Will Riley

[closg00]

Let's welcome our Canadian import.

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[tontoz]

Skilled guy with the ball. If we could somehow take his skills and give them to Bilal we'd have a star.

[tontoz]

Watch on YouTube

[closg00]

I don't understand taking another player very similar to Kyshawn when Asa Newell (ranked 6th in YODA) Drake Powell, Danny Wolf, and others were there, but Will had his boosters in the analyst world and on the board, so I look forward to seeing him in SL.

[tontoz]

I don't understand taking another player very similar to Kyshawn when Asa Newell (ranked 6th in YODA) Drake Powell, Danny Wolf, and others were there, but Will had his boosters in the analyst world and on the board, so I look forward to seeing him in SL.

Riley is a 2/3. George is a 3/4.

I never liked Newell. He is too small to play C and can't shoot well enough to play 4. He got away with that in college but it will be much harder in the pros.

[FAH1223]

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[nate33]

Posted this on the draft thread but would like to have it recorded here so I can find it someday:

I watched a bunch of video on Will Riley and I can now appreciate the on-ball creation and shot making skills the guy possesses. I think it's fair to overlook his relatively poor 2P% and 3P% given his shooting volume and the degree to which many of his shots were self-created.

I like that he shot better in the second half of the season against stiffer competition. His TS% in his first 17 games was .520 including the cupcake portion of the schedule. His TS% over the final 18 games against the teeth of the conference schedule and the two tournaments was .550. Of particular note, his 2P% rose from .466 to .521 over the second half of the season.

I'm still a little alarmed at his combine athleticism measurements and his horrifically low stocks. The guy averaged just 0.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per 36.

The best part about his statistical profile his playmaking. He averaged 3.1 assists per 36 (3.3 over the second half of the season) as a 6-8 wing, while only averaging 1.7 turnovers on fairly high usage. Playmaking plus shot creation are prerequisites for NBA stardom. He has those bases covered.

[gambitx777]

We have tons of wings but he might be able to play the 4 in a couple years.

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[prime1time]

We have tons of wings but he might be able to play the 4 in a couple years.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

We do have a ton of wings, but look at the finals. Both the Pacers and the Thunder just kept trotting them out. Pacers were picking up full court and subbing players often. Skilled wings aren't just the future they are the present.

[80sballboy]

The measureables are not there. He wasn't a great defender and wasn't a good shooter. I watched him many times because I'm a MD fan, watch a lot of B10 Network and wanted to look at Jakucionas because he was expected to go top 6 or whatever. But Riley did look like an impact player for a pretty good team. I wasn't a huge fan of Bub or Kyshawn so maybe the analytics Dawkins is using will work out. I'd rather strike out at 21 than at 6. That's where you have to hit a HR.

[closg00]

I don't understand taking another player very similar to Kyshawn when Asa Newell (ranked 6th in YODA) Drake Powell, Danny Wolf, and others were there, but Will had his boosters in the analyst world and on the board, so I look forward to seeing him in SL.

Riley is a 2/3. George is a 3/4.

I never liked Newell. He is too small to play C and can't shoot well enough to play 4. He got away with that in college but it will be much harder in the pros.

Is he really a 2/3 though

Draft Grade: C+
I'm not his biggest fan. He's not a great athlete or a great shooter yet. He has a very lean frame. "What's he going to be?" was the common question I heard from scouts when talking about Riley's evaluation. He does have dynamic driving ability and playmaking instincts that scream upside as a jumbo-sized, shot-creating wing.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/?view=default&filter=round%3A1

The underlined is what Hawkins likes clearly

[tontoz]

Is he really a 2/3 though

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/?view=default&filter=round%3A1

The underlined is what Hawkins likes clearly

He has the game of a 2 with the height of a 3. He idolizes Manu and it shows up in his game.

But he is like AJ in that he has to fill out a lot to defend any position effectively.

[machu46]

I had him as a 2nd round prospect personally, so needless to say I'm a bit skeptical of this pick. Can definitely see the vision for it though; everyone is chasing guys that can shoot, put the ball on the floor, and pass, and he can do all of those things to some degree. He has some of that change of speed kind of stuff that you wish more NBA players were able to add to their bag, but he needs a ton of work IMO. The defense in college was abysmal and if he doesn't get significantly stronger, it's easy to see a world where he just isn't able to get to his spots offensively while also being borderline unplayable defensively. Put on a good 20+ lbs of muscle and tighten the handle up a bit though and you have a potentially very good offensive piece. I can see some old man Middleton in his game with some of the herky-jerky moves and also the relatively slow pace of play, but Middleton is also kind of a load to deal with physically, whereas Riley's body is more like a less athletic Kevin Martin or Cam Christie or something. We'll see; I would guess he'll put up some numbers this year by default but it'll probably be a few years before you really start to see him pan out (if he does pan out).

[DCZards]

The more film I watch on Riley the more impressed I am by his ball skills. He really is very good at creating his own shot off the dribble.

[WallToWall]

I dont know anything about this cat, but I'm about to watch a lot of video on him. Wishing him a long successful career, and awesomeness when he play for us.

[J-Ves]

I’m reminded of Antawn Jamison

[Gig18]

6'8", tough shot maker, skilled offensively.
sounds like a version of Ace Bailey...

[penbeast0]

I’m reminded of Antawn Jamison

If he weighed 185 . . .

[nate33]

I’m reminded of Antawn Jamison

Really?

He plays nothing like Antawn Jamison at all.

[tontoz]

Back in February I posted this vid about Riley going off, 27/9/7 off the bench is pretty rare in college.

Watch on YouTube