A 5-star recruit freshman from Sunrise Christian Academy, Gradey Dick is the definition of a nuclear shooter. After building up a reputation as one of the top offensive weapons in his high school class he has lived up to the hype at Kansas, shooting 40% from 3pt while being the 2nd leading scorer (14.1 PPG) for the #1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks. His size and complimentary skills help make him more than “just a shooter”, but there are still some clear limitations to his game.

Offense:

As previously mentioned, the skill that drives the majority of Gradey’s value is his knockdown shooting. He’s an elite off ball threat with the size and shot versatility to get his shot off in a variety of settings off the ball. He’s not overly creative from a standstill with the ball in his hands, but he’s shown the ability to beat closeouts with 1-2 dribble pull ups or straight line drives to the rim. If you wanted to critique him as a shooter, he hasn’t quite mastered the Kevin Huerter/Klay Thompson movement 3 off a dead sprint, and has been slowed down at times by teams aggressively face guarding him; but that’s nitpicking what otherwise is an elite shooting prospect.

Gradey also possesses other plus-qualities on the offensive end, namely connective passing and touch finishes at the rim, and they pair really well with the gravity his shooting draws. Gradey doesn’t have the burst or strength to consistently get to the rim off a standstill and take advantage of his finishing prowess that way, but the way he forces defenses to guard him on the perimeter due to the threat he brings as a shooter gives him easier lanes to the rim than a vast majority of players.

Defense:

The defensive end of the floor is where Gradey struggles a bit more. Despite possessing good height for a perimeter player at 6’7, Dick has a long way to go in terms of filling out his frame, and right now guys can power through him even when he’s in good position. The frame is something you hope he can improve over time, as he’s just 19 years old, but that remains to be seen. He also can be a step slow against quicker guards out on the perimeter.

The good news for Gradey is that there are some positives for him on the defensive end. For one, he above average length for a perimeter defender and he can improve at taking advantage of his length to help make up for his short comings in other areas. He also made notable strides throughout the course of the season. He still had some issues, but he managed to create more events (blocks/steals) while still cutting down on mistakes as the year progressed.

While there were some ups and downs over the course of his freshman season, Gradey continues to be one of the more straight forward players in this class. His shooting at his size gives him a very bankable NBA skill, and there’s enough flashes of other stuff to get you excited beyond that; but determining exactly what the ceiling is remains the ultimate question with Gradey.

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