Keith Stone was one of the Gators who took the biggest leaps in his game last year as the 6’8” forward went from a redshirt-freshman averaging 3.6 points per game playing 12.1 minutes to being a key starter and a player relied upon to play both frontcourt positions as a redshirt-sophomore. Starting in 26 of 34 games for the Gators Stone established himself as someone with a deadly stroke when left open and the defensive versatility to guard whomever the team needed him to shut down, wherever he was needed on the floor. His ability to rise up and block shots also showed a level of athleticism he wasn’t always known to have and that athleticism mixed with an elaborate skill set has his name on NBA draft radars. Primed to be Florida’s starting power forward Stone is entering an important redshirt-junior season and I wanted to take a dive into his numbers from last year to get a clearer picture of what his game was like and what he can do to improve this upcoming season.
2017-18 Stats
8.8 Points Per Game
4.3 Rebounds Per Game
0.7 Assists Per Game
0.6 Steals Per Game
0.9 Blocks Per Game
1.4 Turnovers Per Game
42.4% 3-Point
44.7% Field Goal
72.2% Free Throw
Shooting The Rock
Here lies Stone’s best skill. As you can see from that three-point percentage, he was a tremendous shooter and when you watch the way he shoots the ball it truly looks like everything that leaves his hand is going to go in. His stroke is as pretty as it comes and is extremely consistent and I’m sure we’ll see another tremendous 3-point shooting performance from him this next season. Though an average shooter when facing defensive pressure (35.4%) he is someone who can punish defenses for leaving him open as he shoots 48% when unguarded. With Jalen Hudson drawing defensive attention and Andrew Nembhard providing pinpoint passes, expect Stone to get a lot of wide-open swishes from deep this year. An area he could improve in is shooting off the dribble, something he’s not anywhere near as good at as when he catches and shoots. He only shot 26.3% off the bounce last year and though he isn’t a Jalen Hudson-type player who’s going to be required to shoot lots off the dribble, it would be a nice skill for him to develop. He wasn’t a great midrange shooter either and though his 72.2% free throw stroke is decent, his mechanics make it look like he should be even better from there and it’s something you will hopefully see climb even higher this season.
Man On The Run
You might not think of Stone as a player who thrives when sprinting down the floor but 15.9% of his offense came in transition last season and he was tremendously effective in that area converting on 56.1% of his attempts. He was often the player who got to finish fast breaks at the rim and his smooth feel for the game gave him seams to cut to the rim when unchecked by the defense. His feel for the game is also evident in the way he scored off of cuts (52% on those shots) and as the roll man from the pick and roll (56.3% on those attempts). Both of those numbers show me how intelligent he is as a player as moving away from the ball is sneakily one of the more difficult things to do in a basketball game and players that can create offense by moving off the ball are hard to find. With Stone’s basketball IQ evident as a finisher in transition, off cuts, and off pick and rolls, expect him to continue to be an elite play-finisher.
Self-Creation
Stone shoots the ball incredibly well and seems to have all the skills to be a great scorer. However, his 8.8 points per game aren’t really jumping off the page, and I wanted to understand why a player who seemed to be one of the most skilled on the team wasn’t a major scorer. I was able to find some interesting numbers that I think might tell a bit of the story. Firstly, the fact he was only 14.3% from the field in isolation settings. Then, I saw that he shot 11.1% on post up possessions. I then saw he was only 28.6% as a pick and roll ball handler. What is similar between all those possessions? It’s that he’s the offensive creator and initiator. In the last two paragraphs I showed how good he was as a catch and shoot player, as a finisher in transition, and a guy who could score off cuts, but those are all plays where he doesn’t have to create with the ball in his hands. When it comes to the plays where he has the orange and needs to make something happen, he hasn’t quite developed a reliable skillset yet. I think that is what has limited him so far in his career and he develops some individual offensive creation in addition to his ability to work away from the ball and score off passes from others, he will be an elite all-around offensive player.
Defense
Not known at first as a defensive stopper, I think Stone has worked his way into being an extremely valuable piece on the defensive side of the ball. Though the Gators’ interior defense was challenged last year Stone actually remained quite stout, only allowing opponents to shoot 45.9% on the low block (a lower number than the average post up offense) and most importantly, he only committed fouls on 6.9% off post up possessions (WAY better than the national average that’s over double that number). His ability to stand strong inside also helped him guarding layups at the rim as opponents only shot 42.3% against him, making Stone one of the best rim protectors in the league. If you read my piece about Kevarrius Hayes, you might recognize that Stone is allowing almost 20% less than Hayes is at the rim. Stone is also 297th in the country in block percentage at 3.8%, once again showing he’s actually a wonderful interior defender. He’s also valuable as a switchable post player that has the foot speed to guard on the outside. His quick feet also allow him to hedge out when guarding pick and rolls, jumping out towards the ball handler to push him further from the basket before sprinting back to cover the roll man. You first might think of Stone as a knockdown shooter but remember, the guy can really defend too.
Aspect To Improve
Rebounding. Stone has never been that efficient of a rebounder and as a player who will be playing a lot of minutes in the frontcourt the Gators will need him to help clean up the glass. A lot of times he had to play center which made him give up some size but now that he’ll probably be back to more of his natural position at power forward he’ll need to be disciplined in boxing out and securing defensive boards.
Season Outlook
Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen are probably going to be looked at first as the most key players for Florida’s season but I think Keith Stone is really going to factor into that discussion. His scoring might be a hair below Allen’s but he’ll likely be more efficient and he’ll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting on the defensive end. I expect Stone to be a double-digits scorer while also being one of the best defenders on the team.