Wildly Unnecessarily Lengthy 2014 NBA Draft Board, Part 3: NCAA Small Forwards
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| Interesting defensive technique. |
Ethan Wragge, Creighton, Senior, 6'7 225lbs
2013/14 stats: 27.0 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.1 bpg, 0.6 TOpg, 2.6 fpg, 46.3% FG, 47.0% 3PT, 81.6% FT
2013/14 stats: 27.0 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.1 bpg, 0.6 TOpg, 2.6 fpg, 46.3% FG, 47.0% 3PT, 81.6% FT
Possibly the most one dimensional player ever.
A lot of times when profiling shooters, we say things to the effect of "he can drive off a closeout" or "he can step in and turn a two into a three". Wragge cannot and does not do these things. At all. Wragge took 646 shots in four years of college, and 604 of them were from three.
Then again, when you shoot 47% from three, why wouldn't you? Being a shooter only has its upsides - you absolutely cannot leave Wragge alone, or he will drill it. He stretches a defense without needing to touch it, and he does not turn it over. He also does not pass, dribble (never ever), drive (never never ever ever), collapse a defense or do any of that jazz, but the vast majority of players who can do those things still don't do nearly as much good for an offense as Wragge does just by being there. Wragge is a good size wing player with NBA range and a quick release, and that is all you really need. In the halfcourt, he'll spot up from all areas - in transition, he'll run to the sidelines or maybe even play as a trailer option. Either way, it's a three, and it doesn't matter if everyone knows it's coming, because it goes in anyway. Wragge is unfailingly confident in his shot, and we all should be too.
Defensively, Creighton's weird roster saw Wragge spend his time defending the post and post players. This is not something he should ever be doing - he has the body type of a slow but decent sized wing player, not of a slow and undersized power forward. Wragge gave it his best, constantly battling down low and trying his best to box out those he has no business of outrebounding, yet it was doomed to fail. What it does mean is that projections of his perimeter defense, when the day comes that he start splaying it on the regular, are pretty much guesswork. He plays hard, tries his best to rotate, and is slow. The rest must be assumed from there.
What we can have faith in is the shot. Wragge is unfailingly confident in his shot, and we all should be too. Put him in the corner, have a guard who can collapse a defense, add some smart passers elsewhere on the team, and that's all you need. Hello Cantu.