One of the youngest prospects in this draft, turned 19 early April.
Has a good height for a SF being 6'8.
Don't mind his finishing at the rim. It's decent, he can have some nice takes and some highlight finishes. Wished he got to the basket more often though and that he didn't miss as many point-blank layups/dunks.
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Worries:
Risacher's shot is really concerning. Where I stand now, I dislike his shooting ability more than I like it. He's really inconsistent, one game he could go cold and not score once from the field, then the other he could heat up from three and knock down a couple of shots from deep. This would honestly be an issue if it wasn't for how young Risacher is, and that there's hope his shot could improve later on. But at the same time, I'm not sure if I do think his shot is going to improve. Him being 74% from the FT line brings up even more questions as to how his shot is going to translate at the next level. The flashes he shows are nice, so I wouldn't completely put his shot down (he's still 35% from three, which is alright), but I wouldn't give his shot too much praise and rely on it being a pro of his game.
Risacher's defensive ability is super interesting. Although he shows a lot of promise, being able to apply pressure well, keep up with his opponent's movement off the ball and laterally (for the most part), and navigating through screens well, he also has a lot of flaws and needs polishing on this side of his game. His age can really show at times, looking like a deer in headlights. It's not uncommon for him to look lost and get blown by/honestly outplayed by his opponent. His close-outs can be pretty weak and he's not consistently providing his A-game on defense. He's not a presence in the paint, his length doesn't actually seem to do much in the post (it does in the perimeter or slightly inside of it), and he can be reserved at times near the rim. He jumps a bit too much, leading to fouls (2.3 per game) or better looks for his opponents. He has his hustle plays every once in a while, just wish he had them more. The potential is there, and I think there's more to like than dislike, but work needs to be done. His stats don't show what he can do defensively, only getting 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. He looks better on film, something to keep in mind.
I like Risacher's rebounding ability a lot more than some of the other stuff he offers. He always seemed to try at least a little bit, boxing out and creating opportunities for his teammates to get a board if the ball didn't fall to him, but some of his efforts could be lazy and not good. Occasionally he would struggle to get a good grasp of the ball once it started coming down, or he wouldn't hold up too well against the person he was boxing out. Keep in mind he only averaged 3.9 rebounds per game.
Risacher's efficiency is a big worry. I skimmed through it when talking about his shot, but he can have huge game contrasts. Again, one game he could make no FG attempts and get his points purely from free throws, then the next game he could drop 20 and have a good shooting and finishing night. Consistency is key, and Risacher can't provide that right now.
Risacher isn't too skinny, but he doesn't have an ideal weight either. He weighs 204, which isn't bad for a SF, but for a 6'8 guy, it's not great. He looks slimmer than that on film. I think it would really benefit him if he put on some more muscle, I doubt he'll be very productive in the paint doing stuff like boxing out if he doesn't gain more weight.
Not that big of a fan of his ball handling. Not like he shows what he can do with the ball often, but when he does, it's just kind of whatever. What he has works fine for the most part. He spams the same behind-the-back move though, and while it looks clean, it seemed to lead to turnovers a lot more than it should've. Didn't really show anything else off either.
43% from the field, nearing bad territory, but just kind of mediocre (or slightly below it) right now.
Could lower his turnovers. Averaging 1.3 a game right now, which isn't awful, but it could be better.
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Dislikes:
Rarely passes the ball and doesn't show much upside as a playmaker. Only gets 0.9 assists per game and has a bad assist/turnover ratio, 0.69.
Don't like his off-ball movement. Not to say he doesn't cut or move around, but it's not often enough he does so, and his cuts rarely lead to anything.
Similar to Ron Holland, I think buying into Risacher is buying into what he could be, not what he is right now. He's super flawed but shows flashes of being a good player. He could also just be a bust, and not develop into what he could become.
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Personally, I lean more into not buying into Risacher. He has tempting parts of his game, but I think he's a little too risky and I'm not completely sold on his potential. I think it'll be different for everyone else, but I don't see "1st pick" with him. It's my first time looking at him, and I don't see the hype. I don't even think what he could be should warrant him being the 1st pick. Maybe that's just me though...