TJ Warren
College: NC State
Age: 20 years old
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 220 Lbs
Position: Small Forward
NBA Comparison: Tobias Harris
One prospect that appears to be climbing the draft boards is TJ Warren from NC State. Warren had a sensational second season for the Wolfpack finishing as a 2014 consensus all American (2nd team) and leading his squad to a 22-14 record in the ACC.
Averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 35 games; Warren finished his season leading the NCAA in field goals (342) and field goal percentage (.524%). Originally tabbed as a late round pick, TJ Warren has started to climb draft boards and appears likely to be taken in the mid to late teens on draft night.
Strengths:
The one thing that Warren can do is score. After averaging 12.1 points in his freshman season, Warren doubled his points per game this past season averaging 24.9 for the Wolfpack. At 6’8” and weighing 220 pounds, Warren can score in a variety of ways as he runs the floor well, can get to the rim and has a solid mid-range jumper. According to Chad Ford’s latest mock draft, after Jabari Parker and Doug McDermott, Warren might be the best scorer in this year’s draft. In his final two games of the season, Warren scored 41 against Pittsburgh and 42 against Boston College.
Warren also appears to be a solid rebounder from the wing position. This season Warren increased his total rebounds per game from 4.2 as a freshman to 7.1 as a sophomore. With the increase in production, Warren finished 6th overall in the ACC with a total of 250 boards and second in total offensive rebounds with 113.
If Warren’s ability to score and rebound can translate to the NBA level; we may be looking at one of the steals on draft night.
Weaknesses:
For all of the scoring TJ Warren did last season, very little came from behind the arc; as he shot a woeful 27% from three point land. Warren will need to prove his struggles last season were just a mirage, as NBA defenses will look to take away his mid-range game and force him to prove he can score from deep.
At 6’8” and only measuring a 6’10” wingspan at the NBA combine, Warren may struggle at the NBA level to get his shot up against longer NBA small forwards. Players similar to Warren (i.e. Kyle Anderson, Jerami Grant, LaQuinton Ross and Deandre Daniels), all recorded a wingspan of over 7 feet at the combine, which in turn, could hurt his stock on draft night.
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