SCOUTING NOTES

 

Precious Achiuwa seems to be one of those prospects you either like or you have a lot of questions about his game. I totally understand why there’s such a divide and I do believe he has a lot of boom or bust potential 

 

He’s one of my favorite prospects in this draft... not because his game is aesthetically pleasing. I’m high on him as a prospect because of his versatility and I see him as multi dimensional weapon that can be difference maker if he goes to the right team. He’ll need a that places a strong emphasis on player development and a creative coaching staff that will used him to exploit mismatches..

 

At 6’9 225lb Achiuwa is an excellent explosive athlete with good coordination, fluidity, and straight line speed rarely seen in someone his size... 

 

He’s a strong finisher that can make plats high above the rim when he has a space of runway, especially when he’s  jumping off two feet. 

 

He gets off the ground quick and plays with nastiness that matches his physical tools as he looks to dunk everything around the rim..

 

I feel his real value in the NBA will be as a switchy versatile defender than can defends multiple positions. 

 

The majority of his points this season came in transition where he converted over 66% of his attempts. 

 

Achuiwa thrives and is at his best when he’s running the floor making plays in the open court. He consistently sprints the floor with aggression and projects to be an elite rim runner and transition scorer on the next level...

 

I believe he can be most the effective and dangerous in the open floor is as a rebound and run threat. 

 

He’s a relentless rebounder that averaged nearly 11 boards per game and also has the ball handling, speed

 and coordination to turn missed shots into fast break opportunities..

 

He as a nice set of skills to work with but he’s far from polished on the offensive end, especially in the half court. 

 

What he lacks in aesthetics and feel for the game he more than makes up for it with her energy and effort. At the minimum I believe he can effective as blue collar high energy offensive rebounder that creates second chance points and extra possessions for team. 

 

On the offensive glass is where hustle and motor and stand out the most as he averaged over 3 offensive boards per game as a freshman..

 

Achuiwas ability to put the ball on the floor and attack rim is just one of the reasons why I’m higher on him than most. 

 

He has the ball handling and quickness to get to the rim off dribble penetration. I feel has the skill set to create problems by attacking the rim on straight line drives.... I believe if used properly, he could exploit mismatches with his speed especially if he’s getting the opportunity to play minutes as a small ball 5....

 

Memphis used Achuiwa as the roll man on a little more than 10% of his possessions  this season. He scored 55 points on the 57 the plays he attempted a shot as the roller which is... okay, but I think he’ll be a more effective roll man in the NBA when he’s surrounded by better shooters and floor spacing. 

 

At this stage in his career Achiuwa won’t be mistaken for a high IQ decision maker but every once in a while he’ll make a pass or a read that makes you think it’s something that can be developed down the line. 

 

You can also say the same for his outside shooting. While he shot just below 60% from the foul line he surprisingly made 13 out for 40 3 point attempts this season... According to Synergy, Achiuwa  shot 50% and was 9-18 on unguarded catch & shoot opportunities.... It’s a small sample size but there’s hope that with hours in the gym and natural progression he can improve into a respectable shooter. 

 

His activity also earned him 6 trips to the free throw line per game. But he made a little less than 60% of his FTA

 

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT 

 

In my opinion his basketball IQ and feel for the game are what’s preventing him from being considered as a top 5 pick is his basketball IQ and feel for the game..

 

He often settles for tough contested pull up jumpers off the dribble when he can’t get by the defender. If it’s not a contested jumper it’s some form of a wild shot around the rim. 

 

While he does have a decent handle for a man his size, it’s seems most of his issues are far as decision making and turnovers are when he’s looking to create off the dribble.. 

 

 

This season he had 87 turnovers compared to 30 assists. A large majority of his turnovers are due to his tendency drive into traffic without a plan or playing too fast and out of control and picking up offensive fouls on wild drives to the rim..

 

While his feel for the game and basketball IQ are major areas for improvement, I feel his  finishing around the rim is concerning....

 

On paper he shot a good percentage in converting on over 57% of his attempts, but the eye test is telling me something different...  

 

I feel his misses too many bunnies and lacks touch when trying to finish through contact, especially when he’s forced to finish with his left hand..

 

I also noticed that when he has to finish jumping off 1 foot it really impacts his ability to finish above the rim. Becoming a better finisher jumping off 1 foot and improving his left hand should be high on his to do list this summer..

 

Another area of concern is how often he gets his shots blocked around the rim.  Sometimes it’s due to him having tunnel vision and not seeing the weak side help, other times he looks like an unathletic below the rim finisher that lacks pop and vertical.  This is alarming considering his length and hand size...

 

He shot 27.8% on jump shots overall and only made 1 out of 18 contested catch & shoot jumpers... Yes, 1-18!

 

Achiuwa has possessions where he settles for jumpers off the dribble even though he only made 8 out of 28 attempts on pull up J’s...

 

He must improve his shot selection and become a more consistent shooter...

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Rafael Barlowe - April 13, 2020