While the stat sheet doesn’t highlight a promising game, Tyrese Proctor had impressive moments as part of a big win at NC State earlier this week. Proctor finished the game with 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers on 4-10 shooting while playing the entire 40 minutes of the game. While the box score doesn’t show a standout game, I believe this game sold his offensive upside well, with takeaways to be had on the defensive end.
Starting with his shot attempts, which takes the first 10 plays of the above video, Proctor didn’t take any shots that were questionable decisions, only taking shots within the rhythm of the offense for the most part. Any of his tough shots he took were justifiable given the shot clock and play design, and his stats (splits of 45/36/76) justify his credibility to take those shots, especially on jumpers. Eight of his ten shots were three point shots, but necessary threes to take on those plays.
In this game, Proctor did a good job of moving off-ball into openings, operating as both a passer and scorer in the pick & roll, and shooting quickly over shot contests. It is clear Proctor prefers to be a jump shooter instead of a slasher, so keeping NBA defenders guessing how he will attack out of screens when defenders have to decide to go either over or under will be key in unlocking his scoring upside. Overall this year his two point scoring has increased from 44% last year to 56% at the time of publishing, which has also driven his FG% from 38% as a freshman to a more respectable 45% this year. The one concern that can be drawn about Proctor is that in eight games against top 50 he is only shooting 38% from two.
Next, Proctor’s lone steal was a great use of length by using his hands to help him defend in space. However, while his length can keep him in plays and help him force turnovers, his overall low defensive stats (0.8 steals+blocks per game) make scouts concerned about his defense translating up. Beyond these stats, he is likely a one-dimensional defender that can only defend guards.
In this game, Proctor struggled the whole night to stay in front of defenders while being run through screens. Luckily he had a strong second layer of the defense behind him, but in the NBA these shortcomings will come with a more severe penalty. Screen navigation remains one of the most important elements of P&R defense, along with the strength to fight through big screens, and right now Proctor lacks either trait.
Another thing that hurt Proctor was how he closed out then tried to recover against spot-up drives. This primarily was an issue when players caught the ball pretty open, which led to Proctor closing out too hard and made him susceptible to blow-bys. Learning how to fundamentally close out without going all-in on the shot will be key for his defense to improve in the NBA.
Lastly in the video, Proctor’s playmaking was mostly sharp. The last two plays were a couple of his turnovers, one of which was a bobbled catch from doing too much on the catch, but the other was him waiting too long to make the pass through a tight window. Luckily for Proctor, his P&R timing on passes is sharp, evidenced by numerous examples in this video. He times the open window well when help defenders commit and leave their man (2:18), and also thrives at making passes accurately and powerfully across his body. Proctor’s ability to go left and pass right and vice versa make his pick & roll playmaking upside strong, giving him options to find teammates at any spot on the floor.
Another example of his good playmaking comes at 1:47 in the video, using quick handles to explode out of the screen, which automatically puts the defense on their heels. On top of that, his change of direction with a tight handle keeps the switch defender off-balance. When Proctor reads the defense collapsing, with 4 defenders in a box in front of him with a 5th defender coming from behind, which allows him to make the simple pass to the furthest player away for an open 3. Although not ultimately an assist and there’s no box score impact for Proctor on this play, it shows the decision-making in a tightly spaced court. The only way this play could have been better is to make the pass even more quickly by eliminating the ball pickup first, and simply throwing it over his rolling teammate and the trailing defender.
Overall, despite a mediocre statistical performance, Proctor showed value in this game through strong processes without strong results. The results in games like this need to be stronger, with so many shots rolling in and out from both his shot attempts and teammates’ shots that he set up. However, it’s easy to see how the offensive efficiency with him on the floor will improve in the NBA as he gets more shooting reps, better teammates around him by the nature of the NBA, and better spacing every night. Look for Proctor to potentially rise across draft boards with a chance to showcase his game in both the ACC & NCAA Tournaments.
