The Best Floor General Draft Prospects Entering 2023
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In today’s NBA teams are always looking for players that can run an offense and create open shooting opportunities for their teammates. Cerebro Sports has put together a metric that:
- Has been built to explore passing - it is weighted by usage outcomes for a ball handler with a seasoning of steals, as a proxy for athleticism and feel.
- By contrasting the efficiency of the distribution with the volume of positive passing outcomes we have a metric that can display playmakers who are comfortable in the decision making role.
- FGS can, similarly to PSP, better frame both high and low usage creators for their positive outcomes relative to role expectations.
Each skill score is graded on the same 100+ point scale – 60+ is good, 80+ is great, and 100+ is elite.
Not only are players who have not been tracked for at least ten games and average 20 minutes per game filtered out, players who are not consistently looked at as 2023 NBA Draft prospects have been filtered as well.
Colby Jones (Guard - Xavier) - 79 FGS
Colby Jones is a 6-foot-6 junior for the 13-3 Xavier Musketeers and is absolutely filling up the stat sheet in his third season. The Alabama native is averaging right under 15 points per game to go along with his 5.1 rebounds and nearly six assists.
Jones not only creates for his teammates, the reason for him topping our list, but also knocks down shots at a very efficient rate himself. He is currently shooting over 50% from the field on almost 10 attempts per game and over 44% from behind the 3-point line on just under three attempts per game.
This all around game leads to an impressive overall C-RAM score of 10.5 and scores over 70 of four the five metrics including an 84 defensive stats impact (DSI) that speaks to an impact on both ends of the court.
Adam Flagler (Guard - Baylor) - 78 FGS
This 6-foot-3 Baylor guard continuously shows up on these Cerebro Sports lists whether it be point scoring prowess (PSP), 3-point efficiency (3PE) and now with his floor general skills (FGS).
Since Flagler is scoring the basketball at such a high rate for the Bears, 16.7 per game, and at such a good efficiency, 47% from the field and 48% from the 3-point line, it may be going under the radar how good of a creator he has been for his team.
Flagler is also racking up more than five assists per game and is able to do so without the negative outcomes with less than two turnovers per game.
Reece Beekman (Guard - Virginia) - 77 FGS
Speaking of creating for teammates without the side effects of turning the ball over, No. 3 on our list is just as good as anyone else at doing that.
Reece Beekman may not be the most noticeable name on this list of floor generals for their team but do not be surprised to see his name consistently on NBA mock drafts moving forward.
The 6-foot-3 guard for the Virginia Cavaliers is averaging five assists per game for a team that plays at one of the slowest paces in the entire country.
Also like Flagler, Beekman is shooting lights out from behind the 3-point line as he currently sits at 50%.
His overall impact on the game is rounded out with his high level defense that has led to 80 DSI.
Andre Jackson (Guard - Connecticut) - 76 FGS
The 6-foot-6 Jackson is yet another player on this list that is dishing out assists, 4.8 per game, while also being able to limit his turnovers, 1.6 per game.
Unlike the other four players, Jackson has not been able to find the same type of efficiency scoring the basketball as he is shooting under 37% from the field 30% from the 3-point line.
The New York state product does make his impact felt on the defensive end of the court with a score of 82 on the DSI metric highlighted by his almost 1.5 steals per game.
Terquavion Smith (Guard - NC State) - 75 FGS
The 6-foot-4 Smith may be the most surprising name on this list but that is only because his scoring ability is what he is known for.
While Smith is averaging almost 20 points per game in his sophomore season, he is also delivering almost five assists per game as well. Smith is a little more turnover prone, 2.7 per game, than the other names on this list but that can be expected with a usage of almost 30%.
That scoring gravity from Smith leads to a lot of the opportunities he creates for teammates which is highlighted in the video breakdown below.
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