Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
CJ McCollum
Position: PG/SG
Hgt: 6'3"
Wgt: 197
Age: 21
Projected Draft Number: #9 NBADraft.net/#8 Draftexpress.com
College: Lehigh
College Stats 2012-13: 31.0min 23.9pts (.495FG% .516TPt% .849FT%) 5.0reb 2.9ast 1.4stl 0.3blk 2.7TO
Baja's Review: If your looking for a combo guard that can put the ball in the basket, look no futher than McCollum. He may be the most efficient scoring guard in the draft. He shot 49.5% overall, and 51.6% from the three this past season. Of course its a small sample base since he only played 12 games due to a broken bone in his foot. Don't let that dissuade you though, he's put up very efficient numbers for the last three years, leading Lehigh to a Patriot league championship, and into the tourney, where McCollum almost singlehandedly elliminated Duke from the tournament. McCollum will impact any game he's in. Also, you should take note of the fact that every team he played against had just one thing in mind, find a way to stop McCollum. And they couldn't!! I defy anyone out there to name me one other player off the Lehigh team without looking it up. McCollum was the team. The question of course is, can he play the point well enough to justify drafting him at that position. All I can say in that regard is that he certainly has the tools to be a competent PG. He's an excellent ballhandler, and when he's actually making a pass with an assist attached to it, he's a pretty good passer. He does turn the ball over more than he should, but most of those come when trying to score. Dribbling into heavy traffic etc. Like Burke, he's a good athlete, but not a great athlete. And like Burke, he's crafty with change of speeds and hesitation moves, which allows him to get just about anywhere on the floor. Stat wise, he hasn't put up good numbers in the assist dept, but then the team never asked him to play that role. Defensively, he puts in the effort, and has averaged 2.1 steals for his career. Obviously when matched up against SG's that are taller than him he's at a disadvantage, but he does well when matched up against players his own size or smaller. He shows good anticipation on defense, and while he does have trouble fighting through screens at times, he never quits on a play. Personally I think McCollum will be a better NBA player than he was a college player, and depending on what kind of offense you want to run, he could well turn into a competent PG. I don't see him as pass first playmaker, but I can see him as bring up the ball and then play off the ball type of PG, similiar to what Mike Bibby did when on the Kings. I also see him as a possible future star in the league. Say what you want about defense, but GM's love guys that can put the ball in the basket, and McCollum can do that in spades!
Gilles's Review: Senior. Is 6'3" with 6'6" wingspan. Not a great athlete, but pretty quick so he might have a chance to compete with PGs on D. Versatile scorer from anywhere on the court and became known for his explosive scoring against major schools. Good rebounder for PG. Level of competition is question as kenpom.com list their SOS somewhere around #200, but then again Weber State last year was around #300. What Lillard has on McCollum though is much better efficiency that reached .635TS% on 33% usage rate in his last year. McCollum had .628 with 37.2% usage rate his senior season but it was over the weakest part of the season (only 12 games) that was cut short by foot injury so it's not clear if he improved his shot selection or simply took advantage of weak schedule. McCollum didn't get to assist% that true PGs get stopping at .249 but neither had Lillard at .271. Success of this year's ROY will guarantee much closer looks to McCollum, but to find early success he have to get to offensively potent roster that needs more assistance than guidance from their PG. Then again Lillard was more athletic, more efficient player and probably better shooter. Still McCollum is a fine shooter himself and that might be enough to at least stay as a backup or fringe starter in the mold of Fisher or Chalmers.
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