Josh Primo
Profile:
Position: Shooting Guard
Role: 3-And-D Guard
Age: 18
Nation: Canada
Year: Freshman
College: Alabama
Height: 6’5
Wingspan: 6’9
Weight: 189 lbs
Stats:
Positives:
- Knockdown shooter off the catch. His form has a deep rhythm dip to it but his form and release are fast enough that the dip doesn’t matter. He converts on shots off the catch at an incredibly high clip and can hit on a multitude of shot types, including stationary and off of handoffs and other types of movement. His range also extends fairly past the 3-point line.
- Shot creation upside. He is comfortable pulling up off the dribble and has shown the ability to create separation thanks to his fluid handle. He can punish switches and teams that go under on screens by firing off 3s off the dribble and making them at a respectable clip.
- Creative finisher. He isn’t an above-the-rim athlete but he still manages to score well on the inside. He is incredibly crafty with his finishes and he uses a variety of scoop shots and fakes in order to avoid contests and score.
- Solid defender. He has the lateral quickness to stay in front of opponents and cut off their angles. He has the length to recover into plays and contest shots at the rim. He does a solid job of holding his own in the post when opponents try to get mismatches down low.
Negatives:
- Not very strong. He is one of the youngest prospects in the draft so he should easily be able to address this as he grows but it will be important for him to add muscle so he can improve his physicality.
- Lacks burst. He doesn’t have a great first step and struggles to create space or blow by quicker defenders. While he can beat slower defenders off the dribble, he does not do so consistently. Because he can’t always beat his defender off the dribble, he gets stranded and often opts for contest mid-range shots which aren’t his forte.
- Right hand dominant. He isn’t comfortable finishing with his left hand on the inside and subsequently prefers to drive right. When he does drive left, he still tries to finish with his right hand. Smart defenders can anticipate his moves and deny him on the inside.
- Flawed finisher. He over-uses his scoop shot and since the shot starts low, defenders are able to contest it. He is somewhat contact-averse and opts for high-difficulty finishes rather than fighting through with physicality.
Upside:
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Gary Trent Jr.
- Danny Green
Notes:
As one of the youngest prospects in the draft at 18 years old, Josh Primo is sure to interest teams thanks to his 3-and-D skill set. He is a very good shooter off the catch with the upside to be an elite movement shooter that every team desires. He is a competent defender capable of guarding either guard position. On top of his baseline skills, the other facets of his game are intriguing. Particularly, Primo’s shot creation skills have a lot of promise thanks to the absolute fluidity and smoothness of his game and ability to pull up off the dribble.
As to be expected in such a young prospect, Primo is still on the rawer side. He needs a lot of physical development to be able to improve his finishing and overall physicality. He isn’t fully comfortable with his left hand yet, and his first step is not as good as it could be. With that said, having a baseline 3-and-D archetype and the potential to expand his game should be incredibly attractive to teams looking later in the draft.
