Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Shane Larkin's NBA prospects
By Joe Kaiser
Miami's speedy point guard Shane Larkin is a big part of the Hurricanes' surprising success this season, and there's growing reason to believe that the sophomore son of MLB great Barry Larkin could have a future in the NBA.
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida writes that a respected NBA scout told him Larkin could enter NBA after this year and do well.
“He could play right now in the NBA,’’ said the scout. “He’s about the same size as John Lucas (III), but he’s better than Lucas.’’
The 5-foot-11 Lucas is averaging 5.7 points this season for Toronto after averaging 7.5 last season for Chicago. The 5-foot-11 Larkin, meanwhile, is averaging 13.1 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals a game in his second season at Miami.
While it's doubtful that Larkin would jump up in the lottery range like that the top points guard prospects in the 2013 draft -- Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart, Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams and Michigan's Trey Burke -- he might have a chance to be a late first-rounder. The chances of that will also depend on whether guys like B.J. Young, Lorenzo Brown, Myck Kabongo and Ray McCallum leave school early for the draft. If the majority of them stay, the likelihood that Larkin puts his name in the draft probably rises.
