Is Canadian Warren Ward a NBA Prospect?

Canadian basketball has received plenty of attention in the past year thanks to the influx of talent that has matriculated into the NCAA and also Andrew Wiggins - the best player high school player since possibly LeBron James. In this years draft alone there are potentially 3 first rounders hailing from Canada, with Kelly Olynyk and Anthony Bennett both with a case to be selected in the lottery. Myck Kabongo and his cousin Christian Kabongo both entered their names in the draft as well.

Plenty of Canadian talent is jumping the border to play both high school and college basketball in the states, but Canada also has their own version of the NCAA. It goes by the name CIS and while it has failed to attract Canada's top talent, it seems that the league has slowly grown as basketball becomes a more mainstream sport north of the border. If top tier talent is emerging from Canada, one has to believe that there is some solid talent developing in their college system as well.

The CIS hasnt produced a NBA Draft pick since William Njoku in 1994 who went off the board to the Pacers with the 41st pick. And while that won't change this year, they do have a player by the name of Warren Ward who could end up cracking a D-League roster and working his way up.

Warren Ward played for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and has been training in Las Vegas down at Impact Basketball with the likes of Marcus Fizer, Dion Waiters, and a bunch of legitimate NBA Draft hopefuls. And from reports around the web, Ward has been doing more than just holding his own in the gym.

Unfortunately after checking his draft eligibility, Warren's time to declare has past and he will be an unrestricted free agent instead. He was with Ottawa for five years and tore his ACL during the 2011-12 season. Ward was also born in 1989.

I decided to take a look back at a couple of Warren Ward's college games to see if all the fuss was worth it. After all, its not very hard to impress in a workout setting.

My first observation in watching CIS games was the level of competition. Its not great. Warren Ward was the best athlete on the court at all times. Ward stands at 6-6 and has a strong frame to go with it. The pace and intensity of the games aren't very high and there is a lot of room for players to show off their skills.

In the games I watched, Ward has no problem taking defenders down into the post and going to work on them. Unless a double team came, Ward was able to take his time and carve out space to create a good shot. He almost plays like the Kobe Bryant of the CIS. He can play with his back to the basket, hit the turnaround jumper, and also make some basic post moves to the basket. He also directs traffic and runs some point guard as well.

Operating from the perimeter, Warren has a little tougher time. He only shot 30% from the 3-pt line this year (and was 4-25 in the University World Games) and his mechanics are inconsistent. In a two game stretch in February, he shot 1-17 from deep yet still continued to fire away. Thats not necessarily what you want to see from a guy who is physically way more dominant than the rest of his competition.

Ward also relies on his strength a lot to create space as he isn't the most explosive player nor is he the quickest. In the CIS he is allowed to play at his own pace and dictate tempo and has no problem getting to his spots on the court. But when it comes to beating a man with a quick step off the dribble, he struggles. He's a guy who has to get creative with the ball to make plays.

And Ward does have a lot of creativity to his game. To go along with his post game and shooting, Ward also has shown some ability out of the pick and roll and in the transition game. Ward's a very creative passer who can make some impressive dimes, but also makes some boneheaded passes. He averaged 3.8 assists while turning it over 2.9 times. In the University Games he had less than one assist per contest while turning it over 2.1 times a game. As of right now, its safe to call him turnover prone.

There are certainly questions about both his ball handling and decision making and it doesn't help that he's been playing in a league that doesn't match his talent level. He's been able to develop and get away with bad habits, while not really learning how to play a role. On his team, he can basically do whatever he wants. It may come as a surprise, however, that he did not lead his team in scoring.

When you are looking at a below average shooter without any experience playing a supporting role or against top competition, there are a lot of reasons to doubt Ward. Especially considering he's not a great athlete - although he is solid and has above average strength. Ward will have to learn to make a contribution on defense and there will be a big adjustment on that side of the ball as well.

Ward coasted a lot on defense last year, relying on his physical tools to pull down over 6 boards a game. He didn't box out and let his man go on defense plenty of dimes. When he dialed in, Ward was able to be a stopper but the energy and commitment were not there. It is understandable that Ward could've gotten bored at times, but its not exactly what you want to see from a guy who is a long shot to begin with. I'm sure Ward will give better effort in the future and he does have solid defensive tools to work with in the future.

Overall, Warren Ward is certainly a player and could eventually make a D-League team. He certainly had the tools to play at a mid-major plus or high major level if he played college in the states. Not doing so hasn't allowed him to get the necessary coaching or exposure and now he's trying to make that up in a few months span training in Las Vegas. While Ward has a long journey to go - he could even still be getting back some of his athleticism from his ACL injury - Ward is yet another reason Canadian basketball fans have to be proud. 

Scouting Report: Anthony Bennett

Entering the season, Anthony Bennett wasn't among the projected one and done lottery picks despite being ranked as a top 10 incoming freshman by every reputable recruiting service. Bennett was seen as a stretch forward type, albeit one without idea size or body type. He quickly moved up however after a strong non-conference for UNLV, vaulting himself up from a mid-late first round pick to a guy who some scouts mentioned as the possible first overall pick. Now with UNLV's season complete and his upcoming announcement of entering the draft, Bennett finds himself as a surefire lottery selection.

Anthony Bennett has a very physically mature frame for a college freshman, weighing in at 240lbs even though he stands at just 6'7''. Despite a height that leaves something to be desired, the combination of his large frame and length (7'1'' wingspan) will allow him to play the power forward spot in the NBA. He can be a very good offensive option and a matchup nightmare in the future.

Bennett's current game revolves around his jumpshot, which has always been what his game has revolved around, even dating back to his sophomore year in high school at Mountain State Academy. He shot 38% from deep this season on roughly 3 attempts per game. Believe it or not, Bennett is far from the biggest chucker on the UNLV roster and among the top 6 scorers, he takes the lowest amount of 3-pt shots. 26% of his shots come from behind the arc, while Bennett is also very efficient hitting jumpers form the mid-range area and shots near the rim. His ability to score all over the court makes his offensive potential very high.

However, Bennett has a tendency to drift around on offense. As I said, his teammates also like to shoot a lot of 3s and neither Bennett or the guards seem to grasp how an inside-out game would get them better looks from deep. Instead, Bennett rarely receives the ball when he goes in the post - although he, himself, doesn't do a good job of establishing position. And he gives up trying to get the ball down low rather quickly. Bennett is much more likely to move around aimlessly on offense looking for an opening to take a jumper. It seems that everything he does on offense is an attempt to get an open look from 15+ feet out,

Which isn't the best way to use his outstanding, physical frame. Its part of Bennett's DNA perhaps - he shies away from contact at all levels. When posting up, he doesn't put a body into his man and does a terrible job sealing off a lane for entry passes. He never tries to post up and use his strength to get better position around the basket - he's content from hoisting a jumper from whereever he is. And at the first sign of the defender resisting his attempt to get post position, Bennett abandons the plan instead of fighting back.

Its why his post game is kind of a mystery and may be somewhat irrelevant if thats the way he will continue to play in the NBA. Bennett has acknowledge the need to play more in the post in the past, but that didn't happen at UNLV. Maybe with better coaching that will change, but Bennett needs to right buttons pushed in order for him to play more aggressive. That mysterious post game does seem to have a hook shot and a strong drop step in its arsenal, but those moves are few and far between.

As I said, Bennett's idea of offense is often standing around the arc preparing himself for an opportunity to take a shot. Bennett will cut to the basket, but with little conviction. He'll set screens, but ones solely for the purpose of quickly popping out for a jumper. He rarely gets a body on the man he is screening and rarely does anything afterwards besides drift out for a potential jumper. And Bennett does have good handles, but doesn't usually put the ball on the floor in the halfcourt. And in terms of making plays, Bennett lacks patient in the post to be a facilitator even if he did attempt to hold his position. His offensive game plan is pretty plain and obvious - shoot the ball.

Even so, Bennett does have some luck crashing the offensive boards and picking up points that way as well. He is remarkably explosive for his size and abuses rims with powerful putback slams. Even without the desired effort, Bennett can be a terrific rebounder and get any ball within his range. If he boxed out and wasn't as lazy going to the rim, Bennett could be one of those undersized power forwards who put up huge rebounding numbers. He has all the tools and natural instincts.

Bennett also does well in transition - in fact, this is where he will turn heads the most. Bennett is able to travel the length of the court after a rebound, make a shifty move, and finishing with excellent body control. Those sequences along are enough to have some NBA talent evaluators ready to make him a top 5 pick. The way he can handle and change directions in transition make some believe he can play small forward, but besides from the obvious defensive problems, he doesn't show the ability to play off the dribble in the halfcourt setting. These transition plays are just a look at how talented Bennett is and what he can potentially become in the future.

There are times when Bennett would be better off finding a guard in these situations, but once he gets going, don't expect him to pass it. He can handle it, but he dribbles with his head down and is the proud owner of a 1:2 assist to turnover ratio. Among the top 20 PF prospects in this draft, Bennett ranks as the third most prolific scorer, but his 1.3 assist per 40 minutes (pace adjusted) ranks him only 14th. It is safe to say that Bennett is a lot better making plays for himself than he is for others. He can be a bit of a blackhole.

Overall though, offense is the strength of his game and the most interesting part of his game moving forward. His ability to score on all three levels of the court is something he can really build on. In a more open NBA game, Bennett could easily start putting the ball on the floor more and taking big men off the dribble - preventing a matchup nightmare. And he should be able to hit jumpers from all over the court consistently as well as provide a efficient threat on the glass. There has to be a coach out there that can get him to play more with his back to the basket and play with more fire and if he gets put in the right situation- he can be an all-star scorer.

The biggest problems with Bennett's game, however, center around his performance defensively. Bennett has the same problem with contact on this end of the floor as he does on the offensive end, which makes it really hard for him to be a good post defender. He doesn't like to fight back against an aggressor for post position and struggles figure out which shoulder he should position himself on. His size makes it easy for him to shoot over and when he gives up post position without a fight, thats a terrible combination.

Its his understanding of defense that presents more concerns though. These are things that are correctable by a good coach, but its a red flag against his basketball IQ that he would even need to be told these things. Bennett is awful defending ball screens. Any capable pick and pop player can get wide open jumpshots time and time again against him. Bennett's problem, aside from laziness, is he "hedges" the screen on the side that his man is not on, thus creating a very big gap for him to close out on. And with his laziness, Bennett never has any shot at getting back in position before the shot is made.

Bennett doesn't really hedge on these screens though as much as he just stands stationary. He does the same thing with screens off the ball, resulting in plenty of buckets that can be traced back to his lack of help. In the NBA game with plenty of set plays and attacking mismatches, Bennett will be an easy target to attack.

Bennett also tends to be less than anxious to block shots from the helpside, preferring to be stationary in these situations as well. He'd rather get himself in position to rebound, even if there is no shot at a rebound when the offensive player gets a wide open lay-up. Somehow, Bennett still gets over a block per game which is a testament to his natural gifts and timing. His lack of gambling on defensive is also why he is a better defensive rebounder than offensive, despite the fact that he rarely blocks out with any force.

His laziness is another reason why you won't see him ever being an effective SF. There is no way Bennett will ever be able to chase his man through a obstacle of ball screens and close out to defend shots. That dream is already over. Bennett is a power forward at the next level on all accounts.

Undersized power forwards have enough time defending as it is, but an unmotivated one with a bad understanding of positioning is even worse. Its a recipe for a season long stint on the bench or a spot playing for one of the worst teams in the league.

In the end, a lot of Bennett's problem are correctable and coaches will certainly be willing to work with a player of his talent. He just recently turned 20 and is older than most freshman and will announce his intentions to enter the draft this week. Bennett played on a very talented UNLV team, but both his and his teams struggles in the nuances of the game kept them from reaching their potential. Perhaps all Bennett needs is a better coach to fix these problems which is why the situation Bennett ends up in at the next level could make all the difference. At this point, the lottery remains very weak and there is no doubt that Bennett should be among the top 14 picks. The talks of him going number one overall have faded though, and I don't even think he is worth a top 5 selection. Any pick after that though, and his reward should outweigh the risk.

Recruiting Dominoes - Wiggins/Rathan-Mayes vs The Harrison Twins

With the news of Xavier Rathan-Mayes receiving a personal phone call from Coach Calipari and now today the announcement that he will visit Lexington on Friday, Kentucky seems to be inching closer to offering him a scholarship. Rathan-Mayes announced his top 10 school today and all of them had offered him a scholarship - minus Kentucky.

Rathan-Mayes would be a great get for Kentucky, but the real prize here is Wiggins. Kentucky may or may not be interested in Rathan-Mayes if not for Wiggins, but with Wiggins, they could potentially have a great package deal. It has been discussed a lot that they would like to attend college together, continuing their careers together in which they play high school, AAU, and in national competitions together.Wiggins is one of the best recruits to head to college in quite some time and any team would have a problem taking another top 30 player to have a better chance at his services.

It has been believed for quite some time that Wiggins is down to Kentucky and Florida State. Florida State is where his dad played his college basketball at. Last weekend though, Leonard Hamilton went to Philly to watch Wiggins and CIA Bounce play, but apparently he didn't get the memo that Wiggins didnt make the trip. That prompted folks to speculate that Hamilton and Wiggins aren't as close as made out to be and that Calipari has the inside scoop and edge on the #1 recruit in the nation. For the record, Florida State was also on Xavier Rathan-Mayes top 10 list.

Now I am making a few assumptions here, but most are pretty well accepted as fact. Wiggins should end up reclassifying to the class of 2013. The idea of Wiggins remaining in high school for two more years sounds stupid.

Now, Kentucky is also in a heated battle to land the Harrison Twins. The Harrison twins will also be coming in on the class of 2013 and they will be a package for sure. That means, they will be looking for a place where both of them can shine. At Kentucky, one of them would have to be the third option. And if Rathan-Mayes is there, he could ennd up eating into Aaron Harrison's minutes. Aaron is a scorer and I don't think he wants to be on a team with Wiggins, Rathan-Mayes, his brother, and the other 5 star recruits Kentucky will surely have.

Kentucky may ultimately have the choice on what package they would rather have. I don't think they will be able to swing all four the guys. They may have a better chance of getting just Wiggins and the Harrison twins, leaving Rathan-Mayes out in the cold, but that may be risky since Wiggins and Rathan-Mayes could turn around and go to Florida State. Plus, Rathan-Mayes could be the only guy out of the foursome who may stay in college for a few years. He is a guy you can build around.

Lets assume they choose between Wiggins/Rathan-Mayes and the Harrison twins. Who should they take?

Based of their future outlook, point guard may end up being the biggest position of need. They have Harrow now, but he could leave for the draft either this year or next year. They have no point guard coming in for the Class of 2012. In 2013, they have interest in only Andrew Harrison and Cat Barber at the moment. Having seen both multiple times, I would say there is a huge talent gap between the two.

At small forward, lets act on the assumption that Alex Poythress will be a one and done. In fact, lets assume that Nerlens Noel and Archie Goodwin will be one and done as well. All three are projected lottery picks. Noel is irrelevant, but if Goodwin did stay, that could make it more likely the Wiggins/Rathan-Mayes combo headed to Kentucky.

At shooting guard, Kentucky is in the hunt for plenty of the top guys and will end up with one of them. If a bigger talent like James Young or Wayne Seldon commit, that could be the end for the Harrison twins consideration of Kentucky.

Kentucky is in a great spot and really has the ability to play their cards in a lot of different ways. There is also Jabari Parker to consider. As a Maryland fan, I am hoping they have so many options that they end up blocking the Harrison twins plans of heading to Kentucky. With Xavier Rathan-Mayes getting closer to getting a scholarship offer, it looks like Kentucky could be in the process of doing that. If that happens, the Harrison twins to Maryland looks like a good bet.

(Note: I am not saying that the Harrison twins would be unable to start over Rathan-Mayes, but since they are a package deal, both of them need to go to a place where the are the top options. They won't have a problem standing out at Kentucky, but why choose to play beside Andrew Wiggins when the twins talent alone is good enough to take any solid big 6 school deep in the tourney?)

Scouting Report: Xavier Rathan-Mayes

I've had the chance to evaluate Rathan-Mayes about five times in person now and have seen him in a high school setting with Huntington Prep, at the Global Challenge with Canada, and playing AAU ball for CIA Bounce. 

Xavier Rathan-Mayes showed up big time in the premier matchup against Julius Randle's Texas Titans. He had 22 points on the night and really caught fire at the beginning of the second half. Rathan-Mayes is great at finding ways to shoot his jumper - maybe to a fault as he settles for a lot of jumpshots (he only shot 36% for the weekend). He has a nice crossover dribble, uses screens well, and will post up defenders around the 3-pt line to set up his shot. He also has a turnaround jumper in his pocket. With these moves, Rathan-Mayes can light up the scoring column when he catches fire. Even when his shot isn't falling, he remains very confident. The problem right now is he relies to much on his jumper. He takes too many inefficient long two pointers and is a very streaky shooter. His jumpshot is good, but he isn't elite in that area (31% from 3, 75% from the FT line) so he needs to remember to attack the basket.

It seems all Canadian guards are good with the pick and roll and Rathan-Mayes is no exception. He likes to shoot his jumper off of screens, but he also has the vision and dribble ability to find teammates. He does a nice job changing speeds and not forcing his dribble as well. His mid-range game is also able to shine through off on-ball screens.

Rathan-Mayes does need get his teammates more involved and work on doing the little things to help his team win. He has been able to be Wiggins' wingman, but he hasn't picked up on some of the hustle things that go along with that. Part of it may be that Wiggins is a unique superstar and does many of the little things himself while Rathan-Mayes compliments him with shooting. Still, Rathan-Mayes needs to show more effort and mix it up more inside. That includes both on drives and on the glass. I think his driving game has more potential than what he has shown thus far - he definitely isn't strictly a shooter offensively.

He measured with a 6'5'' wingspan at the LeBron James camp so in the future, he may need to move to point guard. That may be too much to ask of him, but it would be realistic to see him as a scoring combo guard off the bench in the NBA one day.

Rathan-Mayes has a lot of talent but right now projects as an inefficient volume scorer at the next level who doesn't make his teammates better and is undersized. Luckily he has plenty of time to grow and I fully expect he will. He kind of reminds me of a rich man's Adrian Oliver or even a Willie Green.

Rathan-Mayes has interest from around the country and a wide open list. I could see him following Wiggins to Florida State or even Kentucky if they were to eventually offer him. Other than that, where he winds up is anybody's guess.

He compares his game to Chauncey Billups and you can see that with some of his offensive moves. He plays under control and has been working on posting up smaller defenders. Rathan-Mayes also cite Billups toughness as something he sees in himself.