King James Gospel
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3 players the Cavs should sign to fill their training camp roster

By Quenton S. Albertie

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Quincy Acy #13 of the Brooklyn Nets fights for a rebound against Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of the game at Barclays Center on January 31, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York. 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. (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Quincy Acy #13 of the Brooklyn Nets fights for a rebound against Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of the game at Barclays Center on January 31, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York. 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. (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 03: Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson. The University of Virginia Cavaliers hosted the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 3, 2018 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA in a Division I men’s college basketball game. Virginia won the game 62-57. (Photo by Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 03: Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson. The University of Virginia Cavaliers hosted the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 3, 2018 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA in a Division I men’s college basketball game. Virginia won the game 62-57. (Photo by Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Bonzie Colson

Colson, who declared for the 2018 NBA Draft after playing four seasons for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, was a standout player in his last two years.

Colson averaged 19.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.2 blocks per game for the last season. He also had a true shooting percentage of 56.9 and .227 win shares per 48 minutes.

Built like a brick house, the 22-year-old Colson is a 6-foot-6, 225 pound power forward with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He’ll be an undersized power forward but not much different than Draymond Green (6-foot-7), P.J. Tucker (6-foot-6) and Jae Crowder (6-foot-6), so his size shouldn’t be too concerning.

Though he’s not an exceptional athlete and will initially have trouble guarding quicker wings, he has the basketball IQ, footwork, length, grit and timing that will help him guard players on the perimeter. The same skills that allow him to be effective as a low-post and weakside defender.

Offensively, Colson’s points come from the low-post more often than not. Luckily, that’s a skill that can be used when they want to exploit a matchup, such as a quicker (and likely smaller) guard that the opposing team wants to use to exploit Colson’s lateral quickness.

Though not an elite three-point shooter, Colson has made 36.2 percent of his threes over the last three seasons. Shooting 77.5 percent from the free-throw line in that same time frame shows that Colson can be consistent as a spot-up shooter.

When compared to Dekker, the player he would likely replace if signed, Colson isn’t as athletic and thus more vulnerable as a perimeter defender. That would be more important if Dekker was an exceptional athlete or three-point threat instead of a career 28.3 percent shooter from three.

However, with them both playing a position that doesn’t have the quickest players and Dekker’s run-of-the-mill career numbers, Colson should have a great chance to be signed.