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Orlando Magic 2019 NBA Draft Preview: Talen Horton-Tucker shows promise, lacks sizzle

By Zach Palmer

FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 23: Iowa State Cyclones guard Talen Horton-Tucker (#11) dribbles up court during the Big 12 college basketball game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Iowa State Cyclones on February 23, 2019 at Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 23: Iowa State Cyclones guard Talen Horton-Tucker (#11) dribbles up court during the Big 12 college basketball game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Iowa State Cyclones on February 23, 2019 at Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State Cyclones
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 21: Talen Horton-Tucker #11 of the Iowa State Cyclones drives to the basket during a consolation game of the Maui Invitational college basketball game against the San Diego State Aztecs at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina Hawaii. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Every year there are a few prospects that cause great disagreement within the NBA draft community. This year that player is Iowa State Cyclones guard Talen Horton-Tucker.

The Orlando Magic have a plethora of options to choose from with the 16th pick in the NBA draft. Of course, they will have to do plenty of homework at pick 16 because, quite frankly, not a single person can predict what will happen that late in the draft.

But with their workouts seemingly made public for the first time in recent memory, we may finally be getting some clue as to who the Magic are interested in.

On June 12, the Orlando Magic had Iowa State Cyclones guard Talen Horton-Tucker in for a workout.

Horton-Tucker certainly checks a lot of the marks for the Magic in terms of things they typically look for in their draft picks.

Horton-Tucker is raw and cannot shoot. He is supposedly a defensive-minded wing with a body that needs to be worked on immensely. All weaknesses he acknowledged following his workout and part of the equation he hoped to put on display during his workout Wednesday.

But most importantly he has the type of wingspan John Hammond and Jeff Weltman dream about (+ 10 3/4 inches from his 6-foot-4 height). Horton-Tucker measured with the longest wingspan among guards and third-longest wingspan among non-post players.

Here is what Horton-Tucker did with Iowa State as the youngest player in college basketball:

Per Game Table
Season School Conf G GS MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS SOS
2018-19 Iowa State Big 12 35 34 27.2 4.4 10.9 .406 3.0 6.4 .475 1.4 4.5 .308 1.6 2.5 .625 0.7 4.2 4.9 2.3 1.3 0.7 1.7 2.3 11.8 9.30

Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 6/13/2019.

Horton-Tucker’s statistical profile is not all that impressive but watching the tape did provide some glimpses of why people may be high on this 18 year old.

Horton-Tucker fits the Magic’s profile and has plenty of potential that will intrigue any player. The risk is figuring out how to make all the pieces fit together.