Pelicans NBA Draft: Ty-Shon Alexander is the next Lou Williams

Ty-Shon Alexander provides an excellent blend of traits that’ll make him the perfect sparkplug player for the New Orleans Pelicans

Ty-Shon Alexander’s Strengths

Of course, the first thing we have to talk about when covering Ty-Shon Alexander is his scoring. Alexander is the lead dog at Creighton and that’s evident in the 15+ points per game he averaged over the past two seasons.

When it comes to Alexander’s scoring ability, two things make it special. First, Alexander is a good 3 point shooter. His career average from distance at Creighton was 40 percent which was elite, and watching his tape shows that his shooting mechanics improved during his college career.

After Alexander’s beautiful stroke comes his ability to create and hunt for his shot. At Creighton, he played both on and off ball, during both of those situations he was still able to create his shot. If Alexander had the ball in his hands, then he’d create space with a stepback. If he played off the ball then he’d consistently be in motion for easy looks.

The offense isn’t the only great thing about Ty-Shon Alexander’s game though, he’s also another grinder perfect for adding toughness to the Pelicans roster. Put on any Creighton game, and you’ll see Alexander grinding it out on defense, running through screens, and even calling out the offense’s plays to his teammates.

Beyond that rugged defense, Alexander loves to crash the glass, dive for loose balls, and force turnovers which are all perfect skills for a New Orleans Pelicans team that lacked hustle last season. Like every prospect, Alexander has a few flaws worth noting that could be detrimental to the team that drafts him.