June 18, 2015

Kendall Gray, Delaware State, 6'10, 240lbs

Gray made a name for himself right at the end of his senior season with a 33 point, 30 rebound game against Coppin State in one of his final collegiate games. It was the culmination of consistent improvement in this area of the game, as Gray's rebounding rate developed significantly throughout his career. As a freshman, he tried to block everything, recording 3.2 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game but rebounding only 4.8 times in that time. But as a senior, while still blocking 2.8 times per game, Gray grabbed 11.8 rebounds per game, second in the nation behind only UCSB's Alan Williams. Decently sized for the paint and decently mobile so as to be able to rebound outside of his area, Gray boxes out on everything, and uses great timing rather than explosiveness to swat shots at the rim and track the ball coming off of it.

The Coppin State game, however, was also a bit of an outlier. Gray struggled with fouls and fatigue quite a bit down the stretch of the season, and didn't record a double double over his final four games (the Coppin State outing was therefore his last one). Despite the appearance of being an automatic double double, Gray wasn't that, struggling with consistency and seeing his production taper off quite significantly. The Gray who likes to run the court and pursue the ball was a step slower, and without that motor, Gray does not stand out.

There is some offensive skill to his game, however. The staple of Gray's scoring game is a mid-range jump shot, added to which he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive on close-outs from that area. Gray's offensive game is almost entirely from the mid-range area facing up; he creates little in the post, shows little in the way of moves, and hasn't the core length or strength to ever be particularly strong in this area. He also shows little inclination towards trying to seal position for a pass over the top or dump-off down around the basket, is prone to standing around on offense, and without any great strength or explosiveness is not the best finisher around the rim. Yet in addition to shooting from the mid-range area, Gray is also a capable and willing passer from there, hitting cutters and throwing good high-low passes when the opportunity presents itself. He is a defense-first player, but he is not an offensive liability.

Gray is quite mobile, but certainly not explosive, and quite big, but not powerful. He runs without moving his arms (which is weird) and does not use any tools especially to succeed. Much of what he does is through instincts and timing rather than explosiveness, and through having size and athletic advantages at the Delaware State level he won't have any longer. There are holes in the skill set and there's doubts as to how well the good bits will even translates. That said, Dwayne Jones played many years in and on the fringes of the NBA with a similar skill set and body of work; slightly bigger and more athletic, maybe, but less offensively skilled. Rebounding generally translates, and a stint in the D-League (where, in the right spot, he could readily average double digit boards again) will put him in the conversation.

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