Video Breakdown: KJ McDaniels

* I have not seen McDaniels compete live this season. The following breakdown is based on watching film and doing research.

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• Physical tools. McDaniels is a 6-6 SF with 6-11 wingspan and a 37-inch vertical. He’s an explosive leaper with freakish athleticism and length for a small forward. On film, he stands out with his athletic prowess and wingspan, covering a lot of ground with every step, and flying up and down the floor. He’s very raw offensively—and his career may hinge on his offensive development—but from a strictly physical standpoint, if you were to create an NBA small forward in a science lab, McDaniels might be the result. He may be the best athlete in the Draft.

Excellent running the floor in transition, rebounding from the wings for put-backs and tip-ins, and flying all over the floor to block and alter shots.

— Transition (69% FG, 1.5 PPP, 96th percentile)

— Wing Rebounding (7 RPG; 2.4 ORB, 4.7 DRB)

McDaniels is not a very “complete” rebounder, in the sense that he doesn’t box out—instead, he just leaps for the ball. His length and athleticism allow him to circumvent using traditional strength/boxing out technique, but I wonder if this athleticism-based approach will work in the NBA.

He’s long and athletic to corral rebounds, but he also falls down due to recklessly jumping around. He’s obviously a talented rebounder, but his rebounding ability should be caveated to a small degree. Nothing too bad, at all, though.

Shot-Blocking shown below …

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• Defensive ability. McDaniels earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, averaging 2.8 blocks/1.1 steals per game, to go along with an outstanding 90.8 individual defensive rating (2nd in the ACC).

He should immediately be able to stay in front of most NBA small forwards. And if he improves his mechanics (staying low in his stance, not biting on pump fakes, and adding 10-20 pounds of muscle), he could be a very good wing defender.

In addition to his 90.8 defensive rating, he held opponents to 4-20 shooting in isolation situations (20%, .394 PPP), and 35% FG/0.85 PPP in spot-up situations.

As of right now, defense—more so than offense—will earn him minutes and is his calling card. He clogs the passing lanes with his length, and can swat shots from all over the floor. Most importantly though, he moves well laterally to wall off opposing players.

Don’t get me wrong: McDaniels is not infallible as a defender. In fact, I think the DPOY award was mostly based on steals/blocks, not necessarily on his overall defensive makeup. He must get considerably stronger, improve his focus, and stay lower in his stance. But those are fixable things. He’s a high-level defender with good upside.

Good

— Shot-Blocking (2.8 BPG, 9% block percentage ranks 56th nationally)

Interior

Help defense

— Steals (long arms in passing lanes)

— Lateral quickness

— Good close-out (6-11 wingspan to contest shots)

Bad

He must get considerably stronger, improve his focus, and stay lower in his stance.

Firstly, despite excellent defensive statistics, on film McDaniels struggles to fight through screens. He’s not very physical—kind of weak, actually—and thus falls behind when chasing the offensive player around screens. He must get stronger to fight through screens, and also to defend the post.

Secondly, McDaniels needs to improve his focus. There were times when he was so far out of his area that it seemed like Clemson was playing zone defense … but it wasn’t. He literally would overhelp and abandon his man for no reason.

— Poor job fighting around screens

— Bites on pump fakes

— Overhelps on defense

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• Offensive Potential/Uncertainty.

McDaniels has a long way to go offensively—again, his calling card is defense, athleticism and transition ability. But he was capable offensively in fits and starts this season, and in some very specific ways that could successfully translate to the NBA.

First, the “bad”:

— He shot a paltry 30% from 3-point range, and 32% on all jump shots. Inconsistent form and crooked release at times.

— He’s very raw, lacking the ball handling skills to create anything off the dribble (he converted 28% of his isolation attempts, and his 0.59 points per attempt ranked in the bottom 80th percentile nationally).

Right now, McDaniels’ go-to move is taking one lonnnnnnng dribble into the paint, and then either (i) attempting an aerial jaunt towards the basket or (ii) losing control and committing a turnover. He prematurely picks up his dribble, forces drives and barrels into defenders, and is just raw creating offense.

Now, the modicum of good/potential:

— McDaniels is really good as a cutter/slasher, finishing in stride with his athleticism and length. He’s a prime alley-oop target, either roaming the baseline or rolling to the basket. He converted 63% of his cutting attempts, and his 1.3 points per attempt ranked in the top 20th percentile nationally.

— Even though McDaniels doesn’t possess an advanced handle, he can get into the lane using his long strides. Sometimes those aerial jaunts are successful, as he can explode through even the slightest glimmer of open space. If McDaniels sees daylight, he’ll take off for a powerhouse dunk.

— And to his credit, maybe I’m underestimating his offensive creativity. In other words, there are plays this season when he’s flashed a nice handle, mixing in step-back jumpers, jab steps and turnarounds. McDaniels doesn’t really need separation anyways, because he can shoot over the defense using his size and length (converted a decent 34% in catch-and-shoot situations). His jump shot is definitely shaky right now, but he may not need to worry about creating offense because all he really needs is one or two dribbles, or he can catch-and-shoot.

McDaniels is somewhat of an offensive enigma, and I think he’ll need to improve his handle and coordination just a bit. The one-dribble take off/rise method could work, but driving lanes are tighter and defensive resistance is greater at the NBA level.

But even if he’s relegated to simply catching-and-shooting and wing rebounding, that’s still pretty good.

He could potentially excel as a “3 and D” player. Check this statistic: McDaniels was the second player in ACC history to have 80 blocked shots and 30 3-pointers in the same season; Shane Battier was the first.

Good

— Spot Up Shooting (size to catch-and-shoot)

— Isolation Drives (long strides)

— Spot Up Driving (explodes through space)

— Off Screens (48% FG, 1.3 PPP; very effective when he has a clear lane/momentum into the paint)

— Isolation Jumpers

— Cutting

— Free Throws (84%)

Bad

He panics at times, with a “deer in the headlights” type of look. McDaniels takes off into nowhere, barrels into his defender, and picks up his dribble mid-move. He struggles to maintain control against defensive resistance on the way to the basket, and can’t really break his man down right now.

— Driving Struggles

— Spot Up Struggles (jumpers)

— Short-Range

— Mid-Range (11-43 this season, 26%)

— Turnovers (2.3 per game … takes off into nowhere)

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• Proven development. McDaniels was an unheralded recruit coming out of high school, possessing immense upside due to his athletic gifts, but lacking the necessary polish for recruiting services to co-sign his long-term ability. He played power forward throughout his high school career.

He was always an NBA talent athletically, and the basketball part finally developed at Clemson. He’s still not fully “proven”, if you will, but his skill level/pace/mental aspect of the game has improved tremendously over the past three seasons.

He transferred to a new position (small forward), developed a solid catch-and-shoot jumper, and found a defined role as a lockdown defender.

McDaniels’ NBA future is obviously unproven, particularly offensively, and he must get stronger to compete on either end. But he’s progressed every season. Now he must take the final steps to stick in the NBA; there’s still a few more to go.