Coming off of a stellar season with the Kansas Jayhawks, most thought Ben McLemore was a top-3 pick in this year’s NBA Draft. To the surprise of many, he fell to the No. 7 slot, selected by the Sacramento Kings.

A redshirt freshman in his 2012-13 season in college, McLemore averaged 15.9 points on 49.5 percent shooting, very efficient for a guard, to go along with 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals a game. His field goal percentage was not his only astounding statistic, as he also shot an excellent 42 percent from long-range, as well as 87 percent from the free throw line. A well-rounded offensive player to say the least.

As the Vegas Summer League takes place this week, he has struggled to find any comfort level or rhythm on the court.

Of course, that had to change for a guy with his resumé.

Prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, McLemore was averaging 12.5 points per game, having shot a total 8-for-35 from the field, including 2-for-18 on three-point attempts. He had struggled shooting the basketball and had been unable to find any sort of rhythm. We can blame this on rookie jitters, perhaps lacking confidence to start his pro career, thus taking bad shots.

We saw more of the same in his fourth game against Toronto in the first half: 1-for-4 from the field, including a miss from downtown.

However, come the second half, we saw the Ben McLemore that we’ve all been waiting for: 7-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. The rookie had finally established his rhythm and reminded us why he was predicted to go high in this year’s draft.

The start of this game was just like the three prior for the guard. He took a few bad early contested off-balance jumpers instead of looking for good shots to get in a rhythm and maximize on his scoring talent. He should look to start games by getting inside and scoring from the mid-range where he has demonstrated a great aptitude to get into rhythm and gain confidence fast. He tends to fall in love with the long-range jumper all throughout the game, whether in rhythm or not. Granted, he shot extremely well from the three-point line with Kansas, but we must remember the difference in the three-point distance in college and in the NBA, as well an even bigger need for him to get into rhythm, since he won’t be getting as many touches as he did in college, for now. He needs to learn to control his shot selection and take smarter shots, as he will not find himself getting away with jacking up shots like he may have gotten away with a bit last year.

Looking at his excellent offensive game, McLemore is an excellent spot-up shooter. Three of his eight makes from the field came off of spot-up opportunities. He is also a great catch-and-shoot type player, and he proved it in the contest against the Raptors as they accounted for four of his makes. He especially loves to catch-and-shoot when coming around screens.

McLemore needs to learn to keep himself in-check and not take out-of-control shots. His shooting is not the only part of his game that gets out of control. He plays extremely fast sometimes and needs to slow the game down at a pace that works for him and his team. He is averaging 3.7 turnovers in Vegas, including five turnovers in this particular contest, most coming in out-of-control situations.

His free-throw percentage definitely transitions well into the NBA. He went to the line seven times last night and converted on every single opportunity.

The rookie has not taken it inside much, but when he does, he has shown that he can finish nicely going right. He is still very young and has plenty of time to bulk up and build up strength to be a better drive-and-finish type of guy, which he will need in this league. It would also be to his advantage to work on going left, as he has trouble doing so.

As for the rest of his offensive game, he is a good ball-handler, adept at working his way inside by beating his man off the dribble. His quickness is an asset in this category and also helps him move off the ball well, creating space for himself to capitalize on his great catch-and-shoot skills.  He also happens to be a decent passer, possessing the ability to create great catch-and-shoot opportunities for his teammates and can also make the post-entry pass quite well, getting the ball in the post to his bigs in various ways: bounce passes, chest passes, lobs... Polishing his passing skills in transition is something he could work on.

On the defensive side of the game, McLemore sees passing lanes well and earns a few deflections and steals for his team.

However, the cons outweigh the pros on this side of the court.

He tends to lose sight of his man often, focusing on the ball too much instead of being aware of his man moving off the ball. He needs to learn to use his quickness to his advantage and stay in front of his man.

One of the reasons he loses his man is because of his tendency to play too fast. He likes to clean up the glass on the defensive end almost every time the opposing team puts a shot up, but his habit of playing too quickly and getting ahead of himself factors into his tendency to crash the boards, and consequently his man finds himself wide open often enough. Fortunately for him, his quickness and athleticism help him get back in time at times.

Also, he is lucky enough to have a coach like Mike Malone mentoring him as a young man. Known as a defensive specialist, Malone was the reason the Golden State Warriors were one of the most improved defense teams in the NBA last season. He was also the reason the Hornets were the most improved defensive team in the league in 2011. Safe to say Malone will be able to take this young rookie under his wing and help him develop his game both physically and mentally.

Yes, he fell back quite a bit in this year’s draft, more then most would’ve thought, but Sacramento is a great fit for Ben McLemore, who brings a scoring punch they have desperately needed, as well as great potential to be great on both ends of the court, no matter how mediocre things look right now defensively.