| Javon McCrea |
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| All Tweets | DraftExpress: Top Non-BCS Conference NBA Prospects #16-#20 Kendall Williams Joe Jackson Tony Snell Elias Harris Javon McCrea http://t.co/UgyiqimM
2012-11-20 16:24:00 | DraftExpress: Top Non-BCS Conference NBA Prospects (#16-20): http://t.co/tWCqQyyE - Javon McCrea, Kent Bazemore, Bradford Burgess, Olek Czyz, Kyle O'Quinn
2011-11-07 05:31:32 | |
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| Team:
Buffalo, Junior
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| Physicals | Positions | Rankings | Misc |
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H: 6' 6"
W: 225 lbs
Bday: 11/05/1992
(20 Years Old)
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Current: PF
NBA: PF
Possible: PF
| Rank 52 in NCAA Juniors
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High School: Newark
Hometown: Newark, NJ
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| | | Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Non-BCS Conferences, Part 4 (#16-20)
November 7, 2011
 | | buffalobulls.com |
Jonathan Givony
The youngest prospect in our college basketball database last season – he turned 18 just a week before his first NCAA game—Javon McCrea nevertheless ranked as the most productive freshman in America thanks to his combination of brutally efficient scoring (#2 in FG%), offensive rebounding prowess and propensity for generating a large number of assists, steals and blocks on a per-minute basis.
McCrea is incredibly undersized at 6-6, but makes up for that with a NBA-ready frame, gigantic hands, an (alleged) 7-2 wingspan, and tremendous basketball instincts.
Not freakishly quick or explosive, McCrea is nevertheless a very fluid and mobile athlete, showing terrific coordination and aggressiveness. He's incredibly physical on the offensive glass, simply moving opponents around in the paint with his sheer girth, and pursuing loose balls relentlessly with outstanding instincts. He often comes up with rebounds from very difficult angles, as all he seemingly needs to do is get a fingertip on the ball to corral it with his gigantic hands.
McCrea only played 21 minutes per-game last season, but used 29% of his team's possessions when he was on the court, which is a very high rate. He gets his offensive production in a variety of ways at the MAC conference level, showing good versatility already for an undersized big man.
He can back down similarly sized players in the paint with his wide frame and solid footwork, and finishes with both hands around the basket with pretty soft touch. When double-teamed, McCrea shows very good instincts as a passer, once again hinting at his unexpectedly good feel for the game.
He's also capable of facing up on the perimeter, as he's a surprisingly good ball-handler who can drive either left or right and even change directions with the ball. He shows good footwork, a nice first step, and is extremely confident with the ball in his hands, which allows him to beat opposing big men fairly often and get to the free throw line at a solid rate.
On the negative side, McCrea's lack of experience and aggressiveness works against him at times, as he can be very turnover prone. He also doesn't possess any type of jump-shot at this stage, failing to convert a single jumper last season. He only made 51% of his free throws, indicating that he still has plenty of work to do in this area.
Defensively, McCrea gets tons of blocks and steals and is capable of being a real playmaker thanks to his length, hands and terrific instincts, but he has a ways to go in order to maximize his full potential on this end of the floor.
His lack of experience is an issue here as well. He tends to suffer from mental lapses at times and isn't immune from taking plays off. His fundamentals aren't great, as he gives up position in the paint too easily, gets lost off the ball and struggles badly when forced to step out onto the perimeter. McCrea's lateral quickness appears to be average at best, which will likely preclude him from making the conversion to the small forward position, which he'd be much better suited for due to his lack of size.
He's also surprisingly average on the defensive glass, pulling down just 6.4 rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted, a mark that is nothing to write home about considering the conference he plays in. He chases blocks wildly at times and doesn't box out his man on every possession, seemingly showing less enthusiasm here than he does offensively, which may be partially due to conditioning issues. It will be interesting to see how he develops in this area over time.
Younger than some freshmen who are only now entering college—such as Austin Rivers, Josiah Turner, Kyle Wiltjer and Khem Birch—McCrea was a very pleasant surprise last season as a completely unheralded recruit. We'll see if he can continue to produce consistently as his minutes and notoriety increases and whether he can round out the rest of his game to make himself more attractive as an NBA prospect. His lack of size will always be an issue, but we've recently seen players like Ike Diogu, Jason Maxiell and DeJuan Blair be able to overcome that through sheer production in the past.
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