Kali’s Korner: Scottie Lewis
Written by Nick Kalinowski
2020-21 Stats: 7.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 44.5% FG, 31.8% 3PT, 67.3% FT
Age: 21 at start of next NBA season. Height: 6’4”. Wingspan: 84”. Year : Sophomore
Although the program has been very successful since the turn of the century, the Florida Gators are often amongst the most challenging of teams to scout for NBA prospects; this has been especially true since Mike White took the reins as head coach in 2015. This season, two Gator players in particular emerged as potential selections in the 2021 NBA Draft: Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis, both of whom combine obvious pro-ready skills, mainly in the physical and/or athleticism areas, with glaring weaknesses in the mental aspects of the game. Both Mann and Lewis’ profiles reflect the most challenging conundrum in evaluating Florida players in recent years: how much of these mental lapses should be attributed to the player as opposed to the fundamentally flawed system that White employs, and can these issues be fixed with professional coaching? In this article, I will attempt to answer these questions by providing a brief overview of Lewis’ game, examining how he fits on an NBA roster, and projecting his career outlook.
Strengths:
Even the most casual of scouts knows that Lewis’ game is predicated on his above-average athleticism. His 42-inch vertical (as per the NBA combine measurements) allows for some awe-inspiring dunks, contact finishes, and defensive recoveries. In addition, his 2.98 three-quarter sprint speed (fastest among everyone at the combine besides AJ Lawson) enables him to jump passing lanes and accelerate to top speed in the blink of an eye. He also posted the best lane-agility time of anyone in Chicago, indicating that he can change directions quickly and efficiently, which bodes well for guarding quicker NBA-level guards and wings.
The above play shows everything that makes Lewis such an enticing prospect. After helping on the drive, he is able to quickly recover, find the ball, close out on the shooter, and elevate for the big block, taking only 2-3 steps to move from the block to the 3-point line. He then lands in stride, gains possession of the ball, and is able to finish through contact at the other end. These flashes of raw athleticism show up all over his tape, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
In addition, Lewis is unafraid of finishing through contact, using his natural athletic traits to maneuver around taller defenders in the paint at the end of drives. However, although the finish and successive kick-up were definitely admirable, the most impressive part of this play to me was how Lewis took a wide curl about 3-4 feet behind the arc and still found himself able to beat his defender to the catch and explode off of two feet.
Finally, Lewis succeeds on the defensive end through tenacious pressure and rapid closeouts, which allow minimal time for even the fastest-release outside shooters to get their shots off. His foot quickness enabled Florida to shift him onto small guards such as Deuce McBride with relative ease, and his positive wingspan coupled with his developing strength grants him an advantage over many similar-sized wings. As mentioned previously, his elite agility translates into shiftiness and recovery speed that are unmatched by almost anyone in this class, and I can easily see him becoming an above-average pro defender if he can sort out some of the other issues that I will discuss shortly.
Weaknesses:
The success/failure of Scottie Lewis at the professional level starts and ends with his offensive game. While he does have solid finishing ability and an overall decent handle, his jumper and shot selection leave a lot to be desired. Oftentimes, Lewis will force himself into inefficient, contested jumpers that trigger a change in overall motion (e.g. rushing the shot, placing his shot hand too far under the ball in an effort to create arc, and altering his hip, shoulder, and elbow rotations). His traditional jumper form also needs improvement (as evidenced by his below average free throw numbers), but creating one, consistent motion, especially when contested, should help him further develop his shot.
An example of Lewis changing his form when he realizes the defender came around the screen faster than he anticipated. He rushes his motion, takes his eyes off the basket, and changes his shooting hand placement on the ball, which leads to a disappointing airball.
Likewise, for everything Lewis brings as an on-ball defender, he finds himself very prone to poor positioning, over commitment, and a strange tendency to face-guard opponents. His athleticism can bail him out sometimes, but Lewis’ still-slight frame leaves him victim to being brutalized on screens, and face-guarding his man takes him completely out of the play. The above clip shows an amalgamation of these befuddling mistakes in only one possession. After overhelping off his man (Number 2, Jalen Bridges) by putting himself on the opposite block, Lewis dodges under McBride’s screen, yet continues to chase his matchup and overcommits, leaving him a step behind Bridges as he moves to the corner. The successive recovery ends with a face-guard boxout (one of the strangest maneuvers I’ve seen when scouting this year’s class). Once McBride secures the offensive rebound, Lewis inexplicably leaves his man to try to double the ball, which ends with a tipped pass but would’ve probably been a wide open corner three had the ball handler been an NBA point guard and not Jordan McCabe.
Lastly, I would love for Lewis to be more assertive as a decision maker at the next level. His processing speed can be a step slow at times, which can be detrimental at points in the game, such as in transition. In the above clip, while it can be argued that Auburn played the break pretty well on defense, Lewis makes the cardinal sin error of picking up his dribble in no man’s land, leaving him scrambling to move the ball. I would argue that the correct play would have been to continue attacking in transition, either by himself or dumping the ball off to the big on his right to try to draw a foul. But nonetheless, stopping at the free throw line and hesitating is not the way to go here.
The Verdict:
The issues with Scottie Lewis both can be traced to the player and the system. Lewis’ tendency to attempt contested mid-ranges developed because Mike White runs an offense that encourages difficult, contested shots. Likewise, the coaching staff has really shown no interest in developing the nuances of Lewis’ defensive game, instead allowing him to rely on athleticism to make up for lapses and errors. All that said, some of the main flaws that Lewis has are theoretically fixable, but I am afraid that he finds himself too far along in his development to make significant changes. The extra year at Florida seems to have exacerbated his weaknesses and bad habits rather than fixed them, and I worry that he will continue to use genetics instead of skills to succeed. NBA teams that are confident in their development staff can (and should) take a flyer on him in the second round, as his tools are ripe for a stalwart defender, but the underdeveloped offensive game combined with below-average court awareness and slow processing speed make Scottie Lewis a risky bet at any point in the draft before pick 45.