Reviewing Bone’s college career
Inconsistent. If someone were to define Bone’s college career, that’s what sticks out. The encouraging sign is that he developed over his three-year career to improve different aspects of his game.
Primarily, Bone played off the ball alongside Admiral Schofield and with Grant Williams as a frontcourt threat. Still, Bone’s usage rate was 20.9 percent during his three years at Tennessee.
From his freshman year to his sophomore year he improved his 3-point percentage by eight points to 38 percent. It took a slight dip in his junior year to 35.5 percent.
He needs to develop a consistent 3-point shot and expand his range, which is something he struggled with in a late-season loss at Auburn going 2-for-8 from 3-point range. One week prior he was 5-for-5 from 3-point range in a win over Kentucky. The issue at Auburn is Bone missed several open 3-pointers.
Bone is a cerebral player, however, posting a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio during his junior year in college. He improved his assists-per 100 possessions by one each year, finishing with 10.2 assists per 100 possessions. His career assist rate was 30.9 percent with a turnover rate of 14.5 percent.
He is electric in the open court and will beat seemingly anybody down the floor in transition. His ability to push the ball is second-to-none and is his best asset transitioning to the NBA.
That same speed is what makes him a threat in the pick-and-roll game. At 6-foot-3 he can get down hill by blowing by his defenders, getting to any spot on the floor, whether that’s pulling up for a mid-range jumper or driving all the way to the rim.
With Bone’s speed and ability to drive by his defenders, it’s surprising that he didn’t see a spike in his 2-point percentage until his junior year. His first two seasons were shy of 40 percent before exploding to connect on 55 percent of 2-point shots in his junior season.
In two years at Tennessee he improved his scoring at all three levels and saw a direct impact in value to Tennessee’s offense. His true shooting percentage spiked to 56.2 percent, his offensive box plus-minus was 5.5 and the offensive rating jumped from 108.4 in his junior season to 118.1 last season.
It’s clear the Pistons are getting an offensive playmaker in Bone but consistency is going to be key.