King James Gospel
Fansided

Cavaliers fans, meet your new favorite player: Collin Sexton

By Andrew Freedman

Cleveland Cavaliers Collin Sexton (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers Collin Sexton (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LAS VEAGS, NV – JULY 16: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 16, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEAGS, NV – JULY 16: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 16, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Filling the void

Cleveland, your mouths may still be bitter after having LeBron James leave for the second time in his career, but soon the “Young Bull” will bring you out of your seats and leave you in disbelief. 

The 8th pick in this past year’s draft, Sexton is an heir to this era of excellence at the point guard position. His unmatched intensity and work ethic are just two things that have made me a believer in his future.

He’s got all the tools to be great, including a rare defense-first mindset and the confidence, not cockiness, to shoot from anywhere on the floor. While his jumper may not have been good in college (33.6% from three, 44/114 on the season), his toughness and IQ minimized the criticism on the flaw in his game.

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While at Alabama, Collin thrived learning from Avery Johnson, a former NBA champion with the Spurs and all-time great point guard at the school he now coaches. He preferred defense over offense and did well in the classroom.

And sure, his jumper is a weakness going into this season (again 33.6% from three, 44/114 in his one college season), but his toughness and IQ minimized the criticism on the flaw in his game.

If you go through his Twitter, you can see that he’s never been big on using social media, but he now uses it more consistently as an outlet to interact with fans.

In his lone season with the Crimson Tide, Sexton led them to a birth in the NCAA Tournament. From there, his talents were showcased to a much bigger audience than ever before.

He would lead the tide to an upset victory in the first round before the eventual champion Villanova Wildcats would knock them out in the round of 32, providing scouts with his leadership qualities fully on display.

As I briefly touched on last week, he has the highest motor of this year’s rookie class and will use it to his advantage. His work ethic and pure motivation are second-to-none and the Cavs locker room will see that from the first day of workouts and practice.

Here’s a little bit of what I’m referring to. Something to remember while watching: the NBA season is still two months away.

Moreover, he will give George Hill a run for his money this year at the starting point guard spot. It may not happen in October, and it may not happen until January, but don’t be surprised to see the rookie thrive from the get-go and get increased minutes as the season, and his feel for the NBA, progresses.