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The scouting perspective
Portis is a valuable commodity in this NBA draft. He is a young big man with good size, some athletic ability, a reliable midrange jump shot and very good motor. Even if he doesn't become an NBA star, he has all the attributes teams look for, which could keep him in the NBA for a decade.
The 20-year-old Portis is a sturdy 6-foot-11, 242 pounds, but is not an explosive athlete by NBA standards. However, he tries to play with energy, runs the floor hard and is a quick second jumper around the basket. And because he establishes good position away from his teammates' shots and "wedges" well, his 14 percent offensive rebound rate this past season was 36th-best in the country.
Another bonus with Portis is his shooting ability for a player his size. While his 47 percent behind the arc came from a small sample size, he did make a healthy 38 percent of his 2-point jump shots this season and they accounted for 53 percent of his attempts. He has also made 74 percent of his free throws in two years as a Razorback.
Although Portis' finishing percentage at the rim was a healthy 75 percent this season, his lack of explosiveness will manifest itself at the NBA level. He'll struggle initially around the rim, in my opinion. But he has a hard-to-block turnaround jump shot that could develop into a good weapon in time because of his touch.
I don't expect Portis to be a rim protector on the defensive end in the NBA. Rather, he'll be called upon to be solid in screen-and-roll coverages and in isolation situations. Because he stays engaged, plays with energy and tries to move his feet, he'll be more than serviceable on that end of the court. And he's been coached not to foul. The effort to be good defensively is there on the tape.
Portis struggled a bit late in the season, but because of his body of work all season (and Kentucky's platoon system) he was voted SEC Player of the Year. I see him drafted in the middle of the first round, meaning it's likely he will end up on a playoff team at worst. Given his age, his size and shooting touch, that team may be getting a gift.
-- Fran Fraschilla
"He's solid," one scout said of Portis. "And that's not a dig at him. He's solid at everything he does. I don't see a lot of holes in his games. If you want to reach for the stars, this isn't the player. But if you say, 'I want a guy that at the very least will be a solid rotation guy and at the very best will be the fourth- or fifth-best starter on my team,' I don't think you can go wrong.
-- Chad Ford
