NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round-Wright St vs Arizona — Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Dalen Terry

Guard/Wing | 6’7” | 195 lbs. | Soph. | Age: 19

2021-22 stats (37 games): 8.0 PPG | 4.8 RPG | 3.9 APG | 50.2 FG% | 36.4 3P% | 58.4 TS% | 16.9 PER

Strengths:

Versatile defender:

He was as every bit of good as his Pac-12 All-Defense honoree indicated. That’s now always the truth, but this was true for Terry. He projects to defend 1 thru 3 and smaller 4s, at least to begin his NBA career. His incredible length (7-foot wingspan) with his plus motor allowed him to dislodge ballhandlers shoot passing lanes to force turnovers and get out in transition, where he excelled.

Excellent in transition:

Speaking of which, even though it’s at the collegiate level, Terry’s feel for the transition game was through the roof. Whether it was off a miss or a live-ball turnover, Terry was excellent initiating in transition, typically making the right decision on if, when and were to dish the rock.

Plus playmaker:

For the prospects I have looked at throughout the pre-draft process in the ~20-40 range, Terry’s definitely one of the more impressive playmaking prospects I’ve seen. He had a great feel in the half-court and in transition, making the correct passes with proper accuracy and velocity. Terry reminds me of a player that anyone would love to play with in a pick-up game; he’s a willing passer and looks like he has fun spreading the wealth around. He can make practically any pass — lobs, hit aheads, back-handed bounce passes to back-door cutters, etc. — and was decisive doing so.

Weaknesses/Questions:

Scoring upside:

Terry averaged just 8.0 points per game as a sophomore and 6.6 points for his career. As a freshman, he was still finding his footing and wasn’t very integrated in the system; as a sophomore, he was the the fifth option behind noted draft prospects Ben Mathurin and Christian Koloko, as well as Azuolas Tubelis and Kerr Kriisa. It’s not necessarily a knock; Terry can impact the game without being a primary scoring option — which would hypothetically be his starting role with Miami. I just have questions about what his true scoring upside is at the next level given his collegiate situation; ultimately, it will be decided about where he lands and who’s he’s surrounded by instead, but it’s still a question I have nonetheless.

Overall:

At 27, Terry would be a safe selection for Miami. He wouldn’t be expected to produce right away and definitely fits into their defensive culture. It’s fair to trust his shot and offensive upside development with the Heat coaching staff as well as learning under Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler. Those are two good players to learn from, right? I think so. Terry would be a great low-risk, high-reward selection with serious two-way upside and versatility.

Highlights/Games to watch:

What others are saying about him:

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony:

Terry has been one of the big winners of the pre-draft process, impressing teams with his character on and off the court while dropping glimpses of significant versatility and upside he can grow into at just 19. His length, unselfishness, feel for the game and ability to defend multiple positions could make him a viable NBA rotational player as his jumper continues to improve, something that would make for an interesting roll of the dice for the Heat, who boast one of the best player development infrastructures in the NBA.

Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo:

Terry came on strong in March and built enough momentum to comfortably enter the draft a year ahead of schedule. While far from a finished product, he’s a good athlete with appealing positional size, passing skills and defensive upside, with a skill-set well-suited for uptempo play. He’s not a great shooter or a natural scorer, but he made a respectable 36% of his 77 three-point attempts, with his offensive value lying more in his ability to move the ball, find teammates and grease the wheels of an offense. Terry has some maturing to do and will need to land in a situation that plays to his strengths, but he could be a useful part of someone’s supporting cast as he matures, with the potential to be a bit more than that if he can refine his guard skills and jump shot.

CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone:

Terry did a little of everything at Arizona as a role player last season primarily playing off the ball and has the length and tools to thrive as a high energy wing who has some wiggle off the dribble and can shoot the 3.