Kevon Looney, Freshman, UCLA
vs.
Christian Wood, Sophomore, UNLV
Measurements*
Looney - Age: 19, Height: 6-9, Weight: 220, Wingspan: 7-3, Reach: 9-1½
Wood - Age: 19, Height: 6-11, Weight: 220, Wingspan: 7-2
Season Stats
Looney - 30.9 mpg, 11.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.9 bpg, 1.3 tpg, 2.9 fpg, 47%/42%/63%
Wood - 32.9 mpg, 15.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.4 apg, 2.6 bpg, 2.5 tpg, 2.6 fpg, 49%/28%/73%
Stats Per 40
Looney - 14.9 ppg, 11.9 rpg (4.4 orpg, 7.5 drpg), 1.8 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.1 bpg, 1.6 tpg, 3.7 fpg
Wood - 18.8 ppg, 11.9 rpg (3.4 orpg, 8.5 drpg), 1.4 apg, 0.4 spg, 3.2 bpg, 3 tpg, 3.2 fpg
Advanced Stats
Looney - 22.4 PER, .532 TS%, .505 eFG%, 14.9 usage rate, 48% 2P
Wood - 25.1 PER, .572 TS%, .521 eFG%, 21.9 usage rate, 56% 2P
Statistics vs. Like Opponents (Arizona and Utah)
Looney - 122 minutes, 7.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 9/28 FG, 4/8 3P, 8/10 FT, 0.5 bpg
Wood - 64 minutes, 16 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 14/27 FG, 0/4 3P, 4/4 FT, 3 bpg
National Rankings
Looney - ESPN: 9th, CBS: 14th, DraftExpress: 18th
Wood - ESPN: 20th, CBS: 18th, DraftExpress: 23rd
Physical/Athletic Ability
Overall, both Looney and Wood are similar profiles. The are both lean with long arms, above-average quickness and very good, but not necessarily "jump off the page" vertical athleticism. Wood is taller, while Looney is perhaps a but bulkier at this point. Gaining strength will be the main goal of both for the next couple years.
Offense
Looney - The majority of Looney's offense at this point comes in the paint: 62% of his shots are at the rim with over half of those (32%) coming on put-backs, and 29% of all his shots from offensive rebounds. This becomes especially pertinent because Looney averages 3.4 offensive rebounds a game. However, there is good and bad to more than a quarter of a players offense coming off of offensive rebounds; the good is that it means Looney doesn't need plays run for him, and is always a threat to score. The bad is that it can show that a player isn't able to create their own shot as easily at the college level as you might like. This is a concern for Looney, who has little post game and while a good ball-handler for a power forward, is limited mostly to straight line drives from the perimeter. The skill where Looney has the most potential for growth is also the area he is currently most overrated in: shooting. Looney has good mechanics and should be a good shooter down the line, but those that view him as one now and or project a plus shooter down the line are looking too much at the 3-point percentage that, while good, comes from a very limited sample 53 attempts. This wouldn't be as much of a red flag if the rest of his shooting numbers weren't so concerning: on 2-point jumpers is shots away from the rim, Looney is shooting just 26% (a really bad number) while on free throws he is making 63% (below average). Again, Looney has the tools to be a better shooter but he is perhaps considerably farther off from being an impact shooter than is commonly thought. Some also consider Looney a possible candidate for transition from power forward to small forward, but unless the shooting improves or he becomes a much more advanced ball-handler, he would struggle there. His shooting and handle will play against power forwards, but against wing players? Not so much. Also, you'll be moving his best skill, offensive rebounding, further away from the basket. To live up to his lottery hype and become a consistent offensive contributor, Looney will need one more skill to add to his work on the offensive glass; the best candidate is the jumpshot because his size limits his post up potential. However, the jumper is no lock to get better and will require work.
Wood - Like Looney, Christian Wood gets a significant portion of his shots from offensive rebounds (22%) but takes a significantly less percentage of his shots at the rim (43%) as compared to Looney's 52% and converts them at a slightly higher rate (65% to 62%). Wood is a good ball-handler for his size, but is also somewhat limited to mostly straight line drives off of closeouts or when a defender is leaning too far one way. Like Looney, his quickness can be a weapon especially vs. slower-footed big men as his handle tightens up. Strength-wise, Wood just isn't built to be much of a post threat though he has the length and decent touch to have potential in that area. Wood is sort of the opposite of Looney, with a poor percentage from 3-point range (28% on 88 attempts) but much better shooting stats elsewhere. including an excellent 45% on 2-point jumpers and a career 75% on free throws. If Wood cuts 3s out of his game, focusing on mid-range shots until he develops range out to the 3-point range, he will be much more efficient while still providing spacing. Like with Looney, it isn't a lock that he gains a 3-point shot, but his underlying shooting stats back up that he is more likely to than Looney. Shooting will be crucial for Wood because it will cause defenders to close out harder, opening up more space to drive to the rim.
Defense and Rebounding
Looney - As was covered earlier, Looney is a tremendous offensive rebounder; his 3.4 offensive rebounds per game was 25th best in country while only Jahlil Okafor and Bobby Portis grabbed more per game among players likely to be taken in the draft. Defensively, he is still solid but not elite, grabbing 5.8 a game, good for 56th in the country. In both cases, Looney uses mostly length, quickness, and activity in order to get to rebounds, he isn't rooting opponents out of the way or simply towering over smaller guys, which means his rebounding will translate better because opponent size and strength won't matter as much in the equation. Defensively, he has some definite strengths and weaknesses. The area where he is likely to be of most use is versatility; Because of his quickness and lateral agility, Looney will be able to guard perimeter based 4s, switch onto perimeter players, and defend pick-and-rolls. He has quick hands with good anticipation intercepting passes and should be at creating turnovers. In the post, Looney is just not strong enough at this point to hold up defending against bigger opponents, another reason focusing on building strength will be crucial to his success. As a help defender and shot-blocker, Looney is willing but not incredibly instinctive in this area, his low block total (0.9 a game) is indicative of this. He has the length and mobility to be a solid help defender, but is a step behind many big men in this area, possibly because he spent so much time on the perimeter, defending 3s throughout his career.
Wood - By defensive rebounds per game, Wood is the best defensive rebounder in the draft, averaging 7.1 a game (11th in the country) while offensively he ranked 81st with 2.9. Like Looney, he doesn't do it with strength, instead using activity, long arms, and athleticism. Defensively, he has similar versatility to Looney because of his lateral quickness and long arms, he should be good defending on the perimeter and against pick-and-roll. As a post defender he also needs to get stronger in order to be not pushed around too much, though at his height he should be bother post players some. Where Wood is clearly ahead of Looney is as a rim protector and shot blocker. For Wood, his long arms and athletic ability are just the start, what makes him such a good shot blocker is his mobility and instincts, he can cover a lot of ground and times his challenges well. It is also important to note that Wood frequently played forward, not center, at UNLV which mean he had to work harder to protect the rim because he wasn't always positioned right under it.
NBA Comparison
Looney - Looney is a tough one, he has a body and play style similar to Jeff Green but rebounds more like Al-Farouq Aminu. Both are useful NBA players that always leave you wanting more, which is where I would project Looney to end up.
Wood - Physically, he is built like John Henson and plays defense in a similar style. Offensively, Henson is more of a dink-and-dunk type player while Wood has a legitimate jump-shot. Henson with a jumper is a valuable player.
Conclusion
Looney is ranked above Wood basically everywhere, but I am not sure I see why. They have similar physical tool except that Wood is taller. Offensively, Wood has shown to be a more consistent shooter while he is way ahead as a defender and a defensive rebounder. Looney has the edge really only as an offensive rebounder. Give me Christian Wood.
*Height and weight are from the school listing, wingspan and reach come from USA Basketball in 2013 for Looney and LeBron James Camp in 2012 for Wood, both via DraftExpress. This will be updated after the Chicago combine.
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