CHANDLER HUTCHISON, F, BOISE STATE
Class: Senior
Ht: 6-foot-7
Wt: 190 pounds
2017-18 Stats: 20.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.5 apg
HOW HE OPERATES
Chandler Hutchison is one of the more fascinating prospects in the NBA Draft. He did not attend the NBA Combine. He did not workout for any team. Yet, he could be a steal in the draft with the potential to have a Kyle Kuzma-esque impact on the team that drafts him.
Chandler was the Mountain West Player of the Year, a first-team All-Mountain West selection and an All-Conference defensive selection as well. He is a long and rangy athlete that uses all of his physical tools to his advantage.
With the ability to score on all three levels, Hutchison is arguably the most underrated scorer in the first round. He runs the court well, finishes well at the rim and has good speed in the open court. Transition was his most-used action during his senior season, and many times he was the reason why, getting a steal and taking the ball coast-to-coast. But even if he didn’t force the turnover or get the rebound, Hutchison filled lanes well and relished the chance to get into the open court and score before a defense was set.
Hutchison is skilled at getting fouled, taking a whopping 7.2 free throws per game. He is also a very good catch-and-shoot player, knocking down 46 percent of those tries. And mixed into all of this was the ability to make a play for a teammate. However, he is only an adequate finisher in traffic, and could be forced into misses when the physicality heightened and when he had to navigate through multiple bodies on his way to the rim. Hutchison was also an extremely high-turnover player. He had 104 of them during the season, and they were all attention-to-detail items – loose ball turnovers, player-control fouls, etc.
Defensively, Hutchison is disruptive from the standpoint of keeping active hands and arms, which helped him nab many passing lane steals. He’s got energy in his feet and works hard to stay in front of the ball-handler. When he’s beat, Hutchison can recover and still get a blocked shot due to his length. Players who drive him down into the paint, then stop on a dime for a pull-up jumper did have success against him. So, Hutchison will work on his fast-twitch and quickness.
HIS BEST FIT
A team looking for a player that can give them scoring right now as a reserve, but grow into a bonafide starter and prolific scorer in the NBA is his best fit. A team that will give him at least a green-ish light and not limit him to three or four spot-up attempts a night is ideal for Hutchison, who is an efficient scorer.
Christopher Dempsey: christopher.dempsey@altitude.tv and @chrisadempsey on Twitter