Cam Spencer Scouting Report
An analytical darling with elite shooting, but can he stay on an NBA floor?
Name: Cam Spencer
Birth date: April 6, 2000
Height/Weight: 6’3/202
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’5/8’2 ½
Hand size: 9 ¾
Position: SG
Pre-Draft Team: Connecticut
Tools: Shooting, decision-making/patience, fundamentals
Background: Started at Loyola Maryland
Season Stats: 14.3 PPG 4.9 RPG 3.6 APG 1.5 SPG 0.3 BPG 1 TOPG on 48/44/91
Pros:
Outstanding shooter that can thrive as a movement shooter or standstill shooter
Patient ball-handler who almost always makes the right decision
Has a good floater
High feel prospect that can almost be an on-court coach at times
Good cutter and off-ball mover that makes defenses constantly move
Good rebounder that never gives up on the play and follows his shot well
Intelligent off-ball defender that sees plays before they happen and almost has eyes in the back of his head to know what’s going on behind him to time passing lanes well
Cons:
Lacks much lift on drives; not a good NBA athlete
Struggles to stay in front of slashers, and often loses 1-on-1 matchups
Doesn’t have much of a handle; simply a straight line driver
Swing Skills:
Knows how to play defense, but has physical shortcomings; can this be negated in the NBA?
Summary:
A top shooter, Spencer is an NBA prospect because of elite shooting combined with analytical efficiency and a magnificent feel for the game.
As a shooter, Spencer tires out his defender by moving off-ball at an elite rate, causing his defender to chase him around the court. On top of that, Spencer moves behind off-ball screens well, which allows for him to take and make open shots after tiring out his defender for a possession. He also draws hard block contests due to defenders wanting to smother his shot due to his size, but reads those plays well and often. He was only blocked one time this season on a jumper, and it was from Devin Carter, who is an elite defender. Spencer’s ability to come off of screens and create chaos reminds me of a smaller Duncan Robinson, being able to read the floor well or shoot quickly when the defender cannot get a contest. He is too dangerous to leave alone on the perimeter, and he can win off of fakes, while always keeping his eyes up for the next play.
While not much of a scorer within the arc, Spencer didn’t accidentally average 3+ assists per game and shoot 67% at the rim. These numbers happened because he is smart at using his weaknesses to his advantage, and only strategically takes shots in the paint, given his size/athleticism disadvantage. Since he doesn’t get much lift on drives, he has to choose the easiest shots at the rim, which limits his ability to win at the rim against contact. He also doesn’t have a great handle, which limits his ability to get to his spots and win on drives.
Defensively, Spencer is intelligent away from the ball and prevents offenses from properly running their sets. He sees plays before they happen and knows where to be at the right time, and how to get there. This off-ball prowess, which further exemplifies his feel for the game, shined bright at Connecticut and helped them win a championship. However, his on-ball woes make him a defensive liability and outweigh the off-ball positives. Being mostly hidden at Connecticut by being used as a permanent free safety and trapper that was assigned to the least dangerous offensive player, Spencer’s defense in the pros may be more easily exploitable. He struggles to defend quick players, or slashers in general, and isn’t overly strong or athletic. While he knows how to play defense by knowing where to be and when, this gets outweighed by his physicals and the fact that most NBA players are bigger than him, both in weight and height.
For high volume shooters with efficiency and elite BPM, the outcomes have been pretty good. Cam Spencer has a chance to add to this. Because of analytics like this, Spencer’s stock remains better than the average player of his archetype as a subpar athlete with shooting ability while lacking size. However, he does have a fatal flaw with poor size and athleticism, which could be his undoing as an NBA prospect. However, even if he does not pan out in the NBA, he still will have a successful pro career overseas.
Projected draft range: 45-undrafted
Expected role: Intelligent shooter that plays spot minutes
Unplayable if: Lack of size and athleticism limit him from being able to attack closeouts or quickly move into spots, thus deeming him too slow for the NBA.
Exceeds expectations if: Basketball IQ allows for him to break the mold of unathletic & smaller players not finding a landing spot in the NBA, allowing him to play for stretches of time in meaningful minutes.
Videos:
Shot chart:
