Jamal Shead has been one of the best players in the NCAA for the last two years. This was the case for both the American Athletic Conference and the Big 12 Conference. Now, Shead forgoes his remaining college eligibility to take a chance on the NBA. Let’s analyze the fit of Jamal Shead in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Jamal Shead 2024 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Jamal Shead played four seasons for Kelvin Sampson and drastically improved each year. As a sophomore, Shead was tasked with stopping every opposing team’s best player. As a senior, Shead was tasked with the same thing as well as running the entire offense and making plays whenever needed.
Shead racked up Big 12 POY, Defensive POY, and consensus All-American honors this year. He averaged 12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game on 40.9/30.9/77.9 shooting splits. Without a doubt, Shead established himself as one of the best Houston Cougars of the modern era.
JAMAL SHEAD RISES UP 😱#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/im1unccW4a
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2024
Strengths
Shead’s number one strength is defense. He has elite quickness and athleticism and will likely test off the charts at the NBA Combine. These traits allow Shead to guard elite offensive players the full 94 feet for 40 straight minutes. His defensive win shares, defensive box-plus-minus, and defensive rating all ranked amongst the best in the nation, if not the best. Shead does not have great size, but he plays like he does.
As Shead matured in the college game, he became a phenomenal playmaker. Shead had an assist rate of over 40% as a senior which is absurd. Essentially, half of every bucket Houston scored that was not by Shead was created by Shead. His ability to run an offense and control the game was a skill he developed as he understood the game at a higher level. That basketball IQ is going to work wonders for him in the league. That is also evident with a 13% turnover percentage despite a usage rating of 25%.
Weaknesses
Shead had poor shooting splits. It is difficult for an NBA player to shoot low 40s from the field and low 30s from three. For me, a lot of the issues come from poor shot selection. Houston did not have a great offense and a lot of their scheme was to let Shead create from himself and others, usually with two bigs on the floor. That will never be the situation in the NBA for him.
The other concern is further related to the shot-selection. Shead is an elite athlete but he was not able to create a ton of separation and good shots for himself. Again, he had to do everything for Houston and that is a tough task but he still needs to improve as a shot creator for himself. He is a sub-40 % shooter on pull-ups, catch-and-shoot threes, and floaters. Figuring out how to get good shots and where they come from is going to go a long way for Shead.
NBA Comparison
Jamal Shead has a clear NBA comparison and a clear NBA role. That comparison is Patrick Beverley. Both guys control a game on the defensive end of the floor. Both players can also run an offense when they need to. The weaknesses come from poor shooting and shot selection.
2022 NBA Draft Projection
Early second round.
