NBA Draft Insider

College: Mississippi State

Birthday: 11/18/1990

NBA Position: PF

Class: Junior

Ht: 6-11

Wt: 225

Hometown: Memphis, TN

High School: Raleigh Egypt High School

Ceiling: Jermaine O’Neal

Basement: Dale Davis

NBA Comparison:

Strengths:

• Athletic
• Quick, Mobile Big
• Long
• Explosive Leaper
• Good Rebounder
• Elite Off. Rebounder
• Good Mid-Range Shooter

Weaknesses:

• Strength
• Free-Throw Shooting
• Sat out 2010-2011 season after transfer

Analysis:

05/17/2012

Mississippi State junior power forward has declared for the NBA Draft signing with agent Terrence Doyle.

In just one year at Mississippi State Moultrie proved he has a big time game. The long, lean forward/center combo has all the athletic tools to be a standout at either position. Moultrie is a very good athlete that can play out on the perimeter on both ends of the floor. His quickness with the ball is nearly unmatched at his position.

On offense Moultrie plays more of a face-up game than a traditional back to the basket game. His quickness and ball-handling skills. When facing up Moultrie moves well of the bounce keeping his defender off balance. From about 12-15 feet he is also a consistent enough shooter to have that as a threat. In the paint Moultrie is active, but not yet strong enough to score there against NBA big men.

In the paint Moultrie’s biggest asset is his offensive rebounding. This past season he averaged 3.66 offensive RPG. Those offensive rebounds turned into extra possessions or putback baskets for Moultrie. He is not an elite post scorer so getting easy points off of rebounds is essencial for him. Moultrie has a very high motor on the glass allowing him to out work bigger, stronger rebounders. Also, his length allows him to tip the ball away from defenders.

That length also allows Moultrie to alter shots while on defense. He is not an elite shot blocker needing to add strength to play against the bigger post players, but is a quality weakside shot blocker.

As a defender/rebounder Moultrie is a talented prospect. His potential on the offensive end makes Moultrie a potential lottery pick in this year’s class. He was the best player on a team that was talented enough to make a deep tournament run, but fell apart in the season. Moultrie has come a long way from being an unranked prospect and unranked power forward by Rivals.com to where he is today. Only three schools even recruited Moultrie (Mississippi State, UTEP, and Washington State) with only UTEP offering a scholarship.

Today Moultrie is the No. 5 power forward, No. 11 prospect on the Big Board, and going No. 14 Overall in the Mock Draft.

02/14/2012

Once a small school prospect, not Moultrie is playing on a stage that fits his talent. He is a very active athlete on the glass and defensively as a shot-blocker. He is one of six players in Division I basketball to average at least 15+ PPG and 10+ RPG. He is shooting at a very high percentage from the field and becoming an elite scorer in the paint.

He is getting a lot of touches and all season has proved to be the best player on this Mississippi State team. The majority of the touches are going to Moultrie in the paint and he is capitalizing on them. At Texas-El Paso Moultrie tended to venture out to the three point line too often, which was in part because the offense. He is much more active on the boards and on defense because he has more talent around him and he can play more aggressively all game.

The transfer from Texas-El Paso was exactly what Moultrie needed to be taken seriously as a next level prospect. With great length, athleticism, and skills Moultrie has put himself firmly in the conversation for a 1^st round pick. Overall Moultrie is a skilled forward that can do a little bit of everything.

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