AJ Storr Scouting Report
High-end scoring gravity is what NBA teams look for when improving the margins of how a team is structured. That's the sell for Storr in a nutshell. But what else is there to like? Find out below.
Introduction
Before enrolling at St. John’s, Storr put up close to 23 points in his senior year in high school, while playing for IMG Academy. Hereafter, scoring has been his M.O. in the first two years, putting up almost 9 points in the Big Apple, whereafter he almost doubled the production at Wisconsin, earning him Second-team All-Big Ten honors.
While playing within the flow of the offense, the plus value Storr brings is that he can take over games when needed. Scaling down the ball touches while maintaining offensive impact is the main feedback that he received after testing the waters. That makes Kansas a good context for him to be in, as he will play for a win-now team that has to make up for two consecutive years of second-round exits.
His stellar play also earned him playing time with the senior national team of the Bahamas, who were battling to earn a spot at the Olympic Games. Such experience at the highest level gives a better sample size, as playing in FIBA-organized games gives him reps to solidify his good understanding of the game.
Physical Profile
At 6-foot-7, Storr is a strongly built high-end athlete, weighing 215 pounds. He has a combination of craft and a good first step that helps him to create advantages as a slasher. He’s best at pressuring the rim, with his ability to decelerate and accelerate being his primary weapon. His footwork is the base of his success on that end.
Storr is an average athlete at best in terms of verticality. But his foot speed and the well-use of his upper body bring maturity to his game that will help him to improve as a defender in the upcoming years. The ability to stay composed and oversee the floor is what will continue to be put on display in his junior year. Defensively, he has decent hips but relies more on his first step and physicality to generate stops.
His broad shoulders helped Storr to fill his frame quickly in the last few years. He has consistently shown to be able to play against older defenders in his underclassman years in the Big East and Big Ten conferences. That gives more feasibility to NBA decision-makers that his physical tools can lead to adapting early at the next level.
Offense
Catch-and-drive
Storr’s best role at the next level is to serve as a slasher. While improving to impact a team’s offense with fewer ball touches, his ability to attack closeouts will keep him a productive player at any level. The basis for his success is his footwork. What immediately stood out was that he pivoted his feet well, positioning himself to elevate his burst and immediately bump into a defender to create separation.
Getting downhill looks seamless more often than not. In the first play, he’s keen on attacking his defender after it placed its last step. Despite the good closeout, Storr keeps his composure and decides to attack the weak side to make use of the baseline to space the floor out. Help defenders had to react, opening the opportunity to make the extra pass. His forcing of the finish was a bad look, with the spot-up shooter in the corner being wide-open while Storr himself tried to finish against multiple defenders.
The shot selection remains the area of development, as in the second play, Storr cuts through the middle and immediately gets aggressive while getting two feet in the paint. He was out of balance before the shot, so a kick-out pass to the corner was the better decision here. It’s common for born scorers to have tunnel vision at times, but on an NBA floor, the level of advantage-creation has to lead to him passing the ball more. As a result, Storr finished 57% of his rim attempts, making it a below-average number.
An advantage that NBA decision-makers must continue to develop in the early years of his career is his two-handed finishing. He’s much more comfortable with his right hand, but when defenders cover his right, he’s struggling more with his left due to a lack of consistency in switching hands before finishes. The extra value here comes with the footwork. In the third play, Storr attacks the strong side after the earlier miss. While strongly pivoting with his right foot when entering the paint, Storr brought it to his left after catching the defender in the air. The creativity is what separates him from most of his peers when playing as a slasher.
In the third and fourth plays below, Storr was facing seasoned veterans, showcasing his ability to get downhill and create separation off the dribble followed up by the quick execution of his midrange jumper in the fourth play, and the three off the dribble in the last possession below.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Ersin's NBA Draft Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.