While the San Antonio Spurs are picking a little late in the first round of this year’s NBA Draft with the 18th pick, that’s still much earlier than they’re used to and that gives them a lot more options for potential players to draft this year. This week’s profile is on Villanova sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo.
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound redshirt sophomore decided to stay in the draft after the NBA Combine as he wowed a lot of scouts and team personnel. Villanova’s deep run to their most recent title also helped him as well as he won the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award and was on the All-Tournament Team.
Here are his stats from last season:
- 13.4 PPG, 1.1 SPG, 3.5 APG, 4.8 RPG
- 48.1 FG%, 40.1 3P%, 71 FT%
- Per-40 stats:
- 18.4 PPG, 1.4 SPG, 4.8 APG, 6.5 RPG
- Per-40 stats:
- 121.3 ORtg, 101.3 DRtg, 20.9 Player Efficiency Rating
DiVincenzo can obviously shoot the ball and that’s the most obvious NBA trait he has right now. He can also shoot from everywhere else on the floor and doesn’t lack confidence in that regard. He’s also become a much-improved driver to the rim and has improved his finishing ability there to boot.
The young man was called the “Michael Jordan of Delaware” and while that’s a bit hyperbolic, he certainly showed a flair for the dramatic with his dunking ability and his knack for coming up big in the clutch.
While DiVincenzo is a superb athlete, he does lack straight line speed, but that can be fixed with the proper effort and work on his end. He’s shown he’s willing to put it in as he’s made his body much more NBA ready the last couple years and has improved his shot to get it off quickly and cleanly.
Should the former Wildcat fall to the Spurs, he would be a bit of a risk as he was not a starter for three-quarters of the year despite his excellent numbers. He’s used to coming off the bench and being a spark for the second team along with a couple starters in the game and that could end up being exactly what the Spurs need.
His position at the NBA level is still a bit of a mystery — will he be a point guard, shooting guard or a combo? So that has to be figured out as well before he gets drafted.
