Eric Moreland | Oregon State | Senior, 21 years old
PF, 6-10, 215
Last season (30.7 MPG): 9.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.5 BPG, 21.6 PER, 57% FG
Breakdown:
Eric Moreland’s NBA profile starts with his physical attributes. Standing 6-10 with a reported 7-4 wingspan, Moreland is a lanky power forward whose game is predicated on athleticism and energy. Moreland runs the floor well, is mobile and fluid, and can accumulate rebounds, deflections and blocks in a hurry
He has all the physical attributes, but Moreland must continue to develop his floor skills to be taken seriously at the next level. He made progress last season, improving his scoring average by more than four points per game. Moreland extended his range out to the foul line/elbow area last season, which was a huge step considering that two years ago he was essentially a center playing in a (skinny) power forward frame, which, obviously, was alarming.
Last season, Moreland finished seventh in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds, 4th in defensive rebounds, 2nd in blocks, and 2nd in rebounds per game. His 27.5% defensive rebound percentage ranked 5th in the country, and his 8.1 block percentage was 68th nationally. He also shot the ball very efficiently, as his 59% effective field goal percentage ranked 64th in the country.
CUTTING
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Moreland can undoubtedly use his bounce and length to make plays in the paint. Overall though, Moreland sill has a lot to improve on in the half court. At 6-10, only 6.5% of his offense came from the post. Now this would be OK if he did damage from the perimeter, but he was even worse there — his .462 PPP on “off the dribble” jumpshots ranked in the bottom 14% of all college players. He was also rarely used in the pick-and-roll last year, as he had one possession as the P&R ball handler, and only 6 possessions as the P&R screener.
Moreland can score in the half court, but in order to do so he needs someone to facilitate for him. He does a lot of work catching the ball on the move, or when the defense is out of position. But in terms of pure isolation and/or spot-up situations, he possesses neither the necessary ball handling nor shooting skills to be effective.
SHOOTING
As the video shows, Moreland’s shooting form is all sorts of whacky. He does a fade-away leg-kick on his jumpshots. Hopefully he worked on his shooting form over the summer — jumping straight up and down, correct finger and hand placement, and releasing the ball at its highest point. That’s a broken jumpshot for sure.
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DEFENSE
Moreland’s defense is also—quite literally—a step behind. His .9 PPP allowed ranked in the bottom 27% of the country, and his rebounding and shot blocking prowess notwithstanding, Moreland can be exposed in the half court. Let’s take a look at three clips from a game against Towson where Moreland struggles on defense.
In this clip, Towson’s Jerrelle Benimon swiftly blows by Moreland for an easy reverse layup. Moreland’s initial stance is forcing Benimon to go baseline, so the Towson forward takes what is given for the easy bucket. This is due to a lack of focus early on in the possession and a lack of foot speed once he’s beat.
In this clip, Moreland’s skinny frame gets taken advantage of. Using three dribbles, Benimon takes Moreland from the 3-point line to the basket for an easy bucket. Moreland applied zero resistance.
This basket is directly attributable to a lack of focus early in the possession. Towson guard Mike Burwell catches the ball in rhythm and simply goes up for the shot. Moreland—even with his freakish length—is late to recover.
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OVERALL
Moreland has physical attributes NBA teams covet, but his skill set is a few steps behind right now. The odds are against him, but if he can develop his handle, improve his focus and shooting form—all while continuing to rebound and be active on defense—he’ll have a chance at the NBA.