2012 NBA Draft Scouting Report: William Buford

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: [email protected]

2012 NBA Draft Scouting Report: William Buford

Position: Shooting Guard

Size: 6-6, 220

School: Ohio State, Senior

Strengths:

Pure shooter

Catch-and-shoot ability

Pull-up jumper

Comes off screens well

Nice post-up game for an off-guard

Good turnaround jump shot

Uses ball fakes to create space to get off his shot

Athleticism

Able finisher when he gets to the rim

Weaknesses:

Too often falls in love with his jumper

Needs to be more aggressive in attacking the basket

Ball-handling could use improvement in iso situations

Tends to show his frustration when his shot is not falling and carries it over to the defensive end

Not a great perimeter defender

Summary: Buford has been a solid player throughout his collegiate career but has not elevated his game to a consistent point where he will be a surefire first-round pick. More than likely, Buford will be a role player at best in the NBA and figures to be a late first/early second-round pick.

Player Comparison: John Salmons. Both Salmons and Buford are athletic enough to get to the basket but rely more on their outside jumper as their best weapon. I am not sure Buford will put up the numbers that Salmons has in recent years, but remember that Salmons was a late first-round pick who didn’t find his niche in the league until fifth season. Buford could develop into that type of scorer if he finds the right landing spot.

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: [email protected]

Mike Elworth's 2023 NBA Mock Draft

Mike Elworth's 2024 NBA Mock Draft

NFL Picks - Nov. 22

2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20

NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 19

Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4