Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect Watch: Nico Mannion

By Jordan Treske

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 29: Nico Mannion #1 of the Arizona Wildcats instructs the offense during the game against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on February 29, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Arizona Wildcats 69-64. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 29: Nico Mannion #1 of the Arizona Wildcats instructs the offense during the game against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on February 29, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Arizona Wildcats 69-64. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Nico Mannion, NBA Draft, Milwaukee Bucks
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 29: (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Weaknesses

While he projects to be a skilled playmaker, Mannion carries some significant physical and athletic concerns that do hinder his upside at the next level.

For starters, Mannion stands on the slighter side as he comes in at 6’2,” weighs 190 lbs. and comes armed with a reported 6’3″ wingspan. Secondly, Mannion has very little explosion or bounce in ways that limit his ability to finish at the rim and especially through contact. That has led to him relying on a lot of floaters and crafty, high-arcing runners to combat what has been a long-standing weakness, given his frame.

Still, in his lone season at Arizona, Mannion tallied a 44.4 percentage on 2-pointers and converted 54.1 percent of his scoring opportunities at the basket, per Hoop-Math.

Mannion’s physical and athletic issues don’t limit his ability to compete and hustle on the defensive end where he does have solid foot speed and carries good defensive awareness and overall positioning on the floor.

But it’s offensively where Mannion’s natural abilities will curb any level of dynamism he can create as a penetrator or even surveying the floor against NBA-caliber defenders and athletes.

All of those questions and worries put even more pressure on Mannion to become an effective shooter and perimeter player and obviously his shooting skills have yet to match some level of adequate efficiency in that regard.

Home/Bucks Draft