CPR 2017

By Steve Shea (@SteveShea33)

April 4, 2017

CPR is a metric that rates NCAA players’ NBA potential. For a complete introduction, see our previous post.

The following table contains the CPR scores (as of April 2, 2017) for the 78 college prospects that made the top 100 prospects at DraftExpress.com.

At first glance, the metric appears to be overrating players in the traditional PF build and style. These would be Swanigan, Lawson, Eubanks, and Bryant.  For all of these players, there are two critical questions any team would need to answer before considering drafting them. First, what is the player’s position? As the NBA is trending smaller, there is potential for these players to get playing time as small-ball centers. This is especially true for Bryant who has a remarkable wingspan that gives him a standing reach on par with players inches taller.  These players could also play some 4 in the right matchups. In those cases, Swanigan, Bryant and Lawson have potential to stretch the floor with their 3-point shooting more so than is typical of a player their size at the position. (Eubanks has yet to take a 3 in college.)

Second, will the players’ skills translate? Here, the question is in regards to size and athleticism. The high CPR scores for these bigs is based in large part on their rebounding and blocks. Even though the NBA is trending smaller, it is still a bigger, faster and more athletic league than NCAA basketball.  Do these players have the size, strength and athleticism to rebound and defend the interior at the next level?

The following table contains the CPR scores for the 2017 prospects as well as all college players drafted in the last 6 years. We’ve also thrown in a few others from even earlier drafts, such as Chris Paul for comparison. It’s helpful to see the CPR score for a player who has now played the majority of his NBA career.