What team doesn’t want a forward who can jump out of the gym, hit 3s and block shots? It’s practically a rhetorical question because, on paper, the answer is none. For whatever reason, cartoonish athleticism doesn’t often come with knockdown shooting, making it a rare but valuable breed.
If that’s what you’re looking for, Rasheer Fleming out of St. Joseph’s is your guy.
His NBA Draft Combine measurements say enough: Fleming stands 6 feet, 8¼ inches packing a 7-foot-5¼ wingspan, tied for the fourth-best in his class. Those numbers give him a 9-foot-1 standing reach, also high-ranking in his class.
The statistical sell is simple. He’s the only player in the nation with 40 dunks, 60 3-pointers and a block percentage higher than 4% (via Barttorvik.com). Lower those numbers just a bit and the crop of drafted players from the last 15 years is a group of five lottery picks: Wesley Johnson, Miles Bridges, Mikal Bridges, Taylor Hendricks and Keegan Murray.
Dunks, 3s and defense. The most effective shots and an essential skill set for postseason success. Fleming has it all on paper, but the Atlantic 10 isn’t exactly the NBA.
One thing we know is he can absolutely dunk the basketball. Fleming’s 32-inch vertical won’t blow minds, but he’s quick off the floor and makes up for it with his long arms, keeping him in range of the rim with little launch needed.
He’s demonic in transition, prolific on put-backs and was devastating as a cutter. With a 39% deep ball, you can’t give him too much space on the perimeter, but crowd him too tightly and you make yourself prone to losing Fleming on a back cut.
Speaking of the shot, while coming with a couple of caveats, Fleming’s 39% from 3 is believable. Those caveats are his middling free-throw percentage and lack of off-the-dribble attempts. All 159 of Fleming’s 3-point attempts came in the catch-and-shoot, with a 43.1% clip on the 58 unguarded attempts.
The sample is tricky because, checking out the film, he’s a better shooter than his lack of versatility suggests. Fleming’s hardly ever standing still with a lackluster closeout in front of him. His shot is quick and he pulls it confidently off pick-and-pops, relocations or just simply from deep beyond the arc.
For how well he fits into the NBA on paper as a dynamite cutter, a great transition player and a knockdown shooter, if you’re trying to “sell the pen” that is Rasheer Fleming, it’s always going to come back to his defensive upside.
Fleming tallied impressive percentages, with a 2.6 steal rate and a 4.8 block rate. It’s where his pterodactyl-like wingspan comes in most, skying for impressive blocks and creating transition opportunities with frequency. He’s a playmaker, for certain, but there’s reason to believe Fleming hasn’t even scratched the surface.
For one, St. Joe’s defense was not ideal. Despite possessing a solid duo of rim protectors with Fleming and 6-foot-10 senior Justice Ajogbor, the Hawks’ perimeter defense left a lot to be desired. It was a team predicated on its offensive firepower to make up for the possessions lost on the defensive end, and, to a degree, it worked. It just left Fleming in the dust.
Working with NBA defenders will help Fleming fit into a more effective role, where he can play to his strengths rather than making up for the weaknesses of others. He’s slightly clunky sliding his feet laterally, but his ability to cover ground and nose for the ball will help him continue to make plays at the NBA level.
For Fleming, the tools are there, and the skills to stick are as well. He isn’t a polished diamond, with tons of room to grow, but that might be to his advantage as he goes to the next level. With a knockdown catch-and-shoot jumper, defensive range and explosiveness around the rim, the steps to continue improving are in place. All that considered, it’s clear to see why Fleming, despite coming up from the mid-major level, is going to find his name called in the first round.
