Draft Match Up: Marcus Smart vs. Elfrid Payton
By Mike Garcia
NCAA Background
Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton come from two different collegiate experience. It isn’t just the location of the campuses, but also, how each player developed their game. Marcus Smart was a known recruit out of high school. He was known as a scoring point guard, or even a shooting guard at the high school level. He pummeled opponents with his strength and solid quickness, able to attack the basket relentlessly, and finish at the rim. That translated to the NCAA level as well. While playing point guard full-time, he slowly improved his jumpshot, improved his playmaking skills, and made better decisions within the half-court set. While his jumpshot can now be considered streaky, it has improved greatly from his freshman year. He was projected as a top-5 pick last season and improved on his skills then. He has been ranked as high as #4, but certainly drafted before #10.
Elfrid Payton, on the other hand, was a late bloomer. He attended kindergarten at the age of three, just so he could be supervised. This allowed him to be a junior NCAA player at the age of 20. He doesn’t turn 21 until February of 2015.
"Perhaps that early start in school was the reason Elfrid Jr. had only one Division I scholarship offer as a 16-year-old senior. He hadn’t grown, hadn’t filled out and it made his future harder to project for recruiters. In so many ways, his story had become his father’s. They missed on Elfrid Jr. the way they had on Elfrid Sr., and yet it never discouraged him."
Unlike Smart, Payton wasn’t ranked among the likes of Scout.com or ESPN.com. At the NCAA level, once his completed his growth, his game began to mature. He was naturally quick and has quick hands, evidenced by his ability to change directions off-the-dribble and force turnovers. His playmaking matured, hitting shooters at the corner when defenses collapsed or finding big men in the paint on pick-and-roll situations. While his shooting needs help, Payton proved himself against elite competition at the NCAA level, breaking down defenders in the half-court set, an NBA level skill. Last year, he wasn’t seen on the draft boards. This year, he is projected in the late lottery.