Larry Drew II's Pro Prospects
Just two years ago, Larry Drew II was a junior at North Carolina, starting at point guard until midway through the season when Kendall Marshall unseated him in the lineup. Drew II decided to transfer to UCLA and after a year of sitting out, it was thought he could have a massive impact, limiting his mistakes and taking UCLA deep into the NCAA Tournament or making bone-headed plays that sidelined him with the Tar Heels and disappointing Bruins fans everywhere.
So far in 2012-13, Larry Drew II has far exceeded expectations, starting all 13 games for UCLA and posting an off-the-charts 5.1 assist-to-turnover ratio; that's nearly triple his career-best in a much-more offensive UNC system.
Drew II has benefitted from the clearance in eligibility from Shabazz Muhammed, and the emergence of Kyle Anderson as of late, both of whom can handle the ball, and allow Drew II to play off the ball some. In the past four games, the senior point guard has 38 assists to just six turnovers.
At this point, most of his assists are coming by way of jump shooters knocking down shots, so we would like to see Drew II create more off the dribble, drawing the defense and setting others up. He benefits from jump shooting big men and also those forwards that can finish in a variety of ways around the rim. He is averaging a career low, 13.5 free throw rate compared to 2.5 seasons at 30-40 with UNC.
Before we project him as a second-round pick given his one productive season, Drew II also needs to show he can play from the outside. He is a career 30.4 percent shooter from behind the arc.
By NBA-DRAFT.com Staff Writer - 1 -2- 13
