NBA Draft Insider

College: Syracuse

Birthday: 12/1/1991

NBA Position: SG

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6-4

Wt: 215

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

High School:

Ceiling: Dwyane Wade

Basement: Jason Terry

NBA Comparison: 

Strengths:

• Athletic
• Strong
• Aggressive Penetrator, Slasher
• Natural Scorer
• Improving Shooter
• Quick Hands
• Unselfish

Weaknesses:

• Size
• Inconsistent Shooting

Analysis: View Dion Waiters Full Report

05/09/2012

Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters has declared for the NBA Draft signing with agent Rob Pelinka.

Waiters had a very solid sophomore year becoming the No. 1 team in the Nation for most of the year’s best player. He emerged – from the bench – as an aggressive scorer and leader for the team. He bought into his role, which is not as easy as it sounds in today’s game.

Defensively Waiters made the most strides as a player. He became one of the Big East’s best thieves despite coming off the bench averaging 1.5 SPG (67 total) for the year. Playing in the zone limits a player defensively, but allows instinctual players to make plays. That is the strength of Waiters on defense. He can get into passing lanes and strip the ball away from a ball-handler as well as anyone in the country.

On offense Waiters glides, he is a smooth natural scorer. When he has the ball in his hands and attacks the basket it looks effortless. Early in his career Waiters was simply a penetrating guard with an attacking mentality. He has worked on his three point shot and it is much improved from 32.9% to 36.3% on 70 more attempts overall.

As noted a few times before Waiters saw an increase of 7.8 MPG from 16.3 to 24.1 this season. He made an impact across the board using every minute he had to do something more on the floor. Playing off the bench in limited minutes will allow Waiters to make a smooth transition to the NBA. On the other hand he was the teams closer (a la Manu Ginobli or James Harden) down the stretch.

Today Waiters is the No. 3 shooting guard, is going No. 13 Overall in the Mock Draft, and the No. 14 prospect on the Big Board.

02/12/2012

Waiters is instant offense for Syracuse coming off the bench. He has a very good shooting stroke from everywhere on the court with NBA range on his three. From a physical standpoint Waiters is a good athlete with an NBA body right now, a little shorter than the average NBA shooting guard. He is very efficient on offense making his impact even more impactful. In the 2-3 Zone Waiters has shown solid instincts in passing lanes as well as in man-to-man settings.

This season Waiters has done something positive with every extra minute he has been given. This season he is up 7.2 MPG and is statistically better in every category including his shooting percentages. What is most impressive is the defensive strides he has made. Waiters is the Big East leader in SPG.

With his current role as a bench spark Waiters is in a perfect position to transition well to the next level. He has a scorer’s mentality getting his buckets in a very efficient way. Another year in college would help him develop more guard skills as a play-maker, but Waiters is likely a Top 30 selection in 2012 NBA Draft.

01/28/2012

Dion Waiters has taken his game to another level in his sophomore campaign as a designated bench player. He is easily the best player on Syracuse and is emerging as a top prospect at the shooting guard position. On offense Waiters is a tough competitor who can knock down the three from NBA range consistently. That shooting ability allows Waiters to attack the rim aggressively creating for himself and for teammates. Defensively he has the instincts and hands to create turnovers at the top of the zone that ignites the break. He is a strong compact player with solid athleticism. Sleeper for the lottery in 2012.