Pacers Draft Prep: Antonio Blakeney has a long way to go

Outside of Johnathan Motley, Antonio Blakeney was the only other player Indiana brought in on Monday with a chance of making the NBA.

Things didn’t go well for Antonio Blakeney in his two seasons at LSU, but the 20-year-old still has some physical traits that could get him signed by an NBA team, though it may be on a Gatorade League team to start out.

The 6’4″, 190-pound combo guard has potential as an on-the-ball defender, but his game has too much Monta Ellis in it, and not the “have it all” years.

Starting with the positives, Draft Express likes what Blakeney does with his athleticism. It allows the smaller guard to grab rebounds — 4.8 a game — and turn them into fastbreak opportunities and transition baskets.

Speaking of points, Blakeney averaged 17 of them a game with a 51.1% field goal percentage on 2-pointers while improving his 3-point shooting from his freshman year to a respectable 35.8%.

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Defensively, when he’s on the ball he can handle himself, but off the ball, he gets lost and doesn’t give the same effort.

This is where the negatives start to pile up for Blakeney.

He doesn’t have a great deal of size, making him susceptible to getting dominated by bigger and stronger players. His basketball IQ isn’t the best and with a 6’7 ½” wingspan, he isn’t going shutting down passing lanes either.

Offensively, he inefficient as he takes straight line drives at the basket but doesn’t have the size or power to finish like he needs.

Blakeney may have a future in the NBA, but whatever team takes him will need to develop his skills more than most late second round prospects. He does several things well, but that’s not enough to cover up the holes in his game.

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If I’m Kevin Pritchard, I’m not picking up Antonio Blakeney in the draft. I’d consider signing him to a two-way contract with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, but he needs more time to develop his game before worrying about him getting minutes in the NBA.