Chris Cenac Jr. full breakdown

Developmental road to success and productivity

#11 Prospect: Chris Cenac Jr. 

Role: Developmental front court player who offers offensive floor spacing ability and defensive versatility

Rankings

Grade	Grade Rank	Ceiling Grade	Ceiling Rank
6.1	11th	7.2	10th

Anthropometrics/Agility

Height	Weight	Wingspan	Vertical	Shuttle	Agility
6' 10.25"	239.6	7' 5"	37	2.84	10.76

Intangibles

Strengths	Weaknesses
Size/length/athleticism	Lack of offensive aggressiveness
Floor spacing potential	Shooting efficiency
Rebounding activity	Defensive discipline

Summary

Cenac Jr. presents as a developmental front court player who provides tremendous upside as a floor spacer, rebounder, and versatile defender. Cenac Jr.’s offensive game is rough around the edges. He struggles to execute his footwork consistently. He is a limited ball handler. He lacks aggressiveness to attack or create his own shot and often settles for jumpers. And his shooting efficiency is below average. With all that being said, his offensive potential is apparent given his size, athleticism, and flashes of tools. In capable hands, Cenac Jr. can develop his footwork to make the game easier for him to create and execute on the offensive end. Until then, he provides a strong screen setting presence and tenacious rebounding effort to generate second chance opportunities. Defensively, Cenac Jr. demonstrates similar struggles. His upside is high but his execution, discipline, and consistency is low. He plays with great effort and intensity so I have faith in his ability to reach his ceiling as a defender but he requires considerable development. At this time, he provides energy as a help defender and effort on the defensive glass. 

Expectations

I expect Cenac Jr. to earn a consistent role playing between 16-24 minutes a game providing energy, rebounding, floor spacing, and defensive versatility. His transition into the NBA will require time as he is a developmental prospect. His length, athleticism, competitiveness, and flashes of skill demonstrate tremendous upside but requires capable hands to tap into his potential. Early on in his career, Cenac Jr. will make his impact on the offensive end as a screen setter, catch and shoot option, and offensive rebounding presence. He needs to develop his footwork and poise to execute from different areas of the floor to create quality attempts. Until then, his production will remain capped. Defensively, Cenac Jr. will be asked to use his length, athleticism, and intensity to cause havoc on the defensive end and secure rebounds to end possessions. He struggles to maintain his discipline and is prone to mistakes or fouls. He also needs to improve his anticipation to increase his effectiveness while defending in space but I believe in his ability long-term. If Cenac Jr. can tap into his potential, his role will expand as a quality starter on a competitive team. He may not lead your team to contention but he can provide two-way impact to supplement that effort.

Strengths

Size/length, Active defensive hands, Offensive skill potential, 3-point ability, Rebounding activity (especially on the offensive glass), Reads the ball well off the rim, Post defensive strength, Screen coverage and versatility, In-season growth and offensive aggressiveness, Footwork potential, Defensive potential

Weaknesses

Shot selection, Decreased self-creation, Shooting efficiency, Post finishing, Offensive aggressiveness, Ability to draw fouls, Ball handling/security, Footwork execution, Defensive discipline, Foot speed/lateral agility, Inconsistent

Offensive Footwork

Cenac Jr. demonstrates flashes of footwork but lacks consistency and execution. The foundation of composed footwork is present but the application of the footwork whether out of the triple threat, playing off of two feet, or in the low-post is underwhelming. He lacks the ability to react and/or manipulate his defender to create an advantage. If his footwork generates an advantage it is likely due to luck rather than purposeful skill, but nevertheless, the ability is present. He needs a lot of development and reps to enhance his execution and feel to sequence his pivots effectively. The potential he possesses is enticing and he demonstrated growth throughout the season that I believe in his ability to make steady progress in capable hands.

Offensive Reactions/IQ

Cenac Jr.'s ability to read the floor and react appropriately is underwhelming. His gut instinct after receiving the ball is to elevate for his shot. It doesn't matter his position on the floor or the position of the defenders around him. When he receives the ball, the first thought is to elevate and shoot. And the results are routinely poor. He demonstrated enough flashes throughout the season to believe in his ability to progress through reads, execute a simple move or counter move to generate a quality attempt, but this is another area of development that Cenac Jr. requires. 

Ball Handling

His ball handling is underwhelming and often at risk of turnovers if tasked with creating from the perimeter. He is better suited to create from the mid- to low-post where he can rely on his length and high release point to get his shot off after a one or two dribble move. There are other areas of his development that ball handling should not be prioritized at this time. 

Shooting

Cenac Jr. has a very high release that is difficult to contest. He shoots confidently and demonstrates 3-point potential although the efficiency is underwhelming. He presents as a catch and shoot threat rather than a shooter who creates his own shot off the dribble. He needs to improve his efficiency to threaten the defense to a higher degree but he has potential to serve as a pick and pop threat. Another area that he needs to improve revolves around his post finishing. He struggles to create quality attempts due to underdeveloped footwork.

Passing

Cenac Jr. is a willing passer but his execution revolves around simple reads. His best passing is displayed after receiving the ball on the roll or short roll where he locates his teammate on the block or another teammate for a corner 3-pointer. Self-created passing is not an element of his game.

Creation Ability

His self-creation is very limited. He demonstrates poor shot selection and defaults to midrange jumpers off of the catch. He relies on his high release and rarely puts the ball on the ground. If tasked to create, he struggles to sequence dribble moves and his offensive footwork lacks poise and execution. I believe he will develop into a quality offensive player but he needs to focus on his footwork and feel to generate quality attempts. At this time, he is a play finisher who needs space to convert. Since he struggles to create, he hesitates to attack and misses opportunities to draw fouls.

Spacing/Movement

Cenac Jr. moves well without the ball to find soft spots within the defense to either elevate for a midrange shot or convert a dunk after a dumpoff pass. He also provides floor spacing potential but needs to improve his efficiency to demand more respect from the perimeter.

Offensive Hustle

Offensive rebounding is Cenac Jr. 's top offensive quality at this time. He competes extremely well on the offensive glass and generates multiple extra possessions for his team throughout a game. He tracks the ball well off the rim and uses his length to high point or tip rebounds to keep the ball alive. His effort is tremendous and gives me confidence that he cares while he is on the court. This is an easy way for Cenac Jr. to make an impact at the next level while he develops other aspects of his game. 

Defensive Footwork

Cenac Jr. demonstrates the willingness to sit low in a defensive stance. He keeps his hands active and readily applies pressure. He competes on the defensive end but overall lacks foot speed and lateral agility to be considered as a plus defender on the perimeter. His effort and length will make up for his lack of foot speed to produce positively even if not considered elite.

Deflections/Activity

His hands are consistently active and he has great length to make ball handlers uncomfortable. Within Houston's defensive scheme, he is consistently asked to trap during ball screens and he presents as an imposing large and long defender who closes passing windows. Even if he does not generate the deflection himself, his length and activity decrease the passing accuracy for his teammates to take advantage of. His defensive impact is higher than the production of stats that he generates. I expect his steal and block rates to improve as he develops.

Intensity/Discipline

Cenac Jr. plays with good intensity. He applies ball pressure and hustles to closeout. He appears intent on making an impact while on the defensive end. Unfortunately, he struggles to maintain his discipline. He reaches in too often while defending on the perimeter. He also closes out recklessly and leaves his feet on shot fakes. All of these poor tendencies lead to fouls. He struggles to stay out of foul trouble and commits fouls in poor situations such as fouling a 3-point shooter.

Screen Negotiation

As a post player, Cenac Jr. is not asked to get through screens often. But as a screen defender, he offers variable screen coverage options. He can drop, hedge, trap, or switch. Although switching may leave him exposed on the perimeter against quality guards. In all scenarios, he will keep his hands active and look to disrupt offensive actions.

Off-ball Awareness

Cenac Jr. needs to improve his off-ball positioning to avoid late closeouts or rotations which both lead to fouls or easy attempts. He has great length and size to present as a rim protector but his block production is relatively low. Improving his positioning will go a long way to enhancing his impact and production.

Defensive Hustle

Cenac Jr. is extremely competitive and productive on the glass. He is willing to get physical and battle for rebounds. He tracks the ball well off the rim and elevates to high point the ball over his opponents.