Scouting and Highlights: Austin Roland (2018)
Austin Roland is a 5’11” athletic guard for Davison. He was named 1st team all conference this year as a junior. He’s very athletic, as he also plays football and runs track, both at a high level. His athleticism allows him to play bigger than he is, as his vertical is good enough for him to finish at/above the rim. Currently, he doesn’t have any college interest, but that should change soon. He’s good enough to play JuCo or D3 at the least, with the potential to play NAIA or D2 given a good senior year.
Here’s my take on Roland’s game:
Strengths:
Athleticism – He’s extremely athletic. Speed, quickness, strength, leaping ability – you name it, he excels at it. His athleticism allows him to defend at a high level, finish at the rim over bigger defenders, blow by defenders on the perimeter, among other things. It goes without saying that elite athleticism benefits anybody’s game tremendously.
Finishing – He’s a very good finisher. He can finish through contact, at the rim, above the rim, or in the lane with a floater. His floater is one of the strongest parts of his game. While a problem with many smaller guards is their inability to finish around the rim, this is one of Roland’s strengths.
Shot-creating – Roland has a good set of handles that allow him to break a defender down one-on-one. In addition to his good finishing ability, he has a nice mid-range game. He gets a decent amount of his points hitting a pull-up jumper free-throw line range.
Defense – His athleticism allows him to be a tough on-ball defender. His ability to play physical allows him to guard opponents several inches taller.
Areas For Development:
Playmaking – As an undersized guard, Roland will need to learn how to play as a facilitator at times in order to be truly effective. While his playmaking ability is by no means bad, sometimes he forces shots when a better play would’ve been to pass.
Off-ball defense – Nitpicking at this point, Roland can be caught standing and staring at the ball too frequently.