NBA Draft Spotlight: Eric Paschall

Fifth-year senior Eric Paschall leaves Villanova as a national champion who continually progressed year by year. Now it is his turn to take his inside-out game to the NBA, where a first-round selection isn’t out of the question.

Strengths:

• Competitive defender with good length and energy on the ball. Projects as a guy who can switch across multiple positions
• Capable of stretching the floor as a shooter. Elevates well on threes and slips screens to find space behind the arc
• Team player with a high-IQ. Spent time at Villanova making the most of various roles, which bodes well in a league where he will be a rotation piece
• Tough, physical rebounder. Not the tallest forward, but he sticks his nose in to come up with them

Weaknesses:

• Doesn’t have a very high ceiling. He is a solid player, but doesn’t have a lot of high-level skills
• Never became a big threat winning one-on-one battles as a ball-handler. Has the ability to push in transition but often struggles to catch on the perimeter and go get a bucket on a defender
• Outside shot was inconsistent in this past season as he was tasked with putting up more threes than normal. However, I don’t imagine him ever having to force up shots on an NBA team