With the NBA Draft approaching, the San Antonio Spurs worked out forward Matt Howard from Butler and according to Howard, he had a solid workout with the Spurs.
“Had a good first workout and got to meet a lot of quality people in the Spurs organization”
Howard is a 6″8″ forward, 225 lbs., and averaged 16.4 points, 1.4 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and shot .398% from the three point line for the Bulldogs last season.
Standing somewhere between 6-7 and 6-8, with a narrow frame, Howard has maximized his physical tools since arriving at Butler and is a very well conditioned player. That said, he is still undersized for the NBA-post, which was evident in his struggles in the national championship game against Connecticut’s elite post athletes. Though he works extremely hard all over the floor, his below average strength, explosiveness and quickness limited him in college and will continue to hinder him at the next level.
From an offensive perspective, Howard improved as a senior, showcasing the same fundamentally sound post game while integrating perimeter shooting into his repertoire. He averaged 21.7 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted while shooting 50.8 inside of the arc and 39.8% from beyond—a tremendously productive season.
While he was post-bound throughout his career, Howard found 20.4% of his offensive possessions in spot-up opportunities as a senior, and connected on 44% of his attempts. He showcased range out to the NBA three-point line as a senior, where he made just under 40% of his 4.7 attempts per 40 minutes pace adjusted. This is impressive given that he attempted just 20 three-point field goals in his career prior to his senior season, where he made 53 of his 133 attempts. He does not get much lift and his needs to tighten up his mechanics, but his shooting ability adds an intriguing, NBA-friendly element to his game. That said, his production dropped off considerably when matched up against NBA-caliber big men in the NCAA tournament. (draftexpress.com)
The Spurs desperately need a solid big man, and Howard is too undersized to fill this need. What do you think Spurs fans? Hey at least it’s not another guard the Spurs are working out.
