NBA Draft Profile: Tyler Harvey

The Dallas Mavericks have seen first hand with Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons that the second round of the NBA Draft can contain some hidden gems. They’ll try to unearth another one with the 52nd pick on June 25th, and could find one in Eastern Washington’s Tyler Harvey.

Dec 28, 2013; Bridgeport, CT, USA; Eastern Washington Eagles guard Tyler Harvey (1) drives the ball against Connecticut Huskies guard/forward Niels Giffey (5) during the second half at Webster Bank Arena. UConn defeated Eastern Washington 82-65. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Harvey: SG – E. Washington, JR

21-years old
6’4″, 181-lbs
2014-15 Averages: 22.9 points, 2.4 assists, 40.9 3P%

Strengths

Shooting!

Tyler Harvey does one thing extremely well: shoot the basketball. After going relatively unnoticed in high school Harvey exploded for Eastern Washington in his sophomore and junior seasons, leading the nation in scoring with 22.9 points and helping the Eagles reach the NCAA tournament in 2014-15.

Harvey does most of his damage from outside, where his quick release and seemingly unlimited range serve him well. He attempted almost ten three-pointers a game in 2014-15 and only six from inside the arc. He is particularly adept at shooting off the dribble and doesn’t need a whole lot of space to get a shot up, which also could serve him well in the ball-screen heavy NBA game.

Watch the barrage he unleashed on Georgetown in the first round of March Madness.

Best of all, Harvey does it efficiently. He and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor were the only two players in the country to place top-20 in both points scored and True Shooting Percentage last year. More on that from DraftExpress:

"An extremely efficient scorer, Harvey joins just six other players to post multiple collegiate seasons of at least 20 points per game on a 60% true shooting percentage (Stephen Curry, Ryan Toolson, Ricky Minard, Kevin Martin, Ike Diogu andDoug McDermott 3x) in our database since 2000. Although he was somewhat tucked away in obscurity playing in the Big Sky Conference, Harvey proved he could score against high-major teams by averaging 26.3 points per 40 minutes on a 61% true shooting percentage against teams from BCS conferences, according to our database."

Obviously Harvey has his deficiencies, or else we wouldn’t be talking about him as a second round selection. We’ll touch on those, too. But the prominence of the three-point shot in today’s league – Harvey led all of college with 128 made last season – and the rise of the “combo-guard” make Harvey an interesting prospect.

Weaknesses

Essentially everything but shooting!

Tyler Harvey is a fantastic shooter but needs to improve just about everywhere else. Some areas he won’t be able to improve. His wingspan is just a shade over 6’5″, and at only 6’4″ with shoes on is undersized for an NBA shooting guard, especially one without length and explosive athleticism.

But his defense will have to improve to garner even a whiff of a rotation spot, his ball control is shaky, and his court vision needs work. And how will he fare as a role player? We know he can shoot off the dribble, but is he as lethal spotting up? He had the ball in his hands a lot at the college level.

His playground handles, propensity for the stepback, and shotmaking ability like seen below have garnered some loose comparisons to Stephen Curry, another small school product with a few questionable measurables coming out of college, but even loose comparisons are a bit of a stretch.

He’s probably more of a Jimmer Fredette-type: a shooting guard in a point guard’s body without great athleticism or a real ability to create for his teammates.

But remember, Jimmer Fredette was a lottery pick. He would have been a great value as a second round choice, where Harvey is slotted to be chosen.

The Mavericks got a good look at Harvey when they hosted the sharpshooter for a pre-draft workout on Friday. They can use all the outside scoring they can get, and landing a specialist with a history of improving his game with the 52nd pick would be a nice way to wrap up their night.

** Check out more Draft Profiles of potential Mavericks selections**

Tyus Jones – Duke, FR.

Justin Anderson – Virginia, JR.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – Arizona, SO.

Rashad Vaughn – UNLV, FR.

Kevon Looney – UCLA, FR.

Montrezl Harrell – Louisville, JR.

Robert Upshaw – Washington, SO.

Sam Dekker – Wisconsin, JR.

R.J. Hunter – Georgia State, JR.

Jerian Grant – Notre Dame, SR.

Cameron Payne – Murray State, SO.