New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: 2 Senior sleepers for the second round

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft sleepers: Skylar Mays

Skylar Mays: Shooting Guard, LSU

The Pels should hopefully be familiar with  Skylar Mays, as he’s been playing in their back yard for four years.

He is a guy who has improved steadily every year, averaging 16.7 points, 5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals his senior season.

One thing that stands out about Mays is that he is very smart. He won the scholar athlete of the year award two years in a row, was an Academic All-American as well as a first-team All-SEC selection.

Though he lacks size at 6-foot-2, Mays knows how to score and is an excellent shooter, averaging 39.4 percent from 3-point range, an area where he improved every season.

He had some big games as a senior, dropping 30 points on Utah State and Auburn. He is not an elite athlete, but is a smart player who moves well without the ball and always seems to make the right play.

He is adept at using ball fakes to beat defenders and already has NBA range from behind the 3-point arc. He is very good at using change-of-pace to get where he wants to on the floor and uses his big body to finish at the rim through contact.

Mays is very good at drawing fouls, averaging just under five free throws a game, and he is an elite free-throw shooter.

Mays has active hands on defense, averaging nearly two steals a game, and is also able to defend larger players because of his strength.

Overall he is not going to blow anyone away with his stats or flashy dunks, but Mays is a smart, solid player who knows how to score and could be a weapon off someone’s bench.