Post by Majic on Aug 31, 2021 12:17:32 GMT -5
Bobby Portis
PF
6-11
245
20
Arkansas
Hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, Portis became a prolific high school basketball player, earning McDonald’s and Parade All-American Honors. He eventually committed to play at Arkansas, making him one the most decorated recruits to play for the school. He made an immediate impact as he earned all conference honors his freshman year and ended up being named the SEC Player of the Year his final year.
Portis possesses great size and length for his position and uses that to be a force on the offensive end of the court. He has outstanding touch for a big man, he has a great mid-range game and can even expand out to the 3 point line. He has a great nose for the ball as he crashes hard, resulting in a lot of offensive boards and easy put backs opportunities.
He has good food speed and can easily transition up and down the court, however he is the most explosive player. He generally relies on his height and wingspan to overcompensate for his lower vertical jumping abilities. Most scouts believe he has functional strength, its not a detriment but he also won't win a pushup contest.
He also has a nice touch with the ball in his hands and is patient to let the plays develop. He does a great job of finding open teammates and almost can ask as a point-center when he is in the low block. Teams shouldnt worry though as he is very careful with the ball and rarely turns it over.
Scouts are concerned how his lack of elite strength and lower explosiveness will translate at the next level. When he encounters a bigger, stronger defender he has a tendency to rely on a turnaround, fade away jump shot. Also, given his shooting ability he tends to spend a little too much time on the perimeter. He will need to find some polish on his inside game and develop some more consistent post moves.
He can be classified as a servicable defender with a high motor. Again, when matched up with bigger, stronger players he struggles to stop them from getting to the basket. His length helps him with an occasional block or steal but it's not something that can be relied on to be consistent. Additionally, he doesn't always focus on boxing out his opponent and then doesn't have the leaping ability necessary to grab the defensive rebounds in traffic.
Portis is an intriguing talent, especially on the offensive end, and is still a younger player. He put up some impressive numbers in college while also still being a raw player. He doesn't have the highest upside as other draft hopefuls, mainly because of his defensive shortcomings, but scouts expect him to round out into a formidable offensive player.