Bennedict Mathurin had a breakout sophomore season following a strong FIBA U19 tournament for Team Canada, earning honors as a consensus All-American and the PAC-12 Player of the Year. As a sophomore at Arizona, Mathurin averaged 17.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1 SPG, 0.3 BPG, and 1.8 TOPG on shooting splits of 45/37/76. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Bennedict Mathurin
Height/Weight: 6’6’/205
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’9/8’8
Hand size: 9 ¾
Position: Wing
College/ country: Arizona
Tools: Shooting, athleticism
Pros:
- Strong finisher at the rim
- Plus athlete
- Good quickness, especially in the open floor
- Strong first step with explosiveness towards the rim
- Good jump shot release
- Good cutter and off-ball mover
- Playmaking upside; bullet passer
- Good rebounder with a high motor
- Multi-positional defender
- Ideal frame
- Projectable defender
- Good in transition
Cons:
- Needs to develop passing fundamentals to be more consistent
- Needs to develop perimeter shot creation ability
- Somewhat loose handle
- Must get better as a decision maker
- Can be slightly more consistent from 3
Summary:
Bennedict Mathurin is a two-way wing with ability to score from anywhere, and upside to create for others while defending at an at least average level.
It’s easy to buy Bennedict Mathurin after taking a deep dive into his ability to find rollers as a pick & roll ball-handler. As an already stable spot-up shooter, both off catch & shoots and catch & drives, Mathurin can create for others off of his lethal pump fake, always keeping his head up. Being a passing threat beyond his likely impact as a scorer off of fakes makes his overall offensive upside even higher. With a steady head up, Mathurin always knows where shooters and his big men are, which will give him easy assists. As he develops as a pick & roll ball-handler and overall playmaker for others, his upside will continue to get higher with his bullet passes that allow him to thread the needle in traffic. The only offensive weakness for Mathurin lies in ball-handling, where he needs to have a better functional handle off of screens and in one-on-one situations. The most dire situation for Mathurin to use his handle in will be in capitalizing on mismatches. From there, his offensive upside is unlimited.
Mathurin will be a lethal spot-up player in the NBA, ranking in the 80th percentile of catch and shoot jumpers with beautiful shot form. He can also attack closeouts off of his lethal pump fake, which allows him to best use his athleticism in the half-court with the ball in his hands. Mathurin’s shooting ability is best coming off of off-ball actions, but he can shoot behind screens and off of minimal self-dribbles with a good roller off of screens. The one area for improvement in Mathurin’s game is to grow as a ball-handler. He has little to no functional space-creating/separating moves against defenses, which could be a limitation to his star upside.
Defensively, Mathurin has the physical tools to be a good defender in the NBA, but will need to continue adding strength and be ready to defend 0-100 drives better from the perimeter. His biggest defensive shortcomings came from either high drives starting deep beyond the perimeter, or against catch & drives that could throw him off balance. With his athleticism and length, Mathurin should be able to hold his own in the NBA on defense down the line.
Overall, Bennedict Mathurin has a high ceiling as a modern wing with good athleticism, shooting ability, passing upside, and tools to thrive on the defensive end. Look for Mathurin to be an immediate plug & play wing that should make an All-Rookie team.
Similar to: Harrison Barnes, Miles Bridges, Jason Richardson
Projected draft range: 4-10
Expected role: Two-Way wing that can score at all 3 levels
Unplayable if: Nearly impossible he becomes unplayable, but a worst case for Mathurin is being a streaky shooter and only an average defender, which still is a rotation player.
Exceeds expectations if: Playmaking fully develops, whether it be passing or ball-handling. Shooting and defense should be high-floor level skills, so adding a tertiary skill at that level would be big for Mathurin.
Videos:
Shot Chart:
