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Pacers Host Troy Williams, Cousins, Gbinije, McClellan, Wallace, Finney-Smith for Workouts

By Ryan Eggers

Mar 27, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A view of the Indiana Pacers logo on the shorts of guard George Hill (3) in the game against the Houston Rockets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets by the score of 104-101. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A view of the Indiana Pacers logo on the shorts of guard George Hill (3) in the game against the Houston Rockets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets by the score of 104-101. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Isaiah Cousins
Apr 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Isaiah Cousins (11) dribbles against Villanova Wildcats forward Daniel Ochefu (23) in the first half in the 2016 NCAA Men /

Isaiah Cousins, Oklahoma Guard

Year: Senior

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 194

Wingspan: 6’6.25″

Last Season Stats: 12.6 PPG, 4.5 APG, 4.5 RPG, 40.6 FG%, 41.1 3P%

Draft Stock: Mid-to-Late Second Round

While Isaiah Cousins one of the most important pieces of Oklahoma’s Final Four run last season, anyone and everyone in Norman was getting outshone by Buddy Hield. Because of this, Cousins has fallen a bit under the radar. A four-year player, Cousins, similar to Hield, improved drastically over his time with the Sooners, turning him into the draft prospect he is today.

The main appeal of Cousins is his shooting. Despite going 10-40 in his freshman year from behind the line, Cousins improved his 3-point clip to 45% and 41% his junior and senior year respectively. Those numbers won’t stay in his transition to the NBA, but the Pacers are in desperate need of backcourt shooters. If Cousins can find his stroke on the professional level, he could, in theory, be a key shot-maker off the bench. College basketball fans might remember this clutch shot against LSU last year:

Outside of shooting, Cousins can be chopped up as average at best. He shot a confusingly poor 67% from the line his senior year, which isn’t anything to write home about. After being a combo guard for most of his college career, Cousins played primarily point in his senior season, which boosted his assist total to 4.5 a game, which isn’t awful. His defense isn’t lackadaisical, but it’s certainly not great. It could definitely be molded and improved on with time spent with Dan Burke, so it’s not really an issue. His athleticism is pretty average as well, which leaves his ceiling not so high.

It’s obvious that the Pacers want to find a backup point guard. They tried seeing if they had the man in Joseph Young last year, and further pushed that charge by signing Ty Lawson midseason. Neither really worked out. Still, the pick of Young was seen as a possible steal by many experts, and the guy still has some time to prove if that’s the case. Cousins could be seen in the same regard if he fell to the Pacers 2nd round pick (50th overall).

While Cousins wasn’t the volume scorer Joe Young was while he was in college, Cousins seems to have a better grasp of running an offense, and he might just have a better 3-point clip than Young as well. That in itself could be all the Pacers need in a sustainable backup point guard, given that his strengths translate on the NBA level consistently.

The guy has had some decent combine performances (8 assists in 21 minutes) and his draft stock is rising. It’s very likely he won’t even be available for the Pacers in the second round. If he is, then he could possibly be the end of the eternal search for a solid backup PG.

What’d be more likely, though, is he ends up being a solid starting PG in Fort Wayne.

Next: Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida Forward

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