Should Miles Plumlee Have Been Drafted Higher Than 26?
His career numbers of 4.8 points and 4.8 rebounds won't jump out at you, but Duke's Miles Plumlee elevated his Draft stock by jumping out of the gym during the NBA Combine, raising his stock from the ranks of undrafted afterthought to the first-round selection of the Indiana Pacers. The eldest of three Plumlees at Duke, Miles stands 6'10", 240 pounds with a ridiculous 40-inch vertical leap and graded out to a more athletic Jeff Foster based on what we had seen of him during his four year college career, but is he more than that?
He has excellent size for a power forward and spot center, but it's his outstanding leaping ability and foot speed that will allow him to be one of the better athletes in the league based on his position. Plumlee has a high-motor and is a strong defensive presence, what he was drafted on, not his developing, but raw offensive game.
During his final two seasons as a Blue Devil, Plumlee only reached 15+ points twice, both this past season. Now, Duke's offense hasn't featured the big man since the
days of Shelden Williams and Carlos Boozer, and Plumlee is in no way either one of those, but in his four Summer League games in Orlando, he hit games of 15 and 18 points back-to-back, to go along with 14 points in his second-game. He's proving to be a much better offensively player than expected, especially in the pick-and-roll game, but still scoring a majority of his points in transition and second-chance points.
Based on the early-returns thus far, Plumlee isn't looking like the bust of a pick we had tabbed him as in our Draft review.
By NBA-DRAFT.com Staff Writer - 7- 13 - 12
