The NBA is in the midst of an offensive explosion, with scoring rates and pace unlike anything we've seen in the past 30 years. NBA talent evaluators will give long looks to players who are most capable of putting the ball in the basket in the amateur ranks, even if these scouts clearly look for much more than just raw point-per-game totals.
We took trips to Virginia, South Carolina and New York to check out some of the top scorers in college basketball over the past few weeks and dug through film to try to uncover others.
Here's what we learned.
Aston Francis | 32.3 PPG
6-1 | Sr. | SG | Wheaton College
The No. 1 scorer in the country, regardless of level, actually plays Division III basketball. Francis is averaging more turnovers than assists, but he's making more than five 3-pointers per game at a 38 percent clip. Francis is a phenomenal shooter who likely lacks the type of size, length and athleticism needed to hold the attention of pro scouts.
He is a terrific basketball player, though, and sifting through grainy Synergy footage of him bombing 3-pointers coming off screens from incredible vantage points and distances is highly entertaining to watch. He likely has a future at the lower levels of professional basketball, but isn't of the same caliber as the other prospects on this list.
Amir Hinton | 30.1 PPG
6-5 | Jr. (RS) | PG/SG | Shaw University
ESPN 100 draft ranking: No. 49
A late bloomer physically, Hinton told ESPN he was just 5-foot-11 and 110 pounds as a freshman in high school. As a non-qualifier out of high school, he was forced to take the Division II route and redshirt his freshman season at rural Lock Haven University. He opened some eyes with an efficient 32 points and four assists against Penn State in a preseason exhibition game, but mostly flew under the radar until he elected to transfer to Shaw. Hinton says he had interest from Division I schools -- including Temple and La Salle -- but wasn't interested in sitting out a year upon transferring.
Playing near NC State, Duke and UNC has made Hinton an easy target for NBA scouts who are curious to see what the athletic scorer has to offer. What they found has led to a quiet buzz and a growing trickle of executives as the season has moved on, culminating in the CIAA tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, next week, where most teams are expected to be represented.
"Twenty NBA teams have been out to see Amir already that I am aware of," his coach, Joel Hopkins, told ESPN. "From what I'm hearing, it wouldn't surprise me if all 30 teams are there in Charlotte."
Hinton is averaging 30.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.3 APG and 2.2 SPG, getting to the free throw line an outrageous 13 times per game and making 90 percent of his attempts. His team just finished the regular season 15-12, but his physical tools and natural scoring instincts certainly jump off the page. It will make him a popular invite for pre-draft workouts once he officially makes himself eligible, as he told ESPN he most certainly will.
Hinton scored 43 points on just 22 shots in the game we scouted -- on the road against Virginia State, the best defensive team in the conference. Hinton's fluidity creating his own shot, changing speeds, getting in passing lanes, playing above the rim and absorbing contact inside the paint was extremely impressive, as was his natural ability pulling up off the dribble from all over the court. He had his fair share of wild moments as well by overdribbling, making questionable decisions and putting very little effort in defensively. Still, it was difficult not to be impressed with his overall talent.
Hinton is hoping to be invited to the NBA combine in Chicago, where he can dispel the notion that he's just putting up huge stats on a bad team against overmatched competition athletically. His coach isn't shy about telling anyone who will listen exactly what he thinks about his star player's talent.
"I tell NBA scouts every day: If Zion Williamson is a once in a decade type of player, Amir Hinton is also," Hopkins said. "Zion plays with better players. If you take Amir Hinton and put him in that environment, just think about what would he do if he were playing with greater players."
Hinton technically would be eligible to transfer to a Division I team -- maybe a very good one -- if he gets his degree this summer. He says that's really not an option he's considering, as he's more likely to play professionally in Europe if the NBA isn't in the cards. From what we saw, he appears to have clear-cut NBA talent, and he would be a very interesting player to evaluate in a different setting.
Chris Clemons | 30.1 PPG
5-9 | Sr. | G | Campbell University
Draft ranking: No. 26 among seniors
Hinton isn't the only one who has benefited from proximity to Tobacco Road, as NBA scouts also have had an easy time checking in on Clemons, the No. 1 scorer in Division I. We watched Clemons surpass the 3,000-point mark in a road game against Presbyterian. He is attempting to become the first player to average over 30 PPG since 1996-97, when LIU-Brooklyn's Charles Jones did it.
Watching the snail's pace Campbell employs -- ranking 279th in tempo, according to KenPom -- you wonder how many more points Clemons might have scored in his career if his team didn't walk the ball up the floor every possession. He's one of the fastest end-to-end players in college basketball, with a first step that even the country's most elite players would have a difficult time guarding. But his team spends the first 25 seconds of every possession running countless screens, ball reversals and handoffs until mercifully giving Clemons the ball at the end of the shot clock and letting him go one-on-one.
Clemons' lack of size at 5-9 barefoot will be a clear hindrance to translating his tremendous scoring to the NBA level, but his ripped frame and impressive athleticism certainly give him a chance to carve out a niche. It helps that he has shot more free throws than anyone in Division I (shooting 87 percent), and that he hits 4.3 3s per game (third in Division 1).
5-9 #Campbell senior guard prospect Chris Clemons leads the #NCAA in scoring + is the 6th leading scorer in #NCAA history. He averages 1.114 PPP, which ranks in the 95th %tile among Division-I players this season. He is particularly lethal in transition + as a spot up threat pic.twitter.com/ZUaUehpOsm
— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) February 24, 2019
There are some things scouts will nitpick, including his competition level and his career negative assist-turnover ratio. He doesn't have the same type of craft or touch around the basket as a finisher that you see from undersized guards who have made it, relying more on brute force and sheer explosiveness to draw fouls. He often looks like he's operating at half-speed, seemingly just going through the motions on both ends of the floor. His jumper is a set shot, deadly in catch-and-shoot situations but not quite as effective off the dribble, which is important for smaller guards.
Clemons is young for a senior (he turns 22 at the end of July). He can continue to work on his deficiencies at the next level, possibly on a two-way contract or in the G League.
Justin Wright-Foreman | 26.6 PPG
6-2 | Sr. | PG | Hofstra University
ESPN 100 draft ranking: No. 63
Enrolling in college as a 17-year-old, Wright-Foreman averaged just 1.3 PPG as a freshman. Now he's drawing NBA scouts to every game thanks to his prolific and efficient scoring, sporting an outstanding 65 true shooting percentage while averaging nearly 27 PPG. The only Division I player to accomplish that feat over the past 25 years is Doug McDermott. Unlike other players on this list, Wright-Foreman is putting up points in bunches while also helping his team win games, as Hofstra is 23-6 on the season.
6-1 + 21 y/o #Hofstra PG prospect Justin Wright-Foreman averages 1.156 PPP, which is in the 97th %tile among all Division-I players. He's also averaging per-40 minute stats of 28.8 PTS, 4.5 REBS + 3.2 ASTS while shooting 42.5% 3FG% in 27 GP this season pic.twitter.com/fpuo76IhXx
— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) February 24, 2019
Wright-Foreman is one of the best off-the-dribble shooter in the college game, converting an impressive 48 percent of his pull-ups on nearly six attempts per game, according to Synergy. He has elite footwork, balance and touch, rising up impressively and getting his shot off with a high release point and deep range, despite his lack of size. He's much better pulling up off the bounce than with his feet set, as he doesn't shoot on the hop and tends to dip the ball on the catch. He primarily plays off the ball for Hofstra. While improved, his court vision and playmaking ability are still not strengths. He's largely a straight-line driver who operates at one speed and struggles at times to make decisions in traffic. Given his size, he'll likely have to play more point guard at the pro level than he does in college. His defensive effort will need to improve as well.
With that said, Wright-Foreman won't turn 22 until the end of October, and he has shown significant improvement in the past year. There is a lot to like about his combination of length (6-6 wingspan) and scoring. It wouldn't be shocking to see a team use a second-round pick on him, even if he may end up being more of a two-way contract candidate. First, he'll most likely need to show what he can do at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament camp in April, which many seniors in his mold have used as a springboard to the NBA combine and beyond. Making the NCAA tournament would also help.
Antoine Davis | 26.3 PPG
6-1 | Fr. | G | University of Detroit-Mercy
Draft ranking: No. 45 among freshmen
Only a freshman, Davis has a great chance to crack the NCAA all-time scoring list, but sources tell ESPN he could potentially look to declare early depending on the feedback he receives from NBA teams this spring.
Davis is not an imposing player physically, standing just 6-1 with a wiry 170-pound frame, average length and modest athletic ability. Having already turned 20 prior to the start of the season, that's unlikely to change much, though he could certainly continue to get stronger.
Davis is very much a volume scorer. He leads the NCAA in both field goal and 3-point attempts and ranks top five in usage, but his true shooting percentage of 55 is below average relative to other draft prospects. His style consists almost entirely of one-on-one play and difficult pull-up jumpers with defenders draped all over, while his 1.0 assist-turnover ratio is not particularly inspiring considering his size. Davis has taken more pull-up jumpers than anyone else by a huge margin -- nearly double the No. 2 player, according to Synergy Sports. To his credit, he has been very efficient there, hitting 42 percent of his attempts and scoring 1.04 points per possession. He is on the verge of breaking Steph Curry's record for 3-pointers made by a freshman in a season.
6-1 + 20 y/o #Detroit freshman PG prospect Antoine Davis has hit 42% of his pull up attempts, scoring 1.04 PPP. His talent is readily apparent, as he's a solid ball-handler, can operate at different speeds + he stops on a dime w/ impressive balance to rise up with terrific touch pic.twitter.com/688Z13J7bI
— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) February 24, 2019
Davis' instincts and relentless hunger for scoring are intriguing in today's NBA, but he'll likely have to round out the rest of his game to make it at the next level. His defense is poor, he drives with his head down and creates almost nothing for his teammates. He also struggles to finish inside the paint. Until he finds more ways to impact winning (Detroit is 10-18), he's likely to be labeled more of a G League candidate than an NBA prospect. Still, he definitely has some intriguing long-term skills, making him someone scouts will want to track next season and beyond.