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In this edition of the 2014 Draft analysis threads, we take a look at the Stanford product via Canada, forward Dwight Powell. You can see the previous draft analysis threads elsewhere on this site, or by using this link:
http://www.pacersdigest.com/showthre...-2014-Pointers
Powell is from Toronto, Canada originally but has been somewhat of a basketball nomad. He went to high school for a bit in Canada, then transferred to the elite basketball academy/school IMG in Florida. In the summers he has played for quite a while with the various Canadian National teams, who have traveled the world in what has become quite the basketball revival for our neighbors to the north.
Powell was motivated to stay at Stanford all 4 years due to a promise he made his deceased mother, who died in Boston during his college career, to finish school. Powell graduated this spring with a degree in Science and Technology, and was named the Pac 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year as well as making first team all Pac 12. Stanford and Harvard were his 2 main choices while being recruited, so obviously we know this kid is beyond smart outside the arena.
The Stanford grad has crossed paths with fellow Canadians Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett in his school, national team, and/or AAU career, and he was friends with Andrew Luck while at Stanford I am told. He measured in at the NBA combine at 6'11, with a relatively short wingspan of 7'0 1/2. Powell has a thin wiry frame, measuring in at 234lbs. Born July 20, 1991, Powell will turn 23 next month.
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I am a big fan of Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins and his "triangle" offense that he opted to use at Stanford, copying the same system as their fabled women's coach Tara Vanderveer (IU grad by the way). The triangle of course was made famous by Tex Winter and Phil Jackson, but it has made more of a mark in the women's collegiate game, where many of the top programs in the country play that style. It really emphasizes team basketball, floor balance, and halfcourt organized basketball.
By necessity though it becomes more of a slow down style of game when playing that way, and slow down basketball is NOT the strength of Powell in anyway shape or form, in my view. Because of that his stats are not overly impressive, nor is he overly thrilling to watch on tape. However, I believe he has a ton of potential playing in a much more wide open, free flowing style of offense which is becoming popular in modern day NBA basketball. The pro game will make a huge difference for the good in Powell's effectiveness, in my opinion.
Powell played way way too many minutes in college at a way too slow pace to maximize his own game. Playing potentially 15 to 20 minutes a night at a faster pace is the ideal way to use him I believe....and that will be his role if he makes it at the NBA level.
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Powell may be 6'11, but he is a very finesse oriented player. He projects to be a face up/high post type of 4 man, or maybe a stretch 5 in an extreme small ball weird lineup construction some creative/slash desperate teams might employ.
Powell has a beautiful upper body form on his jump shot, though I think he sets up slightly off line with his feet alignment on his jumper. Powell lines his feet up to the center of the rim, but his shoulder/elbow and hip are aligned slightly to the right. That may explain why his jump shot numbers are rather pedestrian, despite having better form that most players his size. Ignoring the numbers so far, I think he projects to be a way above average jump shooter who will end up with 3 point range as an athletic stretch 4 with that slight adjustment.
Powell will in time I feel be a weapon as a pick and pop guy as a screener, as he will be able to space the floor from further distances than most 4 men. Despite being very thin and not having a very good strong lower base, I like Powell as a ball screener potentially because of 2 reasons: he understands angles and has the feet nimbleness to shift the screen slightly if needed, and because he consistently SPRINTS to the screen instead of walking or jogging to it.
The Stanford big man also can do many other things potentially to really help an offense flow, if he is in the right system. First, because he can handle the ball extremely well for a player his size, he will be handy running shooters off of him in dribble handoff situations, where he can dribble at a shooter, hand it to him, then roll to the basket or open up to the 3 point line.
Secondly, I think he will be a 3 point weapon in transition as a trailer. If a team plays transition basketball and has attacking players capable of "flattening" the defense by taking the ball to the baseline, Powell should be a nice option to reverse the basketball if needed from the top of the defense or by making that trailing 3 point shot from the top of the key area or the slot. In 2014-2015 that wouldn't seem to fit our team, but who knows what we may be playing like in just a few years?
Thirdly, Powell is a very very good passer. He led the Cardinal in assists this season, and was a very nice player for them playing in the pinch post or short corners. Players who are 6'11 and can run, shoot and pass are always welcome and Powell can do all three, or at least I project that he will be able to do them in time. I think Powell is the best passing big man in this draft.
He will play like a perimeter based 4, but because he is almost 7'0 tall, he will have a size advantage over most similar players that will guard him off the benches of most teams in the league. Because of that, his relatively weak post up game will at least have some small chance of working, as he has nice touch on a right hand hook over his left shoulder. He also is really good at catching the ball on the move, and he has a nice reverse pivot, face up and drive type of game.
Lastly, as a lane filler or rim runner in transition, he can fly down the court. You don't see this much on tape because Stanford was extremely tilted toward halfcourt basketball and rarely ran. But when they did, Powell could really sprint down the floor and finish with dunks, as unlike most big guys he can catch the ball well on the move and do something with it if he has to dribble a couple of times.
So offensively, Powell has higher potential I think, in the right style of play, than perhaps he is given credit for. While he won't be a great scorer himself, I think his skill set can make an offense flow well and be effective, as he is a guy who will change the geometry of the floor with his brain and with his skills. If Powell played at North Carolina instead of Stanford, I think that alone would have made him a top 20 pick in this draft, because he would've fit their system perfectly, where Stanford was actually a bad fit for him basketball wise.
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Defensively and as a rebounder.....the news isn't nearly as positive, though he isn't without merit defensively.
Powell is weak in the core and lower body, so anybody who understands leverage and can play with strength he won't be able to handle them inside. Anybody with any back to the basket game at all he can't guard them.....Al Jefferson or somebody like that might break 50 if Powell had to check them all night long. He will need to be matched up with non post scorers or perimeter type 4 men to be able to play on that end.
However, I do love Powell's potential as a guy who can guard the occasional 3 man, maybe not full time but if he gets caught on a switch occasionally with a ballhandler who is good but not elite, I think he can handle it....and that gives you as a coach added flexibility as a plan.
And I think potentially he can be a really good ball screen defender, if you want someone who can hedge very hard or even double team (blitz) the ballhandler. Indiana can't currently do that because Hibbert/West/Scola/Mahimni are all too slow, so Vogel has to use a different scheme. But I think Powell can play the ballscreen differently, and I like that added flexibility. If you want to get the ball totally out of a point guards hands by trapping that, Powell lets you do that, where right now we cannot.
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Powell as a rebounder.......inconsistent.
His team however was a strong rebounding team, so I don't think he is terrible. The shape and style of the triangle offense took many chances for offensive rebounds away from him, as it put him at the pinch or high post alot. But to be honest, Powell isn't the type of guy who fights thru traffic and gets alot of tough rebounds in traffic. "Relentless" was not a word I wrote down when watching Powell rebound on the offensive end. To be fair, the Cardinal rally emphasized getting back on defense more than chasing offensive rebounds, as they wanted to take away transition chances for their deeper and more talented opponents.
But, he did show flashes. He had 15 boards vs National Champion UCONN, 13 vs UCLA, and 11 vs arch rival California. He also had 7 vs Joel Embiid and Kansas in their win over the Jayhawks in the NCAA tournament. So, it isn't hopeless.
He does attempt to block out every time, but his lower body is so weak that he gives up ground rather easily and gets shoved underneath the goal, and he also doesn't fight for the ball as aggressively in the air as you'd like.
I think if I were coaching Powell, I'd tell him to forget blocking out so much and just pursue the ball. I'd tell him to try and use his brain and eyes to track and read the ball and then try to use his speed and maneuverability to get to the ball, instead of getting in wrestling matches with guys who are stronger than he is. But that just depends on what kind of coach you are when it comes to rebounding techniques and emphasis.
Bottom line is this though: Defensively he will be average or below and he needs to guard guys smaller than him. And he will likely be a below average rebounder, so you'll have to compensate for that with who you surround him with.
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Lastly, I wanted to mention the intangibles with Powell.
Obviously the kid is smart, brilliant really. That doesn't always translate in a basketball sense, but it merits mentioning. Andrew Bynum was another extremely intelligent Pacer last year with many interests outside the game.....Bynum used to rebuild computers in his spare time, just for fun. But overall I like intelligent players and I suspect Indiana does as well. As the game changes, the ability to understand and assimilate information and scouting reports is going to be important.
The kid was popular enough that when his mother died, the entire team flew cross country to attend her services and to help their teammate thru a tough time. Stanford had to get special NCAA clearance so they could pay for that trip, but thankfully the NCAA gave them that. I can tell you that for an entire team to do that isn't as common as you'd think it is. Powell seemingly was popular on campus as well, and was really really good with the media, as he almost always was the guy in the press conferences or talking to the press there in Palo Alto.
Despite being intelligent and well spoken, Powell also has a less serious side. Apparently he excels in keeping his teammates loose by doing a bunch of impersonations....he especially did a great impersonation of Coach Johnny Dawkins I am told, and also did a media interview once using a British accent the entire time, just for fun. The kid brings a fun loving personality to your locker room along with having leadership qualities.
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Ok, so what do we have in Dwight Powell?
I think we have a perimeter based face up 4 with bigger size and better measurables than most type guys who play that way. He gives you a variety of things offensively that we don't currently have, though he won't be a big contributor right away. He is intelligent, well spoken, a great teammate, and potential to be a mismatch offensive weapon down the road if we slightly alter his jump shot and eventually play a more up tempo style. I think potentially he will be a MUCH better pro than he showed in college.
I don't love Powell for a contributor this season, but long term for Indiana he makes sense as a cheaper alternative to Chris Copeland.
Due to his character, experience internationally and as a 4 year collegian, and as a player with extreme untapped potential, I believe that Powell has a real chance to be a Larry Bird target. I don't think that Indiana would have to move up much to get him, which makes him more affordable and more likely to be selected by us. I can see many of the same qualities that Bird saw in Plumlee in Powell. I'd likely personally trade up for a different type of player that I think is more important to acquire, but Powell wouldn't be a terrible pick by any means. I think Miami, Golden State, New York, and Phoenix are all better fits for his game currently, but going forward who knows? Things change.......
NBA comparable: Channing Frye
This time until next time.......
Tbird
http://www.pacersdigest.com/showthre...-2014-Pointers
Powell is from Toronto, Canada originally but has been somewhat of a basketball nomad. He went to high school for a bit in Canada, then transferred to the elite basketball academy/school IMG in Florida. In the summers he has played for quite a while with the various Canadian National teams, who have traveled the world in what has become quite the basketball revival for our neighbors to the north.
Powell was motivated to stay at Stanford all 4 years due to a promise he made his deceased mother, who died in Boston during his college career, to finish school. Powell graduated this spring with a degree in Science and Technology, and was named the Pac 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year as well as making first team all Pac 12. Stanford and Harvard were his 2 main choices while being recruited, so obviously we know this kid is beyond smart outside the arena.
The Stanford grad has crossed paths with fellow Canadians Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett in his school, national team, and/or AAU career, and he was friends with Andrew Luck while at Stanford I am told. He measured in at the NBA combine at 6'11, with a relatively short wingspan of 7'0 1/2. Powell has a thin wiry frame, measuring in at 234lbs. Born July 20, 1991, Powell will turn 23 next month.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am a big fan of Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins and his "triangle" offense that he opted to use at Stanford, copying the same system as their fabled women's coach Tara Vanderveer (IU grad by the way). The triangle of course was made famous by Tex Winter and Phil Jackson, but it has made more of a mark in the women's collegiate game, where many of the top programs in the country play that style. It really emphasizes team basketball, floor balance, and halfcourt organized basketball.
By necessity though it becomes more of a slow down style of game when playing that way, and slow down basketball is NOT the strength of Powell in anyway shape or form, in my view. Because of that his stats are not overly impressive, nor is he overly thrilling to watch on tape. However, I believe he has a ton of potential playing in a much more wide open, free flowing style of offense which is becoming popular in modern day NBA basketball. The pro game will make a huge difference for the good in Powell's effectiveness, in my opinion.
Powell played way way too many minutes in college at a way too slow pace to maximize his own game. Playing potentially 15 to 20 minutes a night at a faster pace is the ideal way to use him I believe....and that will be his role if he makes it at the NBA level.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Powell may be 6'11, but he is a very finesse oriented player. He projects to be a face up/high post type of 4 man, or maybe a stretch 5 in an extreme small ball weird lineup construction some creative/slash desperate teams might employ.
Powell has a beautiful upper body form on his jump shot, though I think he sets up slightly off line with his feet alignment on his jumper. Powell lines his feet up to the center of the rim, but his shoulder/elbow and hip are aligned slightly to the right. That may explain why his jump shot numbers are rather pedestrian, despite having better form that most players his size. Ignoring the numbers so far, I think he projects to be a way above average jump shooter who will end up with 3 point range as an athletic stretch 4 with that slight adjustment.
Powell will in time I feel be a weapon as a pick and pop guy as a screener, as he will be able to space the floor from further distances than most 4 men. Despite being very thin and not having a very good strong lower base, I like Powell as a ball screener potentially because of 2 reasons: he understands angles and has the feet nimbleness to shift the screen slightly if needed, and because he consistently SPRINTS to the screen instead of walking or jogging to it.
The Stanford big man also can do many other things potentially to really help an offense flow, if he is in the right system. First, because he can handle the ball extremely well for a player his size, he will be handy running shooters off of him in dribble handoff situations, where he can dribble at a shooter, hand it to him, then roll to the basket or open up to the 3 point line.
Secondly, I think he will be a 3 point weapon in transition as a trailer. If a team plays transition basketball and has attacking players capable of "flattening" the defense by taking the ball to the baseline, Powell should be a nice option to reverse the basketball if needed from the top of the defense or by making that trailing 3 point shot from the top of the key area or the slot. In 2014-2015 that wouldn't seem to fit our team, but who knows what we may be playing like in just a few years?
Thirdly, Powell is a very very good passer. He led the Cardinal in assists this season, and was a very nice player for them playing in the pinch post or short corners. Players who are 6'11 and can run, shoot and pass are always welcome and Powell can do all three, or at least I project that he will be able to do them in time. I think Powell is the best passing big man in this draft.
He will play like a perimeter based 4, but because he is almost 7'0 tall, he will have a size advantage over most similar players that will guard him off the benches of most teams in the league. Because of that, his relatively weak post up game will at least have some small chance of working, as he has nice touch on a right hand hook over his left shoulder. He also is really good at catching the ball on the move, and he has a nice reverse pivot, face up and drive type of game.
Lastly, as a lane filler or rim runner in transition, he can fly down the court. You don't see this much on tape because Stanford was extremely tilted toward halfcourt basketball and rarely ran. But when they did, Powell could really sprint down the floor and finish with dunks, as unlike most big guys he can catch the ball well on the move and do something with it if he has to dribble a couple of times.
So offensively, Powell has higher potential I think, in the right style of play, than perhaps he is given credit for. While he won't be a great scorer himself, I think his skill set can make an offense flow well and be effective, as he is a guy who will change the geometry of the floor with his brain and with his skills. If Powell played at North Carolina instead of Stanford, I think that alone would have made him a top 20 pick in this draft, because he would've fit their system perfectly, where Stanford was actually a bad fit for him basketball wise.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defensively and as a rebounder.....the news isn't nearly as positive, though he isn't without merit defensively.
Powell is weak in the core and lower body, so anybody who understands leverage and can play with strength he won't be able to handle them inside. Anybody with any back to the basket game at all he can't guard them.....Al Jefferson or somebody like that might break 50 if Powell had to check them all night long. He will need to be matched up with non post scorers or perimeter type 4 men to be able to play on that end.
However, I do love Powell's potential as a guy who can guard the occasional 3 man, maybe not full time but if he gets caught on a switch occasionally with a ballhandler who is good but not elite, I think he can handle it....and that gives you as a coach added flexibility as a plan.
And I think potentially he can be a really good ball screen defender, if you want someone who can hedge very hard or even double team (blitz) the ballhandler. Indiana can't currently do that because Hibbert/West/Scola/Mahimni are all too slow, so Vogel has to use a different scheme. But I think Powell can play the ballscreen differently, and I like that added flexibility. If you want to get the ball totally out of a point guards hands by trapping that, Powell lets you do that, where right now we cannot.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Powell as a rebounder.......inconsistent.
His team however was a strong rebounding team, so I don't think he is terrible. The shape and style of the triangle offense took many chances for offensive rebounds away from him, as it put him at the pinch or high post alot. But to be honest, Powell isn't the type of guy who fights thru traffic and gets alot of tough rebounds in traffic. "Relentless" was not a word I wrote down when watching Powell rebound on the offensive end. To be fair, the Cardinal rally emphasized getting back on defense more than chasing offensive rebounds, as they wanted to take away transition chances for their deeper and more talented opponents.
But, he did show flashes. He had 15 boards vs National Champion UCONN, 13 vs UCLA, and 11 vs arch rival California. He also had 7 vs Joel Embiid and Kansas in their win over the Jayhawks in the NCAA tournament. So, it isn't hopeless.
He does attempt to block out every time, but his lower body is so weak that he gives up ground rather easily and gets shoved underneath the goal, and he also doesn't fight for the ball as aggressively in the air as you'd like.
I think if I were coaching Powell, I'd tell him to forget blocking out so much and just pursue the ball. I'd tell him to try and use his brain and eyes to track and read the ball and then try to use his speed and maneuverability to get to the ball, instead of getting in wrestling matches with guys who are stronger than he is. But that just depends on what kind of coach you are when it comes to rebounding techniques and emphasis.
Bottom line is this though: Defensively he will be average or below and he needs to guard guys smaller than him. And he will likely be a below average rebounder, so you'll have to compensate for that with who you surround him with.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lastly, I wanted to mention the intangibles with Powell.
Obviously the kid is smart, brilliant really. That doesn't always translate in a basketball sense, but it merits mentioning. Andrew Bynum was another extremely intelligent Pacer last year with many interests outside the game.....Bynum used to rebuild computers in his spare time, just for fun. But overall I like intelligent players and I suspect Indiana does as well. As the game changes, the ability to understand and assimilate information and scouting reports is going to be important.
The kid was popular enough that when his mother died, the entire team flew cross country to attend her services and to help their teammate thru a tough time. Stanford had to get special NCAA clearance so they could pay for that trip, but thankfully the NCAA gave them that. I can tell you that for an entire team to do that isn't as common as you'd think it is. Powell seemingly was popular on campus as well, and was really really good with the media, as he almost always was the guy in the press conferences or talking to the press there in Palo Alto.
Despite being intelligent and well spoken, Powell also has a less serious side. Apparently he excels in keeping his teammates loose by doing a bunch of impersonations....he especially did a great impersonation of Coach Johnny Dawkins I am told, and also did a media interview once using a British accent the entire time, just for fun. The kid brings a fun loving personality to your locker room along with having leadership qualities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, so what do we have in Dwight Powell?
I think we have a perimeter based face up 4 with bigger size and better measurables than most type guys who play that way. He gives you a variety of things offensively that we don't currently have, though he won't be a big contributor right away. He is intelligent, well spoken, a great teammate, and potential to be a mismatch offensive weapon down the road if we slightly alter his jump shot and eventually play a more up tempo style. I think potentially he will be a MUCH better pro than he showed in college.
I don't love Powell for a contributor this season, but long term for Indiana he makes sense as a cheaper alternative to Chris Copeland.
Due to his character, experience internationally and as a 4 year collegian, and as a player with extreme untapped potential, I believe that Powell has a real chance to be a Larry Bird target. I don't think that Indiana would have to move up much to get him, which makes him more affordable and more likely to be selected by us. I can see many of the same qualities that Bird saw in Plumlee in Powell. I'd likely personally trade up for a different type of player that I think is more important to acquire, but Powell wouldn't be a terrible pick by any means. I think Miami, Golden State, New York, and Phoenix are all better fits for his game currently, but going forward who knows? Things change.......
NBA comparable: Channing Frye
This time until next time.......
Tbird
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