Scouting Report:
Preston Shumpert

Preston Shumpert reminds me of another Big East swingman, Richard "Rip" Hamilton. They both have the same body type, although it seems that Shumpert has longer arms. As evidenced by his 8 trifectas against UConn and his woeful 4 game stretch prior to that game (28% from the field and 26 % from 3 for the 4 games prior to the UConn game), he is a streaky shooter. He has been outstanding for most of the year though. His height and the high release on his jump shot make him very difficult to defend on the perimeter. His high release is slightly unusual, but it is fundamentally sound.

I am unimpressed with his slashing game though. Right now, he relies too much on his perimeter shooting. With his tools and shooting ability (defensive players have to get right up on him), he should be able to take it to the rim more effectively.

Defensively, as with all 'Cuse products, he is an unknown. Jim Boeheim is to the zone, what Bob Knight was to the man-to-man. Physically it would seem that Shumpert has everything it would take to be a great man-to-man defender. He is tall and quick, with long arms, but you just don't know how he will react to being run off of screens for 40 minutes. John Wallace has never been able to develop into an even serviceable defender on the professional level. I don't think that anyone would argue that Wallace has the physical tools to be a great defender, but his defense is a constant embarrassment on the NBA level.

That being said, I think Shumpert will be able to adapt to the NBA style of defense, but it will take him longer than someone who is used to playing a lot of man-to-man.

Shumpert is a junior and would be foolish for him to enter the NBA draft after this season. He would certainly be picked, probably in the early second round, maybe late first, but a summer of work on his ballhandling, slashing, and maybe some post work would benefit him a great deal. Whenever Shumpert does decide to come out, his performance in the NBA pre-draft camps will be even more crucial for him than most other players.

As an aside, I think that Boeheim is a great coach, but Syracuse's style of play most definitely limits his players positioning in the NBA draft. Don't think that teams recruiting against the Orangemen don't point this out. Still, Boeheim manages to pull in solid, but usually not deep, recruiting classes (this year's recruiting class is no different, featuring top 50 PG prospect Billy Edelin of Oak Hill).