Mike Conley
Athletes Home / NBA Home / Sports Channel
The son of former track star Mike Conley, Sr., Conley, Jr. is a lightning quick, left-handed point guard who declared for the NBA draft after one season at Ohio State. He, along with classmate Greg Oden, led their high school team to three consecutive Indiana state championships. During their freshman seasons, the duo led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title and the NCAA Championship Game, where they lost to the Florida Gators.
Conley stands 6'1", is extremely athletic and shows great poise when running his team. His ballhandling is terrific and he is already very good at finishing around the basket with layups or floaters. While his shooting form is solid, his accuracy from long range is inconsistent. He’s more of a pass-first point guard, but has shown the ability to take over games when necessary. The only real knock on him is his lack of a consistent jumpshot.
Conley is already drawing comparisons to Chris Paul, but Tony Parker is probably a better model. Parker came into the league with a better knack for scoring, while Conley comes into the league as a better passer. They both can finish around the rim, though Conley’s athleticism allows him to attack more directly, while Parker resorts to craftiness to get his shots off. Conley has already shown the ability to hit Parker’s patented floater, which will be a useful weapon as he advances to the next level. Conley certainly has the upside of Paul, but NBA GMs should expect that he’ll progress like Parker. Worst-case, he should be as good as T.J. Ford.
Our latest sports content can be found in the Sports category in our new magazine format. Archived sports content can be found in the Sports category in our blog.
Profiles
NBADraft.net
The premier NBA Draft site breaks down Conley’s strengths and weaknesses.
Draft Express
DraftExpress.com provides an extensive scouting report Conley well as regular updates of his progress in the NCAA tournament.
Wikipedia
Currently quite brief, this site should develop into a great source for all things Conley.
Ohio State Bio
The OSU athletic department put together this bio for Conley.
ESPN Draft Card
ESPN lays out Conley’s strengths and weaknesses. (Insider subscription required.)
YouTube
CBS put together this profile on the freshman point guard
Commentary
Conley is a stand-up guy
This WashingtonPost.com article describes how Conley adjusted his game after the early season shellacking administered by the Florida Gators.
Buckeyes’ Conley on the right track
PilotOnline.com profiles the young point guard.
Son living out dad’s hoop dreams
This Chicago Sun-Times article discusses Conley’s pedigree.
Conley is making a name for himself
This Sporting News article profiles Conley.
Quotes about Mike Conley
“Conley proved in his first year of college ball that he has the speed, court vision, athleticism and decision-making skills to be an excellent NBA point guard. His poise in the NCAA tournament raised his stock to the point that every NBA executive I've spoken with has him ranked as the No. 1 point guard in the draft...Conley possesses amazing hand speed and has terrific control of the basketball. You rarely see him mishandle the ball, even when he's flying up and down the court or handling two basketballs at once. He gets low to the floor and goes...Despite being just 6-foot-1 (according to Reiff's measurements) and 170 pounds, Conley is very strong for a point guard. He can lift the 185-pound bench press bar for 13 reps, and he showed this year at Ohio State that he can be a physical defender who isn't afraid to get in his defender's grille. He has thick shoulders and legs and shouldn't suffer some of the injury problems that other diminutive point guards have in the past. He also has great length, with an impressive 6-foot-7 wingspan…Conley is also a tremendous athlete with great explosiveness off the floor. He measured a 39-inch vertical jump off three steps at the St. Vincent Sports Performance Center on his first day of workouts and is expected to improve that score by the predraft camp combine…
…Conley's one major area of weakness is shooting, and the results on Sunday were mixed. His shooting form looks good, but it's a bit uneven and the results were the same. He has shooting range out to the NBA 3-point line, but he's pretty streaky. At times during the workout he'd get on a roll and hit 10 or 12 shots in a row. At other times, just about everything was going off the back of the rim…he really has the rest of the package and has the ability to play a more controlled game.” – ESPN’s Chad Ford
“He'll never average 20 a game in the NBA, but he can step in right now and run teams better than half the reserve point guards in the league.” – CollegeHoopsNet’s Shawn Siegel