2014 NBA Draft Breakdown: Ray Gallegos

Ray Gallegos was a productive player for Nebraska throughout his career in Lincoln. He started his last two seasons there, and while a junior he led the B1G in minutes played per game and three pointers made (and attempted, but I digress) and was second in the conference in turnover percentage (this is a good stat). His playing time diminished a bit as a senior, but Gallegos was still a key contributor for a Nebraska team that finished fourth in the conference and made the NCAA Tournament.

It was by all accounts a solid career for a solid player. But what does that mean for his NBA Draft prospects? "Solid players" don't often generate a bunch of hype or get drafted in the first round. Gallegos is in this "solid player" predicament. I scoured the internet (read: did a quick Google search) and could not find Gallegos listed on an NBA mock draft anywhere by anyone.

Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Plenty of NBA players have started off their careers by being invited to camps as a non-roster player or playing in Europe for a couple of seasons. This will most certainly need to be the route that Gallegos takes if he hopes to make an NBA roster.

The main question with Gallegos is whether or not his skill set will translate to the next level. He is a long range bomber, plain and simple. His junior year he attempted 8.2 threes per game (over 50% of Nebraska's totals as a team per game), his senior year it was 5.4. In that same time period he attempted 4.4 and 1.8 two pointers respectively. The problem with being a long range bomber is that you occasionally have to hit something, and while Gallegos did improve his three point shooting percentage to 33.5 this year (up from 30.6 his junior year), his career percentage is squarely at 30.6. That isn't good enough by itself to make an NBA team and Gallegos brings little else to the table offensively. His turnover percentage is always low (usually top 10 in the conference) but that is because he is a shooter and not a ball handler. He doesn't get to the rack either, as judged by his career 0.7 free throw attempts per game. He's a below average rebounder and doesn't pass particularly well either.

The 6'2 guard plays solid defense, his defensive win share was always above his offensive win share in his career, but he only weighs 182 pounds. He will struggle to guard bigger, stronger, and faster shooting guards at the next level and his offense won't allow him to play point guard.

It unfortunately appears that Gallegos is destined for a life of overseas basketball, which can't be all bad because have you tried French cooking? If Gallegos can improve his three point shooting to a point where it is more consistent, an NBA team could give him a look as a long range option off the bench, but that will not be during this year's draft. If worst comes to worst he can just return to acting on Sons of Anarchy.