With college basketball right around the corner, several returning players look to build on impressive careers and show that their games can translate to the NBA level.

One of the most 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 in his conference tournament as well as during his two games in March Madness.

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

In his 34 games played last season, he averaged 20 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block on decent shooting percentages of 44-33-74. He was able to impact the game all over the floor and displayed a solid motor on a nightly basis. His offensive game seemed like too much to handle for the majority of his opponents and shined brightly against elite competition. In his four showings against ranked or power five opponents, Grant-Foster averaged 21 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block on his way to a two-and-two record. His ability to play up to the competition was extremely impressive and should bode well for NBA teams.

He is at his best while playing with the ball in his hands but primarily scores for himself. This is helpful as he is very crafty and can create open looks for himself from all three levels. In order to continue running 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 tallied five or more assists three times, so a major leap would be needed to keep this playstyle alive. On the other hand, he is extremely effective as a driver, so once he attacks, defenders crash and create open looks along the perimeter. These could translate into a much higher number of assists 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 positional size and length to disrupt smaller perimeter players. Standing at 6-foot-7 with a reported wingspan of seven feet, he does a great job of anticipating his opponents and using his quick-twitch athleticism to smother ball-handlers, jump passing lanes and challenge shots at the rim. Due to his effectiveness on this end, he created many fast-break opportunities last season, and there is no reason to believe that this will regress 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-major prospects in the nation and has been selected to Jay Bilas’ preseason All-American team, which should paint a picture of how highly regarded he is. He will be very interesting to monitor this season and could battle for a late first-round selection in the 2025 NBA Draft.

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