NBA Draft Target: Bobby Portis, SEC Player of the Year

The NBA Draft is Thursday. The Atlanta Hawks have the 15^th pick.

Bobby Portis, a 6-11 forward from Arkansas, is projected to fall within the middle of the draft and perhaps will land on the Atlanta Hawks draft board. Portis has had his stock rise since the pre-draft evaluation began. Like Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, Portis didn’t have a growth spurt until late in high school and the benefit was he developed perimeter skills necessary for someone a few inches shorter. Portis wasn’t a starter on his high school team until he was a junior. At Arkansas he had to earn his minutes.

Bobby Portis was the SEC Player of the Year and a finalist for the John Wooden Award.

Mar 15, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks forward Bobby Portis (10) attempts a shot during the first half of the SEC Conference Championship game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Portis is 20 years old and is often compared to a very young Chris Bosh. In his sophomore year, Portis averaged 18 points and 9 rebounds, shooting 54%. He had a nice touch from behind the arc as well, 47% on threes, though he only took 30 of them. His greatest intangible is his on-court work ethic: he doesn’t take plays off. The one non-measurable, a player’s motor, Portis has in spades. He competes.

His wingspan is nice, seven-feet one. His explosion isn’t Blake Griffin like- his athleticism is good but not extraordinary- but he makes up for it with his frenetic energy on both ends of the floor which will make him a fan favorite. Aware he can’t challenge rim protectors with straight up athleticism, he uses skill on the offensive glass to reclaim the blocked shot. But, he’s not a high flyer by any measure.

“He runs the floor in transition well to get ahead of the defense, rolls aggressively to the rim and establishes deep post position. He’s also a relentless offensive rebounder, as his 4.5 offensive rebounders ranks 4^th among all players in our top 100. He crashes the glass hard with a great nose for the ball, chases down rebounds outside his area, and proves adept at converting put backs.” Draft Express.

His defense is good enough with a lot of room for improvement. He has sound foot work which is a necessary starting point. Because he takes so much pride in his work ethic, his defense is likely to improve with the proper attention, coaching and encouragement.

The main negative to Portis’ game is defensive rebounding, especially blocking out, which is crucial if he wants to rack up NBA minutes. He’s not Kenneth Faried or DeAndre Jordan. He can’t out jump his defender so rebounding fundamentals are crucial. Similarly, he’s not a shot blocker. He’s a power forward on the NBA level but doesn’t have much of a post game or any post moves that distinguish him which is why he is not projected to have a high ceiling.

Portis was the first Arkansas sophomore to have scored 1,000 points and racked up 500 rebounds. In a league with very few mid-range shooters, Portis is an outlier.

"“The skills I bring to an NBA team is me shooting the mid-range jumper, me extending my game out to the three point line and being a leader on and off the court. I feel like I can come in from Day One and step up and say the things that are necessary to say.” (Bobby Portis)"

There is a wide range of perspective on his readiness. Many think he is a role player that can graduate into a starter’s position while others mainly see him as complimentary, a valued role player who will never be a starter.