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| Team: Pistons College Team: Eastern Wash. |
| Physicals | Positions | Salary | Misc |
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H: 6' 5"
W: 207 lbs
Bday: 04/21/1986
(23 Years Old)
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Current: PG/SG
NBA: PG/SG
Possible: SG
| Agent: Aaron Goodwin
Current Salary:$1,805,040
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High School: Kentwood HS
Hometown: Kent, WA
Drafted:
Rnd 1, Pick 15 in 2007 by Pistons
Best Case: Randy Foye
Worst Case: Marcus Brown
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| Predraft Measurements | | Basic Per Game Statistics - Comprehensive Stats - Statistical Top 25s |
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| DraftExpress All-Summer League: First Team
July 23, 2007
Showing impressive poise for a rookie at both guard positions, Rodney Stuckey got a great run in at the Vegas Summer League and looks well ahead of schedule relative to what we expected from him.
A combo guard from a low-major school who was expected to be Mr. Everything for Eastern Washington, it was quite surprising to see the patience he showed running Detroit’s offense at the point guard spot.
Stuckey made good decisions for the most part in the half-court set, looking to execute the plays relayed to him from the sidelines and not having any problem at all feeding his teammates--particularly Jason Maxiell in the post. He took what the defenses gave him on pick and roll plays and did not get flustered when trapped/double-teamed at the top of the key. Stuckey didn’t get caught up in the type of stubborn over-dribbling that we typically see from mid-major combo guards, which is a great sign as far as his future development within Detroit’s offense is concerned.
Stuckey’s fantastic first step (going both left and right) combined with his fearlessness and excellent strength give him immediate solutions to almost anything thrown his way—he’d often for example just split the traps right through the middle and make his way straight to the basket. He turns the corner incredibly well and got into the paint repeatedly in the games we saw, doing a great job finishing in traffic with contact, thanks in large part to his excellent body control.
Stuckey’s ball-handling skills aren’t polished enough at this point for him to make these type of forays into the paint with any kind of consistency at the NBA level, but as he continues to work on his game, this could become a major weapon that the Pistons are sorely lacking at the moment. Showing the raw ability to lower his shoulder and use his body to create space from his defender at such a young age (not a common thing) has to get the Pistons coaching staff excited about what they see from him.
Playing off the ball, Stuckey showed some nice potential as well in some of the moves he made. He doesn’t seem to have a problem moving without the basketball, and was rewarded on a number of occasions with an easy basket after a strong cut to the hoop.
He likes to pull-up off the dribble for a very smooth looking mid-range jumper (with range out to the college 3-point line), and is also capable of finishing in the paint with a pretty high-arcing floater. It will take time and repetition to increase the range of his jump-shot out to the NBA 3-point line, but based on his touch and shooting mechanics, that doesn’t look like an impossible task.
Defensively, Stuckey has great physical tools and competes pretty hard on top of that, but he’ll look pretty clueless at times getting caught underneath screens for example or gambling for a steal. His learning curve on this end of the floor could very well be the deciding factor in how much he ends up playing in his rookie season under the defensive-minded Flip Saunders.
 [Read Full Article]
Filling in the blanks: Rodney Stuckey
June 13, 2007
In a copycat league such as the NBA, scouts and executives are always looking for the next great talent that happens to remind them of some other team’s biggest star. In this case, we’ve seen a few quotes this year already comparing Rodney Stuckey to the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade. But is that really a fair comparison?
Physically, there are certainly some similarities. Standing a hair under 6-4 without shoes, with a great frame, a 6-7 wingspan, and solid athletic ability, Stuckey passes the eye test and then some. He is strong and quick, with a powerful first step, and has great body control putting the ball on the floor and making his way to the rack.
In terms of his style of play, Stuckey reminds of Wade to a certain extent as well, although he is obviously nowhere near as naturally talented. He has very nice ball-handling skills with either hand, being the main facilitator of his team’s offense, and likes to push the ball up the floor in transition. His footwork is outstanding, and he’s able to draw plenty of fouls through the work he does from the triple-threat position, either getting his man to bite on a pump-fake or going to the basket after utilizing a big time crossover and stopping on a dime from mid-range. Stuckey can also go into the post a bit to punish smaller, weaker matchups, showing really nice toughness in the process. His bread and butter, though, by far, lies in his mid-range game.
Stuckey doesn’t have great shooting mechanics (he has a slight hitch in his jump-shot, which leads to an inconsistent release point), but he does have great scoring instincts and a quick release, which often allow him to just throw the ball in the hoop. He has a full array of jabs, changes of speeds and hesitation moves he uses to keep his man off balance, and he’s absolutely terrific at stopping abruptly and using his strength to create excellent separation from his defender. Once he gets to the basket, or tempts his man into biting for a pump-fake, he’s excellent at finishing with contact thanks to his developed body. Stuckey is a quick player with really nice body control, but he’s not on the same level (or even close) as a Dwyane Wade for example in terms of his explosiveness or creativity finishing around the basket.
 | | Eastern Washington Athletics |
While he’s no Steve Nash, Stuckey is not as bad a shooter as his percentages might indicate (27% 3P as a sophomore, 37% as a freshman)—it’s his shot-selection that really hurt him more than anything. The fact that he was forced to dominate the ball so much playing alongside considerably less talented teammates than him (and that’s probably being generous) also contributed to those numbers. The 85% he shot from the free throw line tells the story pretty well here in terms of his touch from mid-range. That becomes even more impressive when you consider that he got to the line nearly 9 times per game this past season. Make no mistake, though, Stuckey has a ways to go and plenty of hard work in front of him before he can legitimately expect to expand his range to the NBA 3-point line. In fact, the success he finds in the NBA will likely ultimately depend heavily on that.
Stuckey is more than just a pure scorer, though, he’s also pretty good at creating for others too. His court vision is very solid, particularly threading the needle to cutters from the perimeter, driving and dishing in traffic, or finding open teammates in transition. Despite the 17+ shots he took per game, he doesn’t come off as a selfish player when watching him on tape, even when Eastern Washington played against much more talented opponents like Washington or Gonzaga and he was forced to shoulder a considerable amount of the scoring load. He did average 5.5 assists per game on the season after all.
That doesn’t mean that Stuckey is necessarily ready to be a point guard either, though. For one, his decision making skills can be really poor at times, forcing up ill-advised shots early in the shot-clock, lowering his shoulder and driving into a brick wall, or trying to make high degree of difficulty passes in half-court sets, leading to unnecessary turnovers. As you can probably surmise by the fact that he wasn’t even able to lead his team to their conference tournament in the very weak Big Sky (the team went just 15-14 on the season), he still lacks a considerable amount of polish and experience.
 | | Eastern Washington Athletics |
If there was ever a time for a player like Stuckey to be in demand, though, its now. Combo guards in his mold (Randy Foye, Flip Murray, Bobby Jackson) are making a great living on almost every team around the league—and he fits that mold almost to a T. NBA coaches love having a player they can throw in the game off the bench when things get stagnant offensively, and being able to guard two positions is certainly a plus.
Defensively, Stuckey is tough and pretty strong, able to get into the passing lanes and not being afraid to stick his nose in at times and take a charge. He mainly relies on his physical tools and activity level, though, not being the most aware guy in the world as far as defensive rotations or always staying in front of his man goes. He does have good potential here, though, if he’s willing to put in the time and effort. That’s going to be a key factor in whether he develops into a solid rotation player, or even much more than that. He certainly has the potential to do so, but it’s not going to come right away.
Stuckey is reportedly drawing heavy interest from the Detroit Pistons at #15. He could get drafted as high as 11 (Atlanta), and probably doesn’t fall past Philadelphia at 21.
[Read Full Article]
Weekly Top Performers (12/12): Part 2
December 14, 2006
Maybe the best kept secret in college basketball, Rodney Stuckey is once again showing why he will be a NBA first round draft choice in the near future. Following a sensational first year ( 24.2 pts, 4.8 RB, 4.1 assists) where he was both the freshmen of the year and player of the year in the Big Sky, Stuckey is avoiding the sophomore slump and adding to those already gaudy numbers. As of today he is putting up 26.7 pts, 4.7 RB, and 5 assists a game, not to shabby for a guy who wasn’t that highly touted out of High school and had to sit out his entire first year at college.
On the offensive end of the court, Stuckey can do it all. He is a combo guard in the mold of Ben Gordon and Dwayne Wade (before you laugh, check the stats, remembering the Wade also had to sit out his first year at Marquette) who can shoot the deep ball, drive to the hoop, and make the extra pass. He’s not the best shooter in the country, and he’s not the best slasher in the country, and he’s not the best ball handler in the country, but he might just be the best scorer in the country. He has that un-teachable, God-given knack for putting the ball in the basket.
Like Wade, Stuckey’s biggest strength is creating his own shot off of the dribble. He uses his strong body and superior quickness to get past his man and then either pull up for the jumper, or take the ball all the way to the rack, where he can finish with either hand and absorb contact. Because of this, he gets an unusual amount of and one’s for a guard, and he almost always makes good from the charity strike (89%). Like Wade and Gordon, Stuckey has no problem moving over to the point and running the team. For a guy who does the bulk of the scoring, and doesn’t have a whole lot of other options, 5 assists is more then respectable.
Earlier this year, against the University of Washington, Stuckey put on one of the best first half performances that I have ever seen. Washington, an athletic and deep team, threw every one of their defenders at him and he still rattled off 21 points in only 17 minutes of play. It is clear that Stuckey is the only real option for the Eagles, so his stats might be a little padded, but like Adam Morrison did last year, he is stepping up and proving himself against top-level competition.
As far as what kind of player Stuckey is going to be at the next level, I really like the Ben Gordon comparisons. I think he can play both guard positions, and like I stated before, he can flat out score, and the NBA loves a scorer. Stuckey also has that air of confidence that so often comes with great players. He always wants the ball in his hands and he is never afraid to take the big shot. When Eastern needs a basket, they just give the ball to Stuckey at the top of the key and let him do his thing.
On the defensive end of the ball Stuckey is still more about potential then anything else. With his size and strength he has the capability of being a lock down defender at the next level. He also has the frame to add bulk as he gets older, which is going to be important in his NBA development. A lot of players just don’t have the genetics to add a lot of size, but again like Gordon and Wade, he should be able to put on muscle without sacrificing speed and quickness.
Look for Stuckey’s numbers to increase even more drastically once league play begins. There is a really good chance that he could end up leading Division 1 in scoring this year, and then bolt for the NBA. I wouldn’t personally read too much into his league averages, but rather what he does against non-conference opponents and if he can lead the Eagles to the tournament, what he is able to do there.
[Read Full Article]
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