2016 NBA Draft Prospects: Breaking Down NBA Future of Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon

Malcolm Brogdon is not the product of a system; that’s important to make clear.

Because Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is such a brilliant tactician, with a pack-line defense and clock-draining offense that exhausts defenses to the point of allowing an open shot, it’s easy to assume the system is greater than the parts.

But if NBA scouts had any doubts about Brogdon, those were erased last summer at the Nike Skills Academy. The camp, which NBA scouts were allowed to attend, included a who’s who of the top players in college basketball this past season: Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, LSU’s Ben Simmons, Providence’s Kris Dunn, Iowa State’s Georges Niang, Utah’s Jakob Poeltl, plus Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis, to name a few.

Brogdon outplayed them all.

He was a beast on the defensive end, matching up with likely No. 1 pick Simmons in one sequence, making the do-everything forward fumble the ball and look uncomfortable. He made shots, showed off a better than expected handle and made winning plays.

The UVA product followed that performance with an All-American senior season, becoming a more well-rounded scorer and arguably the best perimeter defender in college hoops. He also spent this past year earning his master’s degree, and scouts rave about his character.

For a player who most project to be a second-round pick, there’s a lot to like.

Relevant Stats

Brogdon bumped up his scoring average and helped his NBA stock by improving his jumper as a senior. His percentages went up, and he made 2.0 three-pointers per game as a senior compared to 1.3 per game his junior season. He also seemed to benefit from a redshirt season during his second year in school, which he took because of a broken bone in his foot.

There aren’t any individual numbers that illustrate his value as a defender, so it’s better to look at Virginia’s team success on that end.

The Wahoos finished sixth, fifth, first and fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency, respectively, during Brogdon’s four years of eligibility, per KenPom.com. The average finish in adjusted defensive efficiency during the other three years Bennett has coached at UVA: 52nd.

Strengths

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