| Travis McKie |
|---|
 | | Recent Tweets |
|---|
| All Tweets | DraftExpress: DX: Top NBA Prospects in the ACC Part 4 http://t.co/9Plis9Tv Richard Howell, Travis McKie, Michael Snaer, Xavier Gibson, Carson Desrosiers
2011-09-23 01:05:43 | DraftExpress: Travis McKie (Wake Forest), Tony Mitchell, Richard Solomon (Cal), Josiah Turner (Arizona State), Patric Young. Link: http://bit.ly/kL6mnU
2011-05-12 12:13:55 |
|
| Team:
Wake Forest, Sophomore
|
| Physicals | Positions | Rankings | Misc |
|---|
H: 6' 7"
W: 205 lbs
Bday: 10/23/1992
(19 Years Old)
|
Current: SF
NBA: SF
Possible: SF
| Rank 43 in NCAA Sophomores
RSCI: 56
|
High School: John Marshall
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Best Case: Poor Man's Luol Deng
Worst Case:
|
|
Basic Per Game Statistics - Comprehensive Stats - Statistical Top 25s |
Player Page | Player Stats | Related Articles | Add to My Draft Express
| Top NBA Draft Prospects in the ACC, Part Four (#16-20)
September 23, 2011
 | | AP |
Kyle Nelson
The only good thing about Wake Forest's horrific 2010-2011 campaign was the development of freshman forward Travis McKie. McKie averaged 13.0 points and 7.7 rebounds, both team highs, on his way to a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
McKie is by far Wake Forest's most polished perimeter and post scorer, and therefore will likely continue to straddle power forward and small forward roles as a sophomore. He is undersized for the post, but at 6'7 with a solid 205-pound frame, he has very good size for the wing, which is clearly where his future lies. Furthermore, McKie is just a good athlete, but his toughness, hustle, and versatility allow him to compensate at the collegiate level.
Despite playing for the worst team in the ACC, McKie averaged an efficient 15.9 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted on 50% shooting from the field. He shows a very versatile game for a freshman, with his offense coming from a steady dose of spot-ups, post-ups, cuts, offensive rebounds, and transition opportunities.
To make the full transition to playing on the wing, McKie must improve his outside shooting. His mechanics need work, as he shoots an arc-less two-handed jumper and his motion lacks both fluidity and a consistent release point. He attempted 92 jumpers last season according to Synergy Sports Technology, and converted on 34% of them, so despite showing flashes of ability, he clearly has room to improve on his consistency. He shoots a solid 73.1% from the foul line, however, suggesting that he does show potential to develop further in this area.
McKie shows potential as a shot creator as well, even if this part of his game is still a work in progress. He's extremely aggressive attacking the rim, using his strong frame to overpower opponents, and getting to the free throw line at a nice rate in turn. At this stage he still lacks much in terms of advanced ball-handling skills, being most effective as a straight-line slasher and getting himself in a bit of trouble if he tries to mix it up too much.
McKie's scrappiness manifests itself on defense, particularly on the boards. Despite his lack of size, he averaged 9.4 rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted, which ranks in the top-10 amongst returning small forward prospects..
Though Wake Forest played incredibly bad team defense last season, McKie actually looked solid for stretches. Though he lacks elite lateral quickness, he does work hard to stay in front of his man on the perimeter, as well as closing out on three-point shooters from the post. His overall awareness, instincts, and fundamentals could certainly stand to improve, but he showed very nice potential as a freshman. In the post, he works very hard to stay in front of his man, even if the effort is often futile against the ACC's surplus of NBA caliber big men.
Despite playing out of position on a severely overmatched team in the ACC, McKie's toughness and versatility make him an interesting prospect, especially considering how young he is for his class, still only 18 years old. He rapidly expanded his offensive game throughout his freshman season, and shows the potential to develop into a reliable two-way player down the road. He must continue to improve shooting, ball-handling and perimeter defense, and although it won't come easy playing on the ACC's most depleted team, there is no doubt his stock will rise if he can emerge as the impact player Wake Forest so badly needs.
 [Read Full Article]
| |
