Bennedict Mathurin has made some huge leaps from his freshman season and it’s shown not only on the court but in mock drafts. He is a consensus top-10 pick, which means he should be available to the San Antonio Spurs when they pick in the NBA Draft.
While he’s not a big man or traditional forward that the Spurs might need, he is a big wing who can create his own offense and give them some explosiveness as well.
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Mathurin does just about everything for a surprisingly good Arizona team. There are times when he’s running the offense and there are quite a few instances of him having to create the offense as well late in the shot clock.
However, that has not messed with his shooting numbers all that much as you can tell from the stats below in 17 games.
- 17.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.9 SPG
- 49.3 FG%, 38.6 3P%, 79.4 FT%
- 21.8 PER, 122.6 ORtg, 89.3 DRtg
The strengths for Mathurin are plentiful and make him a valuable wing player in this draft. They include his athleticism and explosiveness off the ground.
In fact, ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla has said that “The Canadian is one of the best athletes in college basketball with a pure shooting stroke.” He has shot the ball extremely well as you can see and that should continue at the next level.
He has gotten stronger this season, which has helped his finishing at the rim and through contact. However, it is still something to work on as he could be better there.
He has to tighten his handle a bit as that will allow him to become more of a playmaker for his teammates and eventually be an even better shot creator for himself. It should help also help him from stopping the ball too often on offense.
Mathurin could end up being a better defender and definitely has potential to be a solid 3-and-D player. He will need to improve his awareness a bit off the ball, but he has the tools to do it. He’s long, lanky, moves his feet well, and is pretty athletic.
