Undrafted Treasures: Jeremy Senglin

Note: This piece is the start of an ongoing series where Ridiculous Upside examines some undrafted 2017 prospects that fans need to keep an eye on. To start things out, editor Dakota Schmidt takes a look at former Weber State guard Jeremy Senglin

Despite the wide array of attention and coverage that’s directed around the prospects that are selected in the lottery or 1st round of each year’s NBA Draft, some of the more promising young players in the Association were actually overlooked on draft night. By looking back at NBA history, you can see that Ben Wallace and Brad Miller were able to turn into All-Star players despite not getting selected in the draft

That duo probably still stands as the best undrafted players that the NBA has seen. However, that shouldn’t take away from the crop of players that are currently shining in the Association. Just over the past few seasons, NBA fans have witnessed the likes of Tyler Johnson, Wesley Matthews and Seth Curry rise up to become solid NBA players despite being overlooked during the NBA Draft.

One young player that’s hoping to join that talented group is former Weber State guard Jeremy Senglin. Despite being asked to fill in the same position that was once held by current NBA superstar Damian Lillard, Senglin was still able to shine in his role as the team’s lead scorer. Although he played great basketball during his entire 4-year stint at Weber State, his best work came during his senior season.

During that final year, Senglin just played unbelievable basketball as he put up 21.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 48% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc on 8.7 perimeter attempts per game. Those great shooting averages allowed him to maintain an amazing 64% True Shooting Percentage.

Senglin’s senior season numbers actually stand out really well compared to some former undrafted players that have ended up shining in the NBA. That statement is evident in the tables below as we compared his 2016-17 numbers to how the likes of Seth Curry, Troy Daniels, Langston Galloway and Tyler Johnson performed during the senior seasons.

As apparent from the above graph, Senglin just stood out as one of the most dangerous perimeter threats in college basketball, whether he was working off-the-dribble or through catch-and-shoot. In most of the Weber State games that I watched, he actually relied more on utilizing his solid handles to create perimeter opportunities.

Obviously, that method worked more times than it didn’t as Senglin was regularly able to utilize these quick dribble moves to trick his mid-major foes. Whether it’s an eye-popping crossover or a classic step-back, he was regularly able to create the separation needed to hit a perimeter jumper. A prime example of those methods is seen in the play below where he uses a hesitation dribble to shake off an Eastern Washington forward before hitting a 3.

Transitioning over to his work inside the perimeter, Senglin can still utilize his tight handles to be a solid mid-range shooter. Similar to his perimeter work, Senglin likes to utilize crossovers, hesitation dribbles or step-backs to create separation from the opposition. Those moves definitely worked as he shot an above-average 37% on jumpers from inside the perimeter, according to Hoop-Math.

Although Senglin stood as one of the finest perimeter shooters in college basketball, I’m actually more intrigued by his skills as a driver. While he obviously didn’t utilize this skill as much as his perimeter or mid-range jumper, Senglin still stands out as someone that can drive whenever he desires.

First off, Senglin is able to manuever his way past the perimeter defender by either utilizing his quick handles or smooth first step. After that initial victory, Senglin can either make that direct drive to the paint or use a quick hesitation dribble or spin move to work around any defender that may be in his way.

Following that, the 6’2 Senglin can regularly finish with a smooth layup, no matter if he’s open or driving right into opposing bigs. The second example is seen in the play below as Senglin can finish with an athletic layup despite the best effort of former Eastern Washington forward Jacob Wiley.

Just a day or two after not getting selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, Senglin agreed to a partially-guaranteed deal with the Brooklyn Nets. This deal means that Senglin should stick with the Nets for Summer League and NBA training camp. Although he’s definitely a talented player, the 6’2 Senglin still stands as an undersized shooting guard which means that he’ll have to prove a lot to prove before he finds himself on a regular season roster, whether it’s with the Brooklyn Nets or any other NBA squad.

However, that uncertainty shouldn’t take away from the fact that Senglin might be one of the best guards that was selected in the 2017 NBA Draft. With a versatile skill-set and unbelievable efficiency, it might not be too far-fetched to say that there could be a time in the future where we see Jeremy Senglin on an NBA roster.