NBA Draft: Willie Cauley-Stein to Shock Teams with Offensive Talents?
Willie Cauley-Stein was not really known for his offense in his three years at Kentucky. However, citing John Calipari’s coaching style as a reason for this is very valid.
Willie Cauley-Stein played the most minutes in a 10-man platoon rotation at Kentucky this past season. He did not have a huge role in the offense, attempting just 6.1 field goals per game. But he was efficient.
What we may come to realize about Cauley-Stein is that he could have been doing a lot more offensively the entire time.
It has to be remembered who Cauley-Stein played with in the NCAA. His freshman season he saw 23.6 minutes per game, and the team focused its scoring on Archie Goodwin, Kyle Wiltjer, Ryan Harrow, Alex Poythress and Nerlens Noel. Willie was the seventh mouth to feed, with just 5.8 shots per game.
He saw even fewer shots his sophomore year with James Young, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Julius Randle and Alex Poythress still in the mix.
And just this past season, he still had the Harrison twins around along with freshman phenom Karl-Anthony Towns, sharpshooter Devin Booker and another promising freshman in Trey Lyles — along with the other highly touted freshman Calipari brought in for his platoon system.
Cauley-Stein has always had to share the rock. There was only one basketball to share in blue and white for his three seasons.
Even as an upperclassman this year, he still saw just 6.1 field goal attempts per game, with only Aaron Harrison seeing enough shots to be classified as a No. 1 option for the Wildcats (9.5 attempts per game).
Resultantly, what these numbers indicate is that Cauley-Stein did not get a chance to show anything off offensively. He just never got the chance with so few shot attempts — mostly put backs and dunks. Maybe we just assume he has offensive shortcomings because of this.
Cauley-Stein told Draft Express, “Skill-wise, the sky is the limit to where I can take it,” he said, “I’m athletic enough to do a lot of things.”
Defense will be Cauley-Stein’s calling card. It is the skill that makes him an elite prospect. Don MacLean of Proactive Sports Performance told Draft Express he believes this is where Cauley-Stein makes his money:
"“What he has physically, a lot of guys don’t have…he’s way more athletic than Tyson Chandler ever was, (he) is kind of in between a Tyson Chandler and a DeAndre Jordan, and as a help side defender, as a screen and roll defender, he’s off the charts right now.”"
The defensive aspects were all the things we already did know about Cauley-Stein.
He exhibited enough in Kentucky’s attacking defense he could hedge onto guards and had plenty of lateral foot motion to keep in front of them. Few, if any, have doubted his defense at all.
He is the kind of 7-foot defender that has not really been seen in abundance, only in guys like Kevin Garnett, the most mobile of the most athletic. To be able to front the head of a zone defense with a power forward renders teams with immense flexibility.
Given his shot-blocking talents and active hands, he could be the piece to transform the Orlando Magic into a top defense.
But for all that defense, it seems a lot of offense has just been pushed to the back burner on those talented Wildcat teams.
Cauley-Stein told DraftExpress he believes he can do more on the offensive end than many think:
"“Teams are going to realize it, ‘this dude’ has some offensive game…I can be an offense presence.”"
And that has been his biggest detractor up until this point. It may end up being null, as teams inside the top-five consider the immense upside of a guy whose offensive talents may end up being significant.
If Cauley-Stein becomes the kind of scorer who can be relied upon, even as a third-option type, where does that leave his potential?
If his offense is that much better, his career is one of multiple All-Star appearances and a lot of longevity, because defenders like Cauley-Stein are difficult to find. His size is unteachable, and he has the foot speed of players a foot shorter than him. Those types of talents transform defenses.
With his extra-worldly defensive gifts and a reliant jumper or post game, Cauley-Stein could end up being nearly as good as his vaunted teammate Towns or Duke’s Jahlil Okafor—both of whom have received far more hype thus far.
Summing it up, MacLean said, “He showed up a far better shooter than we all thought.” That’s been his biggest criticism, and if it ends up being a strength, Orlando will give serious consideration to him at No. 5 overall.
What could turn Cauley-Stein from solid pickup to star pickup is really that offensive piece.
Of course, he played three years at Kentucky and never earned the right to have plays run for him. Maybe that is all the information scouts need.