Post by jhb on May 13, 2021 12:34:12 GMT -5
Dante Exum
PG
6'5"
196
19
Australia
Exum is an Australian import that is coming to TMBSL with lofty comparisons to recent draftee Anfernee Hardaway. The teenager has insane size for the PG position and may not even be done growing at this point. There's a lot to like about this prospect but the biggest question from the scouting community is how does what we've seen from him so far translate to TMBSL with a much higher level of difficulty and much more consistently challenging competition? Scouts say his best performances have come when he's been physically far and away the most advanced player on the court and with how much better he is than other Australian players he essentially has free reign...how will he handle being forced into a system in TMBSL?
Offensively, there's a lot to like about the work Exum does around the basket. He does a good job of getting to the rim and finishing or drawing contact and he has excellent body control. He can score with both hands and off-balance and has had some highlight reel, acrobatic finishes. His floater is coming along and he has even started to show some low-post back-to-the-basket game. Outside of the paint, Exum is fairly decent off the dribble and has a step-back that he's used to some effect. He has decent mechanics on his jumper and elevates well but just hasn't gotten the consistency you'd like to see from a lot of repetitions as a professional (and he doesn't have a lot of confidence from deep). To that effect, he's only been around a 65% free throw shooter in international competition, which will need to improve for a player who thrives on getting to the rim and drawing contact. He has showed the ability to make some looks for his teammates, but his point guard skills are just starting to come along and he doesn't have the advanced floor vision of a true point guard and often makes some ill-advised passes...that will need to come along to stick as a starting PG in TMBSL. At times he also loses focus and can have the ball poked away because he dribbles a bit too high.
Defensively, scouts are very enticed by his length and versatility. He has the athleticism to capably guard the 1 through the 3 and has very active hands. He's constantly engaged defensively and does a good job sniffing out the passing lanes to create transition opportunities. He's a coachable kid and while he's a little raw with his footwork he certainly has the tools to become a lockdown perimeter defender. One knock on him defensively is that for a point guard of his size, many scouts would like to see him more engaged as a rebounder but he's unlikely to be an asset in that regard.
Exum's size gives him huge potential at the next level but he quite possibly could have one of the lower floors in this class just because we simply don't know if the good things that we've seen will translate against TMBSL competition.