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2016 NBA Draft Radar: What Kentucky’s Marcus Lee Needs to Prove to the NBA Scouts

By James Fitzgerald

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It is easy for people to be bullish about a basketball player that is playing at John Calipari’s hoop factory in Kentucky.

The Wildcats spit out NBA talent like a PEZ dispenser and more often than not, those players provide solid contributions to the franchises that procure their services.

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So that on its own is a huge reason why people are attracted to 6-foot-10, 220 pound power forward Marcus Lee.

Sure his playing time has been limited, and rightfully so given the fact that he had to wait his turn behind players such as Willie Cauley-Stein, Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson. But it does not take away from the fact that he obviously has enough talent to be part of the Kentucky Wildcats machine.

2015-16 is going to be the year Marcus Lee finally gets to consistently show the nation what he brings to the table when given the minutes to perform. Lee averaged 6.2 minutes as a freshman and bumped up to 10.9 in the platoon system for his sophomore season.

In those limited minutes he showed enough flashes of brilliance to garner the question” why doesn’t he get more playing time?” But the answer was obviously because of the logjam of talent in the frontcourt that most players in his position would have had a problem cracking into.

Lee showed the ability to be a solid shot blocker, strong offensive and defensive rebounder, and the ability to run the floor and finish on the break.

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Where the problem lies in his game is that if he is not dunking off the pick-and-roll, or grabbing offensive boards and putting them back up for baskets, he is lost offensively.

Anything away from the rim is an adventure for him offensively which leads us into the things he is going to need to prove to the NBA scouts in order to solidify his place in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Everyone knows by now that if you are going to be a power forward in the NBA, you are going to have to be able to stretch the floor somehow with your shooting.

Marcus Lee has not shown that he can knock down a consistent jumper so that he can bring variation to his pick-and-roll game.

He is going to need to develop a 17-footer so he can become a viable threat in pick-and-fade or pick-and-slip situations.

Physically, he is a long 6-foot-10, and even at 220 pounds is going to need to build up his strength and put on some more mass so he is better equipped to take on the physical rigors of the NBA. Lee is still going to need to put on another 10-20 pounds to be physically effective.

You can see Marcus Lee becoming an impact interior defender on the next level who can use his leaping ability and 7-foot-2 wingspan as a deterrent for offensive players who want to come inside the paint.

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If he is able to prove to scouts that he has enhanced his offensive skills in the block, and more importantly develop a consistent shooting stroke, Lee is going to boost his stock a great deal if he declares for next summer’s draft.

Currently, Marcus Lee is seen as the 28th best NBA prospect for 2016 by DraftExpress, while NBADraft.net sees him as the 43rd pick in the draft.

Being considered a late first-round to mid second-round pick is a pretty wide gap. But when you factor in that these are the draft projections of a player that has barely seen the court, it speaks to the potential that people see in Marcus Lee.

This is a very important season for Marcus Lee who must take full advantage of the time he is going to be given to display his skills.

He is going to be getting the exposure; he simply needs to deliver the goods.

Next: Arkansas Razorbacks Hoping to Keep Two Top Hogs in the Pen

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