Ty Jerome is being labeled as a late first-round to early second-round draft pick by most pundits. What Jerome should hope for after declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft, is that the Boston Celtics, the owners of three first-round picks, take a chance on him with one of those three picks.
NBA Draft Player Profile for Ty Jerome
Career at Virginia
Ty Jerome had a splendid career at the University of Virginia, which was culminated with a national title in his final season. After being embarrassed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament by being the first number one seed to fall to a number 16 seed, Virginia flipped the script in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Jerome was a big reason why. He seemed to always make the timely play when they needed it the most.
In an elite eight matchup with Purdue, Jerome answered the bell time and time again despite an all-time performance by Purdue’s Carsen Edwards. Jerome finished that game with 24 points, seven assists, and five rebounds as Virginia knocked off the Boilermakers to move on to the Final Four. Throughout his splendid junior season, Jerome averaged 13.6 points per game, 5.5 assists per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game. He did this while shooting nearly 40 percent from the three-point line.
Ty Jerome NBA Draft Outlook
Strengths
Ty Jerome is a smart player who always makes the right play and always seems to come up big in clutch situations. He is not going to be sped up by opposing teams, he will control the tempo. Jerome is a very good shooter, especially in spot up situations. He has excellent size for the point guard position. Jerome measured in at 6’5” and 195 pounds.
What Jerome lacks in athleticism, he makes up for with his elite decision making. As the starting point guard for Virginia, he had splendid assists-to-turnover ratios. Jerome’s junior year saw him post 5.5 assists per game opposed to 1.7 turnovers per game. Thanks to Tony Bennett‘s pack-line defense, Jerome is always in the proper position defensively. His size and length will aid in his defensive ability which projects to be very good at the next level.
Weaknesses
Jerome has two glaring weaknesses to his game that is driving his draft stock. The first is his lack of athleticism and speed. On most nights throughout his career at Virginia, Jerome was slower than the opposing guard he was defending. He made up for it in college by using his elite size and decision making.
The other weakness for Jerome is he looks to have reached his ceiling as a player. There just isn’t a lot of room for improvement to his game. His athleticism is what it is and isn’t going to improve enough to change this perception. One thing he can improve on to raise his ceiling slightly is shooting off the dribble. As good as Jerome was in the catch and shoot, he struggled at times shooting off the dribble.
Player Comparison
Ty Jerome compares very well with former Virginia point guard Malcolm Brogdon. They both have plus size for the point guard position. Jerome and Brogdon both shoot it very well while using excellent decision making to make the right play. They both lack a little bit of athleticism, and they both come from the same offense which yields the same style of play for both players. Brogdon has carved out a fantastic NBA career thus far with the Milwaukee Bucks, if Jerome can mirror Brogdon’s career, he will have had a solid career.
Draft Projection
The Boston Celtics appear to be in need of a point guard with Kyrie Irving looking to move on and Terry Rozier being dissatisfied. With three first round picks, the Celtics could nab Jerome and know they will be getting a player who will do all of the little things – making spot-up jumpers and smart decisions on the court. Another team to look out for are the San Antonio Spurs with their late first round pick. Jerome is the type of player the Spurs love and they have question marks at the point guard position due to Dejounte Murray tearing his ACL last season.
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