Grant Riller is a senior guard from the College of Charleston. Playing at a mid-major school can make it hard to garner attention for the next level. However, Riller’s high level of play over four years has him popping up on plenty of NBA teams’ radars.
Grant Riller 2020 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Grant Riller has been a star in his four years playing at the College of Charleston. He was a three-time member of the conference’s first-team and a two-time Lou Henson mid-major All-American. He also etched himself in the record books. Riller owns the school’s single-game scoring record with 43 points against Hofstra last year. He also recorded the school’s first triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against Northeastern earlier this year.
For his career, Riller averaged 18.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. He was also a 51.9 percent shooter as well as going 35.6 percent from beyond the arc and 79.6 percent from the charity stripe. He ended his career as Charleston’s second all-time leading scorer and the third all-time leading scorer in CAA history. Not bad for a two-star prospect.
Strengths
The biggest thing that Riller has become known for is his ability to get to the rim. He uses his quickness to get by defenders and drive the lane. Furthermore, he makes it count when he takes it inside. Riller makes sure he finishes these drives with a layup or standing on the free-throw line.
Grant Riller is also versatile, as he has played both guard positions in college. He is more of a natural two-guard but took over at the point out of team need for his junior and senior seasons. Statistics show he filled that role nicely, averaging four assists per game over those two seasons. He was still able to average 21.9 points per game while running the offense.
Finally, Riller has a high basketball IQ. He has a knack for knowing when he needs to take a shot on his own or get teammates involved. He is a guy who can be relied on down the stretch to make the right choice in clutch situations.
Weaknesses
The biggest weakness for Riller is that he put up a bulk of his impressive numbers against competition that was not at the highest level. There will always be questions about whether he can perform consistently against top talent until he proves it to the scouts. In nine career games against power conference teams, Riller averaged only 11.2 points per game.
Another area of improvement for Riller is his three-point shooting. He is not a jump shooter by nature, and that is not inherently bad for someone who will play the point in the NBA. However, he will want to continue to develop his jump shooting, especially from outside, to make himself even more dangerous at the next level.
Finally, Riller needs to cut down on his turnovers. For all of his promise of playing point guard for Charleston the past two seasons, he is still learning the position. The number of turnovers he had increased each season while he played the same amount of minutes. He had a career 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio in college. Riller has shown he is a good passer. Now he just needs to take care of the ball a little better.
NBA Player Comparison
Dennis Schröder. Riller is a bit bulkier than Schröder, but they both are skilled offensively. Schröder is able to come in and provide instant offense at times while being aggressive at the rim. That is a role Riller could easily fill for an NBA team.
NBA Draft Projection
Late second round.
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