Stanford’s Tyrell Terry is a prospect who relies on outside shooting and other modernized skills to carry him to prominence. His strengths could allow him to be selected near the time the Milwaukee Bucks are on the clock with the 19th or 20th pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Here’s everything you need to know about his game.

Prospect Info

Tyrell Terry

Stanford

Position: Point

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 160 pounds

DOB: 9/28/2000

Per Game Stats:

Stats according to https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/tyrell-terry-1.html

Advanced Stats

Stats according to https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/tyrell-terry-1.html

Overview

When you first see Tyrell Terry play, it’s hard not to see shades of Trae Young in his game. He has the capability to knock down shots from the deep beyond, whether it be off the bounce or of the catch-and-shoot variety. His pick-and-roll game is even similar given the way he’s able to creatively find open rollers on their way to the rim. He has work to do on his ball-handling in the open court, but displayed tight handles off ball screens and when creating his own shot. Defensively, he’s the same liability, and often finds himself watching the action, not dissimilar to the people who paid for a ticket. He has more work to do to refine his shot and other parts of his game to get anywhere near Young’s level, but the foundation he’s laid certainly makes his ceiling higher than a lot of prospects projected to go in his range.

Strengths

Shooting Range: This dude is fearless when it comes to getting his shot up; showing he won’t hesitate to rise and fire in an opponent’s face or from 30 feet away. He’s uber confident in his game—sometimes to his detriment—but forces the defense to guard him well behind the arc. Throughout the season, Terry showed the ability to knock down deep threes both off the dribble and on spot-up or catch-and-shoot opportunities. The base of his shot looks very similar to Steph Curry’s—his feet are close together and point to the left of the basket helping him line up with the rim on a consistent basis. He already has some savvy tools in his belt when it comes to getting open off-ball such as playing opossum after swinging the ball on this designed action.

Passing: Terry will already enter the NBA as an above-average passer in the pick-and-roll; showing off tremendous vision that allows him to hit his teammates in stride and on time. He’s great when going to his right at firing one-handed passes to open rollers and cutters. He can also drop the pocket pass going either direction. He will need to improve on passing with his left, as he often needs to corral the ball with both hands, wasting precious time, when going that direction.

Defensive Anticipation: We’ll get to the plethora of his defensive weaknesses in the next section, but let’s celebrate him some more for a minute. Terry flashes good anticipation on defense whether it be helping his teammates on a rotation or swiping away a ball left vulnerable by the offense. Even if he doesn’t always apply intelligence or effort, he has quick hands when he wants and understands the opposition’s offense to a certain degree.

Weaknesses

Off-ball Defense: Sometimes I wonder if Terry shows such good anticipation in help defense and rotations, because he’s often just standing there watching the play and is closer to help defense than his own man. He has the very bad habit of getting caught up watching the ball while his man orbits to another part of the court for an open shot. In the below clip, it’s a one-point game with less than 10 minutes remaining in the second half and he basically takes the entire possession off, bailed out only by a missed shot. Old habits die hard.

On-ball Defense: He has some of the tools necessary to develop into an average on-ball defender including solid lateral quickness. However, he’ll likely never be strong enough to body with someone like Eric Bledsoe when driving to the hoop. In college, Terry often half-assed it on his slides, hoping his teammates would come to the rescue before his man got all the way to the bucket. He also struggled to fight over screens, often getting caught up by the slightest of contact.

Other Notes

• Not much lift in his jumper and he can get it off quick as hell.
• Likes to hop into his shot off the dribble.
• Picked up quite a few offensive fouls despite his slender size.
• Likes pull-up jumper after one or two dribbles even if it’s just inside the three-point line.
• Doesn’t get to the rim that often—will benefit from expanded NBA court.
• LOVES to use his pump fake as a weapon to get defenses off guard.
• Takes questionable shots—especially after a make or two. Tries to play into “hot hand.”
• Was targeted in pick-and-roll late in games.

Best Trait

Shooting

Worst Trait

Defensive Effort

Player Comp

A poor man’s Trae Young.

Conclusion

We’ve seen players Terry’s size who excel at the same skills he does (shooting, passing) have success in the NBA. Even though he has more work to do when it comes to his shooting, handles and passing, the infrastructure is certainly set. He already has NBA range, can shoot off the dribble with a man in his face and can quickly get his shot off in traffic on catch-and-shoot situations. Those are very valuable skills especially in the year of 2020.

However, we must be careful when comparing him to Young. Young was a much more established shooter, shot creator, ball handler and passer. Those are lofty expectations Terry might never live up to.

His three-point percentage would likely have been higher than the 40.8 percent if he didn’t take such difficult shots at times. Being paired on the court with another point guard who can run the pick-and-roll and allow Terry to work off-ball more, forcing defenses to choose between tagging the roller or sticking tight to the sharpshooting guard, would put defenses in a bind. It would also allow Terry to run around on offense in search of an open three.

Any team he goes to would have to figure out how to hide him on defense. He’s that much of a liability at this point in his career. In his best-case scenario, he turns into an average on-ball defender. That’s something that probably can’t be said for Young.

As for the Bucks, it’s unclear how he would fit on their current roster. They’re flush with guards on the smaller size including Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo. Now, Connaughton is a free agent and who knows if he’ll be back. Hill and DiVincenzo are also combo guards instead of true points like Terry. Bledsoe, Hill and DiVincenzo are also good defenders, giving Milwaukee room to throw in one guy who can’t hold their own.

Offensively, Terry can quickly knock down triples off ball-screens, something that can’t be said for anybody else on the roster save Khris Middleton. He’s also a much more creative passer in the pick-and-roll game, potentially creating additional opportunities for Giannis Antetokounmpo as a screener and finally giving him a guy who can throw him lobs on a routine basis.

Primary Resources

Tyrell Terry Scouting Video

Tyrell Terry Stanford Highlights

The Step Back Scouting Report

Brew Hoop Scouting Report Series

Kira Lewis Jr., Point, Alabama

Theo Maledon, Combo guard, France

Isaiah Stewart, Forward/Big, Washington