Bryce McGowens 6'7" 180 lbs

Bryce McGowens is a thin guard wired to score who possesses great ability to get to the rim, slashing at a methodical pace. McGowens puts pressure on the defense all of the time and has incredible touch allowing him to be effective in the intermediate game as well as on tough finishes such as floaters, leaners and difficult layups. He plays at his own pace while possessing prototypical NBA length and athleticism and gets to the rim/ his spots at will, and despite the obvious need to get stronger, Bryce got to the free throw line via relentlessly attacking the rack. McGowens moves like an NBA player at a youthful age and he has deficiencies but they are correctable in time, making McGowens a player lower on most boards with some of the highest upside relative to where he is ranked. McGowens can be a shot creator at the NBA level and be a steal in this draft very easily, and that is why I firmly believe he warrants top 20 consideration despite his slim frame and mediocre defense.

Strengths:

• Attacks off of the dribble aggressively while moving like an NBA wing.

• Gets to the free throw line at will. (A sign of good scorer especially because he had to face defenses geared to stop him). (6.3 FTA's per game)

• Great touch when shooting floaters and he shot 83% from FT line showing shooting ability.

• Plays at his own pace and gets to "his spots" at will showing potential to be a shot creator at NBA level.

• Good rebounder. Uses his height and intangibles to find ball and rebound his position.

Concerns:

• Very thin. May have trouble finishing and defending in the NBA due to weight.

• Shoots difficult shots and that led to poor efficiency jumps-hooting (27% from 3).

• Does not have many flashes of distributing the ball well due to attention he draws.

• Mediocre defender.

Bryce McGowens projects as a scorer who will translate his length, feel and athletic ability to be a supplementary scorer who could thrive as a bench unit leading scorer and maybe he can parlay his traits into being a 3rd scorer in a starting lineup if his defense takes a leap. McGowens has a glaring flaw at the moment, but it is a potentially easily correctable one, he needs to add some weight to make himself a more respectable defender and rim attacker at the NBA level. Can Bryce become an all star? Where he is being projected would indicate it's very unlikely, however, Bryce has a better chance than most because of the ease with which he gets to his spots and glides to the rim with NBA length and added spacing around him makes it easier too. He has a chance to score 18+ in the league and I believe he will be a steal.

McGowens could help lead this generation of supersized guards. While he doesn’t project as lead guard, he has many of the needed skills. He is a great ball handler, and a good passer. While he could theoretically play both guard positions, his main selling point is his athleticism. He is more than just a transition dunk guy too. When I say that he is athletic, I’m not just saying that he has an impressive vertical (which he does have.) He is agile, and quick. He can run the floor well and has a sneaky first step. His ability to blow by defenders will be incredibly useful in the NBA. He can shoot through traffic and also has excellent court vision. His floater game is polished and will help him get over bigger players in the paint. Unfortunately, he has some weaknesses. First being his shooting. He is wildly inefficient from deep. It doesn’t help that he is taking a big chunk of his team’s shots. Nebraska is awful this year, and he has a heavy workload. With better teammates in the NBA, his numbers will probably shoot up. His defense is also a weak spot. He is posting pretty measly block and steal numbers, which is discouraging considering his size at his position. Also, a look at the advanced numbers doesn’t help him either. He has a negative DPM (defensive box plus minus.) His current defensive numbers are worse than some of the worst NBA defenders had in college. This doesn’t mean that he can’t improve, but it is worth taking a look at. One good sign is his rebounding ability. Basically he has some huge strengths, but also some huge weaknesses. He will be worth a shot in the mid to late second round, but don’t expect greatness from him. He is a real hit or miss guy. The sky’s the limit, but the ground is the floor, if you know what I mean

Comparison: Bigger Deron Williams

Projected Draft Range: 25-55

Height 6'7

Weight 180 lbs

Wingspan 6'9

DOB 11/8/02 (Draft Age: 19)

Pre-Draft Team Nebraska Cornhuskers

Offense

• Needs to add some core strength to maximize finishing and shot lift.

• Shot mechanics are not at all refined. Needs work there. Tons of airballs and shots that barely find iron.

• Very good FT shooter, currently 84%. Should be able to fix his shot mechanics quickly.

• Relentless at attacking the bucket. Finds himself there a ton for a young player. Nearly 7 FTA per 40 already. Already a good finisher who will get better and better.

• A raw talent who is not fully grown into his body. Physically has a lot of work to do to be ready for the NBA game.

• Not overly quick or vertical.

• Despite being raw, he already possesses very strong scoring abilities and the potential to be a highly impressive three-level scorer.

Defense

• Good length for closeouts.

• Adequate rebounder right now, room to be above average. *

Swing Factors * * *

Role * *

• LOW:

• HIGH:

Ranking Scale:

Athleticism: 6/8

3pt shot: 6/10

Finishing: 6/10

Handle: 4/10

Playmaking: 1/8

Defensive Versatility: 5/10

Defensive Positioning: 2/8

Rebounding: 3/6

NBA Fit: 7/10

Total Score: 40/80

Player analysis

Bryce McGowens had a rocky freshman season that left him with mixed reviews from scouts. He averaged around 17 ppg but on questionable splits, Bryce was the primary option for Nebraska and he won’t have that type of pressure in the league but that raises insecurities to how he actually finds a way to impact in the league. McGowens certainly has talent in creating his own shot, he knows how to blow past defenders to get to the rim at ease. I don’t trust his perimeter shooting but he certainly finds a way to create space. He has potential to be a lead creator for a lineup but probably not enough to run an entire roster, he probably ends up as a sixth man. His size does leave room for improvement on defense, despite being 6’7 as a guard he is weak on that end of the floor. McGowens needs to go to a team that can keep him in their system and find a way to mold him as a defender, he has the length and potential but lacks IQ on defense. Bryce needs discipline in his game and part of the reason he chose Nebraska was to have freedom in his style, in order to find a spot in the league he has to slow down when on the court and learn how to run a team system. If a team can get him under control they can find a steal later in the draft that can be an offensive microwave.

Projection

Draft range: [ 21 - 38 ]

Comp: [ Spencer Dinwiddie ]

Strengths: Scoring Weaknesses: Defense and Creation for Others

High Side Comp: Jordan Poole+ Low Side Comp: Patrick McCaw

Ideal Fit: Bench Lead Scorer

Draft Range: 21-45

Result: 40- CHA

Athleticism: 6/10 Size: 3/5 Defense: 2/10 Strength: 2/5 Quickness: 6/10 Creation: 4/5 Jumpshot: 5/10 Finishing: 4/5 NBA Ready: 3/5 Ball Handling: 6/10 Passing: 3/10 Intangibles: 2/5 Potential: 7/10 TOTAL: 53= Early/Mid Second

Pros:

• Flashes of pull up scoring: he was the man at Nebraska as a freshman on the offensive end and took a ton of pull up in the midrange and stepback 3s

• Great driver: good touch at the rim, elite at drawing fouls even with a slender frame, projects to be really good in this area once he puts on more strength

• Potential of P&R playmaking

Cons:

• Overall bad defender: had some bad on ball possessions, effort just wasn't there off ball, often falls asleep and loses sight of his man

• As a result of being the primary scorer in his first and only year in a Big Ten college, 2 point and 3 point percentages suffered a lot and makes you wonder if he can be an efficient scorer at the next level with his shot selection

• Can have tunnel vision on drives and hunt too much for fouls, passing accuracy isn't great either

Bryce is a true boom and bust prospect but I think that, if he gets drafted by a team with a good development record, the former is more likely than the other. He obviously needs some significant tweaks on his game, mainly his defense and passing. I just think that crafty, 3-level scorers with wing size are hard to come by. I believe that the star upside is there for him.

Pros

• quick first step

• solid floater game

• attacks closeouts well

• potential range is unlimited

• great finisher through contact

Cons

• bad defender (gets blown by a lot)

• especially bad in the pick and roll

• inaccurate passer

• takes contested shots instead of finding open man

A small school beast. Bryce McGowens does not seem to get as much love as a lot of the big school players such as Malaki Branham and Ochai Agbaji receive. He has one of the most interesting skillsets as a 6'7, 180-pound shooting guard. He is an aggressive score-first guard who does most of his damage at the basket. He already has great vertical and speed that should appeal a lot of teams, and if he gets stronger and puts on more weight, those aspects of his game should improve more. His speed and burst allows him to create great space on mid-range shots and runners. He has good shot form, but the jumper needs to speed up in order for the closeout to not affect his shot. Even though he had good form, he was a very inefficient three-point shooter (27% from three) and his overall basketball IQ needs to improve. His shot selection was questionable, especially with some of the early shot clock shots, but I can give him the benefit of the doubt due to the amount of players who could not score as well as he did. His defense was a problem, but it is made much worse by playing for one of the worst defensive teams in the country. He was foul-prone due to constant gambling to make a play on the ball and did not put in a lot of effort when he was on ball. McGowens has to become smart and a better shooter, but his athletic tools and impressive inside scoring makes him an intriguing option as a development guard,

Player Comparison: Andre Iguodala/Josh Jackson