Scout's Eye: NBADL Guard Justin Dentmon's As Efficient a Scorer As They Come

Texas Legends guard and 2012 D-League Most Valuable Player Justin Dentmon has a chance at earning back-to-back MVP honors this year. The 6'0", 185 pound Dentmon is averaging 22.2 points per games for the Legends, while shooting 35% from three-point territory and 81% from the free throw line.

During the Legends current three-game losing streak, Dentmon is averaging 27.7 points, while shooting 10-of-21 from three-point territory, 19-of-23 from the free throw line and averaging 2.6 steals per contest. Dentmon's 22.3 points per contest average on the season is the highest average amongst D-League players with twelve or more games played.

He's is a combo guard whose rugged body type resembles a combination of Mateen Cleaves and Nate Robinson. Dentmon is one of the ball handlers in an offense that does not use a traditional point guard. He's demonstrated the ability to have a major impact on the game when the ball is in his hands, as well as when he is off the ball.

Dentmon is very crafty; he gets into the paint with ease and uses a floater to get the ball over long post players (ala Sherman Douglas). He will look to score a fair amount of time, but his shot selection is very good and he has a very good feel for where his teammates are on the floor; he dictates tempo and "reads" the floor real well. Dentmon is often used off the ball at times and showed the ability to hit the three-point shot well. He's efficient on the offensive end and doesn't use a lot of energy to score. While he's not a "loud" scorer, he still manages to pour in the points consistently. He is an average defender; has solid instincts and defends smart.

Dentmon went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft following a four-year college career at Washington. Since, he's enjoyed international stints in Israel (2009-2010), Venezuela (2011), Dominican Republic (2011) and Italy (2012). In between those stops were stints in the D-League and NBA as well.

The guard has played 50 games for Texas in 2010-2011, averaging 19.1 points on 48% shooting. During his MVP season last year, Dentmon played in 40 games for Austin, averaging 22.8 points on 46% shooting. His steady efforts earned him stints with the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs. Dentmon averaged 5.5 points per game in four games with Toronto, and 2 points per game in two games with San Antonio. He played in 18 games with Austin this season, prior to the January 22 trade that sent him back to Texas. The prospect of a second consecutive D-League MVP could earn the 27-year-old another NBA call-up in the final month of this year's NBA regular-season.