Sam Hauser
Profile:
Position: Power Forward
Role: Sharpshooter
Age: 23
Nation: USA
Year: Senior
College: Virginia
Height: 6’8
Wingspan: 6’9
Get Cole Volpe’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Weight: 217 lbs
Stats:
Positives:
- Extremely good shooter. He has a buttery smooth jump shot and a fairly quick release off the catch. He averaged over 40% from 3 on 6 attempts per game and his nearly 90% FT% is a good sign that his shooting will translate.
- Solid finisher. He does a good job of leveraging how tight defenders have to guard him into easy drives to the rim. He finishes at an efficient clip on the inside thanks to his size and solid touch around the basket.
- Solid playmaker. He uses the attention he gets on the offensive end to find open teammates for easy opportunities.
Negatives:
- Not a great athlete. He is not a quick player, nor is he an above-the-rim athlete. He still finished at an efficient rate on the inside in college thanks to his size and physicality but he might not see the same success against NBA players. His slowness might also limit his ability as a movement shooter, as being able to quickly run around screens and get open is a key skill for high-level movement shooters.
- Overly passive. Hauser was the best offensive player on Virginia’s roster but there were too many games where he didn’t act like it. During games against tougher opponents, Hauser had a tendency to disappear and play far too passive for a player of his talents.
- Slow defender. Due to his poor lateral quickness, Hauser struggles guarding smaller, quicker players on the outside. He will likely be limited to guarding slower power forwards in the NBA and doesn’t have great switchability upside unless he can drastically improve his quickness.
Upside:
- Doug McDermott
- Davis Bertans
- Bojan Bogdanovic
Notes:
Sam Hauser might be the best pure shooter in the entire draft. His jump shot is about as smooth as it gets, with nearly flawless mechanics and a quick release. The proof is in the numbers, as Hauser converted on over 41% of his 3s on 6 attempts per game. The free throw percentage also backs up the shooting touch, as Hauser hit on almost 90% of his free throws. Outside of shooting, Hauser is a highly efficient scorer at the rim and a solid playmaker for his teammates.
The major issue with Hauser is his athleticism. In the simplest of terms, he is slow for an NBA prospect. While being slow is not a death sentence for a prospect, it does create a couple of issues. On the offensive end, being unable to shake defenders while weaving amongst screens and relocating for spot-up 3s will limit his productivity as a movement shooter. On the defensive end, being unable to guard quicker players means he lacks versatility on the defensive end and might not be able to stay on the court during clutch situations if he is hunted for mismatches. Additionally, Hauser is 23 years old and while this doesn’t mean he cannot improve, he likely isn’t all that far off from a finished product. Hauser is about as good of an option as it gets for a shooter available late in the draft, but his limited athleticism could put a cap on how impactful he can be as a player.
