Written by Ben Dull (@SplitThePost)
Will an NBA team look beyond the lofty one-and-done expectations and high school injury history, take a hard look at the tape, and come away convinced that Malik Pope has a future as a core rotation player at the highest level?
Even if his name is not called during Thursday’s draft, the prevailing opinion of the San Diego State alum tells us that he will get a shot at NBA Summer League with a team. The coverage of Pope as a pro prospect since his sophomore season at SDSU has been quite sparse. Let’s start with his (perceived) injury history.
He suffered a broken left leg twice in his final years as a rising prep star. As a freshman at SDSU, he was not cleared to practice until December. Pope missed five non-conference games that season, then played in every game through the end of his sophomore season. He missed nine games his junior season with a nagging knee injury, but did not miss another game due to injury after returning to the floor in January of 2017. (Pope was suspended for one game this past season after his name appeared on a list alleging that he received a $1,400 loan. Pope was cleared after an internal investigation, which “found no evidence that Malik received any impermissible benefits or violated any NCAA rules.”)
Aside from the knee injury his junior year, Pope was a reliable presence throughout his SDSU career. As devastating as his high school injuries were, the scale ought to tip more in Pope’s favor to give him more credit for coming back from that to have a very successful college career, where he developed his game and body, and flashed the same NBA potential many saw in him 5-6 years ago.
With that out of the way, let’s get right to it. The goal of this scouting report is simple: give people a chance to catch up on his overall body of work then offer some thoughts on a reasonable outcome for Pope as an NBA player.
The Basics
6’10 / 220 / 7’2 wingspan / 9’1 standing reach
Senior season stats per 40 minutes: 19.5 PTS / 10.3 REB / 1.8 AST / 1.1 STL / 1.8 BLK
Other notable 2017-18 stats: 54.2 eFG% / 56.3 TS% / 35.9 3PT% (39 att) / 68.5 FT% (89 att) / 13.7 TO% / 24.6 USG% / 9.6 OREB% / 19.3 DREB% / 5.1 BLK% / 21.8 PER /
Notable career (4 seasons) stats: 38.2 3PT% (241 att) / 68.1 FT% (260 att)
Per possession stats obtained via Synergy, per 40 stats via Basketball-Reference.
Spot Ups
Pope’s four years at SDSU don’t have to been seen entirely as a fault — that he wasn’t good enough to make the leap to the NBA sooner. Watching his career progress, he grew from spot up shooter into a well-rounded forward better suited for the modern game. Every team could use another big body that can do some of everything: make your open threes, post up smaller guys on mismatches, set good screens and get up to crush lob dunks, block some shots, get out to contest shooters on the perimeter, switch screening actions, force turnovers, grab and go, rebound on both ends. The place to start with Pope is with spot ups. After posting a three-point attempt rate around 40 percent as a freshman and sophomore, that number plummeted to 24.1 and then 12.1 in 2017-18. (More on that later.) Pope shot 20-for-49 from deep as a freshman, then connected on 38 of his 102 3PT attempts as a sophomore in a much larger role.
He and combo guard Aqeel Quinn were the only reliable outside shooters in 2014-15. Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsley shot it well (38.4% on 185 3PTA and 35.6% on 118 3PTA, respectively) the following season. That additional shooting paired with the roster balancing out with more actual guards ultimately allowed Pope to begin exploring his inside game. The 2014-15 team ran things through two power guards — J.J. O’Brien and Winston Shepard. Though both were tremendous talents, neither was a threat from the perimeter, and the duo of Skylar Spencer and Angelo Chol (both traditional center-types that hung around near the rim) combined to play 31 minutes per game. Most of Pope’s three-point attempts were true catch and shoot looks or out of a pick and pop, but he did get manage to get some open looks through his own off-ball movement.
The key to Pope’s success in the NBA may hinge on the reliability of his three-point shot, which in turn would give him more chances to attack hard closeouts and glide in for some nasty finishes.
Getting to the rim in transition
There’s one thing Pope’s detractors and biggest supporters alike could never deny. He is an absolute terror in the open floor, capable of gliding up and down the floor at a pace few can keep up with. Steve Fisher’s teams became known for playing at a snail’s pace, preferring to grind wins out with their halfcourt defense. Longtime head coach in waiting Brian Dutcher did transform the program’s approach in his first season, but a team filled with play finishers struggled to gel early on to create more easy opportunities for one another. First and foremost, it needs to be noted that Trey Kell, the team’s co-captain along with Pope and their best player when healthy last season, played through several nagging injuries (sprained both ankles, thigh contusion) and walking pneumonia. Kell started to look more like himself late in the season. It was no coincidence by that point that SDSU finally hit its stride, winning eight straight games and earning an NCAA Tournament auto-bid by knocking off New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship game.
Regardless of the Kell injury factor, Pope still managed to flash his special blend of size and speed to put some impressive finishes on film when he did get out in the open floor.
Trail / transition 3s
This is where Pope becomes really interesting as an NBA prospect. He was comfortable with this shot at SDSU, often shooting it well beyond the college three-point line. As he became more of a five than a wing as his career progressed, his opportunities on the perimeter dwindled. He often had to hunt these looks if he wanted to get any threes up at all; little within the structure of SDSU’s halfcourt offense was going to create those looks for him.
Vertical spacing / scoring from the dunker spot
Pope’s 7’2 wingspan and 9’1 standing reach pop off the screen for a prospect at the three / four spots. He’d be a fascinating fit with a stretchy center, a frontcourt partner that would give Pope the freedom to be the one setting more ball screens to slip and roll to the rim for easy finishes.
Crashing the offensive glass
Pope’s offensive rebounding rate was never overwhelming — 9.6% was his highest mark this past season. He had plenty of competition with like-sized players equipped to crash the glass just as effectively earlier in his career. By the time he took over as the team’s starting center in 2017-18, Jalen McDaniels had emerged and was gobbling up many of the available offensive rebounds (10.5 OREB%) as well.
Isos
At times it was tough to draw the line between post up and iso with Pope. If he wasn’t going to back down to get to that righty hook or turnaround jumper, he liked to face people up and shoot right over them. He did have a bit of a propensity to do too much with the feints, jabs and shoulder fakes. He was at his best when he went right up or gave one quick fake before rising up to knock down a midrange jumper.
Note Pope’s first step on his drives to the basket. That burst is special at his size, and it brings us to one of the biggest shortcomings of the SDSU coaching staff: they didn’t do enough to get Pope more touches at the nail where he could rely more on his face up game and make quick, simple decisions. SDSU did get zoned quite often — opponents were in a zone 20+% of the time Pope was on the floor in three of his four seasons per Synergy (32.8% in 2014-15!). The offense did no major favors to McDaniels, too, who rarely got to space out beyond the three-point line. Dutcher and people familiar with the program often raved about McDaniels’ three-point stroke, yet he never was given much leeway to explore that part of his game in 2017-18.
Assists
Pope was a very willing passer and often was cognizant of the double teams flocking to him in the post this past season. For the most part, he did a good job of taking care of the ball. Though the team this past season had much more collective talent offensively, they never really pieced that together into something that would yield 10-12 points a night off of backdoor cuts, give and gos, etc. Pope showed he has some passing vision late in his college career. The adjustment at the next level will have more to do with his ability to see the extra pass ahead of time when he’s up against quicker and longer defenders.
Slipping screens
This is where things start to get really fun. Most of these slips are from this past season. Pope was the one making these reads to bank some easy buckets. He may never play much center in the NBA, but he’s definitely got the tools to be an effective screen-setter. Slips are the easiest counter to switching, and Pope is a nice big target that can finish in a variety of ways around the basket.
Viable pick and pop partner
You’ll see that Pope drilled pick and pop threes from all over the floor at SDSU. Though those opportunities were few and far between, he often made the right reads on when to roll and when to pop and get his feet set to fire away.
Post ups
Those clips gave you a look at Pope’s dominant right hook along with some of his drop step/driving finishes. His natural counter to that hook is a turnaround jumper over his right shoulder. Both moves quickly became so effective for Pope because of his lift and high release, making it nearly impossible to block.
Posting after a switch
The hope for Pope is that he lands with a team that’s all about moving away from the ball and running two actions simultaneously to force the defense to make tough decisions. Switching a smaller NBA guard onto Pope from day one will be one of those tough decisions. He’s already got the go-to move and a natural counter, and can always fall back on rising up to shoot a jumper shorter guards and wings off the catch. Pope’s post scoring would be a welcome addition to many second units, where teams may struggle to create shots off the dribble from the perimeter with their star(s) resting.
Notes on his defense
A few key elements to San Diego State’s defense and roster construction during Pope’s senior season made it tougher to pile up clips showcasing his ability to switch, contain in the pick and roll, and defend one-on-one in the post. SDSU was much better equipped for a switch everything scheme during his first two seasons, where he often shared the floor with at least three other players 6’8 or taller. This past season, the Aztecs were not going to be so willing to switch everything with 6’0 point guard Devin Watson, true freshman wing Jordan Schakel and a more traditional center (7’1 grad transfer Kameron Rooks).
Doubling the post has long been a fixture of SDSU’s halfcourt defense, though an argument could have been made that many of their bigs of the last decade or so rarely needed the extra help. And a team would need a really polished and explosive scorer to lean much on the pick and roll against the perennial defensive powerhouse. The MWC is not as stocked with lights out three-point shooters as some of the top programs, and SDSU still often had enough length on the court to really shrink the floor to discourage all but the best of the best from attacking them in pick and roll.
Rather than over-analyzing limited samples, notable plays from SDSU’s most notable games have been added into one big mix. Players you may recognize from the opposing teams: Boise State’s Chandler Hutchison, Washington State’s Robert Franks, Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams, UNLV’s Brandon McCoy, Nevada’s Caleb and Cody Martin, and Houston’s Rob Gray. You’ll see the best instances from those games of Pope defending in the post, switching screening actions, contesting with his length after absorbing a hit, attempting to get around screens, helping in transition, defending in isolation, and defending pick and rolls in ‘ice’ or ‘drop’ coverages.
Pope’s wingspan will make him a dangerous helper on drives when he has the luxury of gapping off of his own man. Overall, he would benefit from staying solid and balanced more often, but he certainly flashed some very real versatility as a shot-blocker. He did not always get down into a stance, which compromised him in some of the clips seen above. The tools and physical ability are evident; the minute he steps onto an NBA floor with better shooters and more explosive creators off the bounce, he’ll be forced to be much more disciplined.
Finally, here are some of his most impressive blocks and steals. At the end, you’ll also see a few examples of how he’s able to get up quickly to grab defensive rebounds in a crowd.
NBA comps / what to expect
What Malik Pope is right now:
– an grab-and-go threat at the power forward/small-ball center position
– a confident post scorer and passer that will be able to attack switches from either block
– a promising trail / pick and pop threat from three-point range
– a long, dynamic lob threat rolling to the rim or slipping screens against switching defenses
– a capable 3-thru-5 defender on reserve units (in need of reps and good coaching) with promising shot-blocking instincts and some immediate switchability
Who he could be comparable to:
– Jerami Grant with more offensive tools (and less polish defensively from day one)
– a much more athletic Lance Thomas with a post game and more reliable 3PT shot
– a bigger, faster Rondae Hollis-Jefferson that can shoot
– the next evolution of Thaddeus Young
– approaching Jordan Bell’s switchability with more to offer offensively
Quotes to remember
“I would have taken more [outside] shots if I had the opportunity, but I was playing a new position,” Pope told The Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks.
“If he were in the draft, I’m not sure you could pass on him once you move out of the lottery,” an anonymous GM told ESPN’s Chad Ford during Pope’s freshman year. “He’s not the same player, but he’s got [Giannis] Antetokounmpo–type raw talent. On sheer raw capability, he’s one of the five or six most talented guys in the draft. I guess the question is, given all the injuries and setbacks, how high are you willing to gamble on him?” .
Recommended reading/viewing on Pope
From Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee.
From Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer.
From Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Also from Zeigler of the SDU-T.
From the DraftExpress breakdown series — 2015-16 strengths and weaknesses preseason videos.
BBall Vibes and Stuff 