A Big Ten All-Freshman honoree, Sensabaugh is one of the youngest players in the 2023 NBA Draft, turning 20 the day before Halloween. On the year, Sensabaugh averaged 16.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG, and 2 TOPG on splits of 48/40.5/83. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Brice Sensabaugh
Height/Weight: 6’6/235
Wingspan/ standing reach: N/A
Hand size: N/A
Position: SG
Pre-Draft team: Ohio State
Tools: Shooting, frame
Pros:
- NBA ready body; great strength to bully players on the drive
- Outstanding off-ball ability (2 or less dribbles)
- Tough mid range shot-maker
- Can shoot over contests with ease
- Plus athleticism
- Can pass on the move
- Sees cutters well
- Good defensive footspeed to cut off and stop drives
- Good rebounder for his position
Cons:
- Doesn’t get to the rim often enough/settles for bad jumpers
- Needs to decrease lapses off-ball defensively
- Can get tunnel vision at times off of drives/on post ups
- May have a weak feel for the game
- Negative assist:turnover ratio
Summary:
Brice Sensabaugh is a high upside, unknown floor prospect with the ability to potentially score at all three levels with good athleticism and tough-shot making. The downfall, however, resides in the combination of decision-making, feel for the game, and team defense.
Defensively, Sensabaugh has the tools to be an impactful on-ball defender with good athleticism/footspeed and strength. However, he can gamble at inopportune times, and can often find himself in the wrong spot at the wrong time because of questionable decisions. While his on-ball defense is likely around neutral right now, his team defense and off-ball defense will be things NBA teams have to be willing to invest in when developing Sensabaugh. He is often lost off-ball, hunts for home run plays, and misses rotations & assignments.
Offensively, Brice Sensabaugh yet again has the tools to be a successful and impactful 3 level scorer with potential to create for others, in addition to his capable self-creating abilities. As a tough shot-maker, Sensabaugh provides upside as a scorer, but will need to improve his decision-making and overall tendencies with the ball in his hands. With a negative assist to turnover ratio, his passing also needs improvement. While he sees the floor well and can tag teammates, pass on the move, and find cutters, he is too inconsistent to consider this a day-one weapon. Sensabaugh’s best day-one contribution will be as a shooter, being able to attack closeouts, spot-up, and create jump shots on his own in any capacity. This makes him an early role player, with upside to become a top scoring option on a good team.
Early in his career, Sensabaugh would be best served as a limited minutes player in order to limit his poor decision making from becoming a rampant problem and deterring winning basketball. As a freshman, Sensabaugh had extremely inconsistent, hot and cold decision making; he would go 5 minutes with good shot selection, willing to pass, and reading the situation, but then play the next 5 minutes with a shoot-first mentality that created inefficient looks, no ball movement, and dry stretches for Ohio State. Sensabsugh will have to ease into an NBA role and gradually prove that he can earn longer stretches of minutes without creating bad decisions that can swing momentum in games.
Overall, Brice Sensabaugh has high upside as a pure ‘bucket’, being able to score from any spot on the floor in any situation, especially as he polishes his scoring skills. How he develops his team-first mentality as a ball-handler, as well as defensive ability, will be key in how likely or unlikely he is to hit his full upside.
Similar to: Gary Trent Jr, Norman Powell, Grayson Allen
Projected draft range: 12-25
Expected role: Off-ball threat that grows into a capable ball-handler
Unplayable if: Defensive woes and turnovers make him difficult to justify shooting volume and scoring, and if his tunnel-vision tendencies don’t improve, he will be difficult to justify playing over more pass-first off-guards.
Exceeds expectations if: Team defense develops into a near-positive outcome, and playmaking becomes more organic and successful.
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