WSU BASKETBALL PROFILES: Brock Motum

This is the first in our series of WSU basketball player profiles, a new one of which will hit the site every couple of days until the season officially starts on Nov. 13. You can read the other players' profiles here.

Scouting Report: Heading into last season, Brock Motum was regarded as a guy who would be ready to play and contribute right away.  Most of this hype came off of his strong showing in international competition the summer before.  As the non-conference schedule began, it was pretty clear that Brock was not going to be the contributor many pegged him to be.  The bulk of his minutes came early on against the low-majors.  In those minutes, he had some frequent awkward moments to reinforce Bone's decision to put him at the back of the rotation.

However, as the season progressed Brock did find himself with some minutes in high-leverage situations.  He had his breakout performance in WSU's home win (yes, we did actually win some games last year) over Arizona.  By the end of the season, Brock was given the chance to contribute as he put up 14 points and five rebounds in the Cougs' Pac-10 tournament loss to Oregon.

While there may have been a problem for Brock when it came to matching up with Pac-10 big men physically, fundamentally he looked light years ahead of his freshman status.  He is an excellent screener (something that should be even more improved with an extra 20 pounds of bulk) and makes smart cuts.  He shoots the ball very well, posting a 61.0 eFG% last season in limited action.  

Rebounding was Brock's achilles heel last season, and it is something that WSU desperately needs him to improve upon headed into 2010-11. He posted a very ugly 8.5 DR% (for reference, Michael Harthun grabbed 8.8% of available opportunities).  Again, this is where the added size should pay dividends.  He was pretty sound on blockouts, but lacked to strength to actually take advantage.  Hopefully this season he can hold his ground, because for a guy his size that defensive rebounding percentage needs to doubled.

Best Case Scenario...Brock works himself into the starting lineup before conference play.  He displays his offensive abilities, slashing to the basket and hitting outside shots.  His presence at the three-point line draws many a big man out of the post, leaving easy driving lanes for Reggie and Klay.  Brock becomes a solid rebounder to help out Casto and his playing time jumps to over 20 minutes a night.

Worst Case Scenario...Brock still lacks the prowess on the defensive glass, making him a liability on that end.  His added bulk takes away his biggest advantage over other bigs: his quick first step.  Without it and without a solid back-to-the-basket game, he has trouble establishing himself offensively.  His looks on offense are relegated to occassional spot up jumpers.  He finds himself at the back of the rotation again, struggling to get 10 minutes a night.

Likely Scenario...Brock does improve his rebounding (can't really get any worse) as he is much more acclimated to the physical nature of American basketball.  He shows off a consistent outside jumper, but is only occassionally effective on the inside.  He swaps time early with Abe Lodwick at the four, getting 10-15 minutes a night.  By the end of the season, he solidifies himself as the starter and gets closer to 20 minutes a game.