Scouting Report: Kevon Looney

Kevon Looney is a power forward for the University of California-Los Angeles. Looney is 6’9 with a 7’1 wingspan. For the season, he averaged, 30.9 minutes per game, 11.6 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.4 assists per game. 1.3 steals per game, 0.9 blocks per game, while shooting 47.0% from the field, and 41.5% from three.

Pros:

• Excellent rebounder
• High shot release
• Good court vision
• Decent ball handling
• Good range
• Good pick-and-roll player
• Gets to the line consistently for a four
• Active on defense
• Length, along with more development could make him defensive superstar
• Team orientated
• High motor

Cons:

• Tweener prospect
• Will need to add strength
• Needs to work on a consistent mid-range game
• Slow release time
• Has trouble guarding faster wings
• Can get into foul trouble easily

Overall:

Kevon Looney is one of the many prospects known to most people as a tweener. He has the size and length to be a power forward, but the quickness and shooting touch to be a wing. Looney played a majority of his time at the power forward position at UCLA. He managed to lead the freshman class with the highest rebounding per game average. For an offensive prospect, Looney has all the key skills to succeed at the next level. His ability to stretch the floor and his speed could make him a dynamic stretch 4 at the next level, which almost every team in the league could use. The only problem with making him a four at the next level is Looney being a bit weaker in the upper body. This weakness would make him susceptible to getting bullied by the big men in the NBA, leading to him getting into foul trouble and becoming a non-factor on offensive as well. One of the key aspects of Looney’s game is to play down low on the offensive side of the ball where he gets a majority of his shots off his offensive rebounds. Transitioning into his defensive side is based on a lot of potential. Looney is a tremendous rebounder with great instincts and great mechanics. This combination of skills allows for Looney to dominate both ends for rebounding. Looney’s length allowed for him to average almost a steal and a block per game showing excellent potential to be deadly on that side of the court. When focused Looney is a top notch defender, but you just have to keep him focused on giving full effort on that side of the court. Overall, Looney is expected to hear his name anywhere from 10-20. He has been mainly compared to a poor man’s Kevin Durant, but I feel this is poor comparison. Looney, with added strength and a more developed offensive game could become very good, but I do not think he has superstar potential.

Pro Comparison:

Lamar Odom

As stated before, a lot of experts compare Looney to Kevin Durant, which could happen, but I think a Lamar Odom comparison is a bit more realistic. Odom and Looney both have the same skill set to play multiple positions. Offensively, Odom and Looney are similar in that they crash the boards hard, do not need the ball to be effective, good ball handlers, range to hit most shots, and court vision. Odom does have better vision and passing ability. Both players like to play near the rim where they use their athleticism to dominate their opponent. With their athleticism, this is not what their game’s rely on. These two rely more on developed skills and mechanics. Defensively, these players share great length and instincts. Both use their length to block shots, create havoc in passing lanes, and staying in front of their man. They also are both excellent rebounders on both sides of the court. A weakness both players show is they can get into foul trouble easily. Odom played more aggressive defensively, than offensively, which is the opposite of Looney. Odom was a key piece to quite a few title runs, and I think Looney has the same potential. He will not need major minutes as a rookie to develop. Looney has a great work ethic and will work his way into a starting line-up one day with his play and his work in the gym. With his expected selection in the 10-20 range he will be going to a near playoff team to an actual playoff team. This will allow for him to get a decent chunk of minutes as a rookie to speed up his development and be able to make an impact. Expect for Looney to a have a long NBA career, much like Odom did.

By: Mac Crowe, @Mac_Truck17