NBA Draft 2016: Grizzlies select Wade Baldwin IV with pick No. 17

The Memphis Grizzlies have selected Vanderbilt point guard Wade Baldwin IV with the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Baldwin, one of the top guards in the draft, is coming off a strong sophomore season in which he led Vanderbilt to 19 wins and a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores lost a First Four game to Wichita State, but the year served to show that Baldwin emerged as one of the best players in the SEC. If only his hand-to-face defense had stopped the Shockers:

One of the things that makes Baldwin immediately stand out compared to other prospects is his physique. The 20-year-old only measures 6’4, but can play bigger than that with his sturdy frame and nearly 7-foot wing span. It’s a combination of length and strength that you rarely see even in the NBA, which is full of some of the most ridiculous athletes in the world.

Baldwin remains raw in some aspects of the game, however, including his ability to consistently penetrate defenses. The guard has never figured out how to totally leverage his size and shooting ability to create lanes as a ballhandler, and he doesn’t have that first-step burst of quickness that so many of the game’s great creators use. So, it’s fair to wonder exactly how high Baldwin’s upside is offensively, although his steady three-point shooting in college, including a 40.6 percent mark from deep as a sophomore, gives hope that he can be a good spot-up shooter at the very least.

On the defensive end, Baldwin could be among the best in the game. His length gives him considerable potential as a perimeter defender who can guard multiple positions. If he can bring the consistent effort and focus that’s required of NBA defenders night-in, night-out, the tools are already there for Baldwin to become a shutdown defensive point guard even if his offensive game remains unpolished.

Baldwin finished his sophomore year at Vanderbilt averaging 14.1 points, 5.2 assists and four rebounds per game. His career with the Commodores was largely successful, including setting the school’s freshman and sophomore records for single-season assists. For the 2015-16 season, he was third in the SEC in assists and earned All-SEC second team honors.

If there was a low point for Baldwin, it came when coach Kevin Stallings shouted “I’ll f---ing kill you” at the guard after he clapped in an opponent’s face near the end of a game against Tennessee in February 2015. Stallings, who now coaches at Pitt, apologized afterwards for the inappropriate outburst, which happened when Baldwin was a freshman.

But since then, Baldwin has continued to blossom as a player, and now he’s an NBA first-round pick. Let’s dance: