NBA Draft 2016: BTBP Big Board 1.0
By Adam McGee
20. Grayson Allen – Shooting Guard (Duke)
Words by Andrew Snyder
Allen’s 2015-16 season: 20.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 48.9% FG
Grayson Allen is college basketball’s villain this year. He plays at Duke, he’s got a boyish face, he plays with emotion, and he’s also really good at basketball. He possesses all the perfect elements that polarizing Blue Devil should have. His thunderous dunks and “and-ones” anger Duke haters everywhere on a weekly basis.
Allen burst onto the national radar during last season’s National Championship Game against Wisconsin. He helped lead Duke to victory with 16 points off the bench, playing with a rim attacking style that surprised those that had never seen him play. Instead of leveraging that high profile performance to make an early entrance to the NBA, Allen returned to Durham for his sophomore season. It appears to have been a wise decision.
Allen is the second leading scorer in the ACC and one of the contenders for ACC Player of the Year. That rim attacking style has continued this season, making Allen look like the college version of prime Manu Ginobili. He also unleashes a potent three-point shot with a quick release. That may be his key to becoming a good to very good NBA player. If he can shoot well above three-point range in the NBA he becomes much more attractive.
He’s more than just a shooter in college, but it’s hard to say if that will be the way he plays in the NBA. A big part of his success at Duke is getting to the free-throw line. He’s shooting 84.6 percent from the line on 5.5 made free-throws per game. He gets to the free-throw stripe 6.5 times per game.
That won’t happen in the NBA where defenses are quicker, smarter, and more athletic. He’ll have to change his game as a pro, no more darting into the lane and looking for contract. Regardless, the athleticism and deadeye shooting makes him an intriguing prospect late in the first round.
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