Milwaukee Bucks: Options At No. 48 In NBA Draft

Mar 15, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Providence Friars guard Bryce Cotton (11) drives to the basket against the Creighton Bluejays during the first half in the championship game of the Big East college basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Bryce Cotton, PG, Providence

Cotton, who will be 22 in August, is a 6-foot, 163-pound point guard coming off a productive senior year for the Friars.

He averaged 21.8 points, 5.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and a steal in 39.9 minutes per game, shooting .419/.367/.853.

He seldom left the floor for Providence, which won the Big East tournament title to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade.

Cotton was one of the best playmakers in the college game and carried the Providence offense at times. He can make contested shots on the perimeter and is very good off the dribble.

But, wow, is he small. He’s not particularly strong and while he is a leaper–he posted a 40-inch vertical at a workout for the Los Angeles Clippers–he struggles to finish through contact or over length. And, like so many score-first point guards at the collegiate level, Cotton focused more on scoring than distributing or running the offense.

He is quick with the ball and has a quick change of direction, with an excellent pump fake—a staple for a shorter player—to get defenders in the air.

Defensively, Providence played a lot of zone, which hid Cotton’s physical limitations. He plays hard defensively, but he will be overmatched in the NBA, even when defending other point guards.