2016 NBA Draft: Is Jamal Murray the best scorer in the draft?

What could Jamal Murray contribute to an NBA team when his name is called in next month’s 2016 NBA draft?

Selecting John Calipari players always seems to be a good bet in the NBA Draft.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Julius Randle are just some of the promising players that are certainly expected to contribute to their respective franchises for years to come.

This year, the hottest commodity from Calipari’s team is Jamal Murray, a 6’4″ combo guard and a consensus top-10 selection.

On paper, Murray certainly seems like one of the best, if not the best pure scorer in the draft. He averaged 20 points per game in his one season at Kentucky, shot over 40 percent from three, and over 50 percent from two.

Breaking it down further, over 50 percent of his shots came from three, 20 percent of his shots came at the rim (where he shot 65 percent), and the other 28 percent of his shots were two-point jumpers (where he shot just 39 percent).

More from Busting Brackets

Many scouts are worried about the fact that just 20 percent of his shots came at the rim.

Brandon Jefferson at NBADraft.net asks the question: Can he blow by NBA level athletes consistently and keep defenders from crowding him?

Murray was far more than a capable scorer in college basketball. There’s no doubting that. And he has the potential to be a very good scorer at the NBA level.

However, it was Murray’s performance against Indiana in the Round of 32 of this year’s NCAA Tournament that concerns many. Murray struggled, mostly because he was being guarded by Indiana’s OG Anunoby.

Anunoby won’t end up in the NBA next year, as he’ll still be playing for Indiana, but he certainly possesses the athleticism and defensive ability to play in the league some day. Anunoby’s 7’6″ wingspan frustrated Murray into a 7-of-18 performance from the floor, to the tune of just 16 points.

Anunoby is absurdly long and Murray will face athletes like him in the NBA every night. It’s fair to wonder if he’ll be able to get his shot off over guys like that; Anunoby finished with three blocks – two of which came on Murray three-point jump shots.

In the clip above, Murray thinks he has enough room for a trey, but Anunoby swallows him up and blocks the shot.

Every time Murray put the ball on the floor to try to get by Anunoby, he was crowded by the Hoosier and never could drive past him for an easy bucket.

The other knock on Murray is that he has a point guard’s body, but plays like a shooting guard. He played next to Tyler Ulis at Kentucky, one of the best point guards in the nation, so Murray never really had to have the ball in his hands.