Buzzworthy picks 2022: David Roddy

Highly productive stars are never a bad idea in the second round.

I have a personal affinity for David Roddy. He’s a thick boy with perimeter skills, and us thick boys are underrepresented on the perimeter of high level basketball. Roddy took major strides year over year during his three seasons at Colorado State and has turned himself into an intriguing second round prospect thanks to his overall skill set and unique physical attributes.

Measurements

Height: 6’4.5” w/o shoes, 6’6” with shoes
Weight: 261 pounds
Wingspan: 6’11.5”
Standing reach: 8’10”
Vertical: 27” standing, 35.5” max

Strengths

Strength, outside shooting, overall skill level

Roddy’s most apparent and striking strength is his actual physical strength. He weighed in at 260 pounds at the NBA combine despite standing just 6’4.5” in his socks. He uses that strength to bully his way to the rim against lighter defenders and to carve out space for rebounds. He spent a lot of time in the post in the college, which probably won’t happen much in the pros, but it’s a nice tool to have in the toolbelt. More practically, he can use his strength to force his way inside when attacking from the perimeter.

That brute strength is complemented by a soft touch from the perimeter. After being mostly a non-threat from the perimeter in his first two collegiate seasons, he improved to a 43.8% 3-point shooter as a junior. The volume wasn’t super robust, but he showed the ability to shoot on the move and from deep, though he’s probably better as a catch-and-shoot shooter unless he has a lot of space to pull up in. The shot doesn’t have a lot of moving parts, so it at least looks good on the surface.

Roddy also boasts a terrific all around skill set and a high motor to go with it. He averaged 2.9 assists per game as a junior. He’s very good at finding kickouts and drop offs on the move, and he shows very good vision when hitting cutters from a standstill. He was a very good quarterback prospect in high school, and that passing feel shows itself on a regular basis. He’s also got more wiggle and ball handling chops than you’d expect from a player with his size.

He plays hard too. He bangs in the post on both ends and scraps for rebounds. He generated 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, which are pretty strong numbers when taken together. He’s deceptively bouncy for his size and can get up for some thunderous dunks and high flying blocks, especially if he has room to gear up.

Weaknesses

Defensive position, shot trustworthiness

The biggest question surrounding Roddy’s transition to the NBA is how he’ll guard. His height would suggest that he should spend most of his time on the wing, but he doesn’t have the best foot speed and lateral quickness. His bulk might hold him back a bit here, though he can counter it a little bit with his strength and effort. If teams play him as a 4, they’ll be a little on the small side (though he does have a better standing reach than frequent Hornets 4 man Miles Bridges).

Roddy’s outside shot was very good as a junior, but you’d like to see a larger sample size before fully trusting it. He seemed to doubt his shooting effectiveness as well given his relatively low volume of 3-point shots. He also struggled a bit at the free throw line, converting just 69.1% of this attempts as a junior. The shot will probably be decent, but he seems like more of a self made shooter than a natural shot maker.

Overview

David Roddy bears a bit of a resemblance to Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges. He’s a tweener forward with a strong overall skill set. He fits the mold of players the Hornets like with his positionless style and ability to do a bit of everything. He’s projected to go in between the Hornets first and second round picks, but there’s always a chance he falls or the Hornets shuffle their picks while making moves.