2015 NBA Draft Profile: Jerian Grant

Our latest installment of draft profiles heading into the 2015 NBA Draft looks at Jerian Grant. Grant has the Notre Dame Fighting Irish flying high following their comeback against Duke thanks to his big play-making abilities.

Name: Jerian Grant

School: Notre Dame

Position: Guard

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 204 pounds

Projected Draft Position: First-rounder

Overview: It may seem a bit weird that I wrote just first-rounder on Jerian Grant’s projected draft position, but that’s simply because no one’s stock is sky-rocketing faster than Grant’s right now. As the leader of Notre Dame, Grant is putting together a season for the ages as he leads the Fighting Irish to a top ten ranking.

As a point guard who can playin shooting guard, Grant has great vision as he currently leads the team with 6.5 assists. His 19 points produced per game is 18th in the nation. As a do-it-all guard, he also leads the team in steals and is third in blocks.

But that is only part of his game offensively. As a scorer, he is as versatile as they come with the ability to get to the rim and finish from deep. And when I say deep, I mean REALLY deep. His 62.3% effective field goal percentage is more than respectable, especially considering 39.1% of his shots come from beyond the arc. At the same time, Grant can get to the rim, highlighted by this dunk of the year candidate.

Pros: First, from a physical measurement standpoint, Grant’s 6’5″ size is nice for a point guard. However, Grant will project more as a combo guard than a pure point guard, but still possesses nice size. While there are no other measurements for Grant, we know he can rise up near the rim and we know he has a nice burst of speed.

Grant’s leadership ability can’t be ignored either. He’s the unequivocal “go-to” guy for the Fighting Irish and directs traffic when on the court. Down the stretch, he can be Mr. Big Shot, highlighted most recently by his performance against the Duke Blue Devils as he hit all the big shots en route to the upset win over Coach K’s crew. Being the “go-to” guy though does not necessarily mean he takes the big shots, but simply makes the right plays. He rarely forces the issue and is a willing passer.

He has a great mixture offensively of range and ability to get to the rim. He’s currently shooting 36% from deep, but shot a much more respectable (and more reflective of his ability) 40% from beyond the arc last season. That being said, he is just as capable of getting to the rim and finishing. 39.9% of his shots come from beyond the arc while 34.2% of his shots are at the rim. On that note, he’s shooting 76.8% on his field goals at the rim, which is tops on his team. Comparatively, that is better than Jahlil Okafor shoots at the rim (72.3%), albeit in less shots.

Grant does possess good defensive instincts and is able to jump into passing lanes, resulting in 1.8 steals a game this year, down from his 2.0 a game last year.

Weaknesses:  For as solid an offensive game Grant has, he’s a streaky scorer. Albeit against solid teams, in a two-game stretch against North Carolina and Virginia, Grant went a combined 3 of 16 from the field for 14 total points. He’s had nearly as many games shooting under 50% from the field (11) as he has doing the opposite (13).

When watching his form, it couldn’t be considered a “pure” shot. His shot starts a little low and is slow, which could cause problems against elite NBA defenders. That being said, his deep range can help alleviate that problem.

Along the same lines, he’s not a dynamic ball-handler. One wouldn’t consider him a “pure” ball-handler either. He’s pretty much the epitome of a combo guard, but it’s hard imagining someone like Grant as your primary ball-handler night in and night out. He uses a lot of screen and rolls and and change of directions to evade defenders. As of now, he seems more like a two-guard with plus vision, which isn’t a bad thing. He could play as a point guard in spells, but you likely want a more “pure” point guard or a more athletic player leading the team, neither of which describe Grant.

For his good defensive instincts, he does lack lateral movement. He sometimes struggles to stay in front of the quicker, smaller point guards, something that could become a more glaring weakness at the next level. The defensive struggles lend more to the idea of Grant as a shooting guard, where players typically aren’t quite as elite athletically or lighting quick and Grant could match up better.

All this being said, arguably no one has done more for their draft stock this year than Grant. He’s shot up from a mid-second round pick to a mid-first round pick, and he may not be done climbing yet. He’s securely a first-rounder at this point and his dynamic offensive game will translate well into the league.