This piece does not reflect the views of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

G, Freshman, Vanderbilt

6’2, 175 lbs

College Stats in 2018-19:

5 games, 5 starts, 27.8 MPG, 16.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 53.7 FG%, 47.8 3P%, 75.0 FT%

Where he’ll go:

Garland will be a top 10 pick.

The Rundown:

Garland is an extremely intriguing prospect, but very unproven. He only played five games in college before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

While the injury adds a certain level of risk to picking Garland, there’s no doubt he could become a solid point guard in the NBA. The best things about Garland’s game are the most important things for a point guard in this day and age—ball handling and shooting.

In an extremely limited showcase in college, Garland shot 47.8 percent from three. Though that percentage inevitably would have gone down had he played more games, it’s not possible that Garland is a truly bad shooter. If he can push 40 percent in the pros, that would be extremely beneficial for his team.

It just seems like Garland is going to succeed as a pro. His ability to punish defenders for going under screens combined with his ability to slash to the rim and pull up from midrange could be deadly and his handle is tight. He is also a promising passer—though he turned the ball over too much in college compared to his assist numbers, he’s undoubtedly going to improve in that area.

Garland needs to work on getting to the free-throw line more. He’s a little undersized at 175 pounds and will need to be creative to be able to finish through contact at the pros. However, if Garland can figure out how to use his shooting threat to get defenders out of position, he could be dangerous. His physical profile is similar to a player like Damian Lillard, who, when he came into the league, had similar struggles finishing at the rim and drawing fouls, but now excels at both. Garland should watch a lot of tape of how Lillard executes the pick and roll and uses spacing to his advantage.

With where Garland is likely to be selected, there’s a high chance that he will end up playing a lot of minutes right away. It’s important that the team that takes him gives him a chance to play through his mistakes instead of benching him after poorly-advised passes or unnecessary turnovers. That being said, he also needs to be held accountable for making smart plays on the basketball court. That balance will be critical to his development.