Dylan Windler may be one of the more polarizing players coming out of college this summer. The sharp-shooting wing from Belmont has already drawn the interest of a few NBA teams in need of a knockdown shooter such as the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz. Something every team needs in today’s era of long-range shooting. He will be heavily coveted in the upcoming NBA Draft. Windler is coming off a great last year with the Belmont Bruins which saw him put up career highs in many categories. Not to mention, he was the only player in college basketball to average 17 points per game, 2.5 assists per game, nine rebounds per game and shot 40 percent from three-point range per belmontbruins.com. With this in mind, it is no wonder why he is projected to go in the first round.
2019 NBA Draft Profile for Dylan Windler
Strengths
As alluded to earlier, Windler could help any team with his long-range ability. He had a career average three-point shooting percentage of 40.6 percent during his college tenure. This past season, he shot about 43 percent from beyond the arc. On top of this, he is also a savvy rebounder. Windler averaged 10.8 total rebounds per game last season to couple with 8.9 defensive rebounds per game. For his collegiate career, he averaged 7.8 total rebounds per game. He has the potential to be a walking double-double who can also knock down the three-point shot; a highly coveted commodity in today’s modern NBA.
If you really think about it, there are not that many NBA stars who can do that with ease. Sure, there are great perimeter shooters like Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. Then there are great rebounders like Draymond Green and Andre Drummond. However, there seems to be only a handful which can combine the two like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James. Windler has the potential to put his name up there with the likes of the Leonard, Durant, and James in terms of being able to knock down long-distance shots and grab rebounds.
Weaknesses
Just like with any kid coming out of college, there is always something that needs to be worked on in order to thrive in the NBA. The first weakness which jumps out when it comes to Dylan Windler is his playmaking ability. He only averaged 2.5 assists per game last season and only averaged two assists per game during his collegiate career. This is something which many scouts will have concerns about in terms of his play style.
The second weakness that Windler seems to have is his defensive ability. He has had trouble keeping up with his opponent many times and as a result, the opposition has had success utilizing screens against him. Windler has also been known to fall for pump fakes, something which will eat him alive in the NBA. Not to mention, he did not even average a block per game during his collegiate career despite being 6’8”. This is something which may come with time as he translates his play from college to the NBA. It will take time and patience to refine his defensive game, but the ceiling is still extremely high.
NBA Projection
Many people are comparing Windler to another Gordon Hayward. In fairness, there are a lot of similarities there. Both players went to relatively small colleges, are great offensive threats and have, or had in Hayward’s case, a ton of upside coming out of college. However, a better comparison may be a more physical Kyle Korver. He can hit the three-point shot with ease like Korver can, but is built better in terms of physicality which will give him an edge in cleaning the glass for plenty of rebounds.
Plus, if he can refine his defensive game, then opponents will hate being matched up with him. Especially since this will give his team an added dimension as they will be able to utilize him as a stretch four. He most likely won’t develop into a star player. However, he can become a quality role player. As stated already, he is a deadly threat from beyond the arc and that will translate extremely well to today’s modern NBA.
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