Disclaimer: This piece does not reflect the views of the Minnesota Timberwolves organization.
Sophomore, PF, UNLV
6’0.25”, 184.6 LBS
6.5 % Body Fat
7’3.25” Wing Span (9th among draft class)
9’3.5” Standing Reach (4th among draft class)
College Stats In 2014-15: 33 games, 32.7 MPG, 15.7 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 1.3 APG, 48.7 FG%, 28.4 3P%, 73.6 FT%
Where He’ll Go:
Most draft experts expect Wood to go late in the first round.
Best Game In 2014-15:
Wood had plenty of great games during his sophomore season at UNLV, but the best came on Feb. 10 at home against Fresno State. UNLV won 73-61 thanks to 27 points and a season-high 19 rebounds and seven blocks from Wood. He shot 8-of-18 from the field and did a majority of his work at the free-throw line, going 11-of-17. Only two players for UNLV (Wood and Rashad Vaughn) scored more than seven points.
Scouting Report:
Wood’s main strength right now is on the defensive side at the ball. He’s long and athletic (tell me where you’ve heard that before?) and blocked shots at a high rate in college. He’s not bad at switching in pick-and-rolls and if he does fall behind his man, he has the length to block shots.
He’s skinny right now and needs to add on weight, but he’s 19. He’ll probably still fill out.
Offensively, he’s a very interesting player. Sometimes his shot selections are baffling. He’ll jack up a three with 25 seconds left on the shot clock. That’s not something coaches or veteran NBA players will exactly love. That's something Anthony Bennett, a former UNLV player, had to deal with this season for the Wolves.
The frustrating thing with Wood is that he's actually an above-average three-point shooter, despite hitting only 28 percent of them last season. Much of that had to do with shot selection.
“I feel like even in college, I shot the ball 28 percent from the three-point line,” Wood said at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. “I think in the NBA, I can shoot the ball 38 percent to 40 percent… I kind of took weird (shots). That was just because I felt I was confident in my shot. If my shot goes in in practice, I feel like it should go in in a game.”
The one good thing about some of Wood’s questionable shots is that he’s normally the one to go back and get it. He’s like a pogo stick after a miss and it’s almost like he’s anticipating a miss – like a pass to himself (Ricky Davis style).
He can run the floor (Ricky Rubio smiles) and is a very good athlete for a big man. He will have plenty of opportunities for lobs and is an above-average ball handler for a big man, which should result in him being able to pass out of double teams later in his career.
He did meet with the Wolves at the Combine.
Overall
When it comes to Wood, he’s the ultimate high-risk/high-reward player. Best-case scenario, he’s a shot-blocking, stretch forward who ends up putting on another 20-30 pounds of muscle. That’s a scary thought. You don’t see many (if any at all?) stretch fours who have the ability to block shots at a high rate.
Then again, Wood could be a player who continues to be undisciplined with his shot selection and finds himself on the bench real early. Just imagine if his first coach were Rick Adelman or Tom Thibodeau. Those two aren’t fans of playing young players and if Wood gets in the doghouse early, who knows.
Quotable
“I’m still working on it – developing from an NBA three. I think I’ll be good.” – Christian Wood on developing into a three-point shooter in the NBA.