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2019 NBA Mock Draft: Murray State’s Ja Morant is rising

By Brendon Kleen

CHARLESTON, IL - JANUARY 17: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers is seen before the game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Lantz Arena on January 17, 2019 in Charleston, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHARLESTON, IL - JANUARY 17: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers is seen before the game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Lantz Arena on January 17, 2019 in Charleston, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JANUARY 22: Cam Reddish #2 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after hitting a three pointer against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Petersen Events Center on January 22, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – JANUARY 22: Cam Reddish #2 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after hitting a three pointer against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Petersen Events Center on January 22, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

125. . F. Duke. Cam Reddish. 8. player

Reddish is starting to scare me. His 3-point percentage is down to 33 percent on the year and particularly since returning from illness a couple weeks ago for the Blue Devils, Reddish has been downright bad on offense.

Despite missing just one game with that illness (a loss to Syracuse in which point guard Tre Jones also went down), Reddish is shooting 23 percent from the field. Duke needs him to keep shooting to space the floor and keep defensive attention away from R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, but they may need to search for other options soon. Not only is Reddish’s deep shot off, but he is also struggling to find offense in other ways as well.

Against Notre Dame on Monday night, Reddish missed a series of interior attempts against a weak defense. At one point, he air-balled a push shot from the post and later shoved his way into an uncalled offensive foul and then turned the ball over, losing grasp of his shot. Such restricted shooting touch inside has to provide at least a little concern over whether his jump shot will translate to the NBA or if his offensive game will be diverse enough to play big minutes there.

Reddish can put the ball on the floor to attack closeouts but struggles when he’s put in situations where he has to drive to the basket through the defense. Unless Jones or Williamson sets him up in transition, Reddish restricts the flow of Duke’s fast breaks by giving up the ball nearly as soon as he catches it, as evidenced by his 55 turnovers this year compared with just 39 assists.

Reddish is hurting Duke and his draft stock since rejoining the lineup on Jan. 19.

Check out our full scouting report on Cam Reddish.

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