7. Dominic Artis | Oregon | Sophomore, 20 years old
PG, 6-1, 185
Last season (23.8 MPG): 8.5 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.2 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 14.1 PER
Mobile: 510-415-3800
Outlook: Standing at 6-1, Dominic Artis is a gritty Oakland-bred point guard with playmaking ability in the half court, and a smooth jump shot from 3-point range. Artis is short and doesn’t have much athleticism to boast, but he’s a tough kid who projects to have an upward trajectory throughout his career at Oregon. Obviously, that “upward trajectory” has been paused at the moment, due to a recent nine-game suspension for selling shoes illicitly.
As a freshman, Artis contributed with shooting (particularly from deep), passing and—despite his size—playing impressive on-ball defense. However, his offensive game was limited; he struggled to do anything inside the 3-point line, struggled finishing in the paint and was even worse in transition. If he’s going to develop into an NBA prospect—a la, say, an Isaiah Cannon—Artis will need to iron out every kink in his offensive game while consistently defending at a strong level. The bright side: he has time to do so.
Shot Attempt Breakdown:
67% Jump Shots — 1.053 points per possession (80th percentile), 39.4 FG%
20.3% Around the Basket — 1.05 PPP (45th percentile), 52.5 FG%
12.7% Runner — .32 PPP (6th percentile), 16 FG%
STRENGTHS: Three-Point Shooting, Floor Vision
NEEDS TO IMPROVE: Transition Scoring, Developing a Runner, Transition Turnovers
STRENGTHS
Three-Point Shooting
Sixty-five percent of Artis’ jump shot attempts were from 3-point range, where he shot an excellent 1.221 points per possession (95th percentile), and shot an overall 41% from deep.
Artis can shoot off the dribble, or catch-and-shoot. He is dangerous either way, and must be accounted for at all times. What’s interesting is Artis wasn’t a strong jump shooter in high school; if that’s any indication, he’ll hopefully improve the rest of his game in due time as well.
Floor Vision
Artis sees the floor extremely well, mostly in the half court. His 26.9 assist percentage (the percentage of teammate field goals Artis assisted while he was on the floor) was most on Oregon and ranked 6th in the Pac-12.
As the tape shows, Artis can make both the simple and difficult pass, and can thread-the-needle when neccesary. He seems to know where his teammates are, on the wing wing, in the post, or a trailer in transition.
NEEDS TO IMPROVE
Transition Turnovers
Twenty percent of Artis’ plays were in transition last season. Unfortunately for Oregon, he scored an abysmal 0.6 points per possession in transition, which ranked in the bottom four percentile nationally(!). Artis would often turn the ball over before he could even get a shot up, either by throwing an ill-advised pass or by getting stripped. In fact, he turned the ball over on 21 of his 70 transition opportunities last season (30%), an inefficient rate to say the least.
Transition Scoring
Because of Artis’ diminutive size and lack of athleticism, he often has to finish around bigger defenders in transition. He struggles to draw contact (only 1.9 free throw attempts per game), struggles going left, and has a tough time finishing at the rim. In order to finish with more consistency, Artis should develop some sort of “runner,” which is what we’ll examine next.
Runners
Considering he was so effective in the paint during high school, it was very surprising that Artis struggled so mightily on his floater last season. He shot runners on only 12.7 percent of his attempts, posting a 0.32 points per possession, which ranked in the bottom six percent nationally.
Because he is so small, defenders can stay with Artis and contest his drives. To combat this, he should either develop some kind of hesitation move (a step-back, maybe), or ideally, a smooth runner. If you’re a small guard in a transition-heavy setting, it’s essential to have a reliable floater/runner. This will make you unpredictable, keeping the dense on its toes and in turn creating opportunities for others.
Defensive Gambles
It would be foolish to say Artis is a “poor” defender. In fact, most people would say Artis is a great defender — he slides his feet well, and his 3.8 steals percentage last season ranked 93rd nationally, per KenPom.com. So, yes, Dominic Artis is a good defender. In fact, earlier in this evaluation I said Artis is an “impressive defender”.
But that doesn’t mean he’s perfect. Sure, Artis is a good defender, but he also cost his team numerous baskets last season due to easily-avoidable mistakes. Artis gambles a lot on defense; he sometimes gets overzealous with his quick hands, lunging toward his defender and giving him an open lane to blow by him. There are even times when he simply plays unnecessarily tight near the half-court line. If he gets beat at half court, Artis doesn’t have the length or speed to recover.
Artis should tweak his defensive habits to stay sound and only apply pressure when necessary. I think he will, but I also think it’s something worth monitoring.
OVERALL
Artis’ college career has been up and down to this point. He started off his career playing very well, as he was the starting point guard for an Oregon team that began the season 18-2. Then, in late January, he went down with a near-broken ankle, and subsequently missed the next nine games. When he returned to action, Johnathan Loyd was playing too well for Dana Altman to go back to Artis. As a result, Artis never regained his initial form.
Assuming he returns to the starting lineup after his suspension is over, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of adjustments—if any—Artis worked on over the summer. Has he developed a floater? Can he handle pressure in the open court? Has he ironed out the kinks on defense? Playing on a stacked Oregon team, Artis will certainly have opportunities. It’s on him to produce.