Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Position: SG
Hgt: 6'6"
Wgt: 204
Age: 20
Projected Draft Number: #10 NBADraft.net/#19 Draftexpress.com
College: Georgia
College Stats 2012-13: 33.9min 18.5pts (.438FG% .377TPt% .797FT%) 7.1reb 1.8ast 2.0stl 0.5blk 2.1TO
Capt's Review: An average-sized 2 guard who is going to make his living off of his shooting. He has a good outside stroke (and his free throw form is excellent) but he has a big tendency to rush his shot and have bad shot selection, which may help square up the disconnect between his reputation as an amazing shooter and his good-but-not-shocking 37.7% from three this year. He does have a disturbing tendency to swing the ball down by his ankles before rising into his shot, especially off of the dribble, which opponents will probably take full advantage of at the next level. His drive is shaky, however, and if he doesn't get to the rim his floater is not up to snuff yet. Defensively, I don't have a good feel for what he can do. When I watched him the Bulldogs had a strong tendency to match him up with the opponent's weakest perimeter guy which could suggest that Georgia wanted him to expend all his energy offensively, or could suggest he's not a good defender. He is a very good rebounder for a guard, always active on the boards and he uses good instincts to position himself for the ball. Athletically he's quick, but his jump numbers at the combine were not outstanding (worse than the disappointing numbers from Shabazz). I think all of that adds up to a late-teens pick at best, but you never know.
Baja's Review: If you looked at Caldwell's freshman and sophmore years, you'd find that his minutes played 33.9 per game, along with shots taken, were almost identical. What wasn't identical were the results. He scored more points and did so in a more effecient way. His freshman year he took more bad shots, and appeared to be off balance more than not. He still looked off balance at times this season, but he improved dramaticly in that area, as well as showing up with better looking mechanics. His two biggest problems on offense, well maybe three, if you include shot selection, are his poor ballhandling, and and his inability to get to the rim. On the occasion he does get to the rim, he has trouble battling through physcial play. Its also my humble opinion, that if he took fewer 3pt shots, which by the way make up more than 50% of his shots, and shoot more midrange shots, his overall shooting percentage would go up. He shot 50% inside the arc. Despite his poor ballhandling, he's good at creating space for a pullup shot, where he shot around 42% overall. I like Caldwell-Pope, who has good size for a SG. He also showed great defensive potential, having quick feet, and keeping most players in front of him. His weakness on defense was fighting through screens, where too many times he appeared to get discouraged and just quit on the play. Sound familar? I think getting in the weight room and adding strength and a little more weight, will help in the screen dept as well as helping him finish at the basket. He's a good athlete thats still raw in some areas, but has good potential. I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a starter on an NBA team in the future.
Gilles' Review: Is 6'5.5" with 6'8" wingspan. Very quick and fast, but average jumping. Examplary case of a good player on a very bad team. Was by far best offensive and defensive player for Georgia. Very good shooter in all situations: C&S, off-the-dribble, off-the-screen. Struggles with finishing inside due to lack of hops, but still went there more this season and as a result getting to the line twice as often as a freshman. Also made a big leap in FT% from .654 on 2.5 attempts to .799 on 5.3. Is not a physical defender but moves his feet very well. Handles improved but he still has to pull-up too often. Too weak to slide to SF.
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