Spurs Prospect Watch: Melvin Frazier

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 11: Melvin Frazier #35 of the Tulane Green Wave shoots past Joel Berry II #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center on November 11, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

The San Antonio Spurs needed the All-Star break badly to hopefully regroup and get back to their winning ways. They still have a chance to get to their usual 50 wins this season, but it’s going to take some better shooting over the last couple months of the season.

That brings us to our weekly prospect watch. This week is 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard Melvin Frazier out of Tulane. He hasn’t gotten a whole lot of love because he plays in the American Athletic Conference where only Wichita State and Cincinnati really get major attention. However, he should be a second-round guy to keep an eye on going forward.

Here are his stats:

  • 15.9 PPG, 2.3 SPG, 3 APG, 5.2 RPG
  • 57.4 FG%, 38.5 3P%
    • Per-40
      • 18.6 PPG, 2.7 SPG, 3.5 APG, 6.1 RPG
  • 115.2 ORtg, 99.9 DRtg

While Frazier hasn’t played a whole lot of top-notch competition in the conference, he has shown marked improvements over his three years in college. He also lit up North Carolina earlier in the year to the tune of 27 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. So he clearly knows how to get up for the big boys and with some weight training, he should be fine handling the pros.

Frazier is a good scorer off the dribble and shoots the ball well from all over the floor. His true shooting percentage — a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account twos, threes and free throws — of 65.1 percent is impressive and shows that he’s not just a really good three-pointer shooter or just gets great looks at the rim.

The late-blooming Frazier is a solid athlete and his ability to rack up steals at the collegiate level bodes well for his pro projection. He is making his way up draft boards right now and with a strong end to the season and some strong play in the conference tournament he can catapult himself to the Spurs pick in the second round.

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