FanPost

Eric Paschall - Draft Profile

In this latest instalment of draft profiles, I will be looking at Eric Paschall.

College Team: Villanova (Senior)

Position: PF/SF

Height: 6’8"

Wingspan: 6’10"

2018-19 Stats: Over 36 games in around 36min per game he averages 17pts, 6reb, 0.5blk, 0.7stl, 2.1ast at 45% FG, 35% 3P and 75% FT.

Projected Draft Spot: Late 1st Rd – Mid 2nd Rd.

Strengths:

Paschal is a solid athlete, with a very good motor. On the offensive end, Paschall uses his size, strength and athleticism to bully his way through the paint, and to grab rebounds for put-backs. He is also able to shoot it in all areas of the half court, which enables him to play a stretch 4 or small ball 5. He is a competent passer and is able to pass out of traffic to find the open man. While he isn’t blindly fast, Paschall is able score on the move very well, which he uses to exploit defences and attack the lane.

Defensively, Paschall is solid and can pick up steal and blocks when he is switched on. He can body-up on players trying to back him down, and box-out to haul in rebounds.

Weaknesses:

Defensively, Paschall can be a bit foul prone as he tries to be too physical around the paint. His height is a bit problematic if he is going to play any time at the 5 spot, but he has the strength and skills to play small ball 5 against the likes of Draymond Green. Paschall has the ability to rebound well, but his total rebounds don’t really show that, and is an area that he could work on to be productive at the next level. While he is athletic and strong his speed at times is not what it should be, especially if he is to play time at the 3 spot. If he is going to guard the perimeter at all, then he will need work on getting more steals, or if he plays at the 4/5 spot more, then he needs to work on his timing when going for blocks – as both his steal and block numbers aren’t great. His shooting needs work, especially his consistency if he is to make the rotation of any team at the pro level.

Tournament Play:

Paschall had two solid but not great games at the NCAA tournament. What hurt his play was his shooting from deep, where he only shot 4 from 16.

Game 1: 14pts, 6 reb, 0stl, 1blks, 1ast – with 2 from 7 beyond the arc.

Game 2: 19 pts, 3 reb, 0stl, 0blks, 2ast – with 2 from 9 beyond the arc.

NBA Player Comparison: Malik Rose, Brendan Bass (with a deep ball), Paul Milsap lite, Kenny Thomas, Montrezl Harrell.

Fit with the Spurs:

Well the Spurs have worked him out, so that is a start. The Spurs need to get some of their fight and aggression back. The team has plenty of finesse type players, but they need someone who can get in there and get ugly to haul in rebounds, get block and attack opponent’s lanes. Poeltl has the ability to do this well, but he needs a partner in crime. He would work well next to Poeltl as he can be the stretch 4, and Poeltl or Aldridge at the 5. He does possess the passing ability to get the deep shooters open looks, and he is quick enough to be a trailer in transition. Paschall could become a player in a similar mode to Montrezl Harrell – where he would be a spark-plug providing scoring, solid defence and a rebounding presence. He is starting to garner some buzz around the place, and may be a target of teams in the late 1st or early 2nd Rd, if this is the case and the Spurs are high on the guy, then they can either take him at 29th (which means they may go after a big at 19th – possibly Bruno Fernando who they are working-out soon) – or they could try to trade up in the second if he falls.

Highlights:

2018 Tournament vs Kansas

Villanova 2018-19 Highlights

Game vs St Johns

Game vs LaSalle


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