Draftexpress: Nick Calathes

by Tommy Dee on April 30th, 2009 at 10:45 am

I noticed that some weren’t familiar with the Florida guard who is testing the waters. Here is a scouting report via draftexpress.com.

“…From the end of last season to the beginning of this one, Nick Calathes spent about three months without Florida Gator basketball. After spending six weeks from June to August playing for the U-20 Greek national team, Calathes returned back to Gainesville only to be sidelined for 5 weeks because of a hip flexor. In addition to that, up and coming point guard Jai Lucas transferred to Texas and Florida welcomed five new freshman to their squad. Thus, Calathes was asked to shoulder the majority of the point guard responsibilities and become the team’s leader.

What makes Calathes so effective is in his ability to control the pace of a game. He can play an up-tempo style or run an offense in the half-court and in either fashion he seems to make good decisions. He makes great passes at the right times and to go along with his 6.5 assists a game he makes countless passes that lead to assists – contributing to the team’s ball movement.

Calathes’ passing ability is far and beyond his greatest skill. He sees the court unlike any other player in the country relative to his size and repeatedly makes difficult passes with either hand, creating easy shots for his teammates. At 6-5, he has great size and therefore can see over the defense – making passes that most point guards in college cannot. His great strength is also a weakness however, as he can get into trouble, attempting unreasonably difficult passes at times, which is why he’s averaging 3.3 turnovers a game, which is 20th worst in the country.more.”
  • CircleLimit4

    If he has a mentor (*cough* Nash *cough*) then he could be great. I first watched him grab 19pt/7ast/3st against Syracuse back in November. Fantastic passing skills and court vision. Best passer in the draft outside Rubio and tallest of the pure PGs. I’ve seen him measured at 6’6” so I hope this 6’5” measurement doesn’t indicate his actual height gets smaller as he goes to workouts. His size is a major asset and could make the most of a diminutive 2 guard (Nate? Gordon?) He can also play some defense. I think he’ll be the steal of the 2nd round if he drops that far.