Again, he shot sub-30% from 3, shot 75% from the line. Put up 16 PPG in a blah conference. He was a more aggressive rebounder than he is today, but his offense wasn't really refined at all. His most effective offense was generated by using his sheer size advantage (especially in the MWC), but he also loved settling for jump shots-- despite not being able to shoot.

He also gambled too much on defense-- it's crazy to think now that Kawhi Leonard couldn't even win Defensive Player of the Year in the fucking Mountain West, but he was far better at deflecting and using his wingspan to disrupt than he was at staying in front of a guy with discipline.

He basically had the same stats at Al-Farouq Aminu in college (but in a worse conference!). So there's a very real alternate universe where Kawhi ends up the next Aminu. Now Kawhi's a multi-time DPOY, he's shot 38% from 3 and 85% from the line *for his career.* Meanwhile, Aminu still just is who he was for the most part.

Again, to underscore my original point, this is why teams jump for the potential guy. Take a guy with great length, great athleticism, great potential... because if you can teach him how to shoot, how to handle, how to stay disciplined on defense, how to crank up his aggression on offense, then you could have the next Kawhi. If you don't, you have the next Aminu-- or worse-- but it's worth the gamble.