Harrison Ingram: 2022 NBA Draft Scouting Report
A strong passer with an elite frame, how does Ingram score on an NBA floor?
Following the conclusion of the season, we will be putting forth an in-depth series on freshmen and sophomores who are firmly on the fence of staying in the draft or returning to school. Harrison Ingram from Stanford may be one of the biggest names up in the air on that list.
Without getting into that impending decision today, Ingram is a player with many natural traits which are appealing. At 6’8” and built at a burly 230 pounds, he can body smaller defenders and finds ways to get to the free throw line at a decent rate. Ingram isn’t blessed with elite speed, but he has a really good handle at 6’8” and has been viewed by many as a bit of a point forward type.
The size and ball handling leads to many walk-in post-ups, where Ingram will dribble himself to the blocks and patiently back his man down. Patience is the name of the game for Ingram. He rarely gets sped up or speeds himself up — he only took 17 shots in transition all year! He’s content playing off two feet and spins or pivots on the interior. When he does need to drive from the perimeter, he’s great at euro-stepping or leaning into contact on his drives. Those lean-ins are something we really look for in methodical drivers: contact-embracing, not contact averse.
Ingram isn’t an overly efficient finisher, though: 54.1% at the rim is decent, though should be better given his natural traits. Without jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism, it can be difficult to envision those numbers going up at the next level. Ingram is not a frequent dunker, and in our experience, guys who rarely finish above the rim in college don’t sprout that up in the pros.
Why is that concerning? The lack of perimeter reliability in Ingram’s offensive game. He’s barely over 30% from 3, and while the upper body mechanics are strong, his lower body is incredibly stiff. That set form from a standstill translates to very stunted pull-up shooting.
Many of his great traits as a passer or contact-drawer are stunted by the absence of a threat he credibly presents outside of 15 feet.
The end of the season was not kind to Ingram at all. Whether he hit the proverbial freshman wall or simply lost confidence, the final seven games were pretty poor: 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.9 turnovers on 27.3% shooting and 25% shooting from deep.
Could Ingram go back to Stanford and work on some of these offensive worries? Surely, and a year with 35% shooting from deep or above (and some better finishing) may turn him into a lottery prospect. That’s how coveted high-IQ 6’8” handlers who can defend have become. Make no mistake, Ingram is a pretty good defender.
That defensive aptitude stands out more in a class that lacks wing defenders than anything else, and is one of the reasons we can see Ingram sneaking into the 20s on draft night. His physical profile and defensive ability is very projectable. The passing and feel he plays with pairs nicely with it.
If Ingram declares, he’s firmly entrenched in the 22-40 range for us. There’s enough touch to his shot that we can see it working out, and in the right system where he can be an occasional back-to-basket threat, his game can blossom early.
Drafting is increasingly about finding natural traits, then figuring out what you can add to them and fix from the facets of their game that are lacking. Ingram has some clearly identifiable natural characteristics, and despite some rocky inconsistencies as a freshman at Stanford, we believe some of the fixes to his game are more simple than with others.
Below are some statistical profiles and outlooks on Ingram