Scott Nadler
Despite the limited playing time and the fact that hes entering his final season at Wake Forest, David Weaver has shown glimpses of potential to earn mention as an NBA draft prospect. After redshirting his freshman season, Weaver has averaged 12.7, 11.7 and 9.8 minutes respectively in his three seasons as a Demon Deacon. Last season, he saw limited action due to Dino Gaudios guard oriented fast paced offense, and the solid play of Chas McFarland and Al Fariq Aminu inside. Although those players are returning, Weaver will certainly be a fixture in the rotation as a result of his solid contributions last season and the lack of depth on the frontline. Considering the physical tools he shows and the upside he at times displays, its unreasonable to say that Weavers best basketball may still be ahead of him.
The old basketball axiom that you cant teach size is one of the main reasons as to why were discussing David Weaver. With an NBA ready body at 6-11 and 250 pounds and the athleticism to go with it, he has an intriguing base to work off. His 7-3 wingspan and 9-1 standing reach is worth mentioning, and are characteristics that partly explain his standout play on the defensive end.
His length is surely a big factor on defense, but his intangibles are also noticeable. He plays with a high level of energy, is bouncy, has good timing, and is aggressive almost to a fault. Unfortunately this does not seem to translate to the rebounding category, where he averages an extremely mediocre 7 boards per-40 minutes pace adjusted. He does appear to have a decent feel for the game, though, sporting a near one to one assist to turnover ratio. This is a likely indication that he understands his role on the team and is not forcing the issue excessively.
Weaver has solid lateral quickness and showed his quickness on those occasions when he was switched onto a guard. He does have a tendency to over extend himself on his pick and roll coverage causing him to be late on rotations which is a big reason for why he averaged a robust 4.5 fouls per 40 pace adjusted. Another reason for his over aggressiveness could be his lack of playing time and his desire to show his worthiness to the team.
As an offensive player, Weaver hasnt had that many opportunities to show what he can do, but the little weve seen tells us he may be able to develop this part of his game further down the road in his career. He finishes well around the basket, converting on 56.5% of his shots in that area as he rarely brings the ball down on the catch and can score with authority. Hes also just as active on offense as he is on defense, always moving around to get open or sprinting to set high ball screens.
With that said, Weavers skill-level is clearly a work in progress, as you can likely guess by his mediocre offensive production (even on a per-minute basis). Hes shown signs of decent footwork, but with few opportunities well have to hold off on our evaluation of that facet of his game. Moreover, its unclear at this point where he is in his post game development, as he appears to very raw with his back to the basket with no real indication of a go-to move. He also took a couple jump shots which extended out to around 15 feet that didnt look too bad, but once again we wont make any strong judgments with the small sample size were forming our analysis from. Hopefully with added minutes this season, well have a chance to further evaluate the offensive package that Weaver can offer.
Dont expect Weaver to become a household name anytime soon, but he should have more of a role then hes had in years past. His high intensity coupled with solid physical attributes makes him a valuable rotation player for a relatively young Wake Forest team. Weaver is somewhat of a diamond in the rough, and if he can show the ability to run, rebound and defend, he may be able to earn himself some extra looks during the pre-draft process and down the road if he continues to add polish to his all-around game.
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