Post by jhb on May 17, 2021 10:20:36 GMT -5
Marcus Smart
PG
6'3"
220
20
Oklahoma State
Smart is an absolute bulldog of a point guard who will likely stick at the TMBSL level for awhile simply due to his defensive ability. He has an elite mixture of quickness, strength, and aggressiveness and he uses it to bully his way to where he wants to be on both ends of the court. He has exceptional length at 6'3", boasting a 6'8" wingspan and will likely be called upon to defend an opponent's best wing scorer on most nights. Smart has an impressive will to win but sometimes that can rub opposing players and fans the wrong way because he comes across as a bit of hardo and has been suspended several times for losing his cool and becoming physical on the court.
Offensively, Smart is a willing and capable passer who uses his exceptional court vision to make unselfish looks for his teammates. The issue is that his aggressiveness, while a strength at times, can be a weakness at others. He tends to force the issue often and dribbles himself into trouble a lot. There's only so many bad situations even he can fight his way out of. He also really needs to work on tightening up his handle and shooting mechanics. While he's got the ability to be a good shooter, shooting 75% from the free throw line in college, he's terrible from long range (even on a lot of attempts) and also struggles to convert when closely guarded because he has a bad habit of starting very low in collecting for a jump shot, leaving him vulnerable to having his shot blocked. However, once he's in the paint he's shown himself to be a very capable scorer. He's got a bit of a low-post game and can work with his back to the basket, he's also got a capable teardrop and euro-step he uses to get to the rim. He finishes strong through contact and is perhaps one of the most prolific NCAA point guards in awhile at getting himself to the free throw line. He spends a lot of time inside the arch and doesn't shy away from following his shot and hunting the offensive rebound.
Defensively is where Smart stands out. He's got a nose for the ball and is an absolute terror both at separating his man from the basketball and raiding the passing lanes to produce steals. He is one of the most prolific steal guys we've seen in awhile, averaging right at 3 per game for his college career...he also got a fair share of blocked shots for a PG. His length will allow him to absolutely shut down opposing guards on the perimeter and his strength will seal off their attempts to drive the lane. He's got the strength to fight through picks and and the quickness and length to go over or under them without giving away any space to his assignment. That length will allow him to switch onto most small forwards and capably guard them and he occasionally even got switched onto bigs and held his own admirably in the paint. His size and strength and tenacity shine through on the boards, where he showed to be one of the better rebounding PGs we've seen at the college level in previous years.
Smart has the physical tools to be very good, but he certainly will need some improvement in his ball-handling and shooting to stick as a starting point guard at the next level. Front offices feel they've got a player with a high floor here though because worst case, he can slide over and be a very good defensive-minded rotational combo guard if those skills don't come along as necessary.