How Grant Riller has golden opportunity with Charlotte Hornets

Nearing the end of the NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets picked up an absolute steal in Grant Riller.

Grant Riller was a senior from the College of Charleston and scrapped his way into this year’s NBA Draft picked up by the Charlotte Hornets. Riller was quite productive during his final two seasons and can turn out to be a “needle in a haystack” from the second round.

Riller averaged 21 points and nearly four assists for the Cougars as one of the best players in the CAA. The Charleston product proved to be one of the best players within the perimeter, where he shot 49 percent in his senior tour. Riller also notched two steals a game which shows that he is a defensive guard, a commodity among NBA rosters across the league.

Riller is a two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player and was apart of the historic Cougar team that made it to the NCAA March Madness Tournament. The team made their fifth appearance in the tournament, where they narrowly fell to a number four Auburn seed. Riller scored 16 points against Auburn’s extremely competitive defense with six boards at the end of regulation.

Riller has a deep bag of ball-handling skills and is very craft around the pick-and-roll. Riller can also shoot well off of the dribble, which makes him a threat to defenses with weaker backcourt. Riller proved to be a spark for the College of Charleston offensively as one of the best finishers within the paint in college basketball.

The following is a statement from NBA.com on Riller’s strength as a draft prospect:

"“{Riller’s} instinctual scorer with an advanced midrange game and good shooting touch, Riller carried a heavy offensive burden for the Cougars.  Scoring from all three levels off the dribble, taking smaller guards in the post, pushing the ball aggressively in transition, and showing some vision and talent as a passer, he made things happen steadily on the offensive end playing both on and off the ball.”"

Riller likely won’t get many minutes at Spectrum Center, but with an underwhelming Hornets roster, Riller may find himself fighting for NBA playing time. Riller will do fine for the Hornets G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm since there is open room for a guard to step up. With Dwayne Bacon only spending nine games in Greensboro last season, and the only other good guard being Joe Chealey(averaging 11 points per game), Riller has a strong chance of showing out for the Swarm.