2012 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Austin Rivers

2012 NBA Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2012 NBA Draft Scouting Reports - Home Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina Will Barton, SG, Memphis Bradley Beal, SG, Florida William Buford, SG, Ohio State Jae Crowder, SF, Marquette Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky Marcus Denmon, SG, Missouri Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut Kim English, SG, Missouri Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt Drew Gordon, PF, New Mexico Draymond Green, SF, Michigan State Moe Harkless, SF, St. John's John Henson, PF, North Carolina Robbie Hummel, SF, Purdue John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt Darius Johnson-Odom, SG, Marquette Kevin Jones, PF, West Virginia Perry Jones, PF, Baylor Terrence Jones, PF, Kentucky Kris Joseph, SF, Syracuse Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky Doron Lamb, SG, Kentucky Jeremy Lamb, SG, Connecticut Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois Damian Lillard, PG, Weber State Scott Machado, PG, Iona Kendall Marshall, PG, North Carolina Fab Melo, C, Syracuse Darius Miller, SF, Kentucky Quincy Miller, SF, Baylor Arnett Moultrie, PF, Mississippi State Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure Kyle O'Quinn, C, Norfolk State Ricardo Ratliffe, PF, Missouri Austin Rivers, SG, Duke Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas Terrence Ross, SG, Washington Renardo Sidney, PF, Mississippi State Henry Sims, C, Georgetown Jared Sullinger, PF, Ohio State Jeffery Taylor, SF, Vanderbilt Jordan Taylor, PG, Wisconsin Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky Hollis Thompson, SF, Georgetown Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse Casper Ware, PG, Long Beach State Maalik Wayns, PG, Villanova Royce White, PF, Iowa State Tony Wroten, PG, Washington Patric Young, PF, Florida Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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2012 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Austin Rivers


Position: Shooting Guard

Size: 6-4, 190

School: Duke, Freshman


Strengths:

Pure scorer

Outside shooter

Limitless range from deep

Pull-up jumper

Creating his own shot

Thrives in one-on-one iso situations

Quick crossover, first step

Outstanding ball-handler

Utilizes jab step to create space

Use of floater in the lane

Creative finisher at the rim

Body control when attacking the basket

Doesn't shy away from the big moment



Weaknesses:

A bit undersized to be a true NBA shooting guard

Playing off the ball

Frequently too selfish

Handling contact

Strength

Toughness as a defender

Summary: Rivers is already one of the most talented scorers in college hoops. However, there are severals areas of concern about how he will transition to the next level, most notably his lack of strength, ability to play off the ball and defensive prowess. I think he would benefit from returning to Duke for his sophomore season but would likely be selected in the mid-lottery to mid-teens if he did declare this off-season.

Player Comparison: Monta Ellis. Ellis is only 6-3 but has become one of the most dynamic scorers in the NBA. Rivers is in a similar situation due to his size and lack of strength, but just has a natrual feel as a scorer whether it's attacking the basket or shooting it from deep. In fact, Rivers is probably already a better outside shooter than Ellis and has the ability to score at an elite level one day in the NBA.

2012 NBA Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2012 NBA Draft Scouting Reports - Home Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina Will Barton, SG, Memphis Bradley Beal, SG, Florida William Buford, SG, Ohio State Jae Crowder, SF, Marquette Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky Marcus Denmon, SG, Missouri Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut Kim English, SG, Missouri Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt Drew Gordon, PF, New Mexico Draymond Green, SF, Michigan State Moe Harkless, SF, St. John's John Henson, PF, North Carolina Robbie Hummel, SF, Purdue John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt Darius Johnson-Odom, SG, Marquette Kevin Jones, PF, West Virginia Perry Jones, PF, Baylor Terrence Jones, PF, Kentucky Kris Joseph, SF, Syracuse Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky Doron Lamb, SG, Kentucky Jeremy Lamb, SG, Connecticut Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois Damian Lillard, PG, Weber State Scott Machado, PG, Iona Kendall Marshall, PG, North Carolina Fab Melo, C, Syracuse Darius Miller, SF, Kentucky Quincy Miller, SF, Baylor Arnett Moultrie, PF, Mississippi State Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure Kyle O'Quinn, C, Norfolk State Ricardo Ratliffe, PF, Missouri Austin Rivers, SG, Duke Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas Terrence Ross, SG, Washington Renardo Sidney, PF, Mississippi State Henry Sims, C, Georgetown Jared Sullinger, PF, Ohio State Jeffery Taylor, SF, Vanderbilt Jordan Taylor, PG, Wisconsin Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky Hollis Thompson, SF, Georgetown Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse Casper Ware, PG, Long Beach State Maalik Wayns, PG, Villanova Royce White, PF, Iowa State Tony Wroten, PG, Washington Patric Young, PF, Florida Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina

RELATED LINKS:


2012 NBA Mock Draft


2013 NBA Mock Draft


2012 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings


2012 NBA Draft Scouting Reports








Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: wpc112@gmail.com



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