Cam Whitmore: 2023 NBA Draft Scouting Report
A power wing with insane natural gifts, Whitmore will need to make his game more well-rounded to become a star in the NBA
Trust me on this: Cam Whitmore will run you over.
He doesn’t care who is standing between him in the basket, he’s going to get there and finish. Seven-footers, stocky wings, guards who have position in front of him… Whitmore doesn’t care.
I got to see it up close and in-person coaching against Whitmore when he was in high school. In the very first possession of the game at our place, Cam had an isolation atop the key against our 6’5” forward, a junior and Division I lacrosse commit to Ohio State. Whitmore pushed off for an offensive foul, but he sent our player (yes, a legitimate D1 athlete) flying with the push-off.
At 6’6” (some sites will have him anywhere between 6’5” and 6’7”), Whitmore is a power wing. He combines bully tactics with grace in a way very few can. He drives through people’s chests and seeks out contact, but rarely looks out of control. He’s a two-foot leaper and is constantly on balance, yet still can explode up for a slam with his head at or above the rim. He dishes out punishment on nearly every drive and is rarely hampered by the insane amount of physicality he endures.
While the difference between 6’5” and 6’7” does have some significance in NBA circles, Whitmore might be the rare player who it really doesn’t matter for. He’s so strong and physical, plus explosive of a leaper, that he plays like he’s 6’8”. With decent length and the stocky frame to guard up the lineup, Whitmore can be a multi-positional defender. He doesn’t need to measure well in order for his game to translate.
What he does need, however, is polish on his offensive arsenal. Through watching his games at Villanova (and back at Archbishop Spalding a year ago), there were some signs of lower feel and pre-determined reads that Whitmore would make. He wants to score near the bucket and misses lots of opportunities to create open looks for others.
Players like Whitmore provide a little bit of challenge for the imagination. His feel hasn’t been high enough to be a pure scorer or top option; he’s not good enough in the mid-range and doesn’t create for others. But he’s too good as a scorer to be jettisoned to an off-ball role. He doesn’t have a true position, and he likely needs ball-movers and floor-spacers next to him on offense to open up the lane for easy drives.
It’s clear to see that Whitmore is immensely talented for a youngster with a ridiculously high ceiling. But to place him into a situation where he can thrive, the team drafting him needs to provide those elements and wisely work on his game patiently to maximize the rewards they reap.
Offense
It’s hard to say exactly what position Whitmore plays. He is somewhat positionless, though he wants the ball in his hands to operate like a scorer or face-up driver.
When trying to think about Whitmore’s game and where to focus my evaluation, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about who will guard him at the next level and how he’ll be guarded. The skills on display at Villanova and back in high school can be dissected, but as a mismatch driver, the important context is around figuring out which type of mismatches he’s going to be able to — or dared to — exploit.
Defenders first and foremost have to take away the drive from Whitmore. The hard bounce to get to the rim, where he shoots an elite 64.2% in the half-court, is far and away his signature skill and translatable to the next level. Guys who have inside position and wall up cannot prevent Cam from going through them because of his physical strength. He’s got real bend to play low to get to his spots off the bounce and has the patience and balance to be controlled on his finish.
The ‘who’ of who defends him doesn’t seem to matter. He bowls over smaller guards, and with his low handle doesn’t get the ball poked away while trying to do so. Bigger guys cannot stop him, either, as he gets balanced off two feet and powers through those that wall up at the hoop.
He may be a two-foot leaper, but Whitmore is wildly under control as a result.