Kevin Hervey enters the NBA Draft with questions on whether he is injury prone and can project to become a complimentary player.
Coming out of Arlington Texas Kevin Hervey enters the NBA Draft with projections to fit into one of the forward positions. Although his size is considered a plus there remain questions regarding whether Hervey can manage at the four against bigger bodies.
The small forward is most adept in a free flowing offense where his shooting can be utilized as an advantage. Perhaps the biggest question on the Texan is his health. In his second season at Arlington Texas he tore his left ACL. Once healed he returned looking like he’d rebounded nicely and then in his senior season tore the opposite ACL (right).
With OKC selecting so late in the draft can they afford to put their eggs in the basket of a player who’ll possibly be injury prone. In spite of this Kevin Hervey is projected to fall into the area of picks which Sam Presti will select. Hervey has benefits the OKC Thunder could use such as size and shooting. The question is whether he’ll be able to play more than one position and add to his offensive skillset.
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Player specifics:
- Height: 6’7.75”
- Weight: 212 lbs
- Wingspan: 7’3.5”
- Position: Small Forward
- Age: 21.10
- College: Texas Arlington, Senior
- Home town: Arlington, Texas)
Statline:
| Season | School | Conf | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | Texas-Arlington | Sun Belt | 31 | 15 | 21.7 | 2.5 | 6.8 | .368 | .490 | 0.9 | 3.6 | .259 | 1.1 | 1.6 | .714 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 7.1 |
| 2015-16 | Texas-Arlington | Sun Belt | 16 | 16 | 29.8 | 6.4 | 14.1 | .453 | .545 | 1.9 | 5.8 | .323 | 3.5 | 4.6 | .757 | 2.3 | 7.5 | 9.8 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 18.1 |
| 2016-17 | Texas-Arlington | Sun Belt | 35 | 28 | 27.8 | 5.9 | 12.9 | .459 | .549 | 1.9 | 5.7 | .343 | 3.2 | 4.3 | .753 | 1.4 | 7.1 | 8.5 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 17.1 |
| 2017-18 | Texas-Arlington | Sun Belt | 33 | 25 | 32.2 | 7.4 | 16.5 | .446 | .522 | 2.3 | 6.9 | .339 | 3.4 | 4.2 | .807 | 2.3 | 6.2 | 8.5 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 20.5 |
| Career | Texas-Arlington | 115 | 84 | 27.7 | 5.5 | 12.5 | .440 | .530 | 1.8 | 5.5 | .324 | 2.8 | 3.6 | .768 | 1.9 | 6.1 | 8.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 15.5 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 6/19/2018.
Skills:
Hervey’s shot is NBA ready wit the proper mechanics and range. Because of this he projects to be a solid floor spacer who can be utilized as a fourth or fifth scoring option.
That said, he’ll still need to improve from range since his best shooting season from deep was 34.3 percent. He regressed this past season down to 33.9 percent.
The issue with Hervey is his position since he’s slated as a small forward, but ideally suited to become a stretch four. Inside the paint he’s shown the ability to finish with either hand. However, it’s difficult to project if he’ll be able to manage inside facing the larger bodies of the NBA.
Nor has he shown to be capable of out-jumping opponents so he’ll need to improve on these areas to offer a more versatile offensive skillset.
Weaknesses:
The injury questions persist given two separate knee injuries. They say modern surgeries can result in the knees being stronger post surgery. Then again, Jabari Parker is testament to that theory not being true.
Hervey showcases a broad range, but hasn’t spent time developing much else offensively. Therefore his propensity is to rise up and shoot instead of reading the defense to decipher when drives would be the better bet. This is relevant since Hervey may be utilized in a small ball lineup — meaning he’ll need more than a jump shot to fit in as a power forward in these circumstance.
Defensively, there are numerous areas for Hervey to work on. He’s turnover happy, doesn’t have the size to guard above the small forward players and his footwork and lack of lateral speed limit his ability to guard his own positions or backcourt players.
Awards and honors:
Pro comparison:
The Ringers Kevin O’Connor likens Hervey to an interesting trio of Ersan Ilyasova, J.R. Smith and Brandon Rush.
If KOC is accurate on this projection than Hervey’s stock should rise significantly. I don’t buy any of these projections and feel like there should be an asterisk added with “lite” after each comparison. Even after Smith’s brutal final’s showing he still has produced at stages in his career. If Hervey could develop into providing the complimentary games of the above trio, he deserves a closer look by Sam Presti.
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Current ranking:
ESPN/DraftExpress: 46th
The Ringer: 49th
Draft Net: 52nd
CBS Sports: 63rd
Sports Illustrated: 45th
Basketball Insider: 58th
Sporting News: 45th
Fit with OKC Thunder:
Based on the projections for Hervey it’s a sign teams and analysts aren’t sure about the injury aspect of the small forward. You have to believe a player with not one but two major knee surgeries has to have a flashing red light following him everywhere he goes.
If he could project to offer complimentary components to his game such as playmaking or ball distribution I might be more swayed. But, his clumsiness when trying to move or drive and a penchant to be turnover prone don’t project for this to be the situation.
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Presti has other more viable candidates even this late in the draft who’ll fill the front court needs of the team.