Sham's unnecessarily great big draft board: Point Guards
Mickey McConnell - Of all the players mentioned above, none are as good of a pure point guard as Mick Mack. In all likelihood, McConnell is not going to get drafted - he is 6'0, not strong and not fast. He has no physical tools in his favour, and he's also a senior, so Cory Joseph types are inevitably going to be picked ahead of him in the second round. But none run the offense better than McConnell.
McConnell is an incredibly high IQ player, a very efficient and mistake-free half court point guard, whose understanding of the offense and passing skills have been making players such as Omar Samhan, Ben Allen and Mitchell Young look better than they actually are. His pick-and-roll game is exquisite, and he completely dominates and regulates the flow of the game, so much so that St. Mary's couldn't afford to ever taken him out (hence his 37.0mpg average). He's a shooter, too, hitting over 50% from the field in the past two seasons, and a combined 47% from the field with roughly 30 feet of range. He is also crafty around the basket, even if he's far too small, and while he can't score like JJ Barea or defend like Brevin Knight, he places somewhere in between them.
McConnell's size will be his downfall - his good hands and instincts defensively are undermined by his inability to hinder anyone's chosen direction, and he's too small to do much in the paint except continue to dribble. His shot is also something of a set shot, with a low, Stockton-like release, neither of which help him get it off against athletic defenders. (See the above Goudelock video for evidence.) He already struggled against athleticism, even at the WCC/NCAA level. But those flaws shouldn't matter as much as they will. McConnell is very good, great fun, and will have a solid first season in Serie A next year.
[As long as it is really truly understood that it is a mere style of play comparison, and not a talent-level nor career-prognosis comparison, the John Stockton comparison extends beyond the jumpshot release. Except the bit where John Stockton was the all-time steals leader. McConnell can't do that bit.]
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McConnell is an incredibly high IQ player, a very efficient and mistake-free half court point guard, whose understanding of the offense and passing skills have been making players such as Omar Samhan, Ben Allen and Mitchell Young look better than they actually are. His pick-and-roll game is exquisite, and he completely dominates and regulates the flow of the game, so much so that St. Mary's couldn't afford to ever taken him out (hence his 37.0mpg average). He's a shooter, too, hitting over 50% from the field in the past two seasons, and a combined 47% from the field with roughly 30 feet of range. He is also crafty around the basket, even if he's far too small, and while he can't score like JJ Barea or defend like Brevin Knight, he places somewhere in between them.
McConnell's size will be his downfall - his good hands and instincts defensively are undermined by his inability to hinder anyone's chosen direction, and he's too small to do much in the paint except continue to dribble. His shot is also something of a set shot, with a low, Stockton-like release, neither of which help him get it off against athletic defenders. (See the above Goudelock video for evidence.) He already struggled against athleticism, even at the WCC/NCAA level. But those flaws shouldn't matter as much as they will. McConnell is very good, great fun, and will have a solid first season in Serie A next year.
[As long as it is really truly understood that it is a mere style of play comparison, and not a talent-level nor career-prognosis comparison, the John Stockton comparison extends beyond the jumpshot release. Except the bit where John Stockton was the all-time steals leader. McConnell can't do that bit.]
