Age

19.6

Height

6'4

Weight

185

Workload

MIN%

69.7

USG%

29.9

TS%

53.4

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

22.6

REB

6.0

AST

4.0

STL

1.5

BLK

0.2

TOV

4.3

Efficiency

RIM FG%

60.0

MID FG%

34.8

3PT FG%

34.9

FT%

79.7

Jump to full report

Report by: Tyler Wilson

Keyonte George

Guard Baylor Bears

A talented shotmaker with deep range and a penchant for physical defense

Age

19.6

Height

6'4

Weight

185

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

22.6

REB

6.0

AST

4.0

STL

1.5

BLK

0.2

Positions Defended

Offensive Role

 

Defensive Role

   

Meet Keyonte George

Keyonte George ended his high school career as a consensus five-star recruit and Top 10 prospect. He started this scouting cycle off with a bang during an electric run of performances playing with Baylor at GLOBL JAM over the summer. Keyonte is one of the premier guard scorers of this draft class and his entire bag was on display with crafty finishes, handle fluidity, off ball movement and pull-up shot creation beyond the arc. Paired with a defensive intensity rarely seen in star guard scorers, George has all the makings of a lottery pick entering his freshman year.

Offense

Keyonte is a shooter, first and foremost. His form is clean and compact both off the catch and off the bounce. Extending out to the college and NBA three point line should not be an issue, he has confidence pulling up from well beyond the arc without needing to drastically change his form. With his quick release and elevated set point George should be a formidable shooter even with a strong contest. Shooting is George’s signature skill and he has real star upside if he can continue to add to his repertoire.

While Keyonte has thrived as a shot maker, most of his looks come off the catch or out of the pick and roll, where he can step into his jumper. He has flashes of creativity handling the ball and getting downhill but does not yet possess the bevy of step-backs and space creation tricks you see in star shot creators. The mechanics of his jumper off the bounce are promising and should pay dividends as he grows more confident and creative getting to his spots. 

George is strong with solid short-area quickness but is not an incredibly explosive vertical athlete. He is able to get into the paint with his nimble handle and well timed cuts but struggles to finish through size and length at the rim. He does a good job absorbing contact both on the drive and in the air but could stand to be a little more creative as a finisher. He wasn’t asked to create much for others in high school but he showed flashes of vision and accuracy. Reading the defense and finding open teammates more consistently would help to counteract some of his difficulties finishing in traffic.

Defense

Defensively Keyonte is a fiery competitor. He has a strong build and thrives guarding in isolation, walling of ball handlers and playing with his chest. There are few guards in this class with George’s combination of tenacity and strength as a defender. He uses his power and quickness well fighting through screens and should be a formidable option at the point of attack. There are occasional lapses in technique and awareness, but those are things that should clean up with time. George has the tools and aptitude to be an impact defender moving forward. 

As an off-ball defender Keyonte has moments of brilliance rotating from the wing to pick off passes but has recurring moments of disengagement. He does a good job fighting through screens off-ball but often reacts late, left chasing his man well behind the play despite his efficient screen navigation. Remaining engaged both in help and tracking his man off-ball would go a long way towards shoring up his defensive output.

There may not be a better college situation for George to clean up around the edges of his defensive game. With the help-heavy scheme Baylor deploys under the defensive minded Scott Drew, Keyonte should have plenty of opportunity for growth. Scott Drew and his staff at Baylor have done an excellent job developing two-way guards in recent history and Keyonte should fit like a glove.

Overview

Keyonte George kicked off draft season before most of his counterparts and did so in spectacular fashion at GLOBL JAM. Entering the year he feels like a safe bet to go in the lottery, fueled by flashes of brilliant shot-making and voracious defense. If he can remain engaged defensively and improve his rim pressure, the sky is the limit. Every year of development is of the utmost importance for teenage prospects and Keyonte could not have chosen a better fit for this upcoming season. If the summer was any indication of what’s to come, George may find his way into the top five.

Tags:

, , , ,

Related Players

Related Articles

2024-nba-draft-shooting-heuristic
2024 Draft Shooting Heuristic
April 23, 2024
2024 NBA Draft Articles
“This team needs shooting.” “They lost because the spacing was terrible.” These may be the most common phrases uttered when describing an NBA team’s shortcomings over the course of a…

Read more

nikola-topic-how-prospects-read-the-game
How Prospects Read the Game
February 10, 2024
2024 NBA Draft Articles
Productivity is the first basis of a player’s game – how do they make things happen? But just behind that is a player’s wiring: how they feel the game, think…

Read more

how-prospects-produce-zach-edey
How Prospects Make Things Happen
February 3, 2024
2024 NBA Draft Articles
How Do Prospects Produce? That’s the first question I ask myself as I begin the process for my 2024 NBA draft board. By separating production, feel and athletic premiums, I…

Read more

2024-nba-draft-lottery-board
2024 NBA Draft: Lottery Board 1.0
January 19, 2024
2024 NBA Draft Articles
1. Ron Holland, G League Ignite Quickly turning into one of the more polarizing prospects of the 2024 draft cycle, Ron Holland boasts prototypical size for a NBA wing standing…

Read more

my-favorite-nba-draft-miss
ROUNDTABLE: My Favorite NBA Draft Miss
September 28, 2023
NBA Articles
It happens to all of us: you’re excited about a player and end up ranking him far too high, or dismiss a player too quickly who turns into a star….

Read more

andrew-rohde-aly-khalifa-becoming-primary
Becoming Primary: Aly Khalifa and Andrew Rohde
August 6, 2023
2024 NBA Draft Articles
From Steph Curry to Damian Lillard to Ja Morant to CJ McCollum to Pascal Siakam to Paul George, there have been countless examples of mid major draft picks who kept…

Read more