School: Villanova
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 6’9, 255 lbs
Strengths:
Paschall is one of the best players in all of college basketball and he does so many different things well. Perhaps the most noticeable and impressive part of his game is his motor and effort. He never takes a play off and crashes the glass hard at both ends. His effort is truly unmatched and his constant hustle leads to so many winning plays for his team. This is something you can’t teach and that NBA teams absolutely love to see in a prospect.
Paschall’s talent matches his effort as he is a force on both ends of the court. He is an excellent shooter for his size, possessing solid form on his jumper and is able to connect on mid-range and three point shots efficiently.
However, he’s at his best offensively when he faces up and attacks the basket. He uses a nice combination of strength and quickness to get into the lane and make things happen. He is a terrific finisher at the rim and can convert with both hands, and he is also good at dishing it off to the open man when the defense collapses.
Paschall is blessed with some serious bounce, which often leads to some sweet highlight reel dunks. That leaping ability combined with his non-stop motor makes him one of the best offensive rebounders in college hoops.
I could honestly go on all day about the things Paschall does well, but the bottom line is he’s just a winner. He was the most overlooked player on last year’s national championship team, and if Villanova makes a tournament run this year, it’ll largely be due to Paschall’s play.
Weaknesses:
Unfortunately, Paschall’s main glaring weakness is something that’s beyond his control- his height. He is very undersized as a center and, though he is strong, will struggle to guard seven footers in the post. While he does have the shooting stroke that NBA teams look for in a stretch four, he lacks the speed of a modern power forward.
Another area Eric Paschall struggles with is staying out of foul trouble. He has no problem being physical in the post or switching off of screens and stepping out to the perimeter to cover guards, but he tends to be a little over-aggressive defensively. This will be an even bigger problem in the NBA, as the game is called tighter than in college ball. Paschall needs to work on moving his feet more and not rely on playing defense with his upper body in order to avoid picking up fouls.
Future Outlook:
With his high level of talent and skill and unmatched effort making up for what he lacks in height, Paschall is a great option for a team drafting late in the first round. He would fit in well coming off the bench for any team, providing scoring and energy when a spark is needed. If he can prove to be a consistent scorer and playmaker on offense and improve his defense enough to be serviceable at that end of the floor, he could turn into a solid NBA starter down the road.
No matter where Paschall ends up, he’ll bring a winning culture into the locker room, something that both struggling and winning teams value highly. He certainly has all the intangibles to be successful at the next level, and the extent of his success will come down to his ability to use his skill and those intangibles to overcome his height.
Other Media:
