With college basketball fast approaching, several returning players are looking to build on impressive careers and show that their games can translate to the NBA level.

One of the more interesting players who fits this mold is Grand Canyon’s Tyon Grant-Foster. He was consistently productive for the Lopes last year but really made a name for himself during his conference tournament as well as his two March Madness games.

Late-season efforts can carry a lot of weight in terms of projection, but Grant-Foster felt he had more to prove in his final year of eligibility. As he prepares to make his senior season debut against Cal State Fullerton today, let’s look back at his impressive junior season and what steps he could take to continue climbing the rankings.

In his 34 games played last season, he averaged 20 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block with decent shooting percentages of 44-33-74. He was able to impact the game all over the court and showed a solid motor every night. His offensive game seemed too much for the majority of his opponents to handle and shined against elite competition. In his four performances against ranked or power-five opponents, Grant-Foster averaged 21 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block, en route to a two-two record. His ability to compete with the competition was extremely impressive and should bode well for NBA teams.

He is at his best when he plays with the ball in his hands, but he scores for himself first and foremost. This is useful because he is very crafty and can create open looks from all three levels on his own. In order to continue to run the show at the next level, he will need to increase his assist numbers more consistently. He finished the season with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio and only had five or more assists three times, so a big step forward would be necessary to keep this style of play alive. On the other hand, he’s extremely effective as a driver, so once he attacks, defenders will crash and create open looks along the perimeter. This could translate into a much higher assist count if he is able to capitalize, but only time will tell.

Defensively, he is much more translatable, as he plays very aggressively and uses his size and stance length to disrupt smaller perimeter players. Standing at 6-foot-7 with a seven-foot wingspan, he does a great job anticipating opponents and using his quick athleticism to stifle ball handlers, jump passing lanes and challenge shots at the rim. Thanks to his effectiveness in this area, he created numerous counter-attacking opportunities last season, and there is no reason to believe that this will decline this year.

As an older prospect, it will take a phenomenal year with major improvements to get too high in this draft, but Grant-Foster has a game that could make an impact at any level. He is one of the top mid-range prospects in the country and was selected to Jay Bilas’ preseason All-American team, which should give some idea of ​​the high regard he is held in. He will be very interesting to watch this season and could contend for a late first-round selection in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Would you like to join the discussion? As Draft summary on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the cover.