Iowa vs Minnesota: Payton Sandfort and Dawson Garcia Notes
Checking in on two unique Big Ten shooters in the 2025 NBA Draft class in Payton Sandfort and Dawson Garcia.
Iowa nearly overcame a 20-point deficit, losing 72-67 to Minnesota on Tuesday the 21st. Iowa’s Payton Sandfort and Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia were the two players of note in this game. Below are the scouting notes on the two players:
Payton Sandfort (6’6¼”, 212 pounds, 6’8” wingspan)
21 points, 10 rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, two blocks, one turnover, three fouls on 7-19 shooting (1-8 from three, 6-6 from FT line), 1.6 BPM
Strengths
Versatile shooter that can shoot pulling up in transition, off of movement, or simply standing still. Quick release opens up those skills even more.
Always talking on defense; was mostly reliable about rotations, but handled a couple of traps poorly in terms of knowing where to be as the last line of defense (something he won’t need to do too much of in the NBA)
Did a lot of the dirty work most players of his archetype don’t do: crashed the glass hard, blocked shots when switched into guarding the dunker spot, and set off-ball screens as part of set plays
Has incredible shooting gravity; when he runs (which he does a lot), defenses commit to matching his movement and speed, and he becomes the focal point. When moving around screens, defenses scramble, which opens up his teammates.
Areas for Improvement
Not an efficient two point scorer, and the shots within the arc were often forced play calls involving him curling around screens or cutting into traffic
Needs to add strength to finish in traffic
Swing Areas
How much will the fact that college defenses don’t let him take standstill 3s open up his NBA shooting?
How much will his defensive intangibles help him translate defensively against more complex sets than colleges run?
Videos
Off-screen pull-up jumper (might have missed the cutter behind the defense)
Quick footwork on give-and-go jumper in transition
Help block at the rim
Lacking explosion and limited athletic finishing when off-balance
Dawson Garcia (6’10½”, 230 with a 6’10¾” wingspan )
20 points, six rebounds, two assists, zero steals, zero blocks, one foul, three turnovers on 7-15 shooting (2-6 from 3, 4-6 from the free throw line), 3.9 BPM
Strengths
Can absorb contact and get to the line well
Has good shooting indicators and can be a shooting threat out of the pick n pop
Has good touch near the rim
Showed good rotations, something Tyler Metcalf brought up in his scouting notes from the Michigan game.
Areas for Improvement
Walked into a couple of lazy turnovers by overdribbling/being too confident in his handle in traffic
Needs to demand the ball more often; his shooting ability at his size (albeit a bit awkward of a shot) is unique for college, and he is content blending in too often when the offense goes dry
Slow closeout speed; he can struggle to not only get out and make an impact when defending the shot, but also he can be vulnerable to get beat by fakes when closing out.
Swing Areas
Not overly athletic; how much will this limit him? He only has two dunks for the entire season
Not very versatile as a shooter; how can a limited shooting profile scale up?
Videos
Off-hand finish at the rim to beat the first half buzzer
Quick hitters:
Seydou Traore might be someone to monitor if the shooting comes along. He had an explosive dunk (below) and made some impressive defensive plays. At 6’7”, he needs a better jumper, which would probably put him in the long-term NBA discussions.
Owen Freeman was a machine down low in this game. His presence as an interior finisher has all the makings of a future All-Big Ten member.