HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Currently there are 16 teams in the league whose sole focus appears to be staying alive and winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, they are also putting forth their due diligence with the upcoming draft and getting some of their work done now. The other teams in the league are already in full-fledge draft mode with that consuming most of their time and effort. Earlier this week fellow senior NCAA analyst Luke Byrnes took a look at the five best point guards and now we’re going to break down the top five shooting guards:

Alec Burks, So. (Colorado) – 6’6, 195 lbs.
In two short seasons Alec Burks went from being an under the radar recruit to the premier shooting available in this year’s draft class. This isn’t the case of rapid development, although Burks has certainly improved since stepping foot on Colorado’s campus. What happened with Burks is nobody understood just how good he really was when he came out of high school, but they quickly learned. As a freshman he put up 17 points, five rebounds and nearly two assists a night.

In his sophomore year he upped those averages to 20 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. The only real knock on him is that his percentages dropped from 53% from the field to 46% and from 35% from deep to 29%. Other than that, though, there’s a whole lot to like about Burks.

At 6’6 he’s got ideal size for a shooting guard and a frame able to support the additional strength he needs to put on. He’s very crafty with the ball and can create shots for himself as well as his teammates. He’s quite athletic and will almost undoubtedly hear his name called sometime during the lottery.

Klay Thompson, Jr. (Washington State) – 6’6, 202 lbs.
Over the last three years at Washington State Klay Thompson has steadily improved his game. This year he established himself as a star for the Cougars, scoring 21 points a night while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out close to four assists a contest. He was one of the most explosive scorers in the country, going off for 30 or more on five different occasions, including a season-high 43 against Washington.

The first thing that scouts will tell you they love about Thompson is his jump shot. He cannot be left open because he has the stroke and confidence to step up and knock it down whether it’s inside the paint or from beyond the arc.

Where there are some concerns is with his ability to do more than that. Thompson doesn’t possess the typical levels of speed or explosiveness an average NBA shooting guard has. His transition to the NBA is going to require him to really adjust to doing things differently than he did in college where he was able to get away with a lot both defensively and offensively. Any team in the first round that needs a shooter will give him a long, hard look.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Tyler Honeycutt, So. (UCLA) – 6’8, 188 lbs.
Due to being 6’8 there is a chance that Tyler Honeycutt could end up playing small forward in the NBA, but his lack of strength lands him on our shooting guard list for now. We feel he has the ability to play either position, giving his future coach a couple different ways he can use him.

At UCLA Honeycutt always left people yearning for more. There are few who believe he wasn’t capable of putting up more than the 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists he averaged a game. Not that those aren’t impressive, but Honeycutt is a skilled player who is a nightmare to matchup with. On most nights he was by far the most talented player on the floor, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by his stat line as he was held back by his inconsistency and lack of assertiveness.

Regardless of whether he plays the two or the three position, Honeycutt has to shore up his ball handling skills and minimize the turnovers. His defense should earn him the opportunity to play as a rookie, however, he’ll lose it quickly if he doesn’t take care of the rock. Expect Honeycutt to be a mid first round pick.

Travis Leslie, Jr. (Georgia) – 6’4, 205 lbs.
There may not be a more explosive player in this year’s draft than Georgia’s Travis Leslie. Despite being just 6’4 Leslie frequently puts the opposition on posters with highlight-reel dunks that will make your jaw drop. In terms of athleticism, Leslie isn’t lacking at all.

The same can’t be said for his overall basketball skills. Leslie isn’t purely just an athlete, but his game has a long ways to go to catch up to his explosiveness. Scouts and GMs were hoping to see more improvement than he displayed from his sophomore to junior season. His averages stayed the same nearly across the board. The biggest different was in his shooting from long-range. While Leslie took the three-point shot more frequently, the results were less than stellar as he only hit at a 30% clip.

As a rebounder and playmaker Leslie isn’t bad. He grabbed seven boards a game and also handed out 2.9 assists. Those things should help keep him in the later portion of the first round.

Josh Selby, Fr. (Kansas) – 6’2, 183 lbs.
For those who only saw Josh Selby play after February his inclusion on a list that features the most NBA-ready shooting guards may seem criminal. Selby was nothing short of terrible in his final 13 games as a Jayhawk, never recording double-figures while seeing his role reduced.

It’s important to note Selby was not 100% healthy during that time and maybe further from it than a lot of us know. He definitely has some things he has to show in the weeks leading up to the draft to convince NBA teams he’s a much better player than the one we saw from February through March.

Looking at Selby’s entire body of work, including his senior year of high school, is what earns him a spot on this list. He’s undersized and has a lot of work to do if he’s eventually going to make the move over to point guard, but he’s a gifted scorer when healthy. Once he gets back to being 100% he should be a terror to defend who is absolutely worth a high second-round pick and maybe even a first.

Honorable Mention: E’Twaun Moore (Purdue), Malcolm Lee (UCLA), Scott Hopson (Tennessee), Marshon Brooks (Providence), David Lighty (Ohio State), DeAndre Liggins (Kentucky) and Gilbert Brown (Pittsburgh).

Make sure to check back this weekend as HOOPSWORLD breaks down the top small forwards!