Scotty Pippen Jr crushed expectations as a sophomore following his SEC All-Freshman honors, earning a spot on the All-SEC team. As a sophomore, Pippen Jr averaged 20.8 PPG, 5 APG, 3 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG, and 3.8 TOPG on shooting splits of 43/36/85. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Scotty Pippen Jr
Height/Weight: 6’2 / 176
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’6 /8’0
Hand size: 9
Position: G
College: Vanderbilt
Tools: Defensive disruption, isolation scoring
Pros:
- Pesky defender that forces lots of turnovers with active hands
- Good shooting touch
- Good isolation scorer
- Adequate athleticism
- Thrives at drawing contact/fouls
- Tight handle with good feel of his handle
- Quick footwork on jump shot
Cons:
- Must reduce turnovers
- Needs to steady out base of jump shot
- Should speed up upper portion of jump shot
- Has to continue becoming more consistent as a shooter and knocking down open looks
- Needs to keep his head up more when dribbling
- Plays below the rim as a finisher
- Can get lost in screens defensively
Overall:
Scotty Pippen Jr is a two-way guard who can capitalize on switches against bigs, score in isolation, and has potential to shoot with extended range from deep. On top of that, his defense is an irritant to ball-handlers due to active hands and quick feet, giving him a simple role in the NBA. Developing Pippen’s point guard skills will be crucial for NBA teams in unlocking the most of his upside. In 11 of his 22 games this year, Pippen recorded 5+ assists; in those games, he averaged 19.3 PPG, 7 APG, 3 RPG, and 2 SPG on 44.7% shooting. It is clear that in games he was getting others involved at a high rate, it in turn got Pippen playing better as well. As a good isolation scorer, developing a more lethal playmaking can allow for Pippen to easily return top 60 value in this draft.
Similar to: Derrick White
Projected draft range: 50-undrafted
Expected role: Backup two-way guard in a lineup paired with a more true point guard. Despite his lack of great size, he can co-exist in a two-guard lineup as a secondary creator, with slightly more focus on scoring over playmaking.
Unplayable if: Jump shot doesn’t translate/ jump shooting doesn’t become more consistent. His form, percentages, and ability to shoot from beyond the 3 point line make it hard to see this happening, but he did miss a fair number of simple wide open 3s at Vanderbilt. Additionally, if his lack of size ends up limiting his defensive impact, his value drastically drops.
Exceeds expectations if: Playmaking develops, shooting translates to nearly league-average percentages due to his ability to shoot over guards, and his lack of size doesn’t limit his defensive prowess. In this scenario, Pippen is a clear-cut rotation player as a backup guard.
