Age

18.9

Height

6'7''

Weight

232

Workload

MIN%

53.5

USG%

24.3

TS%

57.1

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

19.9

REB

8.5

AST

1.1

STL

2.2

BLK

0.6

TOV

2.6

Efficiency

RIM FG%

65.8

MID FG%

30.3

3PT FG%

34.3

FT%

70.3

Jump to full report

Report by: Gannon Rice

Cam Whitmore

Forward Villanova

Uber-athletic wing with the complete spot-up package.

Age

18.9

Height

6'7''

Weight

232

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

19.9

REB

8.5

AST

1.1

STL

2.2

BLK

0.6

Positions Defended

Offensive Role

 

Defensive Role

   

Meet Cam Whitmore

The freshman came into the year as one of the most highly touted prospects, taking his talents from the DMV to the U of V. Following an impressive showing for Team USA during the summer, he unfortunately suffered a thumb injury during pre-season practice, which sideline him for the first 7 games. However, it didn’t take him long to start producing for Kyle Neptune, dropping 21 in his second game and putting the public on to his powerful driving game and a bevy of athletic tools. Whitmore is currently projected as a top 10 pick in this upcoming draft, so let’s dig a little deeper to why that may be.

Offense

You can’t start talking about Cam’s offensive game until you mention his standout trait: getting to the rim. Cam has the perfect athletic package to not only create separation to get downhill, but to convert that advantage into points in the paint. More importantly, he is able to create consistent and valuable paint touches in the half-court, a desired ability for any NBA team. Cam has the quick first step necessary to get an initial advantage over his defender, and smart at capitalizing on open space in Villanova’s 5-out offense. Whitmore favors driving left, responsible for 79.7% of his drives. He is able to maintain the advantage by getting low to the ground and being relentless on his attack to ehe paint, shedding contact with ease. Before we discuss on his strengths and weaknesses after generating a paint touch, I want to pick apart the decision-making process before he decides to take the ball to the rack.

Cam is a score-first player, no doubt about it. In their offense, he functions strictly as a perimeter threat, generally floating around the arc until he gets his opportunity with the ball. Here and there, he’ll make a nicely timed cut, but it’s a relatively small part of his game. When Whitmore has the ball on the perimeter, he can take some time before making a decision, presenting some ball-stopping tendencies. The 6.4 AST% is indicative of where he is at as an offensive piece, rarely passing out on drives and preventing himself from creating passing opportunities for teammates. Back to the finishing, which is displayed below:

Cam has the rare combination of elite size, footwork, vertical athleticism, and touch. He is confident and efficient finishing with any hand, foot, and side of the rim mismatched with each other. The 64.3% finishing at the rim in the half-court speaks for itself (this is 99th%tile good). His explosion translates from his driving game into his air arsenal, reaching impressive heights complemented with exquisite body control. Adding to all of this, he has 28 dunks on the year, not afraid to hammer it down. His relationship with contact is an interesting one, sometimes struggling to maintain balance initiating it. He only produced a free throw rate of 25.1, awfully low for a man of his stature and athletic tools. I don’t think this number is quite accurate for said statistical projection or a representation of contact aversion, but of his perimeter shot selection.

Cam’s intrigue extends to another level when you take into account of his potential as a shooter, and a perimeter shot-creator. From 3, he shot 40% (45 att.) off C&S opportunities and 29.7% (64 att) off the dribble. You can’t leave him open, and he’s a scary sight to closeout against. The shot overall looks pretty good, can make some tweaks to the timing and some of the upper release, but it’s good enough to draw closeouts at the next level. The heavy usage off the dribble sparks interest and also a little speculation. The numbers aren’t great, and the little separation created on stepbacks and the slow release doesn’t suggest the greatest outlook in the world. Cam can find himself over-dribbling and not maintaining an advantage or creating one at the rim, but deciding to go for an OTD jumper. His handle is good but not great, and doesn’t a support a heavy unassisted diet as it was at Villanova. Overall, I buy the shot.

Defense

In all honestly, his defense is a bit of a mystery to me. He falls under the typical “has the athletic tools to be very good but doesn’t put enough effort”, but with an extra caveat, which I’ll get into in a bit. He profiles as a switchable wing from the 2-4 positions, and I think he can hold his owns vs more explosive guards, but not quite at the next level. His strong frame is apparent, and when he slides his feet, he does a great job of walling off drives. The screen navigation is good when engaged, but he can be a bit out of position and not prepare himself with the necessary footwork and posture to effectively get over the screen. Can be susceptible to quick movements (jabs, fakes, etc) that can knock him off balance, but has quality recovery tools.

The off-ball defense is very much a work in progress, and I think it’s something that will develop with age. At his current state, his understanding of off-ball principles aren’t quite there, and combining that with lapses in attention and half-full engagement, the results aren’t on par for what they could be. He does possess some defensive event creation (4.8 STK%), but can find himself gambling for balls and being too reactive on his reads. Villanova is pretty small, and he’ll often be played at the 4 defensively, making him responsible for help-side rim protection and rotations in the paint. This seems to be new territory for Cam, as he often doesn’t make the rotation or even know if it’s his responsibility. When he does, it’s generally gets good results with his high-point contests. He fights well in the post and makes a real effort to box out, even when it’s not his man.

Conclusion

Cam is a blast to watch, at least once a game you’ll see a drive by him that gives you a stank face. I sound like a broken record, but the athletic tools are there, and his ample driving game and shooting potential give him enough of a reason for a team to take him in the single digits. His role was a bit odd at Nova, playing with a very short leash, being taken out for relatively minor mistakes even at the end of the season. His diverse skillset makes him a nice fit for nearly every team, but I can see nice slots in Indiana, OKC, and Portland for him. He is still very young and a lot of negative leaning parts of his game or more than capable to improvement, even to points of positive. The sky is the limit for Cam, metaphorically but maybe not figuratively.

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