Arkansas
NBA Draft Scouting Report: Arkansas’ Nick Smith Jr.
Nick Smith Jr.
Guard | Arkansas
Peak: 6’5” | Weight: 185 lbs
2023 Draft Age: 19.17
Prospect Profile
One of the crucial anticipated faculty freshman within the nation this season is Smith. At 6-foot-5 , he’s obtained stable measurement for a combo guard, nevertheless it’s the almost 6-foot-9 wingspan that makes him particular from a bodily standpoint
A spectacular scorer, Smith boasts a fast first step and is total shifty with the ball. His dribble strikes are crisp and intentional, and he’s environment friendly with each motion he makes with the ball in his arms.
What makes Smith so deadly on the offensive finish is his bounce shot. He’s obtained pure type and mechanics that make his photographs look easy. He’s additionally obtained nice vary for his age and has no drawback pulling down deep triples.
Within the midrange, Smith is artful and efficient with pull-up jumpers in addition to quite a lot of floaters. With that in thoughts, he’s not the best finisher on the rim and sometimes tends to keep away from taking it to the cup. As a substitute, he settles for jumpers which by nature are decrease proportion appears. If Smith goes to place collectively a whole offensive sport, that’s one facet he can enhance upon. That ought to naturally include him getting stronger and changing into higher at absorbing contact.
Energy additionally comes into play on protection, the place Smith definitely has upside however hasn’t emerged as an elite defender. Like many younger prospects, his skill to placed on weight and get stronger will decide his total ceiling on each ends.
Scroll to Proceed
The combo guard is extra of a scorer than distributor at this level, however undoubtedly has proven the flexibility to set teammates up. When Smith’s shot isn’t falling on the faculty degree, he might want to discover methods to nonetheless impression the sport.
Though he’s only a freshman this season, Smith is a pure chief and is usually the alpha when he steps on the court docket. Mix that with the great quantity of ability that he has and it’s no shock that he might be the primary faculty participant taken off the board within the 2023 NBA Draft.
Smith performed his senior yr of highschool at at North Little Rock Excessive College, the place led the staff to a 27-3 document and an Arkansas Class 6A championship. Throughout that senior marketing campaign, he completely stuffed up the stat sheet and sometimes flirted with a triple-double. He performed alongside one other lottery expertise on this upcoming freshman class in Kel’el Ware, who’s headed to Oregon. To cap off his highschool marketing campaign Smith received MVP of the 2022 Jordan Model Basic, the place he showcased his offensive skillset in opposition to the highest expertise within the nation.
Highlights
Draft Projection
Early lottery decide in 2023 NBA Draft.
2023 Huge Board
Wish to know extra about different potential 2023 NBA Draft prospects? Take a look at our Draft Digest Huge Board.
Wish to be a part of the dialogue? Like Draft Digest on Fb and follow us on Twitter to remain updated on all the newest NBA Draft information. You can too meet the staff behind the protection.