James Bouknight

Draft Notes

James Bouknight is a long wiry athlete with springy legs and good basketball instincts who is a possible lottery pick in 2021. He’s one of the best off the dribble and pull-up jump shooters in the draft class.

He’s got a nose for crashing the offensive glass, where he puts his leaping ability to good use, rising over taller players to secure the rebound or finish with authority.

He’s got a nice shooting stroke and good touch from the line, from mid range and from 3pt land. As a freshman he shot over 82% from FT and nearly 35% from 3, and has NBA range on his jumper. His percentages fell off a bit as a sophomore but his scoring and usage was up. He’ll surely benefit from playing with NBA spacing and talent.

James does a good job of moving without the ball and is very active on the offensive end. He works hard to get open and does a good job of using screens.

He’s got good handles and a quick firs step and shows the ability to create offensive for himself. He can get by most defenders and get into the lane. He’s wired to score.

James isn’t the most gifted passer at this point and needs to keep his eyes up and do a better job of driving and kicking but he’s got all the skills to make it happen, as he gains experience. He had a negative assist to turnover ratio both seasons (although he wasn’t playing with the most talented teammates).

Bouknight is still very thin and needs to add strength.

Comparisons

• Derek Anderson

Draft Projection

6-12 range in the 2021 NBA Draft

2021 Shooting Guards

1. Jalen Green – 6-5 – G League Ingite
2. Moses Moody – 6-6 – Arkansas
3. James Bouknight – 6-5 – UConn
4. Keon Johnson – 6-5 – Tennessee 
5. Jaden Springer – 6-4 – Tennessee
6. Chris Duarte – 6-6 – Oregon
7. Cam Thomas – 6-3 – LSU
8. Tre Mann – 6-5 – Florida
9. Josh Primo – 6-6 – Alabama
10. Joe Wieskamp – 6-6 – Iowa
11. Quentin Grimes – 6-5 – Houston
12. Josh Christopher – 6-5 – Arizona State
13. Brandon Boston Jr. – 6-7 – Kentucky 
14. D.J. Steward – 6-3 – Duke
15. David Duke – 6-5 – Providence
16. D.J. Steward Jr. 6-6 – Miss. State
17. Paul Scruggs – 6-4 – Xavier
18. Austin Reaves – 6-5 – Oklahoma
19. Aaron Wiggins – 6-6 – Maryland
20. RJ Nembhard – 6-5 – TCU
21. A.J. Lawson – 6-6 – South Carolina 
22. Alan Griffin – 6-5 – Syracuse
23. Juhann Begarin – 6-4 – France
24. M.J. Walker – 6-5 – Florida State
25. Malcolm Cazalon – 6-6 – France 
26. Scottie Lewis – 6-5 – Florida
27. Marcus Zegarowski – 6-2 – Creighton
28. John Petty – 6-6 – Alabama
29. Nahziah Carter – 6-6 – NA
30. Kyree Walker – 6-4 – Phoenix, AZ