Scouting Report: Mike Rosario

This is the first installment of many to come where we break down the game of a Rutgers or visiting player. The first scouting report will be of Mike Rosario. With so much interest about Rosario, it was only fitting that he would be the first subject. Granted this is only after two games, so this could very well change as he gets adjusted to the college game.

• The very first part of his game that jumps out at me is his lack of a quick first step. He's fine getting up and down the floor, and he moves well laterally on defense, but he doesn't have that burst to get by his defender on the first dribble. This could pose a problem down the road as defenders decide to play him closer, taking away his jumper.
• But, Rosario does have a quick release. Sometimes it looks somewhat atypical to see him take a shot because he let's it go so quickly that it does not look like a prototype shot. It works for him though.
• He sometimes gets greedy from beyond the arc, shooting when there is no shot. Yet, he still makes some of them because he is such a good shooter.
• Most likely his worst asset is his questionable decision making. He tries to make plays that work in high school but aren't panning out at the college level. Sometimes there are problems making the entry pass into the post. Or the unnecessary shots. But this is also the point that can almost be taken with a grain of salt. Rosario is a smart player, and he should stop making most of these questionable decisions as he adjusts to the college game.
  
• He likes to get inside for a runner. If Rosario does get by his defender, he tries to use a two-handed running jump shot from ten feet and in.
  
• Rosario has a good cross-over move that he likes to use on the perimeter to create shooting space
• On defense Rosario likes to gamble. This may be because he is still uncertain on defense or because he understands that Gregory Echenique and Hamady N'diaye are behind him to erase his mistakes.

Who does he remind you of?
Most Rutgers fans may hope that Rosario can eventually become a Quincy Douby type-scorer, but at this point he reminds me more of one of the guys who went in that 2006 draft with Douby: JJ Reddick.
Coming into college Reddick was a very similar player to Rosario. He was a great shooter from beyond the arc, and used that skill to make an impact right away. Reddick did not have the best handle, at least not for a 2-guard, or a quick first step. He had to rely on his prolific outside shooting skills to create the chance to drive because defenders had to play him close.
Over the years he developed his handle and created a mid-range game, and eventually became an all around offensive genius. This scouting report from Draft Express after Reddick's senior year shows how he developed his trade and also could be a study guide for Rosario. Here is a snippet:

Beyond just being a threat from behind the 3-point line, Redick has also mastered the art of the mid-range shot which compliments his outside shooting proficiency so well. Because it takes him such little space and time to get his deadly shot off, he’s guarded about as closely as anyone in the NCAA, usually being the focal point of the opposing team’s defense. What Redick will do to counter that is use an impressive arsenal of head, shot and body fakes (which obviously have a ton of credibility) to get his man off-balance and drive right by him. He then is able to stop on a dime, elevate quickly while fading away left, right, backwards, forwards or straight up to knock down the mid-range jumper from anywhere inside the arc. This part of his game has become a deadly part of his arsenal in his senior year, to the point that he has to rely on his outside shot only for about half of his field goal attempts, as opposed to nearly 2/3rds of the time as a freshman or sophomore. His ball-handling has improved enough he can make his way to the basket effectively without much trouble, either to finish himself with a nifty layup off the glass or find the open man on the drive and dish if the paint is too crowded for his liking. In his senior year Redick is shooting an outstanding 50% from the field and 43.4% of his outside shots at the time of this report.