his overall size and his Kentucky pedigree can’t hurt him.  For the Kings, Harrelson’s relationship with Cousins might also come in handy down the road as a steadying influence.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvVAfRolDY

Sam Muldrow- South Carolina

Muldrow is a shot blocker and rebounder, who like Randy Culpepper was not in attendance at the NBA combine.  The senior power forward has an incredible 7′-3″ wingspan but outside of his 3.4 blocks per game, most of his stats are pretty pedestrian. 

Measurements:

• Height:  6′-7.75″ w/o shoes; w/ shoes N/A.
• Weight:  213-pounds; body fat N/A.
• Wingspan:  7′-3″
• Standing Reach:  9′-0″

Testing:

• Vertical:  32.0″ no step vert; max vert. N/A.
• Strength: N/A.
• Agility Drills: Lane agility- 13.18 seconds; 3/4 court sprint- 3.37 seconds.

Thoughts on Sam Muldrow:

Muldrow looked like the raw shot blocker that his numbers foreshadowed.  He was active in the post, snaring a couple of nice rebounds and flying in for block attempts.  But his overall game looked like it needed a lot of maturing.  Culpepper took a couple of big swipes at Fredette ‘s lay-ups, but came up empty handed.  He did swat away a lay-up attempt by Harrellson showing his timing and athleticism.  Like Culpepper, Muldrow didn’t come over for the interview portion of the workout.