Jordan McRae
College: Tennessee
Birthday: 03/28/1991
NBA Position: SG
Class: Senior
Ht: 6-5
Wt: 175
Hometown: Hinesville, GA
High School: Liberty County
Ceiling: Larry Hughes
Basement: MarShon Brooks
NBA Comparison: Lance Stephenson
Strengths:
- Athletic
- Strong, Tough
- NBA Body
- Elite Finisher
- Rebounds Position
- Improved Shooter
- NBA 3PT Range
Weaknesses:
- Strength (needs to add more bulk, muscle)
- Ball-Handling
- Inconsistent Shooter
- On-Ball Defense
Analysis:
08/22/2013
From an athletic perspective there are not many better all-around players than Tennessee’s Jordan McRae. He does not do everything consistently yet at this point, but he is a big game shooter, good passer, sees the floor well, and has the athletic intangibles to be an elite defender on the perimeter.
Last year McRae had his fingerprints on every aspect of the game as the team’s leading scorer, second leading assist man, second leader in steals, and third leading rebounder.
Athletically McRae glides on the basketball court and is able to make plays for himself and others off of pure athleticism. On the offensive end he is a secondary ball-handler that makes plays. He is not an elite ball-handler, but can create plays as a secondary ball-handler making plays attacking the rim.
With the ball in his hands McRae is quick and allusive enough to get to the rim to create shots for himself or for a teammate.
Inside the free-throw line McRae has shown the ability to hit off-balance using step through crossovers and creating contact, then fading back for the finish. He is good at making off balance with a defender leaning on him, especially from the baseline. McRae utilizes his athleticism more for off-balance shots, but can also finish strong at the rim with dunks and strong finishes. He can get up and finish over a defender with momentum.
As a shooter McRae has good fluidity and form that gets the ball out in one smooth motion. He is not a pure shooter, but McRae can get his shot off against nearly any defender and with the shot clock winding down. As a three-point shooter McRae has deep range, NBA range, and can get hot fast capable of hitting 3-4 threes in a momentum run. Very much a streak shooter, but can catch fire at anytime in a game.
The defensive end is where McRae is able to showcase his athletic potential the most. He is a very talented ball hawk that jumps passing lanes and making plays.
On the ball McRae has the size and the length to make his man work. He is not a great on ball defender, but utilizes his athleticism to stay in-front of his man and make plays. Off the ball McRae makes the bulk of his plays jumping passing lanes with calculated gambles. Many elite NBA defenders have hung their hat on overplaying off the ball and anticipating plays. As an off-ball defender overplaying passing lanes is a skill that not many have with most players getting burned.
Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade are two of the best at it at the NBA level, but neither have the combination of pure size, athleticism, and length that McRae has.
Overall McRae is a streak shooter that can get hot and score points in bunches. On the offensive end he is a quality ball-handler, but not a primary ball-handler that can create consistently against elite level defenders. He is a willing and good passer, unselfish, but capable of making really tough shots against both defenders and the shot-clock. Defensively he can make plays off the ball with his athleticism. Great athlete, explosive, and one of the rising names on the perimeter in this draft class.
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