Will Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft Selections Hinge Upon Age?

Taurean Prince

If you don’t know anything else about the Baylor senior, you will immediately recognize the young man who gave a lesson to reporters who wanted to know how Yale outrebounded the Baylor Bears in the NCAA tournament. Explaning an upset is never a comfortable position to be in, but Prince clearly is at the top of his sarcasm game when he flippantly narrates the mechanics of a basketball rebound to the chagrin of a room filled with media.

OFFENSE
Strengths

At 6’7’’, possessing a strong 215 pound frame with long arms, and very good lateral quickness, Prince’s physical tools gives him the offensive prowess to finish strong in the neighborhood of the basket.  He has deceptive speed , which will be a key ingredient as a transition threat. He boasts a good spot up shoot, with considerable range, where he had shot 40% from beyond the arc on 3.9 attempts per game.   He’s excellent spotting up in the corner and leads Baylor in scoring despite coming in off the bench.  Per 40 minutes he’s averaging 19 points per game, and 8.8 rebounds. He’s incredibly productive when he’s in the game, and he’s well above average in terms of rebounding for an NCAA small forward.

Weaknesses

Prince  is not a marquis ball handler, although he can respond to pressure by making good decisions.  He has limits to creating his own shots, and relies upon floor spacing to get openings to shot. His foul shot has fallen to 63.2% this season, which is sub par for an NBA wing.  He also needs to work on and expand his mid range shot options.  His success on  mid-range jumpers has remained at just 27.1% accuracy

DEFENSE
Strengths

Prince is blessed with excellent defensive instincts and intensity, which gives some degree of confidence that he can guard both shooting guards, and a large portion of small forwards at the NBA level . Despite the zone defense of Baylor, Prince still manages to block 1 shot and steal the ball 1.2 times in only 25.5 minutes per game.  He also has a high defensive IQ projects him as a capable defender in the much different man to man heavy landscape of the NBA.

His defensive ability alone gives a great deal of intrigue into projecting him onto the Sixers roster, as wing defense has been a thorn in their side this season.

Weaknesses

Prince has played his collegiate career in Baylor’s zone focused defense.  While he projects as capable in an NBA man defense, that will require some patience and retraining.   He does not look to come to the Philadelphia 76ers as an immediate starter, but he could fit a niche role as a very productive 3 and D wing man.  Whether that role is valuable enough to the Sixers to burn a first round pick on his talents remains to be seen.

Prince is projected to be available early in the second half of the first round.  But should he fall even slightly, he may become an option of the Philadelphia 76ers in that first round.

Next: Sixer's Summation