Draft Express ranks Tim Hardaway Jr. the No. 17 NBA prospect in the Big Ten before the season. For comparison, Trey Burke was ranked second in the Big Ten. Here are a couple of snippets from the DX report:
Hardaway continues to have the strange distinction of being a more efficient shooter off the dribble than spotting up, as he hits for a superb 1.012 points per shot on pull-ups as opposed to a below average 0.816 points per shot on catch-and-shoot jumpers. Improving his spot-up jumper is still the most important thing he can do to improve his game, as we pointed out the last time we profiled him.
While Hardaway clearly possesses strong shot-making ability and shows flashes of being a deadly shooter inside and outside the arc, he struggles to consistently display the same mechanics, though it’s certainly something he can improve on. Hardaway establishes a much better rhythm shooting the ball when he’s coming off the dribble and stepping into his shot, doing a better job to keep his body upright and his feet underneath him. He doesn’t exhibit the same balance or get his lower body into the shot when he’s spotting up, and trying to translate that aspect of his off-the-dribble shot to his catch-and-shoot shot is likely the key to becoming a more consistent and versatile shooter.
On the defensive end, the story was the same for Hardaway as a sophomore, as he has all the tools to be a very good defender at the shooting guard position, and even is at times, but he still needs to improve his consistency and play at a high level on every possession. He looks strong matching up in isolation, showing a good stance and lateral quickness, and even made some improvements fighting through screens on pick-and-rolls, but is prone to lagging off his man off the ball at times and not always putting in full effort on every play.
