Why Cassius Stanley will be best Duke basketball pro from 2020 class

Sign that Duke basketball product Cassius Stanley should shine: UPSIDE

The main reason why Cassius Stanley will be the best Duke basketball pro from the 2020 class is simple: He has the highest ceiling. Guys with athleticism like Stanley don’t come around too often.

I would be shocked if some team didn’t take a chance on Stanley in the first round. I am not sure he is going to be a guy that comes in and makes an immediate impact. He may be a project. But the potential of Stanley is about as high as any player to come out of Durham over the last few years. We see freak athletes come in and out of the NBA all the time. The ones who last are the ones with the most complete game.

As far as comparisons go, I think Stanley has the potential to be someone like DeMar DeRozan. The numbers between Stanley and DeRozan’s freshman season are fairly similar. Like Stanley, DeRozan left after playing just one season and was a guy who had freak athleticism. Stanley is a better shooter than Derozan was coming out of school, but Derozan was a better all-around scorer than Stanley currently is.

Cassius Stanley also showed to be a solid defender, able to keep guys in front and be active in the passing lanes. He will have to get stronger if he wants to guard small forwards at the next level. But given his athleticism, there is no reason he cannot grow into a high-level wing defender.

Stanley will also have to improve his ballhandling. Even though he will play off the ball, he still needs to have a better handle to break down defenders and create open looks for himself in the halfcourt offense.

He has all the tools to become a very effective player in the NBA. I believe that Stanley’s transition into the league will be easier than that of Tre Jones and Vernon Carey. It almost always takes longer for point guards and big men.

Stanley’s role will likely be to get out in the open floor, catch lobs, knock down shots, and compete hard on defense. It may take him a couple of years to become a difference-maker, but if he continues to develop, there is no limit to what Stanley can be in the NBA.

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