New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Kaleb Wesson is a compelling sleeper

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Feb 25, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Kaleb Wesson (34) and Michigan State Spartans forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (30) and Ohio State Buckeyes guard Luther Muhammad (1) fight for position during the second half a game at the Breslin Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Kaleb Wesson is a bruising big man with a clean stroke from deep

Kaleb Wesson’s Strengths

When assessing Kaleb Wesson, we’re not talking about a player that’s going to blow other guys off the court with his athletism. Wesson’s a solid athlete, but his game is all about skill.

Playing in a ball-control slow-paced system at Ohio State, Wesson was the focus of a lot of the team’s offense over the past three seasons. In that offense, Wesson excelled as an inside-outside threat for the Buckeyes. Give him the ball down low and his strength and footwork would put in a key position to score in the post.

Wesson’s not just a throwback big man though, he’s a modern-day floor stretcher too. A threat in the pick-and-pop, Wesson developed his 3 point shot over his three seasons at Ohio State becoming a 38 percent shooter for his career from deep on three attempts per game.

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That skill carries over to the defensive end of the floor as well where Wesson was arguably Ohio State’s best defender. He’s a strong rebounder on both ends of the floor with knowledge of how to best position himself on box-outs. His strength allows him to seal up the post which made it hard for opposing big men to work inside on him.

Surprisingly mobile for his size, Wesson was also able to move on to the perimeter and cover pick-and-rolls, consistently getting his arms up to contest shots. Sounds appealing huh? Well before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s look at where Wesson has to improve.