Desmond Claude Scouting Report
Point guards with plus-size are the NBA's next hot commodity, and Xavier sophomore Desmond Claude fits the bill. Is the NBA hype legit? How will his role look like at the next level? Find out below.
The size of the NBA point guard keeps increasing throughout the years, and decision-makers make it clear that tall guards are gaining more and more popularity in each draft year. Combined with the importance of switchable defenders eliminating potential targets in the backcourt, there’s a clear pathway for this archetype.
Physical Profile
At 6’6”, Claude weighs 207 pounds and the eye test matches the numbers. With his strong frame and broad shoulders, Claude can match the intensity of college basketball with ease. He’s a solid athlete that’s using his strength to his advantage.
Although his first step and overall quickness aren’t at the level where he can guard quicker guards effectively, he compensates with his great basketball IQ and decision-making. However, he does have good bounce, which helps when he’s guarding stronger players near the rim.
What stood out in my film study is that he’s a good screen navigator and makes great decisions in the pick-and-roll. This aspect of his game makes me lean toward him playing as a point guard at the next level, hereafter I’ll mention the strengths and areas of development of both ends and how they translate to his projected role.
Offense
What immediately stood out is that Claude is pretty fluid as a P&R ball handler. He has the tendency to go his right most of the time, which makes him easier to target in opposing scouting reports. However, he uses his strength to his advantage despite the lack of a good first step or overall burst.
Another important detail that defines Claude’s game as a self-creator is his initiating the contact before going for the finish, as he does in the play below. With almost four free-throw attempts per game so far this season, I expect this trend to continue.
At the NBA level, I expect Claude to get his fair share of offensive usage as a P&R ball handler. During his freshman year, he was mostly used in an off-ball role, making the sample size less to grade. But in this season, Xavier uses Claude as a primary creator, which makes his playmaking a lot more intriguing.
In the play below, Claude shows that he doesn’t need a screen to generate enough rim pressure to collapse the defense. He utilizes the side to drive baseline before the dump-off for the easy two, while selling the defense he would go for the reverse lay-up. The composure Claude has are enough for me to conclude he will be a good decision-maker at the next level, despite his young age.
The scalability of his game begins with him being able to knock down open three-point shots consistently. After shooting 29.3% on 1.2 attempts as a freshman, the sample size isn’t enough to determine the above-mentioned. As a sophomore, Claude is 31.3% on 3.2 attempts. However, as per ShotQuality, Xavier ranks in the top 30 in 3PT efficiency off-the-catch, therefore these numbers have to be better this season.
Looking at his form, it should be a bit higher, especially when he’s playing the two or the three and is matched up against a taller wing. However, he sets his feet perfectly, and the release looks good, although it’s a bit too slow for my taste.
The shot needs some work overall, and at the NBA level, the opportunities to shoot will be there, as he’s asked to be a primary option at Xavier more than playing as a catch-and-shoot option. Therefore, evaluating the jumper will rely on the total attempts, which I think should be more this season, but the numbers have to improve in order to convince NBA decision-makers that his shot is there to improve at the next level.
Another area that will suit him well at the next level, is the ability to hit the floater. With the trend of teams playing more sets involving a hand-off or dribble hand-off, it will open the gap for Claude to find his looks from the midrange.
With the lack of true rim pressure based on a quick first step and burst, Claude should be able to adjust and go for a floater-finish, rather than taking it all the way to the rim. In the play below, we see Xavier run a set involving a dribble hand-off, with an opening gap near the free-throw line.
The handles stood out here, especially with the way he’s creating separation before the floater, not giving his defender a single chance to contest, and keeping help defense away for as much as possible.
Defense
For Claude, the most important role would be to guard in the point-of-attack and be able to switch to the two-guard and the three. What immediately stood out, is that Claude is a good screen navigator who doesn’t shy away from contact.
In plays where he’s beaten in the pick-and-roll, he immediately rotates and makes sure he’s in a good position for the defensive rebound. With almost five rebounds per 40 minutes, Claude shows he’s an active rebounder, which is an important quality to have in today’s NBA.
Claude does a good job recognizing the incoming screen, and although he’s beaten, I like that he tags the screener instead of going hard into the body and losing even more time and space. The Xavier defense rotates and Claude does a good job positioning himself for the rebound, although he’s lucky as the ball falls his way here.
As an off-ball defender, Claude is always aware of his surroundings and I didn’t catch him ball-watching as you’ll see with underclassmen in general. However, I see a trend of him being too aggressive with his help defense and rotations, leading to him leaving his assignment too early, like in the play below.
The cutter fakes moving towards the hand-off, and Claude bites. Well-executed play here by Creighton, but in terms of Claude’s decision-making, it wasn’t good. Plays like these are what I see often in his films, and it should be a main area of development in his sophomore season.
His NBA-role will also involve being an active off-ball defender that’ll play in switch-heavy schemes. Although the clip below isn’t a good look on his behalf, the effort and enthusiasm that he possesses give me enough confidence to see improvement this year.
In the clip above, we see Claude with a good example of the things he can do for an NBA team. Xavier leaves the weakside open on this possession, and Claude does a good job recognizing the side pass to the shooter in the corner. A timely rotation leads to the Jacksonville player attacking the closeout, where Claude shows he moves his feet well to keep the player in front of him, to come up with the timely contest and block.
NBA Draft Projection
The size combined with the physical tools make Claude an exciting prospect for the upcoming draft. His ability to switch to three positions on the defensive end, combined with his feel for the game and decision-maker as a P&R ball handler make him an option to play a role early in his career.
On the other hand, the shot needs work and his lack of true quickness and a good first step, will likely lead to him struggling against quicker guards at the next level; an assignment he’ll have to fulfill.
The scalability of his game is what makes his profile more interesting to NBA decision-makers, which makes me lean toward him being drafted this year, instead of returning to school for his junior season.
Claude will be 21 years old on draft night, and despite the lack of experience, I see him contributing to his role early in his career. At the moment, I project him to be an early second-round pick, with an opportunity to slide into the late first round if Claude can show he can knock down open shots consistently this year and continues to play within his role as he does now.