A star at Nevada, Grant Sherfield shined and translated up in his transfer to Oklahoma as a senior. He came out of the gates hot, winning the ESPN Invitational midseason tournament MVP, and eventually earned All-Big 12 honorable mention in a conference full of star guards. As a senior at Oklahoma, Sherfield averaged 16 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, and 2.3 TOPG on splits of 40/39/86. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Grant Sherfield
Height/Weight: 6’2/203
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’6/8’0
Hand size: 9
Position: PG
Pre-Draft team: Oklahoma
Tools: Playmaking, shot creation
Pros:
- Excellent handle with flashy creation moves
- Pick & roll maestro
- Deceptive passer with great court vision
- Quick guard that can win drives vs bigs on isos
- Long arms and NBA ready frame
- Has a good hesitation move that helps him get to the rim with ease
- Effective runner/floater
- Good off the dribble shooter
- Has good footspeed defensively
Cons:
- Awkward jump shot; elbow can flare out too much
- Struggles to defend drives (improved at OU)
- Gets blown by on defense easily
- Needs to get better at finishing at the rim
- Strictly below the rim finisher; 1 dunk in his NCAA career
Summary:
Grant Sherfield plays the most saturated role in basketball as a slightly undersized guard, but has standout traits that could help separate himself from the pack and earn a rotational spot as a capable backup point guard.
Defensively, Sherfield is somewhat difficult to evaluate. On one hand, he has good length and an overall good frame that shouldn’t limit him early in his career, as well as quick feet. On the other hand, however, his motor was inconsistent throughout his entire collegiate career, with his best effort coming at Oklahoma. His athletic limitations beyond quickness, including a mediocre subpar recovery ability and not much vertical athleticism, minimize his quick footspeed at times, making it hard for him to close out defensive possessions. His closeouts are limited, and shifty guards will easily shake him off of his spot.
While the defensive limitations may be worrisome, a good second line of defense will be a strong saving grace for him to maximize his offense. While he is adverse to truly finishing at the rim, Sherfield has a proven floater as a weapon before the rim, plus his ability to get past defenders should allow him to successfully drive & kick and use his playmaking as a deterrence to his lack of finishing.
Away from the rim, Sherfield’s jump shooting has all the indicators to translate: free throw shooting, 3P%, floater/runner percentage that highlights shooting touch, and outstanding off the dribble shooting numbers (below in the miscellaneous stats section). Despite somewhat awkward form, Sherfield gets the benefit of the doubt because of outstanding shooting peripherals.
As a playmaker, Sherfield runs one of the cleanest pick & rolls in the draft, combined with great vision and an outstanding ball-handling package including a lethal hesitation move that freezes defenders. As a passer, Sherfield sees everything on the floor, including an ability to read defenses at a high level and tagging his teammates, being able to find them on cuts and on the perimeter off of his own movements.
Overall, Grant Sherfield’s near complete offensive abilities make him an intriguing likely undrafted free agent for teams to consider bringing in to training camp as a final roster spot contender. If his defense can be good enough to not be a liability, Sherfield should be able to become a positive player off the bench.
Similar to: Jordan McLaughlin, Tim Frazier, Sebastian Telfair
Projected draft range: 55-undrafted
Expected role: Backup point guard
Unplayable if: Awkward jump shot release limits his jumper from translating, as well as his size holding him back on both ends of the floor.
Exceeds expectations if: Jump shooting consistency translates to NBA, while being a slightly below-average with ways to negate his lack of finishing at the rim.
Miscellaneous Synergy Stats:
Catch & shoot 3s: 44/122 (36.1%)
Off the dribble 3s: 32/71 (45%)
Off the dribble 2 point jumpers: 32/92 (34.8%)
Runner: 11/26 (66th percentile, top 50 among players with 25+ runner attempts in NCAA Basketball)
P&R Ball-handler: 84th percentile
