This week’s San Antonio Spurs prospect profile features a player we talked about last year. Being a year older and better has not necessarily made him more attractive in this draft considering the depth of it, but Villanova sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has improved quite a few parts of his game. While he continues to struggle from deep, Robinson-Earl has shot the ball inside the arc much better and has a lower turnover rate despite a higher usage rate in his second year at Villanova.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward has drastically improved his game from everywhere inside the arc. He seals well, hits his mid-range consistently, and is an incredibly smart player. Here are his stats after 24 games this season.
Stats
- 16.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.0 SPG
- 49.5 FG%, 28.0 3P%, 72.3 FT%
- 23.4 PER, 115.9 ORtg, 99.1 DRtg
Robinson-Earl is not an elite athlete or a great jumper, but he is smart with his positioning on defense and rebounds the ball pretty. He willingly crashes the offensive boards and quite often finds himself in the right place at the right time. He won’t be quite as versatile as Devin Vassell should he join this Spurs roster. However, he won’t have to put on much weight, if any, and can bang around with bigger power forwards and some smaller centers.
His three-point shooting leaves much to be desired as it’s been inconsistent this season. His mechanics look fine and his shot should project out, but that will likely take a season or two get on track. However, he is excellent in the mid-range as a shooter and is a superb operator at the elbow as a passer and driver. He’s got a high-level IQ and generally makes good decisions with the ball in his hands.
While the sophomore has some nice qualities to his game, some concerns arise over his rim-protecting ability and not having a great first step. He’s quick enough to guard any forward, but he isn’t able to consistently beat them off the dribble on offense.
