How High Is Mavs Rookie Tyrell Terry's 'BBIQ'?

Ever since the days of Jason Kidd, we've talked about 'BBIQ' - and it seems Dallas Mavericks rookie Tyrell Terry has plenty of it

DALLAS - Going way back to the days of Jason Kidd in Dallas, here at DallasBasketball.com we've discussed the concept of "BBIQ'' - "basketball IQ,'' an innate ability to know, to see, to execute.

The Mavs think the have just such a guy in Tyrell Terry.

“Look, this is a smart kid,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “This kid was at Stanford. He’s going to figure things out.''

But additionally, there is an actual "measurement'' of BBIQ now, and when teams administered such tests to this year's NBA Draft prospects, Terry recorded the highest score ... ever.

 “For me, kind of going off that IQ thing, using my IQ has kind of allowed me to mentally run the game and learn quickly,'' Terry said this week at Mavs training camp.

“That test,'' he said, "was administered by several league front offices, and I guess the results were that I broke the record.”

Dallas is blessed with an assortment of roster members who also possess high BBIQ's; surely Luka Doncic did just fine on any similar test. How ready is Terry to combine his smarts with actual minutes on the floor?

Carlisle raved about one of Terry's team workouts this week, calling it “a phenomenal day.'' But the coach also noted that is came while the 6-3, 170-pounder played "with the third unit.''

We'll know more about Terry's fit starting this weekend when Dallas begins its three-game NBA preseason with its games at Milwaukee (Saturday and Monday, both at 7 p.m.). Is he rotation-ready, a true heir as a perimeter shooter to the department Seth Curry? Or once real games begin, is he buried behind Doncic and Jalen Brunson and Trey Burke and others?

READ MORE: Mavs Release Veteran PG J.J. Barea - Here's The Logic

“To me, he’s shown that he’s going to have the ability to play both of those (guard) positions very effectively offensively,'' Carlisle said, "and defensively, for him, a lot of it is going to come down to getting stronger, understanding how to play within the system and those kinds of things.”

Ah, getting stronger. Just months before checking in at 170 pounds, Terry was about 30 pounds lighter than that. He bulked up to play in the NBA - another Stanford-smarts-level move - but that process will need to continue.

“I’m not where I want to be as far as weight and strength right now, so I’m working on that every day,” Terry said. “I’m getting extra lifts in and putting the right things in my body. I want to get stronger and I want to continue to mature my body. I’m never going to be some stocky player, so I’m always going to have to use some IQ to be able to maneuver around in the game and kind of work my way around from that.”

READ MORE: Mavs Draft at No. 31: 'Steal' Tyrell Terry of Stanford

There is it again: BBIQ. Carlisle noted Terry's rep "as one of the best shooters in the draft.'' So he can do that now. And he can think his way through situations, obviously. Now we're about to see if the second-round rookie (chosen at No. 31).

“It’s been a gradual increase as far as workload,'' Terry said of the COVID-impacted offseason and camp. "I think we’ve all handled it well. I’m kind of excited to see what we can do moving forward.”