Dream Fit: Nuggets, Kings, Rockets

Overall Grade: 55.51

Projected Position: SF/SG

Strengths:

• Great cut decisions & feel moving into space to assist the ball handeler

• Can struggle to finish if the defender stays on him the entire drive

• Good pivot & pump fake near the rim

• Great offball stutters & head fakes to get open cuts

• Good feel for defenders around him

• Good extension on shots to keep trailing players out of position to affect his shot

• Great arm positioning & usage when contesting shots near the rim

• Good spin move

• Good change of pace & hesi on drives

• Good hands

• Highly able to pass out of pressure

• Utilizes screens well to gain positioning on drives

Weaknesses:

• Solid speed, but stagnant when navigating screens

• Can expose the ball too much

• Dominant driving to his right

• Lateral movement can be clunky

• Doesn't affect shots well from a trailing position

• Poor ability to secure rebounds in traffic

• Clunky handle in iso situations & will not break press

• Mediocre athleticism

• Not the best play strength & will be exploited by stronger players

• Can get caught in traffic on defense

Scouting Report: Will Riley

Position: Shooting Guard / Small Forward
Height/Weight: 6'8", 195 lbs
School: University of Illinois

Draft Projection: Late lottery to mid-first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Overview:
Will Riley is a Canadian prospect who has quickly risen to prominence in college basketball. Known for his scoring ability, versatility, and basketball IQ, Riley has been a standout player for the Illinois Fighting Illini. His combination of size, skill, and leadership makes him an intriguing prospect for the NBA.

Strengths:

• Three-Level Scoring: Riley can score efficiently from beyond the arc, mid-range, and at the rim. His offensive arsenal includes smooth jumpers and strong finishes.

• Basketball IQ: Demonstrates a deep understanding of the game, making smart plays and reading situations effectively.

• Rebounding: Uses his size and athleticism to secure boards on both ends of the court.

• Leadership: A vocal leader on the court, known for his ability to rally his team in high-pressure situations.

• Defensive Effort: Shows promise as a versatile defender, capable of guarding multiple positions.

Areas for Improvement:

• Consistency from Deep: While he has shown shooting potential, improving his three-point accuracy will elevate his offensive impact.

• Physicality: Adding strength will help him handle the physical demands of the NBA.

• Turnovers: Needs to refine his decision-making to reduce errors under pressure.

Player Comparisons:

• Gordon Hayward: For his scoring versatility and basketball IQ.

• Franz Wagner: For his size and ability to impact both ends of the court.

• Trevor Ariza: For his role as a two-way player with transition scoring ability.

Summary:
Will Riley is a dynamic wing with the potential to be a valuable contributor at the next level. His scoring ability, versatility, and leadership make him a strong candidate for teams looking to bolster their wing depth. With continued development, he could become a key player in the NBA.

WILL RILEY

Position/Archetype: Offensive Wing/Guard

College: Illinois

Pros:

• Ball handle and Creation: He has a pretty nice bag of moves, pretty crafty with his handle and can find himself some really nice looks at the rim with it. Obviously really neat to have wings who can self create, not gonna be a guy who's primary creating or really much secondary but he can attack with his handle and has a lot of avenues to go in a few ways.

• Passing and Connectivity: Makes the basic reads to a strong level positionally and for his age, able to spot cuts and throw lobs occasionally, spots the kick out more often than not and reads the court pretty quickly. Is he a complex passer? No not really but above average with nice positional upside.

• Shooting versatility: He can score at most levels, attacking the rim through drives, with his back to the basket on similar sized players with nice spins, can hit some tough fadeaway and some real tricky jump shots out deep. None of it is totally efficient but there is good volume and willingness to attack where you cant really force him into a shot he cant make or won't really want.

• Defensive IQ: Stays ahead of his man really well and leads to a pretty low amount of points scored over him on defence which is really nice to see from him. I think it's nothing spectacular defensively, he won't be a super elite wing defender or guard defender more of an average to slight plus connective defender but it weighs up on a few things I think we will see as he enters the NBA

Cons:

• Size: He is really skinny, I mean him being 6'9 in game will be very useful for a player who will most likely be a 2 occasionally a 3, but the wingspan is small being only a half inch larger than him. And the 185lbs on him is really light for his size and it gets very obvious on court. If he can get some weight on him he will be able to use his height advantage a lot more and probably be more efficient at generating good looks and being more efficient. It also would increase the switch ability of his defensive game as well which can get exploited and make him more aggressive on the boards.

• Settling: one thing that comes really obvious is when he has defenders who know how to stay in front front of him and are larger which we will get to, he can't find that space and ends up taking poor looks from pretty much any level. And pushing yourself into that corner is never great so I'd like to see more business decisions where he passes up from tougher looks even if he can make them. Especially when he's a pretty willing passer in general. This causes him to be inefficient and rush a lot of his shots. A problem with his 3pt form is how rushed his lower half is.

• Defensive Playmaking: Doesn't generate stocks at all, he does pounce on some loose balls but he doesn't have active hands and his small wingspan for a wing really makes it hard for him to poke balls and reach in which limits him as a POA defender so It really limits his effectiveness.

NBA Pro Comp: Kyshawn George, Michael Porter Jr in terms of scoring skills

Projection: Im not too high on Will Riley, there's a lot to like but I have about the same questions as I do answers. I think he's a pretty low down role-player in rotation.

CHEESE FINAL BOARD RANKING: (coming soon)

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Last Ranking: 15

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Riley is a good scorer who gets to the rim and shoots the ball well. His defense is iffy. His playmaking is solid.

NBA Comp: Keegan Murray

Comp: Kyshawn George/Zaccharie Risacher

• embraces/seeks contact driving to the rim; finishes well through contact despite relatively light frame

• can get to the rim at will, solid (not great) at creating his own shot

• aggressive off close outs; usually finds a way to score or find a teammate with an advantage in the offense

• good passer on the drive and overall inside-out playmaker

• streaky jumper, but shows promise for the future

• decently high defensive upside (versatile, tall yet quick) but isn’t the best on that end as it stands

• solid at drawing fouls

• good feel and extremely portable; seems NBA ready