If the Philadelphia 76ers think their best chance to compete is to re-sign Andrew Bynum, they might decide to use their 11th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft to acquire a shooter. They struggled mightily to find a shooting guard after Jason Richardson went down with an injury, and there’s no one on this roster that has the skill set to fill that void.
With that being said, the 76ers should look into drafting PG/SG CJ McCollum out of Lehigh University. Coming from a small school, McCollum burst onto the national scene his junior year, averaging 21.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He led his team to a first round upset of Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and was hyped as a top prospect from there on out.
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McCollum decided to return for his senior year and played in only 12 games before suffering a broken foot that kept him out for the remainder of the season. He is now completely healthy, and the 76ers should consider taking a look at him if he is available at number 11.
McCollum could very well be the next Damian Lillard as a superstar on the college level who has his doubters because he went to a small school and didn’t face elite competition. All Lillard did out of Weber State was win rookie of the year and give the Portland Trail Blazers a very bright future.
McCollum could provide the Sixers with a scoring punch off the bench they have lacked since the departure of Louis Williams. He is a natural scorer that is better with the ball in his hands, but he could also be a spot-up shooter and even handle the backup point guard duties to spell Jrue Holiday.
People may question his size (6-3) for the shooting guard position or his ability to perform against higher level competition, but this guy put a team single-handedly on his back and upset a two seed in the NCAA Tournament. He’s a winner, a leader and a scorer, and all of those are things the 76ers could use on their 2013-14 roster.
Zach Slotter is a writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @zslot6, Like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.