{"id":1597773,"date":"2024-10-04T07:33:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T11:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/?p=1597773"},"modified":"2024-10-04T07:33:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T11:33:06","slug":"5-sneaky-sophomores-who-could-breakout-in-2024-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/news\/5-sneaky-sophomores-who-could-breakout-in-2024-25\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Sneaky sophomores who could breakout in 2024-25"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most <\/span>interesting<\/span> storylines to monitor during the NBA season is the growth of young prospects from Year One to Year Two. Sure, they showed flashes of excellence as rookies. But can they turn those moments of brilliance into consistent production?<\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, the Sportscasting NBA crew (comprised of myself, <\/span>Esfandiar Baraheni<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Jackson Frank<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Ben Pfeifer<\/span><\/a>) will look at five rising sophomores <\/span>who <\/span>are<\/span> primed<\/span> to take <\/span>big<\/span> steps forward. But to keep things fun, we are not allowing ourselves to pick anyone who was a 2023-24 First Team All-Rookie selection. After all, anyone can predict that Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren <\/span>are going to<\/span> come back as improved players. Writing about that doesn’t make for clever analysis. What really matters is being able to identify those sneaky sophomore studs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With that all settled, here are our five picks.<\/span><\/p>\n

#1: Gradey Dick<\/h2>\n

Baraheni: <\/strong>The second half of Gradey Dick was about as promising as you\u2019d want from the Raptors sharpshooter. After January 1st, Dick hit on 40% of his threes from behind the arc on nearly five attempts a night on fairly high difficulty, making them off the catch, off screens\/movement, all while using his high release point to make it tough to contest. Toronto desperately needs shooting outside of Immanuel Quickley, and Dick is a natural source for that skill set. He\u2019s going to see an uptick in minutes and a likely starting spot for a rebuilding team. Besides the perimeter shot, he\u2019s shown some impressive flashes as a cutter and passer, and as his frame fills out, he\u2019ll continue to make strides as a defender.<\/p>\n

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Gradey Dick is already an *elite* cutter pic.twitter.com\/EIL5uZEG9o<\/a><\/p>\n

— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) March 13, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n