Grant Riller was incredibly productive during his time in Charleston, but will he be of interest to the Milwaukee Bucks in this NBA Draft?
In every draft class, there’s always a mid-major prospect that catches the eyes of NBA scouts and draft experts throughout the pre-draft process. In the case of the 2020 NBA Draft, that’s Grant Riller.
Riller’s rise and the story of his basketball journey reads like any overlooked prospect, especially one who carried the concerns over his undersized physical profile like Riller did. Coming out of high school as a two-star recruit from Orlando, Riller traveled up to Charleston where, right before the start of his freshman season, he tore his left ACL in a scrimmage against Clemson University.
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As he told NBA.com’s Chris Dortch earlier this year, Riller views the injury as a “blessing in disguise” as it gave him the ability to rebuild his body, his skill level and work on his overall deficiencies to chart him on the course he’s currently on. Now, he’s being viewed as a surefire selection in this coming draft.
Even after all he’s accomplished at Charleston, such as being named first-team All-CAA in each of the last three seasons or being viewed as a draft pick, Riller hasn’t shed his humility even with now being on the cusp of realizing his NBA dream, as he told Dortch the following:
"“A dream, sure,” Riller says. “But you never really know if it can come true. As the years have progressed and I kept working on my game, I think I’ve put myself in pretty good position. I’ll keep working as hard as I can. And if it happens one day, I’ll be forever grateful.”"
In his 31 appearances with the Cougars this season, Riller averaged 21.9 points on .499/.362/.827 shooting splits, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals across 35.3 minutes per tilt.
So without further ado, let’s break down the game of Grant Riller by evaluating his strengths and weaknesses, see how draft experts currently rate him, and examine his potential fit with the Milwaukee Bucks.