Nik Stauskas
BIG BOARD: 13
MOCK DRAFT: 12 Birthdate: October 7, 1993 (Etobicoke, Ontario) School: St. Mark's School (Southborough, Mass.) Class: 2014 (OFFICIAL) Height: 6'6" Weight: 205 NBA Position: SG Strengths: N/A Weaknesses: N/A |
Scouting Report 1.0 — 05.06.2014 (Camden Pasch)
Nik Stauskas is a prospect primed for a productive career at the next level. At the least, Stauskas will become an NBA sniper from all areas on the court as his jumper is as sweet as grandma’s Christmas cookies. In two seasons at Michigan, he shot 44% or better from three-point range both years making more than two triples per contest. Stauskas possesses a lightning quick release and superb elevation on his shot making it difficult to alter. Stauskas’ form is picture perfect and repeatable, not to mention he can let it fly from a legitimate 30 feet away from the rim. He’s elite in catch-and-shoot opportunities, shots off dribble-handoffs, step-back jumpers and a deadly array of pull-up jumpers. His shooting ability alone will allow him to become a useful rotation player in the NBA.
With that being said, though, his ceiling is as underrated as any in the 2014 NBA Draft class. Stauskas isn’t just a shooter. He’s expanded his game so that he’s capable of being an effective ball handler in the half-court, as his 3.3-1.9 AST/TO ratio last year at Michigan would support. In the pick-and-roll, Stauskas’ decision making and passing abilities are truly special for |
a position that’s normally delegated to just scoring and/or defense. He sees passing lanes and delivers without giving away his intended target prematurely, usually resulting in a wide-open look for the recipient. His handle isn’t the tightest, but he does have enough shake and deception to get anywhere he wants on the court. It’s a thing of beauty to watch him facilitate an offense when he isn’t knocking down shots from the perimeter.
Stauskas will need to adjust to NBA length and athleticism to fully reach his potential. He’s growing as a slasher, but his lack of lateral quickness may hinder his ability to consistently get to the rim and/or finish. He’s a sneaky good leaper, and can finish with authority from time to time, but the NBA is full of rim-protecting bigs and lockdown perimeter defenders that could give Stauskas problems in his attempts to penetrate the paint. On the other end of the floor, he’ll need to continue to get better as well. At Michigan he wasn’t necessarily an above average defender, but he did understand team spacing, rotations and help-defense. Stauskas is able to keep his |
man in front of him, for the most part, but at times he can get physically overmatched. The effort is there, which is normally the issue for other young prospects, but his lateral quicks and lack of a special wingspan will result in him being an average defender at best.
As far as intangibles go, Stauskas takes the cake. Coming into the summer after his freshman season, Stauskas knew his game needed to grow, but his body did as well. Through hard work and dedication, he added 16 pounds of muscle to his frame and six inches to his vertical leap. After Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. declared for the pro game, Michigan was in dire need of a new “go-to guy.” Mitch McGary was looked upon as a candidate to be just that, though, he sustained an injury early in the 2013 college campaign allowing Stauskas to fully grasp the “lead dog” role. He accepted the challenge in fantastic fashion winning B1G Player of the Year leading Michigan to a regular season conference championship and an eventual Elite Eight finish in the NCAA tournament. |