Isaiah Briscoe, Kentucky Wildcats
Upside Comparison: Jarrett Jack
Position: Point Guard
Age: 21 (4/13/1996)
Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’2.75″, 222 pounds, 6’9″
2016-17 Slash Line: .470/.288/.635
2016-17 Season Averages: 30.4 MPG, 12.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.8 SPG
When Isaiah Briscoe arrived in Lexington, he was expected to be the next big thing in college basketball. A mixtape and New Jersey basketball legend, Briscoe had hype surrounding him that implied he would be a surefire lottery pick.
Fast forward roughly two years and Briscoe is a fringe NBA Draft prospect who may go undrafted in 2017—a perfect situation for the New York Knicks to capitalize on.
Briscoe’s offensive strength is his ability to drive the lane and finish in the paint. His jump shot is broken, to say the least, but he has tree trunks for legs, a good center of gravity, and the physicality to be a slashing scorer in the NBA.
Briscoe is also an underrated passer who averaged 5.6 assists per 40 minutes in a backcourt that also featured high-usage stars De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk.
Briscoe is realistically comparable to Antonio Daniels with his size, length, and offensive game, but his ceiling may be closer to Jarrett Jack. Jack became a solid 3-point shooter, but converted at a clip of just 30.3 percent from 3-point range during his first two collegiate seasons.
Perhaps Briscoe could follow suit by evolving from a dreadful 3-point shooter—and yes, free throw shooter—into a reliable floor-spacer.
If anyone knows how to evolve from an erratic shooter into a sharpshooter, it’s Jeff Hornacek. Briscoe could find the perfect mentor in New York’s head coach.