NBA Comparison: Sam Cassell
Strengths: A “coaches son” possesses excellent quickness and court awareness. Very solid fundamentally on offense and defense. A strong competitor with the knack for getting a big bucket when his team needs it. Excellent defender with the ability to guard bigger guards. Good distributor and floor general with a good assist to turnover ratio (1.91) could be even higher if not for KU’s run and gun style. Great shooter with true three-point range (47%). Very good size at the point position. Controls the flow of the game pretty well. Awesome in transition and a good finisher in traffic. Plays well under pressure. Very unselfish and he definitely has a PG mentality. Deceptively athletic, looks harmless but can get up and finish on the break. Can get by quicker and more physical defenders because he is crafty with the ball. Decent catch and shoot after he comes off a screen but he is better shooting of the dribble. Competes hard on the boards especially for a guard (4.7 rpg). Free throw percentage is good (79%) but can improve considering his shooting ability.
Weaknesses: Biggest hurdle for Heinrich is developing toughness. Needs to be more assertive and his game can really expand. Must develop his strength and endurance to withstand an 82 game pro season. One more year in Coach Williams’s system will help but he needs to work hard over the summer to take his game to the next level. At times he makes bad decisions on the defensive end and picks up senseless fouls so attention must be paid to his defense. Could stand to be a little more selfish on offense and should try to get his shot a little more.
Notes: Recently pushed himself into the first round after an excellent stretch of games so if he can continue to be consistent he could keep moving up in the draft. He has consistently improved his game and body each year in college. Had a monster breakout game in front of several pro scouts recently against Missouri in which he hounded Missouri’s Kareem Rush into a horrible shooting night. Quinn Snyder Missouri's coach said he thought that Hinrich was the best player in the Big 12. Has been taunted with "Harry Potter chants" at opponent arenas, however Huck Finn seems more appropriate.