Subscribe
Follow Us
Darius Garland is a 6-foot-2 point guard who enters the draft after just one season at Vanderbilt. Garland hails from Nashville, Tennessee. He attended Brentwood Academy, and was ranked as the 16th-best player in the 2018 recruiting class, according to ESPN.
Garland was a winner in high school, earning four Tennessee State Championships while at Brentwood. Garland was selected as a McDonald’s All-American. He dished out 11 assists in the game. After an extremely successful senior year of high school, Garland elected to stay home and attend Vanderbilt. Schools like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and UCLA all had interest in the guard.
College Career
The city of Nashville was excited to watch their hometown prodigy play in a Commodore uniform. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt had a season to forget in 2018. Garland led Vanderbilt to a 4-0 start. In their fifth game against Kent State, the star point guard was limited to just two minutes of play due to a meniscus injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Garland averaged 16.2 points per game during his brief freshman campaign. He scored 24 points in his collegiate debut against Winthrop. Three games later, Garland scored 33 points in a win over Liberty, finishing 12-of-18 from the field. Vanderbilt was 4-0 in games where Garland played consistent minutes. The Commodores were not a top-25 team with Garland, but it's safe to say they would have been far better than 9-23 if he'd been able to play the full season.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Garland is a lottery pick despite a short collegiate career. His skill set fits perfectly into today’s NBA. Garland is a guard with a solid but unspectacular physical profile who can score at will, especially when his deadly pull-up jumper is locked in. He is at his best with the ball in his hands creating his own shot. Garland is extremely quick and might be the best ball handler in the 2019 draft class. Off dribble penetration, Garland has the ability to pull up in the lane or go all the way to the rim and finish an acrobatic layup. What goes unnoticed is his elite court vision. Garland is also a distributor who gets his teammates in a position to score.
Any player entering the draft with just five collegiate games and coming off an injury will have some baggage. Garland is an unproven commodity. During his five games at Vanderbilt, Garland had a negative assists to turnover ratio. He averaged 2.6 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game. Garland’s size could be an issue at the next level. He stands at 6-foot-2 and is very light at 175 pounds. His ability to play physical against NBA point guards is questioned. Garland will have to get stronger if he wants to succeed at the next level.
Best Fits
Garland can be compared to Jeff Teague, a smaller point guard who will average 15-18 points per game in the NBA. Garland has All-Star potential. There are shades of Damian Lillard in his game with the way he can create his own shot and get to the basket, however, Garland will likely not be able to dominant at the point guard position in quite the same way due to his inferior athleticism.
There are many teams that are in need of a point guard who can score. Garland needs to go to a team where he is not asked to do too much too soon. A team who is looking to add another young, promising player should look at Garland. There are three teams that Garland would fit in with. Those teams are the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Chicago Bulls.
LeBron James would be the perfect mentor for Garland and has already had some good things to say about him. Devin Booker needs a point guard so he does not have to do too much playmaking. Garland and Booker could become an extremely dangerous backcourt for a long time in Phoenix. As for the Bulls, they have potential stars in Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen. Drafting Garland would mean adding another piece that can bring the Bulls back to where they want to be.
The draft is just a few weeks away. After the top three picks, it will be mayhem to see where every player ends up. Garland will come with some concerns, but whoever takes him will be getting a young talent with star potential.
