OG Anunoby jumped onto the NBA Draft scene late last college basketball season. He nearly left after his freshman year at Indiana University despite playing limited minutes throughout his rookie campaign. The upside of Anunoby had the draft addicts going crazy. He’s back at IU for his sophomore year with major expectations. Here’s a preseason look at OG Anunoby’s NBA Draft scouting report.
Strengths
· Athleticism
o Fantastic leaper
o Good speed in the open court
o Above average lateral quickness
· Offensive Rebounding
o 11.4% offensive rebounding rate
o That rate is better than most centers in college basketball
o Good hands plus effort and athleticism leads to a lot of offensive rebounds
· Physical Tools
o 6’8” height with long arms
o Good frame and strength
o Will still be 19 years old at the next NBA Draft
Weaknesses
· Awareness & Feel
o Offense
§ Bad passes right to the defense
§ Multiple three-pointers blocked back into his face
§ 1.5 assists per 40 minutes played
o Defense
§ Caught ball watching or waiting for his man to catch it – not active away from the ball
§ Late reacting to screens and doesn’t get around screens
· Ball-handling
o Loose handle gets away from his body too much
o Loses the ball in traffic frequently
o Doesn’t have dribble moves; all straight line drives
· Footwork
o Many of his turnovers were travels
o Most of the travels were on the start and shuffling on his gather when he stopped
o Shooting footwork needs improvement as well
· Finesse finishes
o He looks for the finesse finish around the basket too often
o He loved driving baseline and looking for a reverse layup but rarely was successful
o Needs to look for power finishes more often
· Change of direction
o Slightly heavy footed and tight in the hips
o Anunoby doesn’t swivel or drop step too smoothly
Physical
There aren’t too many specimens like OG Anunoby. Most of the athletes like Anunoby are either in the NBA or NFL. Unlike most NBA Draft targets, Anunoby doesn’t have a history of height and wingspan measurements because he was not a high-ranking recruit. It does look like he is close to the 6’8” that Indiana lists him. He reportedly has a 7’6” wingspan. The average NBA center has a 7’3” wingspan. Once Aunuoby’s leaping ability is added to his height and length, there are very few players that can stack up against him. He’s a long strider which makes him faster than he is quick.
Offense
Most of OG Anunoby’s points during his freshman season at Indiana came from transition dunks and offensive putback dunks. The remaining points came from spot-up three-pointers. He shot 45% from three as a freshman but had only 29 attempts. The litmus test for a three-point shooter with a good percentage but a low sample size is his free throw accuracy. Anunoby shot 48% from the charity stripe. When he is not rushed, Anunoby is a good outside shooter. His mechanics fall apart when he is hurried, though. There are not many opportunities in the NBA where a player gets to take as much time as he wants to get a shot off. His shot preparation is a little too long which allows defenders to take away his space. Anunoby had a number of three-point attempts blocked. That is a sign of a slow release and/or poor awareness. Anunoby had both last year.
As a driver, Anunoby only attacks in a straight line. There aren’t dribble moves or reactionary plays when he puts the ball on the floor. If a defender is able to cut off his drive, Anunoby can’t shake the defender with a move. There are a couple of reasons for that. He’s not an advanced ball-handler, yet. His dribble gets high and away from his body frequently. The second part is that his feel and awareness aren’t developed. He needs more court time against top athletes in order to develop a more advanced game off the dribble. That lack of feel and awareness also led to a 19.7% turnover rate (via Kenpom.com) which is high.
Anunoby is a fantastic offensive rebounder. His physical tools plus effort level combine to make him one of the top forwards on the glass. He had an offensive rebounding rate of 11.4% as a freshman. Rebounding is something that usually translates from level to level.
Defense
Defense is usually about physical attributes, awareness and effort. Anunoby has the physical makeup and effort level to be a good defender. His awareness and technique need to be refined for him to take the next step. That’s why I would categorize him as a below average defender as a freshman despite having steal and block percentages that were pretty high. He doesn’t do a good job of being active away from the ball. Anunoby usually waits until his man catches the ball before he is worried about getting low and in position. Because of that, he gets caught on screens a lot as well as off balance when he goes for a shot fake while trying to catch up to the action.
There is definitely a lot of potential for Anunoby as a wing defender and a player that can switch all screens on the perimeter. He has to absorb coaching well in this area to make up for lost time, though. It seems like he is coachable, but he is still playing catch up against the world’s best athletes.
Summary
OG Anunoby excited Indiana fans and NBA Draft fans alike with his play in the final four games of 2015-2016 season. He went 16-21 from the field in those four games including many highlight plays and 3-4 from three-point range. Anunoby has NBA-level physical attributes. Other than ball-handling, the fundamental base to Anunoby’s game is pretty good. He can become a much better shooter with the base fundamentals that he has shown during wide open attempts. Repetition against top competition will help his rhythm and feel in game situations. The unknown is how much his game will jump as he gets that experience.
This is a loaded draft class with the 2016 high school players projected to be one and done along with players like Ivan Rabb that returned to school despite high draft projections last year. With that, it will not be surprising to see OG Anunoby drafted late in the lottery to the middle of the first round. I don’t think he will have an All-American type of season. If he did that, Anunoby would be a top seven pick.
With Anunoby’s physical traits and demeanor, there is a good chance that he plays in the league for 10-12 years. There is a lot of potential for him as a glue guy, defender/rebounder in the NBA. Then if his offensive game develops, OG Anunoby could be a star.
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