I really like writing about these types of players, the players that will drop solely based on their size and not their actual Basketball skills. Guys like Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry, Trae Young, Seth Curry, and a lot more. These types of guys weren’t looked at by big D1 schools in High School but found a way to ball out in College and that’s what Tyrell did at Stanford last season. In Tyrell’s first season at Stanford he averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, on 44% from and field, and shot 41% from 3. As you can see very solid numbers for a guy currently projected anywhere from late 1st round to early 2nd round. In the 2020 Draft Class there are currently 16 projected PG’s in this class and where do I rank Tyrell among these 16 guards, well I think he’s the 6th best PG and I do strongly believe Tyrell is better then Nico Mannion. Tyrell will be a guy you’ll always root for because the kid has a very very high ceiling but NBA GM’s won’t see that because of his size. Tyrell is 6’2,160 pounds.
Strengths: Now this year’s PG’s in this draft are all different but the best shooting PG is probably Tyrell, he’s good at pulling off the dribble and has a good pull up game. Tyrell shot 41% from 3 on 4.9 attempts per game, showing the range that most NBA guards don’t and has something that is very crucial to become a successful shooter “confidence.” If you look at some of the greatest shooters today and in the past you’ll see a common thread with that being a leg kick during a jump shot. “What does a Leg Kick do that makes it so important to bring up?” Well a leg kick helps shooters with range and helps being more consistent. Guys like Stephen Curry, Steve Nash, and Trae Young all have this little mechanic that helps them become the shooters that they are. Tyrell can also be a guard that can catch and shoot, Tyrell is 42% on spot up shots, and 58% off screens (small sample size). As you can see Tyrell’s shooting ability has the potential to be lethal in the league. Tyrell isn’t a mid range type of player and didn’t shoot particularly well from mid but has the mechanics and skill to improve. “Know that I know Tyrell can shoot the light out, what happens if I force him to drive?” Tyrell is actually a very good finisher shooting 62% with the majority of the misses coming from blocks. Tyrell is very creative at the rim and has a great ability to block the contact and create his own shot in the paint. Now Tyrell isn’t Kyrie with the handles but can definitely get to his spots and be crafty and sneaky with his handles. Tyrell possesses the ability to make great passes like wrap-arounds, dump-offs and make these types of passes in congested areas but we’ll get into the bad ones later one. Tyrell is very very smart on and off the court but his basketball IQ is on a whole different level, multiple GM’s have stated that Tyrell has broken the record for their Basketball IQ Test. This kid is a competitor and wants to win at all cost and hopefully NBA teams can see that.
Weaknesses: Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way first and that’s his weight, as much as I hate doing this Tyrell needs to add at least 10-20 pounds to be able to compete with the buffer guards. It’s been statistically shown that players under 170 pounds do not get major minutes at the next level and that would be disappointing because Tyrell has the talent to be a major minute guy. The opposing team usually looks to target Tyrell when they are on offense because they know the mismatch. Since we are over with that now we are gonna be critiquing the thing he can control like, his defensive techniques and his lateral quickness, his lateral quickness wasn’t that bad it was it hurt him because he would get into a stance too late. Tyrell lacks awareness on defense and sometimes effort and often gets burnt at times and he cannot afford that in the NBA because he’s gonna be scratching and clawing for minutes at the beginning. Tyrell averaged nearly 3 turnovers a game which isn’t great but isn’t awful at the same time. Tyrell needs to see his options before they actually get open and make the hard decisions on if they will because an NBA defense won’t give open looks too often so if Tyrell can read it before the defense does he can always be one step forward.
Verdict: Now I know you see the title “The Next Curry?” Well my current NBA comparison for Tyrell is Seth Curry because both guys are both on the smaller side of the spectrum but can shoot the lights out in any arena on any given night. Seth Curry has been one of the most underlooked players this year because the man shot 45% from 3 on 5 attempts per game. I personally think these types of guys that are judge and drop because of there height but have unlimited potential usually do very good in the league and I think Tyrell can be the next one to prove the doubters wrong yet again.
TheDyspatch 