Scouting Reports: Michael Beasley

It seems to me that it's time to breathe new life into this dead sports blog of ours. So starting today, I will kick off a month of wall-to-wall NBA draft coverage with a series of scouting reports on this year's top prospects.


Michael Beasley
6'9" 235 lbs
Freshman PF, Kansas State

Honestly, it's baffling to me how Beasley's personal matters are overshadowing a freshman season that by nearly any standard, was better than Kevin Durant's National Player of the Year run the year before. Both Beasley and OJ Mayo put aside their baggage for their debut college seasons and played motivated hard-working basketball. However, Mayo is seen as having moved beyond his troubles in high school whereas Beasley has not. Yet Beasley's results on the court were far superior, and Pat Riley will woefully regret letting player personalities blind him to the talent that is waiting to fall into his hands.

Pace-adjusted, per 40 statistics (from draftexpress.com):

30.9 ppg, 14.6 rpg, 1.5 stls, 1.9 blks, 56.2 2FG%, 37.9 3FG%

This is a forward who was the top scorer and one of the three best rebounders in the country, athletic enough to average 1.5 steals, a high number for a power forward. Best of all, he has a versatile, high-percentage offensive game that suggests he will continue to be a big-time scorer at the pro level. Here are his shooting statistics when broken down by type of shot:

Dunks/Tip-ins: 9% of shots, 85.1% FG
Layups: 32% of shots, 61.4% FG
2-point jumpers: 42% of shots, 45.3% FG
3-point jumpers: 17% of shots, 37.9% FG

These numbers may not mean a lot out of context, but hopefully as I unveil more of these scouting reports, they will become more meaningful. Here, I should point out that 45.3% is a phenomenal number on 2-point jumpers, and that he has a clearly developed inside-outside game. When translating statistics to the pro level, rebounding usually carries over fairly well, a good sign for Beasley, but it is hard to predict how scoring will translate. However, considering his high volume of shots, his ability to shoot jumpers and get to the rim, and his athleticism, he should be able to get a high number of shots off at the NBA level and score fairly efficiently as well. He can be an immediate 20-10 player and if he is able to put up those kinds of numbers as a 20-year old rookie, then the sky may be the limit.

Scouting can supplement the statistical breakdown by telling us that Beasley may not have the same upside as Durant due to the concerns about his character and work ethic, and thus he projects more as a perennial All-Star than a potential all-time great. Yet a perennial All-Star is still worthy of a #1 overall pick, and it amazes me how many analysts are willing to put too much stock in the upside of a DeAndre Jordan, a player who has shown much less on-court motivation than Beasley (not to mention production), and not consider that Beasley is young enough and talented enough to get a lot better himself.

Final verdict: If Beasley wants it, he can be an MVP-type player. I personally don't see him reaching that level, but I see him as a deadly scorer and rebounder who will make All-Star teams year after year. A great choice at #1.