Scott Wood Is A Three-Point Machine

If your team is looking for a 6’6” wing with an incredible stroke from deep, look no further than Scott Wood of the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Following a successful career at NC State where he was a four year starter and led the ACC in free throw and three point percentage, he was a regular in NBA Summer League. After going undrafted in 2013, he would make appearances with the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers but failed to make the final rosters.

When he did not make those final rosters he signed with Spanish club UCAM Murcia, where he was teammates with current Utah Jazz guard Raul Neto and former Boston Celtic Vitor Faverani. During his three seasons in Spain he shot just around 40.3 percent from deep, which was enough to garner the attention of the Golden State Warriors, who kept him on the roster for most of October before finally cutting him to become an affiliate player in Santa Cruz.

Since getting to Santa Cruz, Wood has done nothing but impress with both the volume and percentage of three pointers he takes. He currently averages 14.4 points per game while shooting a reliable 44.7 percent from deep.

He has taken 132 threes on the year, good for fifth overall in the D-League, and his 44.7 percent ranks eighth overall. What is most impressive is that he has taken 44 more threes than anyone ranked ahead of him in percentage. For scale, Jordan Crawford of the Westchester Knicks leads the league in three point percentage at 52.5 percent but has only taken 40 threes on the year.

He does a good majority of his damage from wings, taking almost double the shots in comparison to the corners. He is best off of the catch and shoot as opposed to using screens or creating his own shot off the dribble. Catch and shoot players are especially dangerous in offenses that utilize spacing to create open shots.

His catch and shoot abilities were on full display against the Maine Red Claws on December 3rd, where he finished with 26 points on five of eight shooting from deep. All of his made threes came off of assists and were thrown up almost immediately after he got the ball in his hands. He also finished nine of nine from the charity stripe, where he hits 98 percent of his shots on the year.

Few players are as gifted as Scott Wood from behind the arc. If he wants to find his way into a Steve Novak-esque role at the next level, he is going to need to become a better defender and create for himself.

He does not have the best defensive footwork, often leading to players driving past him. His 6’5” frame bodes fine in the D-League but against NBA length he might be bothered. He should work on being able to create a little for himself off the dribble. NBA teams are going to want someone that can get their shot off in more than one way.

The D-League showcase is just under two weeks away. If he proves himself on that stage, he could find himself on any number of NBA teams that are looking to add shooting via a 10-day contract. As injuries amount and coaches try to find every last bit of talent to squeeze every win possible out of their roster, Scott Wood could find his way into the league sooner than later.