Amir Hinton Scouting Report

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Amir Hinton

School: Shaw University (D-II school)

Class: Junior

Height/Weight: 6’5, 190 lbs.

 

Strengths:

Amir Hinton is highly regarded as one of the best players in Division 2 basketball that we’ve seen in a very long time. Hinton has a great chance to be selected this year in the NBA Draft. The Philadelphia native plans on becoming the first player from Shaw University since Ronald ‘Flip’ Murray in 2005.

Hinton is a professional scorer and led the Division 2 in scoring (29.4). He is virtually unstoppable at every level of the court with his length and size. He has a solid jump shot from mid-range and has the ability to slash to the bucket at a very impressive rate. When slashing to the bucket he is very good at drawing contact. He leads the CIAA conference in free throws attempted (330) and free throws made (296). Hinton is patient and that has proven to help him on both ends of the court.

He has improved with his jump shot, though he must obtain a consistent three-pointer to become a solid pro in the Association. He has a solid over the shoulder turn around that has helped him become an ELITE scorer at the in-between game.

The CIAA player of the year is a solid ball distributor as well. It’s probably the most underrated part of his game as he has shown over the last two years. He has been asked to score so much that once he has more impressive talent around him he will be able to show his full repertoire. At this point, we still haven’t even seen his full capabilities.

Hinton is a solid defender and has the size at the guard position to become an above average defender. He proved that by leading his team in steals. The big difference between former NBA player and Shaw University alumnus Flip Murray and Amir is that Flip wasn’t the defender that Hinton is. He has a solid wingspan and impressive lateral quickness that helps him stay in front of faster guards as well as rebound the ball over taller opponents.

Amir Hinton has an above average ball handling ability which contributes to his quick crossovers and solid one-two moves that helps him create space so well. He has impressive upper body strength. Overall, Hinton’s game is quite comparable to a young Dwyane Wade from Marquette.

 

Weaknesses:

The Philly native must become a lot better at shooting the three point basket to find success at the next level. He finished the season shooting 29% from the three point line which just won’t cut it. He has, though, shown a solid touch from the corners. Hinton has a lower level of elevation on his shot and an interesting release that will worry a few people watching him for the first time.

He must become a smarter defender and if he does, he can become elite defensively. As mentioned, he is a good defender and has NBA length for the 2 guard, but he must become a smarter defender when defending on ball as he tends to cheat a little too much. Defending NBA level players is a whole other beast and he should be up for the challenge. Once he learns how to choose his spots when to reach and to make better reads, this shouldn’t be too big of an issue.

He is not the most athletic and that can occasionally work against him, but he has learned how to maintain consistency with his average athleticism for sure. The problem is that the NBA is completely different and it’ll take time for him to work around that difference in athleticism. The major risk with Amir is that we truly don’t know how good he would look or how he will fare with NBA level competition. Is he able to be a 3rd, 4th, or 5th option? He hasn’t had to do that in his career yet so that is yet to be seen.

 

Future Outlook:

I believe Amir Hinton could find his way into the first round in June’s draft. The problem for him is that he just doesn’t get as much exposure as the D-1 prospects. When it comes to consistency, there aren’t many more players that have shown that they are as reliable as Hinton. Amir must become a better defender and better three point shooter and prove that he can be a role player early on.

However with his size, defensive intangibles, and professional scoring, he is arguably a Top 20 prospect this season.

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