Dominic McGuire, 6-8, SG/SF, Junior, Fresno State
Vs. Nevada: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks, 7-16 FG, 1-3 3P, 4-4 FT
Jonathan Givony
While every team in the NBA is going out to Fresno State to watch Quinton Hosley this year, its Cal transfer and redshirt junior Dominic McGuire that people are coming away raving about. After putting up a terrific stat-line a few weeks ago against Stanford (25 points, 13 rebounds in a heartbreaking loss), we wanted to wait to see him one more time before we were willing to really confirm what we saw and have been hearing so much about. From what we can tell, it was certainly worth waiting for.
Watching him again this past week on the road against a very talented Nevada team, its really hard not to get excited about his potential. McGuire is a legit 6-8 swingman who plays all five positions for his team, showing freakish athleticism, a terrific frame, and the kind of emerging versatile skill-set that draws comparisons to a young Joe Johnson from his days at Arkansas. Hes the most talented wing player on the West Coast besides Budinger, says one NBA scout who has been out to see him on multiple occasions. Were talking lottery-type upside here.
McGuire passes the eye test and then some for an NBA swingman, possessing great size, terrific length, and a very nice frame. He is silky smooth on top of that, showing outstanding fluidity, excellent body control and the type of explosiveness needed to get into the lane and hang in the air for some incredibly creative finishes. He is used at the power forward position mostly for Fresno State, but will at times swing over to point guard for a stretch or just explode off the floor for a rebound and go coast to coast himself. His ball-handling skills are extremely impressive, being capable of shaking guys off the dribble going left or right, and creating his own shot to pull up smoothly from mid-range or quickly make his way to the hoop. On first and second glance, he appears to be a pretty smart player who plays within his teams offense unselfishly and would rather not force the issue, even if his decision making skills arent always the best. Hes a nice passer as his 3.1 assists per game average would indicate, and will show some nice creativity at times by threading the needle with tough passes.
Defensively, McGuire is averaging an outstanding 3.6 blocks per game thanks to his combination of size, length, excellent timing and the quickness in which he gets off his feet. While this strength is not particularly likely to translate over to the NBA, he does have the tools to become an extremely disruptive defender on the wing, especially in terms of his lateral quickness. Likewise, he is a very strong rebounder at the WAC level, pulling down just under 9 per game to complete a very versatile picture. Just to illustrate that point, he had a triple-double a few weeks ago against San Diego, with 14 points (4-6 FG), 14 rebounds, 10 blocks. Just for good measure, he added 4 assists and 6 turnovers.
In terms of weaknesses, McGuire has quite a few wrinkles to his game hell need to iron out. For one, hes not a great finisher around the basket, lacking a bit of strength and craft in terms of using the glass in traffic. His perimeter jumper shows promise at times, but is not consistent in the least bit, as he does not have very good balance or footwork, and therefore does not have a steady release point. Like many smooth swingmen who can get their shot off virtually at any time, he has a tendency at times to settle from the perimeter for off-balance shots when hed be much better off taking the ball strong to the hoop. He shows great toughness on the defensive end as his shot-blocking and rebounding numbers would indicate, but this toughness and hunger does not quite translate over to the offensive end the way you might hope.
Generally speaking, McGuire is not the most polished player youll find despite his status as a redshirt junior. He is still young for his class, though, just having turned 21 three months ago. He certainly lacks some focus on the court as his up and down numbers would indicate, and there were some minor off the court rumblings from his days at Cal, mainly regarding his overall maturity level. In terms of pure talent, though, its tough not to be extremely intrigued by what hes showing this yearalbeit inconsistentlyat Fresno. Guys who are 6-8 and possess his kind of skill-set and athletic ability certainly dont come around every day. It probably wouldnt surprise anyone to see his name on the early-entry list when its all said and done, but hes going to have to put up more performances like he did against Stanford and Nevada to improve his chances of landing in the first round. With that said, hes the type of guy who is absolutely tailor-made to the NBA private workout setting.
Watching him again this past week on the road against a very talented Nevada team, its really hard not to get excited about his potential. McGuire is a legit 6-8 swingman who plays all five positions for his team, showing freakish athleticism, a terrific frame, and the kind of emerging versatile skill-set that draws comparisons to a young Joe Johnson from his days at Arkansas. Hes the most talented wing player on the West Coast besides Budinger, says one NBA scout who has been out to see him on multiple occasions. Were talking lottery-type upside here.
McGuire passes the eye test and then some for an NBA swingman, possessing great size, terrific length, and a very nice frame. He is silky smooth on top of that, showing outstanding fluidity, excellent body control and the type of explosiveness needed to get into the lane and hang in the air for some incredibly creative finishes. He is used at the power forward position mostly for Fresno State, but will at times swing over to point guard for a stretch or just explode off the floor for a rebound and go coast to coast himself. His ball-handling skills are extremely impressive, being capable of shaking guys off the dribble going left or right, and creating his own shot to pull up smoothly from mid-range or quickly make his way to the hoop. On first and second glance, he appears to be a pretty smart player who plays within his teams offense unselfishly and would rather not force the issue, even if his decision making skills arent always the best. Hes a nice passer as his 3.1 assists per game average would indicate, and will show some nice creativity at times by threading the needle with tough passes.
Defensively, McGuire is averaging an outstanding 3.6 blocks per game thanks to his combination of size, length, excellent timing and the quickness in which he gets off his feet. While this strength is not particularly likely to translate over to the NBA, he does have the tools to become an extremely disruptive defender on the wing, especially in terms of his lateral quickness. Likewise, he is a very strong rebounder at the WAC level, pulling down just under 9 per game to complete a very versatile picture. Just to illustrate that point, he had a triple-double a few weeks ago against San Diego, with 14 points (4-6 FG), 14 rebounds, 10 blocks. Just for good measure, he added 4 assists and 6 turnovers.
In terms of weaknesses, McGuire has quite a few wrinkles to his game hell need to iron out. For one, hes not a great finisher around the basket, lacking a bit of strength and craft in terms of using the glass in traffic. His perimeter jumper shows promise at times, but is not consistent in the least bit, as he does not have very good balance or footwork, and therefore does not have a steady release point. Like many smooth swingmen who can get their shot off virtually at any time, he has a tendency at times to settle from the perimeter for off-balance shots when hed be much better off taking the ball strong to the hoop. He shows great toughness on the defensive end as his shot-blocking and rebounding numbers would indicate, but this toughness and hunger does not quite translate over to the offensive end the way you might hope.
Generally speaking, McGuire is not the most polished player youll find despite his status as a redshirt junior. He is still young for his class, though, just having turned 21 three months ago. He certainly lacks some focus on the court as his up and down numbers would indicate, and there were some minor off the court rumblings from his days at Cal, mainly regarding his overall maturity level. In terms of pure talent, though, its tough not to be extremely intrigued by what hes showing this yearalbeit inconsistentlyat Fresno. Guys who are 6-8 and possess his kind of skill-set and athletic ability certainly dont come around every day. It probably wouldnt surprise anyone to see his name on the early-entry list when its all said and done, but hes going to have to put up more performances like he did against Stanford and Nevada to improve his chances of landing in the first round. With that said, hes the type of guy who is absolutely tailor-made to the NBA private workout setting.
For those wanting to take a look for themselves, McGuires next game will be televised on ESPN Full Court on Thursday at 9 PM EST.