First thing's first: My hope here is that this is just the first in a great many draft profiles I complete over the course of the next six-plus months. Baldwin isn't the first [of hopefully many] in the series for no reason: I think he's rather very likely (relative to others) to wear red, white and blue for Philly next year.

Coming in at No. 14 on my recent big board and No. 19 on DraftExpress's recent Top 100 Prospects list (Dec. 9th), Vanderbilt point guard Wade Baldwin has risen from the depths of nowhere into being the talk of the NBA draft community.

Going into his freshman year last season, Baldwin was a very unheralded recruit (RSCI #120) who had not a single noted strength in his profile -- and his shooting was considered, if anything, a weakness in scouting reports. He wouldn't turn 19 until just after his freshman year concluded, and his main strength may have been his physical dimensions: he measured 6'1.5" without shoes (so, basically, 6'3") with a 6'10" wingspan in 2012, just after turning 16. In addition to this incredible length, at 18 years old he sported an already muscular body--even a physical toughness about his demeanor.

So no one was really paying attention to an under-the-radar point guard for a non-contender with apparently more significant NBA prospects on the roster. And then Baldwin broke a few Vandy freshman records en route to an incredibly intriguing statistical season.

Shooting

The first thing to note in Baldwin's profile is that he's an absolutely dynamite 3-point shooter, off both the catch and the dribble, with great shot selection (patience, intelligence, but possibly some level of hesitation in his shot). More Chris Paul than Steph Curry in willingness to shoot it, if you will. He has a very very smooth, repeatable stroke, and he gets it off with his feet set easily.

Here are three shots from the same game vs. Alabama last season, showing a variety of reasons for optimism as well as potentially some for caution.

Above, Baldwin double-crosses into a stepback 3 with time ticking down (leaving enough time for a putback if his shot was off target), showing off a variety of things, but mainly his ever-smooth form--quick jump, quick arm extension, still shooting with his wrist.

Above, he was looking for his shot from 25 feet out the whole way, getting just enough separation to get his feet set and to get it off cleanly.

Above, Baldwin executes what should be a simple pick-and-roll play, but a lapse of defense as well as a questionable screen gives him worlds of room. You can see he took the extra second or so to get it off, taking everything that was given to him, rather than shooting it from far beyond the arc because he had some daylight. I don't know if he should be knocked for this or praised for it. So I don't go either way concretely yet.

Over a 1009-minute sample in his freshman season, Wade shot 98 three-pointers and made 44% of them. As supporting evidence that his shot is real, he shot 80% on 106 free-throw attempts. So far this year, in 250 minutes, he has shot 28 threes, making 50% of them; he's also up to 87% on 39 free-throw attempts. He is yet to go a whole game without making at least one 3-pointer, but he has yet to attempt five 3-pointers in a single game this season. It's an interesting thing. On one hand, 66% TS and 61% eFG; on the other, he could definitely remain a mega-plus offensive player if he took about twice as many threes, making 40-43% of them.

Passing

Baldwin's assist and turnover numbers have dipped from his freshman season to this year, but he's looked better in virtually every way here, according to those who have commented on the matter (and myself).

His court vision was great last year, but it looks all the better this year, as well as his ability to hit teammates right where they need to receive the pass.

Above, Baldwin makes a remarkably quick read once he gets into position to receive the pass, getting rid of it immediately from way above his head right into the perfect spot for the cutting Luke Cornet. This kind of weakside pass is the kind every NBA off-ball player should strive to perfect. And, considering Baldwin's potential likelihood to be not-always-ball-dominant, it's one that's incredibly promising, one that he's already capable of making on a daily basis.

Above, Baldwin gets a little cute with his dribble and then whips a left-handed pass above the defense right to where his teammate will catch it in position to go right up for a shot. Awesome point guard play.

Above, Baldwin made a high-IQ read and decision that didn't turn out to be necessary but may have been in the NBA. He made the read as the pass was being made that there was one defender between him and his teammate on the other wing, and he knew that, in order to absolutely get that defender to commit to him, he had to begin a drive inside the arc. Well, the defender was already committing to him, but he did it anyways, and he got his teammate the wide open 3-point shot.

Last year, Baldwin ended the year with a per-40 AST:TO ratio of 6.1 to 2.7. He also had an AST% of 31%, and TOV% a high 19.5% (he only sported a 19% usage rate). So far this year, Baldwin's at a 4.3 to 3.7 AST to TO ratio, but he has looked even better than last year getting there. This season Vandy has also upped Wade's usage rate to 26%, and he's responded thus far with lowly rates of 21% AST and a slightly improved 18% TOV.

Driving/Finishing

Baldwin is a better driver than he gets credit for -- probably underrated here because he's not a very explosive jumper, though he's absolutely an above-average athlete in every facet. This year, he's already at 21 unassisted FGs at the rim (3.36 per-40, an amazing number even in smaller sample); last year, he had 23 over his entire season.

He gets by his man virtually whenever he wants to on the college level: he has a great first step and he's a wonderful decision-maker. Last year, just 31% of all of his shots came at the rim, where he converted them at a 56% rate; he has upped the percent of his shots at the rim to 51% this year, and has upped his conversion rate to a solid 61%. He will usually go for the elusive finish over trying to draw contact, draw a foul call, though this isn't always the case.

Above, Wade does a great job of faking a post-entry pass attempt and driving to the left, right by his man--the defender at the rim did a bad job, essentially getting out Baldwin's way, but Wade took exactly what the defense gave him, making a professional move of his own, and finished well.

Above, Baldwin makes an excellent move at full-speed in transition against a guard defending the rim and a forward to the side attempting to block his shot. He eurosteps around the guard and brings the ball down to avoid his layup being blocked, switches to his left hand and finger rolls it in.

And finally, above, Wade begins a hard drive inside, and makes a great spin move that gets him some extra ground; realizing that he has one more defender than he should in the paint, he quickly diagnoses that 1) he very likely can't convert at the rim in this situation and 2) Luke Kornet is open in the corner. Baldwin makes the easy pass, and Kornet makes the easy 3.

Defense

Wade isn't quite a "mixed bag" on defense, but he's not Marcus Smart on the college level either. Clearly, with his tools--his incredibly long arms, his pretty high level of athleticism and his muscular build that will only improve with time--he has the potential to be very good here, against 1's and likely some 2's as well. His effort level rarely, if ever, is nothing short of 'intense'. And he's 19. These are things that usually come together to form a great package in the NBA on the defensive side of the ball.

(Excuse the weird half-second cut, it looks weird I know but it was a part of the source full-game video.) Above, Baldwin shows good, meh and good again on the defensive end. He plays tight D, shows very good lateral quickness, but then allows an average athlete to get by the side of him (but not necessarily by him)... and then recovers to bat a pass out of bounds that could've easily been a steal and a transition bucket.

Here he steals a simple pass--perhaps a small lapse in judgment by the opposition--using careful anticipation and, of course, his go-go gadget arms. Transition dunk, easy-peasy.

Kevin Stallings' Vanderbilt teams don't generate steals at all, so Baldwin's 2.1 and 2.0 steals-per-40 (mostly steals of this exact nature) this year and last, respectively, is a very respectable feat. And lastly for his D, Baldwin is a solid but not excellent rebounder, at 5.7-per-40 last year and 4.5 this year. It's probably a good idea to note here that he is playing on a team that starts two 7-footers, so rebounds don't come so easy.

Overall

As I mentioned somewhere above, it's possible Baldwin isn't cut out to be a full-time NBA point guard. He has definitively expanded his ball-handling abilities as a sophomore, but so far his 26% usage rate seems too much for him to handle even on the college level. Well, I don't really think that should be a knock against him: he has absolutely awesome off-ball skills, and as a 2 he presents plus-plus-plus value in off-ball passing and ball-handling. He can likely handle most (if not all) 2-guards on defense.

Perhaps the best case scenario is that he plays the 1 defensively, but plays alongside another ball-dominant player on offense. Let's say, for theory's sake, there's an Australian ball-dominant superstar who plays the 4 also on his team. . . that may be ideal.

As for the Sixers' angle: looking at Baldwin's meteoric rise as a prospect so far this season, it may be fair to guess that the Sixers don't even get a chance to select him, as he may be taken somewhere in between their own pick (or the Lakers' pick if it conveys) and the pick conveyed by Miami. But if he's available to the Sixers anywhere in the range outside of the top-10, look with some confidence for the Sixers to have Adam Silver call Baldwin's name for them. However he turns out in the NBA, he could be fitted like a glove onto Philadelphia's 2016-and-beyond roster.