Miami Heat: 3 March Madness Prospects To Keep An Eye On- EJ Liddell
EJ Liddell seems to me like one of those guys that projects as more of an early second-round selection right now but after a few good showings in the tourney is going to catapult up draft boards.
The 6-foot-7 Combo-Forward is a bit of a tweener and that may allow the Heat an opportunity to grab him late in the first round. We know all about tweeners here in Miami and how impactful they can be, considering Bam Adebayo was also seen as an undersized prospect but that never kept him from reaching his full potential.
His game reminds me a bit of current PF PJ Tucker with a lot more offensive upside.
He’s a talented scorer who finds ways to produce with the ball in his hands and he ranks among the top five of all Big Ten players in blocks and scoring. His improving outside shot will help him greatly at the next level as well.
Speaking of blocks, Liddell averaged 2.6 BPG this past season, and my mouth waters at the thought of him playing alongside Bam next year as teams would have a hard time getting into the paint, let alone scoring.
EJ averaged 19.6 points, 7.9 boards, and 2.5 assists in his junior season with Ohio State while shooting 54% from the field, 38% from deep, and 78% from the charity stripe.
Liddell brings an unmatched tenacity paired with being a great inside-out scoring threat, a great rebounder, and a sneaky-good playmaker that would fit Miami’s grind ’em-down style of play like a glove.
If he were to start next season as the backup power forward and took next year to learn under PJ Tucker’s wing, I could realistically see him starting for the Heat within two seasons’ time.