yosemiteben wrote:EmpireFalls wrote:luciano-davidwesley wrote:People don't want to draft a short (if 6'3 is short for a 1 these days lol) white guy, even if he might be John Stockton with better shooting but not quite as good a passer.
Derrick White seems like a median Sheppard outcome to me.
There is no world where Sheppard becomes a Derrick White level defender though, and that’s the problem. He might shoot better and be more of a threat offensively, but the defense is a full two or three steps down from White.
He has zero chance of becoming of the best shot blocking guards ever, perennial all-defensive candidate, and arguably the Celtics secondary rim protector. The defensive value he provides is massive.
What is this based on? As a freshman Reed averaged 2.5 stl and almost a block a game. He seems to have elite defensive awareness.
To continue this discussion a bit. Sheppard's measurements as follows:
So, basically a bit under 6'3" in shoes, 6'3" wingspan, weirdly low standing reach (I think he's maybe trying to lower it so it can increase his vertical leap)? Those are Curry, Kyrie type measurements. Which is fine, but those guys are PG defenders only and look super small when switched onto bigger guys. He's a short guy and will almost always be the smallest guy on the floor. He is the same size as McCain and only slightly bigger than Dilly. Hell, his wingspan isn't even more than an inch longer than KEMBA's.
Just for comparison: Derrick White's measurements: 6' 3.25'' without shoes, 8' 5.5'' standing reach, 6' 7.5'' wingspan. This is what that looks like in action.
College passing lanes are easier to jump than NBA passing lanes. the NBA court requires you to cover more ground, quicker. The NBA scheme also requires you to switch onto bigger players quite often. Could you imagine Sheppard switching a 1-4 PnR the way White does? He'll never bring elite defensive value.
Allen Iverson led the NBA in steals once. Haliburton (terrible defender) had 2+ SPG in college just like Sheppard. I don't value pure steals numbers for elite defense as much as the entire picture. And for Sheppard, that picture is just limited.
