Antonio Blakeney, LSU Tigers
Class: Sophomore
Age: 20 (10/4/1996)
Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’4.5″, 197 pounds, 6’7″
2015-16 Slash Line: .425/.335/.748
2015-16 Season Averages: 30.8 MPG, 12.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.6 3PM
Coming out of high school, Antonio Blakeney was praised as one of the most explosive scoring threats in the country. He played more of an off-ball role alongside Ben Simmons, however, which didn’t exactly fit his skill set.
In 2016-17, Blakeney will have a chance to prove what so many have said about him before: he has the tools to be a dominant scorer.
Blakeney is an instinctive scorer who can be great if he’s able to become more decisive with the ball in his hands. He knows exactly how to hit an angle and has proven beyond capable of pulling out a secondary move to catch his man off guard.
The next step in his development as a scorer will be responding to that second move without hesitation—shooting without second-guessing himself.
Blakeney still needs to improve his jump shot, defensive consistency, and overall decision making as a playmaker. He’s athletically gifted and naturally talented as a scorer, however, and his upside can be extracted by the right coach.
Blakeney may take time to develop in the NBA, but the Knicks are the perfect organization to give him the chance to develop with the right coach and mentor: Jeff Hornacek and Carmelo Anthony.
If all else fails, Blakeney has a 45.0″ max vertical leap.