Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect Watch: Grant Riller

ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 01: (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 01: (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
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Milwaukee Bucks, NBA Draft, Grant Riller
TOWSON, MD – JANUARY 03: (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect – Grant Riller: What the experts say

ESPN [$] (Jonathan Givony): 40th

The Athletic [$] (Sam Vecenie): 28th

Sports Illustrated (Jeremy Woo): 30th

Sporting News (Chris Stone): 30th

Bleacher Report (Jonathan Wassermann): 32nd

The Ringer (Kevin O’Connor): 37th

Quotes:

After placing Riller 30th on his most recent Big Board, Woo wondered just how much of Riller’s role and incredible productivity at Charleston will translate to the NBA against superior athletes than he was used to seeing:

"“It’s hard to ignore just how good a scorer Riller has been in college, and he’s arguably the best-finishing guard in this draft class, albeit playing mostly against lower-level college competition. His touch and vertical pop are high-end, and while he’ll be best off paired with a bigger playmaker, he shoots and moves the ball well enough to make it work—and he certainly won’t be asked to carry an offense in the same way. Because he’s not very big (6’3” is a bit generous), the primary holdup is how much of his efficiency translates around the rim against bigger bodies and better athletes. But Riller is athletic and tough enough to think he’ll figure it out in some capacity.”"

On the other side of the coin, The Rookie Wire’s Bryan Kalbrosky ranked Riller 13th on his most recent Top-100 Big Board and shined a light on the incredible finishing efficiency the Orlando native posted this season, especially at his size:

"“Grant Riller is a ridiculously productive scorer who might have the best first step of any prospect in the class. He ranked seventh-best among Division I players in total isolation scoring, averaging 3.2 points per game. He is also an incredible interior finisher who shot 107-of-152 (70.4%) within five feet of the basket in 2019-20. That was second-best among all high-volume finishers who were 6-foot-3 or shorter.”"