NBA Draft Breakdown: Villanova's Cam Whitmore vs. Creighton
In this story:
In a recent article, Cam Whitmore was discussed in the conversation for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft behind French phenom Victor Wembanyama and G League standout Scoot Henderson.
While the 6-foot-7 freshman has absolutely shown flashes and glimpses, the season overall has had some ups and downs, starting with the pre-season injury that kept him from making his college debut until December 3rd vs Oklahoma.
There may not have been anyone with more momentum coming out of the summer than Whitmore who dominated the FIBA U18s to the tune of 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over the six games.
Perhaps the most impressive stat for scouts was the efficiency in which he got his buckets, with a true shooting percentage of 70% while showcasing the ability to knock down shots behind the 3-point line at 46% on 3.7 attempts per game.
All of this led to a Cerebro Sports C-RAM score of 10.6 on 33% usage.
While the still-18-year-old ( 19 until July 8) has been good this season, he has not quite been able to replicate that performance through his 20+ games with Villanova.
The overall efficiency is down as he is 46% from the field overall and just 33% from the 3-point line on 4.2 attempts per game. Beyond the scoring, Whitmore currently has 23 more turnovers than assists on the season (38 to 15).
This all combined for the Archbishop Spalding High School alum having an overall C-RAM score of 7.9, one of his lowest marks of 13 events tracked by Cerebro Sports.
Where Whitmore may be undervalued is with his defensive playmaking and impact. His Cerebro Sports defensive stats impact (DSI) is impressive all across those events and is actually his highest mark of the five individual metrics coming in at an impressive 83.
Saturday’s game vs Creighton was a pretty good example of what we have seen from Whitmore this season as the Wildcats got a very impressive 12-point victory.
Offense
The most immediately apparent impact was Whitmore's off-ball ability.
Early in the game, he had a great backdoor cut that yielded a trip to the free throw line and, although he ended with just one offensive rebound, it was easy to see how much more impactful he can be in this area of the game.
What was really intriguing to watch was when he had the ball in his hands. While he did not show much, if any, wiggle when trying to create, he did showcase a more diverse finishing package than expected.
This game was almost exclusively straight line drives, but Whitmore had scoop finishes with each hand and then, of course, showed off the powerful athleticism with a poster dunk.
It was also good to see Whitmore operating in ball screens in some of these possessions and being able to do so effectively. With that said, he again finished this game with zero assists and no real passing flashes to speak of.
All in all, it is hard to critique a 17-point performance on just eight shot attempts.
Defense
This was the end of the court that was most intriguing.
Whitmore did have just one steal and no blocks in the game, but yet against it was easy to see more room for disruption in his future.
There were multiple possessions where he was just a second slow recognizing and rotating to get a steal or blocked shot attempt.
Perhaps the most impressive possessions for Whitmore on this end of the court was playing at the front of the Villanova press. When he's engaged, intense and down in a stance, you can really see the potential for a tremendous on-ball defender who would provide some NBA-level versatility.
One area for growth would actually be aggressiveness on the defensive boards. Whitmore is currently averaging 4.3 rebounds on this end but with his size, and athleticism, he can absolutely be more impactful.
It should also be noted that Whitmore accomplished all of this in just 24 minutes of play on Saturday.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.