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Isaiah Stewart, like each prospect in the 2020 NBA draft, hasn’t played competitive basketball since March but the former Washington Huskies forward has put in plenty of work inside the gym to prepare for the next level.
Stewart was named to the First Team All-Pac 12 last season after averaging 17.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 32 games with the Huskies. In just one season in college, he has established himself as one of the best defenders in the class after finishing third in the Pac-12 in blocks.
The 6-foot-9 forward has worked on all facets of his game since leaving Washington and has studied quite a few players along the way. Stewart told Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype that he has watched a lot of Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo.
I’m a guy that likes to work on every single part of my game. I could probably list a hundred things I’ve been doing. But the main thing has definitely been my shooting. I have come a long way but I’m definitely shooting at a good clip right now. I’m just getting better at it every single day. We have also been working on passing, working on my IQ and being able to play in the short roll.
I watch a guy like Bam Adebayo who makes a lot of great passes in the short roll. He has a great IQ. I see how he is able to impact the game in that way. He is patient and he can read the defense and he doesn’t get sped up. The past college season, I was double-teamed and triple-teamed a lot. I needed to learn how to make better reads out of the high post.
Of course, Adebayo has emerged as one of the best up-and-coming big men in the NBA after a dominant showing this season. Stewart can pick up little things from Adebayo that will help his development as he transitions to the professional level.
Stewart is most commonly pegged to be a late first-round to early second-round pick. However, Stewart is projected to be taken with the 14th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the latest 2020 Rookie Wire NBA Mock Draft as his arrival would provide additional depth in their frontcourt.
The 2020 NBA draft is scheduled to take place on Nov. 18.
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