Tony Wroten Jr.: Playmaker

This is part 2 of the profiles on the future husky hoopers. Hikeem Stewart’s is here.

Tony Wroten Jr., a 6’4 point guard out of Garfield High School in Seattle, is listed as the number one basketball prospect in the state. In the nation, he is rated amongst the top 10 point guards by every major scouting organization, with highest position being a 3 by ESPN and lowest as 8 by Rivals.com. He is listed in the top 30 overall players by the same organizations, as high as 14 by ESPN and as low as both Scout.com and Rivals at 30.

He was a highly valued recruit but when it came down to making his decision, Wroten decided to stay home and play for UW. Which not only was a big deal for the program at UW but was a big deal for Wroten, who looks up to, and calls his big bro, Nate Robinson.

Wroten is a playmaker, and you don’t hear this label being thrown around often when it comes to basketball. This is used, and quite frankly over used on the football field but not often on the court. However, there is no better way to describe Wroten, other than playmaker-if you boil down his game to one aspect-He makes plays!

Scout.com says he is the best recruit in the class when it comes to court vision and making passes. He knows how to find the open man, and he knows how to create a play when it seems there is no play to be made. His passing ability is so incredible the best way to put it-is the way his friends and teammates do, “he drops dimes” all over the court.

He has a few physical attributes that help him at the position too, he is left-handed (similar to Isaiah Thomas). He is 6’4, which is great size for the position, and a natural level of confidence on the court.

He isn’t just a point guard that sits on the outside either, he can find seams and holes in the defense and if he is not hooking up his teammate with a sweet pass, he is driving to the basket with power. He can step back and take a jumper or draw everyone in to dish out a pass.

Another reason Lorenzo Romar and the Huskies should be excited about him, is that he is very versatile. His true position is point guard but if needed he could easily come in to play another guard position and still make just as big of an impact.

He plays hard defense and can make just as much noise on the defensive end of the court as he can on the offensive end of the court. His coach pushes defense, and Wroten quotes him as saying “All you got to do for me is play D, and you can do whatever you want on O.” This mindset from high school is what Romar is looking for, as he has a similar approach to basketball-Defense first.

What he will need to work on in his first season as a Husky is his “Savior Mode”, this tends to be an issue with guys with amazing ability, is when something needs to happen, Wroten will try to force it to happen instead of just relying on his natural ability to carry him through. This is something completely minor and has begun to improve since his team has been improving around him.

Another thing that he is already working on is his jumper, he has been known to have an inconsistent jumper. He has been improving that this year and will continue to do so in his freshman year as a Husky.

Wroten will be able to make an impact immediately, and as he learns the offense he will go from being an impact player to being a deadly player. Which is good news for Husky fans everywhere because it has been awhile since UW has had a recruit come in with the ability to make such an immediate impact like Wroten can and most likely will as a true freshman.