2009 Draft Profile - Demar DeRozan

Demar started off his freshman year at USC, with a lot of hype. He was projected as a top 3 pick in the NBA draft, and also had to fill the shoes of OJ Mayo, who had left USC after his freshman year to join the NBA. Much was expected, but Demar didn’t produce the numbers expected of a phenom in the making.

Instead he deferred to his teammates, he kind of went Lamar Odom on everyone, as he played within the team concept and shared the ball. He seemed uncomfortable trying to take over a game. Playing in the team concept is a great plan, if you are Derek Fisher or Bruce Bowen, but not if you are potentially the next Michael Jordan. If Mike had played in the team concept, and just moved the ball within the triangle, we would have to re-write the history books, because Chicago would not have won a title.

Demar seemed to realize this as the USC Trojans entered the Pac 10 Tournament, knowing only a tournament championship would get them to the NCAA Tournament, he went to work like the pro he is. He averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds in the three games, and the USC Trojans won all three to earn an automatic bid to the tournament. USC even upended arch rival UCLA in the process.

When breaking down Demar’s game, it’s easy to see that he is the kind of player that can do a little bit of everything on the court. His greatest asset is his in between game. Although he lacks a true three point shot, his ability to get into the lane and score with a pull-up jumper or a fade away, is without a doubt NBA like. He knows how to use his size, jumping ability and quickness to get where he wants to be and get a good shot. This is how he scored the majority of his points in college. This is also the major weakness, most shooting guards have when going to the NBA. Demar does it naturally, and he also does it within the flow.

Areas that he can improve on would be his shooting. His form is good, but he needs to take about 1000 three point shots a day to gain confidence and strength. He may never be a great three point shooter, but he’s certainly better then the 16% he shot last season. That number is obviously horrible, but he did start the season 0-14, before hitting his first trey against Arizona State on January 15th. Counting the Arizona State three, he would finish 6-22 the rest of the way. Still not Stephen Curry numbers, but 27% is a lot better than 16%. This is an area where he is a work in progress. As far as his free throw shooting, he finished the year at 64%, but shot 72% in the last ten games.

Defensively, Derozan really worked hard to be a good defender and really embraced the defensive side of the ball in Coach Tim Floyd’s system. He didn’t dominate statistically, but did a great job keeping his man in front of him and challenging every shot. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be an effective defender in the NBA.

My feeling on Derozan is that he’s probably the third pick after Griffin and Rubio go one, two. His upside is tremendous and he is extremely coachable. He needs a team that is going to give him time to grow and adapt to the NBA. He also needs to understand his own abilities and have confidence in his game. This is key to being a 30 point scorer in the association. You need to believe every shot is going in, and Demar lacked this, early in the season at USC. When you add up the size, jumping ability, basketball IQ and upside, this kid is going to be special.
Draft Profile provided by Ed Ziti of SportsPolyMath.com

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DeMar DeRozan Stats
Season	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	APG	RPG	BPG	SPG
2008-2009	35	33.4	13.9	52.3	16.7	64.6	1.5	5.7	0.4	0.9

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