Ryvon Covile

Covile spent his college career about as far from the radar as a player could possibly get, but made a favorable enough impression at Portsmouth to earn an invite to Orlando. And after a phenomenal 19-point performance in game 1, it appears that Covile is determined to take full advantage of the opportunity. Covile isn’t going to knock anybody’s socks off in the looks department, but heads started to turn as the burly PF continued to knock down jumpers throughout the morning contest. Covile scorched the nets from a variety of places, starting the game with a spot up jumper, finishing on a cut to the basket and getting fouled, and adding a nifty turnaround from the mid-post shortly thereafter. Late in the second half, he swished an NBA range 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Covile has ideal form for a roleplayer big man, with a high release and soft touch. He certainly won’t blow anybody away with his athleticism, but did a good job of filling the lanes on the break and finding seams in the defense for easy opportunities around the basket. With his bulk Covile was certainly at a disadvantage athletically in this morning’s game, but was able to convert a handful of post moves closer to the basket. He clearly has a solid understanding of what is happening on the court, and when to seek out high-quality opportunities for himself.

Coville is by just average size and athleticism, and probably has the game of a 5-man in and a 4’s body. But he was clearly one of the best players in this morning’s game, and will further cement his stock if he can continue to light it up from the outside. Whether he is able to hang on in the NBA as a roleplayer or ends up in a high-level European league, this has been a great spring for the big man. If he plays the way he did this morning over the remainder of the camp, more NBA interest will certainly head his way.

Arguably the best performance from day three of the PIT was Ryvon Covile’s excellent 16 point, 18 rebound outing. Covile showed off a really nice combination of skills from inside and out, draining shots from all over the floor and finishing very strong around the basket. His outside shot looked great, knocking down most of his looks from 16, 17 and 18 feet on numerous occasions and even hitting a college 3-pointer when dared to. In the post, he took the ball really strong to the basket and finished well, although his touch on more advanced post moves could still stand to improve. He was extremely aggressive on all of his moves, playing smart and hard and not being afraid in the least bit to take contact while making his way to the rim.

On the glass, Covile was absolutely terrific as his 18 rebounds might indicate. He has great strength and plenty of drive to go after anything that is even remotely in his area. After the game his father told us that battling with the #1 rebounder in the country (Rashad Jones-Jennings) being the #3 rebounder in the country himself gave him plenty of motivation to go out there and show the scouts what he can do. That was clearly the case and then some as both bruisers were out there looking for blood, and we obviously enjoyed every moment of it.

In terms of how this affects his draft stock, Covile has helped himself in his two games here so far and should have locked himself up an invite to the Orlando pre-draft camp at the very least. He’s not the most athletic 6-9 big man you’ll find, lacking some explosiveness to finish around the basket and not being all that quick laterally when forced out onto the perimeter to hedge a screen or make quick rotations. He does have quite a few good things he brings to the table, though, so it wouldn’t shock us at all to see his name hanging around leading into workouts, summer league, and training camp and such. At the very least he deserves another look to see how he stacks up against stronger competition.

6’9 Ryvon Covile flashed a bit of potential in his first game here at the tournament, showing off a decent-looking mid-range jumper, a proficiency on the boards, and an active defensive mentality. At 6’9 and 243 pounds, Covile is built fairly strong, so it’s a bit surprising to see a player of his stature spend most of his time in the 10-15 foot range, but that’s what he did here, not showing off many moves in the post, though he did have one nice move in which he faked before going into a reverse lay-up. He also showed off a hook shot on one occasion which looked nice, but missed off the back of the rim. He also couldn’t handle two entry passes, both of which resulted in turnovers.

With his jump shot, Covile looked solid from inside 10 feet, hitting a pair of face-up jumpers as well as one turnaround jumper from the low block, most of them being mildly contested by his defender. When outside of 10 feet, though, Covile missed the majority of his shots, hitting just one and missing a handful. His form isn’t bad, though he doesn’t completely follow through, so refining that could help improve his proficiency with his shot.

On the boards, Covile held his position well and got most that came into his area, even though he was frequently matched with the taller Darryl Watkins. He had one nice, fluid one-handed putback in which he didn’t even go back to the ground between the rebound and the score. Defensively, Covile was active and frequently communicating with his teammates, stepping out on the perimeter when he had to and bodying up well in the post. He did a good job blocking an entry pass on one occasion to force a turnover, but also got faked into the air in the post on one occasion, giving up a score to Stephane Lasme.

For a player many people didn’t know about, Covile didn’t have a bad first day. He showed some flashes of what his game is about, but didn’t have a complete performance, which he hopefully can put together in one of his two remaining games. He would do himself well to put his massive frame to work in the painted area, showing off a bit more of a post game, though it’s not yet apparent how skilled he is with his moves around the basket.