Post by jhb on May 13, 2021 9:59:23 GMT -5
Nik Stauskas
SG
6'6"
205
21
Michigan
Nik rocks!
Stauskas comes to TMBSL after two years at Michigan where he established himself as perhaps the best pure shooter in the draft class. He does a good job setting his feet, getting elevation, and he is able to reach deep range with consistency. He's not much of an athlete but he gets the most out of what he's got by hustling off the ball and consistently finding ways to get himself space to shoot and then repeating his mechanics well. He's also flashed the ability to shoot off the dribble and make shots when contested, and even showed some progress between his two years in college in working to not only use screens to get space to shoot but to initiate pick and roll offense. He has a pretty good handle for a guy who mostly projects as a spot-up specialist but despite his lack of athleticism, he is an underrated leaper and was able to flash some dunking ability in college...but that was about the only time he was scoring in the paint for the Wolverines.
His lack of quickness and foot speed is going to be the biggest issue for Stauskas...it'll limit his ability to be a threat in transition outside of a trailing kick-out option and will severely limit his upside as a defender. In addition to lacking speed, he's simply not very fluid and doesn't move very fluidly. He really struggles defensively against athletic opponents, especially when guarding, smaller quicker players. He's very passive (and a bit frail) and can be bullied when backed down into the post. Scouts also say that his frame doesn't appear ready to support much more weight and wonder if he can add the strength to hold up at all. Not a factor on the boards at either end.
