Kingsfans 2013 Scouting Report: CJ McCollum

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#1

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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#2
everything I've read about the kid makes him seem like a young and more athletic Beno that actually plays defense, is very coachable and is an intelligent good character guy, too. if we're walking away from the draft with that player, I'll be very happy, especially if we resign Reke.
 
#4
on a scale from Jimmer to Lillard, what makes you think he's going to land more on the Jimmer side? the athleticism? or is there something else? I mean he does have size on Jimmer and is already working on coming off screens and acknowledges that he'll probably have to play off the ball a ton. two things Jimmer is still not comfortable with.
 
#5
Too much of a gamble for my taste. If McCollum fails to transition to PG you're basically left with another Randy Foye.

Interestingly enough, McCollum is the same height, same wingspan, same vertical, similar body type, and even similar stats in college as Randy Foye. Foye was probably the better player at the same age and another anecdote of a failed SG to PG experiment.

Can McCollum plays PG? I honestly dunno. The odds are against SG to PG transition, but once in a long while, some SG manages to pull it off; and there is absolutely no pattern or method to predict who. It's just a roll of the dice.

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#7
He's way quicker than Jimmer. His handles are also pretty neat.
Jimmer measured quicker in lane agility and 3/4 time.

I'm sure he's a fine player, but I would stay away from him for the same reason that I stay away from Bennett - skilled tweeners that are undersized in the bigger slot have a high bust potential. Kings have made this mistake 2 years in a row and I hope they don't take another gamble.
 
#8
Regarding the Jimmer comparison, I've never thought that athleticism is what's holding Jimmer back. It's his inability to create off the dribble. Jimmer isn't going to sprain anyone's ankle with a crossover. McCollum on the other hand looks to have a nice arsenal of dribble moves. This is the guy that I hope we pick.
 
#9
Jimmer measured quicker in lane agility and 3/4 time.

I'm sure he's a fine player, but I would stay away from him for the same reason that I stay away from Bennett - skilled tweeners that are undersized in the bigger slot have a high bust potential. Kings have made this mistake 2 years in a row and I hope they don't take another gamble.
Let's not forget McCollum was coming off a foot injury before the combine... not sure whether or not it effected his results any but it could have.

I'm a Jimmer fan so not shying away from the comparisons.... last year I loved Lillard too viewing him as a more athletic version of Jimmer. McCollum compares more to Lillard than to Jimmer if we're looking at combine results. In fact McCollum and Lillard had near identical combine numbers.

No doubt Jimmer is held back by two things... handles and defense. I believe him to be a hard worker so my bet is he improves in each... probably moreso in the handles department. I think he's gonna be a good player this coming year. McCollum should be helped on the defensive end by a little bigger wingspan than Jimmer. He also averaged almost twice as many steals a game than jimmer did in college... that bodes well for his transition to the pros.

I like McCollum as a prospect and McCollum playing next to Tyreke. I don't like the fact that we have so many guards on this team but can't let a bunch of mediocre players hold us back from taking the bpa whom also looks like a good/great fit next to our (hopefully) other starting guard. McCollum at 7 is a pick that makes sense to me.
 
#10
similar stats in college as Randy Foye.
Similar maybe but McCollum was much better overall. McCollum's worst PER was better than Foye's best... for a couple of four year players that's saying a lot. The rest of the comparison is legit though imo... Foye could definitely be used as a worst case type of comp for McCollum.
 
#11
I don't think comparing Foye to McCollum is that unfair, but CJ in college was a rich man's Foye - better across the board, and Foye is still an NBA player, even a starter, so McCollum, if he confirms he's better than Foye at every aspect of the game in the NBA as well, projects as a pretty good player.