Dailyn Swain Scouting Report
A strongly built wing fits a much-needed NBA mold: a plus-defending wing who can thrive in a supporting role. However, is that enough to get drafted? What's the long-term potential? Find out below.
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Introduction
Swain is one of the younger sophomores in the country, as he’ll still be 19 years old on draft night. The All-Ohio standout decided to stay within his home state by committing to Coach Miller in 2022 when he was 17 years old.
His freshman campaign can be summarized by playing in a low-usage, play-finishing role with very few on-ball reps where his creativity was put on display. And that’s okay. Swain thrived on impacting rebounding or serving as an active cutter. However, his three-point shooting remained below average, making it harder for the Xavier coaching staff to reward him with a starting role.
Raw numbers have little value, but in Swain’s case, teams were keen on letting him open on the perimeter, leading to him struggling to serve as an active cutter and play-finisher, as the value of his physicality went down because it was easier for defenses to keep him under control.
The emphasis of this analysis is to look further than the much-needed three-point improvement and carve out a realistic role he can fill in the NBA.
Physical Profile
At 6-foot-7, Swain has a strong frame and broad shoulders with enough room to get stronger in the next few years. His quick feet and good footwork open up the opportunity to defend against guards and wings. On top of that, Swain has quick and big hands that help him to impact angles and serve as a reliable play-finisher.
He’s a decent vertical athlete but mostly relies on the combination of quickness and physicality to finish through contact. He has good hip fluidity and slides his feet well to stay in front of scorers from a standstill. The most crucial aspect in Swain’s development is the decision to either focus on being a big defensive-minded wing who can bulk up to guard against forwards as well or to be an initiating wing with the ball in his hands.
Considering ball-heavy players having a tougher outing maintaining in the league, and defense being Swain’s core value, it’s likely that his physical tools are best to develop by getting stronger in the next few years.
Offense
While shooting 15.4% on 0.9 three-point attempts per game, the numbers have very little value to properly evaluate his three-point shooting. Instead, the focus should be on the process of getting to his shots and the mechanics that are applied. What immediately stood out is that Swain forces his three-point shots often, while not correctly balancing out before the shot.
In the first play below, we see Swain pivot his left foot well but take too long to place his right foot to get to his shooting stance. On top of that, he brings the ball to the level of his chest, which is a positive, but has the ball way too far out, not forming a ‘V’ or ‘L’ before the release. The jumper itself has a decent releasing point, while Swain smoothly gets up by using his good upper-leg strength.
We see much faster execution in the second possession, but looking closely, Swain is not releasing the ball, instead, he’s pushing it before the shot. This makes hand-eye coordination less valuable as the push itself takes away the momentum of the shot. Swain looked much quicker to set his feet while keeping the ball high enough, banking on his strength advantage of not having to lower the ball down to power back up.
The aforementioned problems cause the uncomfortable release in the third and fourth plays below. With a total sample size of 26 attempted threes, it’s not possible to determine if Swain can be an average shooter in the future. While there are positives in his process (pivot foot, keeping the ball high), the quickness of setting his feet, and the distance between the ball and his body before the shot are must-needed improvements to get drafted.
Another vital factor for Swain’s chances to survive in the NBA is his self-created scoring opportunities via closeouts. In a ball-movement-heavy NBA game, being able to utilize switches and attacking closeouts will partially decide Swain’s long-term potential and how much ball touches an NBA coaching staff is willing to give him. What immediately stood out was Swain’s composure, physicality, and footwork to create scoring angles in the paint.
What gives Swain an advantage to position himself well despite his non-shooting threat is his active cutting and relocation. The first play below is an example, he’s keen on using his broad shoulders and frame to serve as an off-ball screener or to force rotations and switches. The area of development is shot selection. There was no reason to prefer a jumper over a lay-up with a foot in the paint, especially considering Swain’s much-needed development in that regard.
Swain’s strength is put on display when he’s setting a foot in the paint. In the second possession, we see a straight-line drive after the side pass. Despite the lack of offensive creativity, Swain is good at getting downhill and generating paint touches. His core strength, combined with good upper-leg strength gives him an advantage against defenders where initiating contact leads to Swain forcing defenders out of balance. On top of that, his footwork is at a good enough level to create angles when he picks up his dribble and looks to score. Swain’s touch around the rim is decent but set to improve due to his process to get to his shot being excellent. The execution is what he has an NBA decision-maker has to focus on improving in the upcoming years.
For his sophomore season, Swain looks to prefer midrange shots or jumpers closer to the rim. To evolve as a scorer, his ability to get deeper in the paint and generate lay-ups will be a vital factor in maintaining stability for a team’s offensive rating, especially considering in case his three-point shot doesn’t come around in the next few years.
What gives confidence that Swain can improve the versatility of his offense is his active cutting and excellent relocation abilities. He’s not just moving on the floor, but purposefully cutting when he sees the defense being forced to rotate and switch. That opens up passing angles for teammates. For spacing purposes, that’s what NBA decision-makers look for to take the most out of the role of low-usage guards and wings.
In the first play, Swain cuts by using the backdoor at the moment of his assignment switching to the ball handler. We see the same effect in the second play below, where Swain looks to cut after his assignment switches. On that end, he has a great feel for the game and an understanding of how to create angles and offensive options for others to utilize, and that’s what the purpose of complementary pieces is to support the key figures on the basketball court.
NBA decision-makers must take notice of the third and fourth play below, where Swain leverages his non-shooting threat to serve as the forgotten man on offense, purposefully cutting after the opposing team defense is forced to make a decision. Having good basketball IQ is a term that’s been overused in recent years, however, it defines how Swain is playing on offense without the ball in his hands. That combined with his status as one of the youngest sophomores in the country, leaves his draft profile with intriguing positives.
Considering Swain played with very few on-ball reps, it’s positive to mention his 36 assists to 21 turnovers as a freshman. As an extension to his purposeful cutting, Swain can serve as a ball-mover and quick decision-maker as a passer. He’s composed at all times and uses his size well to see over guards. While leveraging his physical advantage, Swain is looking to create passing angles for himself without milking much time from the clock.
Looking at the first play below, his hustle to maintain possession after a likely live-dribble turnover from his teammate immediately resulted in him finding the shooter in the corner. When playing in the clutch, that’s the type of addition coaches look for in their complementary pieces. We see a similar play in the second possession. Swain is the recipient of the baseline out-of-bounds play and stays composed. He’s looking to gather a passing angle to get the ball in the paint but ends up preferring the shooter at the elbow. What’s vital to keep in mind is that Swain barely has bail-out passes, as he focuses on getting passes that benefit the offense.
The third play shows another example of his composure and good understanding of angles. To counter the zone defense, Swain is being used in the corner, and despite his non-shooting threat, he stays patient to wait for the big man’s post-up while being in a good position to seal. However, to grow as a playmaker, Swain needs to have more on-ball reps. His live-dribble passing needs work. In the fourth play below, Swain attacks the rim but doesn’t see the wide-open shooter in the corner. That had to be the pass after the dribble penetration, rather than the dump-off to the big man in the mid-post who had to self-create its finish.
Defense
Swain’s defensive versatility is the unique selling point. Therefore, he must show that he can play as a pick-and-roll defender. The area where he gains an advantage over his peers is the ability to use his quickness and upper-body strength to maintain ball handlers, while he can also possibly guard against forwards and big men when bulking up in the next few years. The league’s transition to four and five-out offense raises the value of inverted pick-and-rolls. Therefore, pick-and-roll defense will be one of the main traits Swain can use to convince NBA decision-makers.
There are a few areas to clean up in his sophomore year. At times, Swain is way too responsive to what the ball handler will do, instead of forcing scorers to adjust and immediately respond to Swain’s defense actions. In the first play below, Swain does well to recognize the incoming screen to immediately tag and try to place his body at 180 degrees of the ball handler. When that doesn’t work, he’s using his upper body well to try and get his defender out of balance. The mistake Swain made in this play is that when avoiding the screen, he had one foot outside the interior, thus leaving a tough challenge to overcome the positional advantage he gave to the ball handler.
In the second play, we see good execution of the aforementioned 180 degrees. But that’s where the next area of development comes into play: being too passive. He’s simply allowing the ball handler to maintain a shot at scoring while taking away the quality of the shot. The contradiction here is that help defense shouldn’t be needed, as Swain will then bail out scorers who can simply kick the ball out. At 1.7 personal fouls in almost 19 minutes per game, Swain can afford to play more aggressively.
A confidence-giver for improvement is Swain’s footwork. In the third play, the ICE led to the ball handler potentially using the elbow screen to get separation. However, after changing gears, Swain knew his opponent was going to reject the screen and try to utilize the straight-line drive. That’s where Swain’s footwork came into play, as he strongly pivoted with his left and kept the ball handler in front of him, using his physicality to unbalance the scorer and force the tough midrange shot.
As a sophomore, Swain needs to improve his decision-making when responding to opposing ball screens. The scoring guard simply lured him into the high pick-and-roll with basically no coverage in the middle. Dropping back to either force a dribble penetration or pull-up was the move. But that’s connected to Swain’s passiveness and lack of not forcing his own will on opponents.
When defending against opponents making plays out of closeouts, Swain is yet again too responsive. He pivots his left foot very well and shows the ability to slide his feet while using his lateral quickness to stay in front of most scorers. However, because he’s so reactive, he’s vulnerable to being shaken out of balance by jab steps or fakes. In the first play below, Swain is focused on making the winning play in the point-of-attack. However, by biting on the jab, he gave away the driving lane on the weak side, immediately resulting in the paint touch. Heavily contesting the shot didn’t hold the same value as the scorer got what it wanted.
Swain’s footwork when closing out is another area of development. In the second possession, he pivots with his right, while seeing the scorer changing gears and attacking the left side. This led to Swain being blown by and gambling to reach and poke the ball away. In the third play, he’s making the right decision by closing the driving lane and forcing the scorer to his left. But that’s where his focus on the ball handler got in his way, as the scorer used two of Swain’s teammates as screens to find the scoring angle down low.
The vital area of Swain’s development to evolve into an NBA-caliber defender is his closeouts. He’s quick to close out and has a good understanding of how to pivot and strengthen his last step. But his decision-making is lacking on that end. In the fourth play, he’s fully biting on the shot-fake, as that helped the scorer get a clear route to either drive or pull up for the three. With eight seconds left on the clock, that should have given Swain comfort in knowing that the guard could choose to not shoot yet, as the time pressure wasn’t there. But to get better at the aforementioned, reps and experience are vital, making it an area of development NBA decision-makers must focus on.
We see Swain much more comfortable when closing out against spot-up shooters. His advantage over his peers is his last step and good footwork to pivot strongly. That’s crucial to respond to potential dribble-drive sequences, while leaving him ready to rotate and adjust in case of the extra pass. That’s one of the core values of Swain’s NBA potential as a defender.
In the first play below, we see Swain closing out timely, while strongly pivoting with his left, closing the driving lane on the weak side. On the same time, he used his length well to cover the shot with his right arm. Details like these are vital to grow and create good habits as a defender. With the amount of extra spacing in the NBA, habits and playing hard are two areas where players can turn into plus-defenders. With the high amount of three-point shooting, mastering the art of closing out correctly is what NBA decision-makers focus on.
The second possession is an example of the lack of reps. Swain goes too far into the paint with multiple defenders already there in a non-halfcourt setting. That’s useful when recognizing bad habits, as that is one to clean up in his sophomore season. Swain should have tried to position himself between the paint and the three-point line to either serve as a help-defender inside, or to maintain good distance to close out. We also see tunnel vision at times. In the third play, the teammate calls the switch, but Swain was too late to recognize the rotation, leaving to the wide-open three-pointer in the corner.
One of the physical advantages Swain has are his good hip mobility. In the last play below, he does well to smoothly spin and close out with a strong left pivot to elevate his burst. Fluid hips are vital physical attributes the versatile NBA wing defender has to have to respond to the quickness of the game.
When defending away from the ball, Swain has an incredible feel for timing. That’s the advantage of playing as a purposeful cutter himself, as aforementioned. He’s good at knowing when to respond to movement around him and keeping good track of the play. At times he looks too focused on the ball, which is an area of attention for his sophomore season. In the first play below, we see an example of the above, as Swain doesn’t immediately initiate physical contact, but keeps himself in a position to deflect the pass, or to close out in case of the kick-out pass occurs.
The second possession is a good example of Swain’s nose for detail. He knows he’s too late when gambling for the deflection, and then immediately turns with his fluid hips to grab the foul. That’s a good foul to give, as a surefire two-pointer changed to a trip to the charity stripe to potentially earn two instead. Stepping out of the paint on that play cost him a good defensive stop.
For long-term potential, the third play is a good example. We see Swain utilizing his good point-of-attack defense to force the ball handler to pick up his dribble inside the paint. With the help of defense arriving, Swain rotates to the big man underneath the basket, while keeping the tag on the scorer. That’s the level of physicality and smartness that will serve him well on an NBA floor. The fourth play shows a similar outing, as Swain positions himself to both cover his assignment and close the passing gap to the corner shooter.
NBA Draft Projection
For an NBA decision-maker, here are the above-mentioned areas summarized:
Strengths
An active cutter with a great feel for timing. Swain is composed and cuts at the right moments when defenses are forced to make decisions. That leads to help defense being activated or late rotations. In terms of advantage-creation and opening up angles for scorers, that’s what will benefit Swain on an NBA floor.
The aforementioned also applies to his passing. As a ball-mover, Swain makes quick decisions while using his size well. The focus on having beneficial passes rather than bail-outs is what will benefit his development to improve as a playmaker and passer.
Generates paint touches in bunches. Both use his timing and good physicality. This opens up the opportunity to play as a closeout-attacker and use that to showcase his self-creation ability. With a decent touch, Swain looks to show the base to be a volume rim finisher despite not being forward-sized.
Areas of development
Lack of confidence and good shooting form hold Swain back from developing into a three-point shooter. NBA decision-makers must use the positives of setting their feet and keeping the ball high as a base for development.
The lack of on-ball reps leads to below-average decision-makers with the ball in his hands. As a live-dribble passer, Swain doesn’t show the court vision to find open teammates. In a shooting-heavy league where paint touches are vital to generating high-quality looks, that’s a skill Swain must have to thrive in a low-usage role. Without the aforementioned, NBA coaches will be hesitant to give Swain on-ball reps.
Doesn’t prefer lay-ups as much as he should. Swain has a habit of settling for jumpers, even when in the paint. As a current non-shooter, Swain should rely more on his physicality and use his upper-body strength to unbalance defenders to create better scoring angles.
Based on the aforementioned strengths and areas of development alongside the details in this scouting report, I project Dailyn Swain to be a surefire second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
The offensive inconsistencies while having to develop into an average three-point shooter is what keeps him outside of the first round while giving clear signs of serving as an NBA-caliber rotational piece in the future. Therefore, it’s likely that NBA decision-makers will not wait until undrafted free agency, and try to secure his rights before the 45th pick.
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