Post by jhb on May 20, 2021 14:51:51 GMT -5
Gary Payton
PG
6'4"
180
22
Oregon State
Payton is an elite athlete with great size and length at the point guard position. Media talking heads already have taken to calling him "The Glove" for his defensive prowess and ability to steal the basketball, and he also projects to be a significant threat as a distributor and scorer at the point. Payton has a laundry list of awards and accomplishments, he's a 3-time All Pac-10 1st Team performer, a consensus 1st Team All-American as a senior, Pac-10 Player of the Year, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Pac-10 Rookie of the Year, All-Freshman Pac-10, and a two-time All-Pac-10 Tournament 1st Team performer. He led the Pac-10 in assists, field goals, steals, and points as a senior. With his combination of athleticism, size, and college production, scouts say Payton is among the top handful of point guards to come to TMBSL in terms of long-term potential and ceiling.
Offensively, Payton is an elite playmaker and distributor. He didn't just lead the Pac-10 in assists as a senior, he did it EVERY YEAR he was in college. He has a knack for using his ability to penetrate to open up opportunities for those around them and hit them for open looks. He can do that because he's also a really deadly scorer, especially around the rim. He shot an impressive 56% from inside the arch his final two years of college, showing the ability to score a variety of ways around the rim. He can hit you with the floater or keep going right to the rim and slam it in the face of much larger defenders. He finishes strong through contact and gets to the free throw line a good bit (which is one area he needs to improve, never eclipsing 70% from the free throw line in college). But you can't just sag off of him and make him beat you with his jump shot, because he is a willing shooter from distance. He made about 37% of his threes on 4 attempts per game in college, peaking at 38.5% on 7.1 attempts per game as a junior. Payton is a good ball-handling point, but scouts say he has a tendency to get over-aggressive at times with where he tries to force the issue and penetrate and with some of his passes which leads to unnecessary turnovers. Playing more in control will really help him unlock his potential.
Payton's aggressiveness is really on display on defense. He's already shown he has elite ability as a perimeter defender and the potential to be one of the very best. His combination of strength and quickness on his frame just makes it a real problem for any point guard to find an opening to get by him and he has the ability to switch onto longer wings and hold up there as well. He will be an absolute terror in the passing lanes and on the ball and if he keeps up his college production at the next level, he has a chance to challenge for TMBSL records in steals.
