How Can Dayton Flyers Prospect Mike Sharavjamts Make the NBA Leap?

The first Mongolian player who will ever see the floor for a D1 team is one of the low-floor, high-ceiling bets of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Mike Sharavjamts is a name that has generated equal amounts of buzz and intrigue during the past few months. This is in part due to his unique background: a virtually unknown prospect until the summer before the start of his senior year of high school, Sharavjamts had a breakout performance in the summer circuit which earned him a number of offers from high-major college programs.

After committing to the Dayton Flyers, Sharavjamts, the son of a former Harlem Globetrotter, will be the first Mongolian player to ever see the floor for an NCAA D1 team once the 2022-23 season rolls around.

The intrigue and buzz, however, also has a lot to do with his unique combination of skills and size. At 6-foot-8 or even taller, Sharavjamts played as a tall point guard who is not just able to create for teammates, but also to space the floor with tremendous consistency, being a threat from beyond the 3-point line.

As he enters his freshman year of college, let's take a look at the five aspects that could help Sharavjamts make the leap from an intriguing NCAA player into a true NBA prospect.

Elite Shooting Off The Catch

Sharavjamts’ jumper looks extremely good, both on tape and on the stat sheet.

According to Cerebro Sports, Sharavjamts has converted 38.6% of his 57 attempts from beyond the arc through his career to this point. Even if the sample size is still small, the film shows that Sharavjamts shoots an extremely easy ball off the catch. He has a two-motion jumper with a high release point which allows him to shoot over defensive pressure. His jumper is extremely repeatable in his catch-and-shoot attempts, showcasing good alignment and aim.

The skill from Mike Sharavjamts 🇲🇳 that will translate from day one in my opinion is the shooting off the catch. He's a 38.6% career three-point shooter according to @CerebroSports database. Repeatable mechanics with a high release point which allows him to shoot over defenders. pic.twitter.com/fLIroin92R

— Ignacio Rissotto (@eyreball) October 14, 2022

Sharavjamts does mix in some attempts off the dribble, even though he is not at a point where he is consistent enough to consider his movement shooting as a reliable weapon in his offensive arsenal. However, his consistency in the catch-and-shoot game could be an indicator of potential in this area.

Point Forward Potential

Beyond his off-ball ability as a floor-spacer, Sharavjamts also adds value as an on-ball creator for teammates and was tasked with initiating the offense as a high school senior at International Sports Academy.

Sharavjamts possesses a vast passing repertoire. He does all the simple things expected of a point forward, such as running the point in transition and making the right plays on drives with effective drive-and-kick passes, but also adds an advanced level of passing which is rare for a player of his size.

The Dayton prospect's main passing skill is being extremely quick to recognize advantages and having the technique and accuracy to find teammates with advanced passing deliveries. This allows him to be a solid decision maker off screens and make plays as a pick-and-roll handler, where his size allows him to pass over smaller defenders.

Most impressive aspect of Sharavjamts' game might be his passing for his size (measured at 6'8.75" in shoes at Nike Hoop Summit this year), he has an ample passing repertoire, able to find teammates with creative passing deliveries in pick-and-roll and in the early offense. pic.twitter.com/AukWH3S9wo

— Ignacio Rissotto (@eyreball) October 14, 2022

Body Type and Age

Sharavjamts was measured at a quarter of an inch shy of 6-foot-9 earlier this year at the Nike Hoop Summit, with an 8-foot-8 standing reach. The measurements are certainly intriguing for someone with the potential to shoot from the perimeter and run your offense on a primary level.

The most alarming aspect, however, was him weighing at just 182 pounds. This lack of strength was noticeable on tape when he tried to play through contact on both ends of the floor, as he was generally unable to create separation out of physicality as a driver, relying on getting foul calls.

Adding to the concerns on his physical development is the age, as Sharavjamts will already be 20 years old by the time the 2022-23 season starts, which is on the older side for a college freshman. His ability to gain significant strength during the season will definitely be an aspect to watch, as he will need it to be prepared for the physicality of both the college and the NBA level.

Limitations as a Finisher

Sharavjamts is a generally fluid ball-handler who is able to create advantages with his dribble. Despite not having an incredible level of shiftiness or creativity with his handle, he’s able to initiate drives with a quick first step and his long legs allow him to gain a decent amount of momentum on his way to the rim.

Once he’s near the basket, Sharavjamts shows a clear limitation as a finisher which is his left hand. He heavily prefers to finish with his right hand, even if that makes his lay-ups easier to contest for opponents. Without an elite level of vertical explosiveness, and with his aforementioned lack of strength, developing as a versatile finisher will be a key for Sharavjamts in order to add any sort of value on offense as a slasher.

The improvement area for Sharavjamts is the ability to get to the rim. He initiates drives well and finishes at the rim with enough momentum, but he's a bit RH dominant (even though he has shown some improvement with his LH) and he can be careless with the ball, leading to TOs. pic.twitter.com/5ZxfeG1Ye1

— Ignacio Rissotto (@eyreball) October 14, 2022

Finding the Perfect Defensive Role

As it happens with many tall-but-skinny players, finding the perfect defensive role at the NBA level could be challenging.

Sharavjamts’ high center of gravity and lacks proper defensive technique, making it hard for him to cover drivers on the perimeter, as he stays too upright and can be attacked by quicker opponents one-on-one. On the interior, he contributes defensively to some degree by challenging shots at the rim with his length, but his frame makes it nearly impossible for him as of this point to contribute even as a part-time rim protector.

Given his lack of strength, the best bet could be to station Sharavjamts off the ball, banking on him eventually developing into someone who can make plays in the passing lanes and occasionally impact the game on the interior on rotation blocks.

NBA Questions and Projections

As an NBA prospect, how teams view Sharavjamts will be yet another data point on how much they value low-floor, high-ceiling prospects.

Sharavjamts is someone who shoots spot-up jumpers at an elite clip and is able to contribute offensively by making plays for others with the ball in his hands. Considering his current woes as a finisher, defender and his lack of an NBA ready body, he is clearly not an NBA player right now.

However, there is enough indicators in his game that you can’t help but ask a number of questions about his future:

1. Could he expand his game to become a reliable shooter off the dribble?
2. Does his passing ability at the high school level lead to him developing into a primary initiator at the NBA level?
3. Is he able to get strong enough to withstand the physicality of the NBA game?
4. Does he develop as a finisher with his left hand?
5. Can he find a role where he becomes a positive defender?

There’s an ocean of difference between the value of a skinny spot-up shooter with passing ability and the value of a point forward with multi-level scoring ability at the NBA level. Even though Sharavjamts currently seems to be closer to the former than the latter, it wouldn’t surprise me if his name gets called in the 2023 NBA Draft; It just takes one team who believes that a realistic answer for all five of those questions is “Yes”.

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