Juwan Staten: Phoenix Suns 2015 NBA Draft Profile

Strengths

At West Virginia, Juwan Staten was asked to do it all in his last two seasons, and that’s exactly what he did. As a junior, Staten averaged 18.1 points, 5.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from three, and even though his numbers did dip as a senior, it was very apparent he could be that do-it-all player, which is something we’re seeing more and more in the NBA now.

Perhaps nothing speaks to how much Staten was leaned on as a junior more than his minutes per game numbers. Through 11 conference games, Staten was actually averaging more than 40 minutes per game, meaning that he had played just about every minute of regulation, plus a couple of overtime periods. He played at least 38 minutes in each of his first 11 conference games that year and in 16 of his first 18 games, not to mention that he played 40+ minutes in five of his first eight.

It’s also worth noting that West Virginia was a team that pressed pretty much non-stop last year. They were a team that was very well-conditioned, finishing first in the NCAA in steals per game. Simply put, Staten is an athlete, and it’s because of his athleticism that he was able to pull off such an impressive workload while managing to make some highlights of his own.

I know this play didn’t count, but just watch it anyway; it’s awesome.

According to Staten, he has a 41 inch vertical. After watching that video, it’s certainly not something I would question.

https://twitter.com/juwanstaten3/status/590328205220843520

Now, don’t get me wrong. There is exactly a 0.0 percent chance that Staten would be asked to manage anything close to that amount of minutes, but it is nice to see that a guy can handle that workload, especially given the events surrounding his senior year.

Staten faced a knee injury that held him out of five games, but he still managed to come back for the NCAA Tournament, where he scored 14 points in two out of the team’s three games. Basically, between playing in the Big 12 and dealing with an NBA-sized amount of minutes, he’s a guy that shouldn’t have too much of a learning curve, in regards to the demand the NBA game takes on a player’s body versus the college game, although his size will hurt him, especially in defending other guards.

Fortunately for Staten, that isn’t his only strength.

I mentioned Staten was a pretty solid all-around player as a junior, and while those numbers dipped his senior year, he still had one game with double-digit rebounds and one game with double-digit assists, which for a point guard in college basketball is really uncommon. Additionally, as a scorer, he began the season posting 10-plus points in each of his first 15 games, and in that stretch, he cracked the 15-point mark on 11 occasions, and the 20-point mark on four occasions.

Overall, Staten is quick to attack, he’s a good slasher and finisher, and a good enough shooter, despite ESPN actually listing shooting as a weakness on his prospect profile. He was very selective with his shot, attempting just 73 threes in his last two seasons, but he did shoot a combined 37.0 percent from three, which isn’t something to scoff at. It’s also worth noting he shot at least 70 percent from the line in each of his last three seasons.

Next: Weaknesses