The San Antonio Spurs are battling for a playoff spot and currently sit as the 4th seed in the West. With a likely playoff berth impending, they will once again be looking at drafting outside of the lottery and in the later part of the round. However, while the first round pick may be in limbo, the second rounder is a little easier to predict. It’s going to be in the late 40s or early 50s and the prospects the Spurs could grab with the late are a little more predictable.
That brings us to this week’s NBA Draft prospect in Florida sharpshooter Jalen Hudson. The 6-foot-6, 192-pound junior has already declared for the draft but could make his way back to school since he reportedly has not hired an agent.
Florida's Jalen Hudson will declare for the NBA draft without an agent, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 27, 2018
Here are some of his stats from this past season:
- 15.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.1 APG
- 45.5 FG%, 40.2 3P%, 66.2 FT%
- Per-40 stats:
- 23.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
- Per-40 stats:
- 114.3 ORtg, 101.8 DRtg
Hudson has a bit of an odd resume. He was not a real solid shooter from the beginning at Virginia Tech. However, he took a redshirt year when he transferred after his sophomore year and has really blown up in his lone playable season with the Gators. His shooting from the floor is excellent, but his free throw percentage is pretty concerning considering he is supposed to be a good shooter.
He has an issue with his shot where the ball spins sideways off his hand and rather than creating some fortuitous bounces like normal shooters might get, he ends up with balls that spin out of the rim. However, he has gotten some spins on jump shots that have been the exact opposite, but he will likely have to change something on his shot at the next level to really succeed.
The swingman showed flashes of defensive toughness, but it wasn’t quite consistent all season. However, we did see a turning point with him and he can be a solid defender when properly motivated. Other than that, Hudson is a great scorer and was the reason Florida won a few games it definitely shouldn’t have this past season. He had 35 points in a huge win over Gonzaga in the PK80 Tournament as well as 24 points against Duke in a loss in that same tournament.
Hudson is a bit of a late bloomer and will have to improve his ball handling as well as passing, but should be fine playing as a shooting guard in the NBA. He will also have to find more consistency in his game and shooting as he could get cold in games, but then start firing on all cylinders out of nowhere. Private workouts and the NBA Combine should give us a better idea of what to expect in those regards.
He only failed to score in double figures in six games out of the 34 the team played. He’s a good scorer on the move and can shoot at all three levels. He’s a solid athlete who should be a sneaky good pick in the second round of the draft assuming he stays in it.
