Single Game Prospect Breakdown: Payton Sandfort vs Nebraska
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Payton Sandfort is shooting just 34% from the 3-point line on five attempts this season, but the Hawkeyes sharp shooter is knocking these down at a blistering 45% over his last 14 games after a slow start to the season.
Sandfort is a 6-foot-7 lights out shooter from Waukee, Iowa that has doubled his minutes and production for Iowa after a modest freshman season. The 20-year-old does come off the bench for Head Coach Fran McCaffrey but this should not deter us from the impact that Sandfort has when he is on the floor.
Via evanmiya.com, Sandfort is actually a top 10 offensive impact player in the entire country. This comes from how much better the Iowa offense is when he is on the floor compared to off of it.
The sophomore wing provides immense value with not only his 3-point shot making and floor spacing but also with how cerebral he is and utilizing that to be a very good screen setter and off the ball cutter. This basketball IQ and awareness, along with his size, also helps him to project to, at the very least, be a neutral defender in the NBA.
Sandfort may not be the quickest or most explosive athlete but he can absolutely be a contributor to an overall good defensive system.
Sunday did not display the high level shot making that we have been accustomed to seeing from Sandfort over the past couple of months but the archetype was still on full display in a disappointing loss at the hands of Nebraska.
Offense
As good as Sandfort has been, he still did not enter the game until the 12:08 mark in the first half where he proceeded to immediately make his presence known with a catch and shoot make on his first possession.
Again, he did struggle from the floor in this game going just 2-of-9 from behind the 3-point line but the confidence was on full display in terms of his willingness to take shots in all sorts of play types.
Sandfort is a high level off the ball mover who is in constant motion and is efficient running off screens, something Iowa would do well to let him do more.
He is also a must find in transition whether sprinting the floor off the ball or he is even comfortable in a grab-and-go situation and pulling up off the dribble.
One area that Sandfort has been working on is more aggressively attacking the offensive boards. This was on display on multiple possessions in this game and did yield two extra possessions for his team.
One thing he could do more is leveraging his shooting gravity by utilizing his shot fake to create more opportunities to attack inside the 3-point line.
Defense
Nobody will expect Sandfort to be the same level of difference maker on this end of the court and it is not necessary considering the value he brings offensively.
As mentioned earlier, Sandfort just must be neutral on this end of the floor which he showcases with size that is bigger than most realize along with high level basketball IQ and awareness.
He did have a couple on the ball possessions in this game that he could learn from but as he continues to learn to use his length and IQ to his advantage this will happen less and less.
Much like on the offensive boards, Sandfort is showcasing an increased aggressiveness to be impactful rebounding on the defensive end of the floor but there is still room for consistency.
While many have pegged Payton Sandfort as a 2024 NBA Draft prospect, a continued shooting streak like we have seen in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments could firmly supplant his name in 2023 NBA Draft conversations, as well.
It should also be noted that Payton has a younger brother, Pryce Sandfort, who is a lights out shooter and great all around player in his own right that is currently committed to join him at Iowa next season.
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