Edmond Sumner, Sophomore, Guard, Xavier
Overview:
Edmond Sumner had his sophomore season cut short with an ACL injury in late January. He has a history of injuries, including a knee injury his freshman year which caused him to redshirt and a shoulder injury this season. In his three years at Xavier, Sumner has only played in 58 games which has hindered his skill development. Teams considering drafting him will have to take his injury history into account and decide if he’s worth the risk. At 6-5 with a 6-8 wingspan, Sumner has excellent size for a point guard and will still be coveted as a second round development player.
Sumner’s biggest strength as a pro prospect is his athleticism. However, with his ACL tear, it’s not a given that Sumner will regain the same athleticism he displayed before the injury. He’s dynamic in the open floor, as he can fly down the court and explode in space to finish above the rim. In the half court, it doesn’t take much room for Sumner to use his quickness to find a lane to the bucket. Despite his ability to get to the rim, Sumner doesn’t have much finesse and gets out of control at times. He’s an acrobatic finisher, which showed on his 53% shooting inside the three-point line. However, Sumner isn’t as composed in traffic and doesn’t have great touch once he gets to the rim. He’s also mostly limited to straight line drives as he isn’t an exceptional ball-handler and relies too heavily on right hand finishes, even when he drives left. Sumner does absorb contact well though, as he averaged 6.2 FTA last season.
Besides the injuries, what will concern teams the most about Sumner is his outside shooting ability. In 21 games last season, he only shot 12-44 (27.3%) from three and is just a career 28.5% shooter from deep. He doesn’t look comfortable taking jump shots anywhere on the court. There’s no touch on his shot and his mechanics are inconsistent and not very pretty. Defenses will dare Sumner to shoot by sagging off him and going under screens, which will limit his ability to attack the rim. He’s also not very polished as a true point guard, due to his lack of playing time and injuries. He did average 4.8 assists last season which shows potential, but he also committed 2.6 turnovers per game. Sumner’s size helps him to see over the top of the defense, but he’s not adept at making passes on the move or out of the pick and roll.
Sumner does have the capability of becoming a useful NBA defender. With his size and length, he could potentially defend two or three different positions. However, in college, Sumner was too passive on defense and often avoided any contact. At just 170 lbs, he doesn’t have the strength to be very physical and put pressure on the ball. He does have good lateral quickness and if he recovers well from his injury and puts on some weight, then he could use his defensive versatility to carve out an NBA role, even if his shot never develops.
Final Projection:
All in all, Sumner’s skills and potential may be irrelevant if he is never able to recover from his ACL tear and overall injury proneness. His size and athleticism will likely be enough to get him drafted, but with the understanding that it will be a while before he can contribute at the next level. Even if Sumner fully regains his athleticism and quickness, he will still struggle to stick in the NBA if he doesn’t improve his jump shot. His driving ability will be neutralized if he doesn’t threaten defenses in another way, with either his shooting or playmaking. Edmond Sumner is one of the biggest risks as a draft pick, but he has the potential to pay off if everything falls into place for him.
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