Cavs should strongly consider Bryce McGowens in 2022 NBA Draft

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Bryce McGowens, Nebraska Cornhuskers. (Photo by Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports) /

Taking a look at McGowens’ skill set

The true freshman, and first five-star recruit in Nebraska Men’s Basketball history (as Huskers.com mentioned) in McGowens, has had 16.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest for them this season, albeit on a bad team that’s last in the Big Ten.

Granted, McGowens is a player that he needs to improve his deep shooting/catch-and-shoot viability, as evidenced by him hitting just 26.6 percent of his three-point attempts thus far this season with the Cornhuskers. I’m not suggesting that that’s not the case with McGowens at this point, and looking onward, improving his perimeter shooting to a respectable rate would go a long way.

That being said, even with some inconsistencies from him and the lack of team success, and McGowens needing to improve his defense, he’s a terrific athlete that can generate space/separation off the bounce, and that from a rotational wing would make a difference for the Cavaliers. Plus, McGowens’ motion is more than workable, and he did shoot, as Huskers.com touched on, over 40 percent in high school from three, and he’s shot 83.3 percent at the foul line.

Make no mistake, McGowens’ driving abilities are what stand out, and he can get to the rim and finish well from drives coming off the wing from ball-swings and dribble handoffs, which could work in stretches with Jarrett Allen/Evan Mobley. And with self-creation, McGowens can get to interior looks from crossovers, hesitations and initial jabs or pumps getting a half step on defenders to finish, and he projects to generate his share of free throws.

It’s apparent that the Nebraska product needs to improve his shot selection and especially his defense, which could be part of why McGowens ends up available in the early second round in the 2022 NBA Draft, objectively.

The dude is only 19, though, and with how the Cavaliers player developmental staff has helped the likes of Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman, and former Cav Larry Nance Jr. in recent years with perimeter shooting, they could do the same with McGowens. One shouldn’t necessarily take too much from his deep shooting clip with this iteration of the Huskers, either, and he has shown promising mid-range flashes.