He may look like Tupac, but he don't act like Tupac.

Today begins the (ten-day) era of Quincy Douby as a member of the Toronto Raptors. Wondering what this guy brings to the table? I did, too. In this, the latest Ultimate Scouting Report, we learn more about the little guard with the funny name.

The basics:

• Full name: Quincy Douby [Yes, that's his real name.]
• Position: Guard
• Measurements: 6′3″, 175 lbs.
• Born: May 16, 1984

(Note: Key statements below are bolded.)

The Hollinger:

2007-08 season: Drafted two years ago as a poor man’s Ben Gordon, so far Douby has the poor part down pat. In particular, his shooting has been a major disappointment. He’s only made 31.4 percent of his NBA 3-pointers and 39.0 percent of his shots overall, and done it with an extremely low free-throw rate. He’s undersized and had the fourth-worst pure point rating among shooting guards, so he has to make shots to have a place in the league. So far he hasn’t.

Somehow, he stayed on the fringes of Sacramento’s rotation for all of last season, but that won’t last if he keeps putting up single-digit player efficiency ratings. Given his other limitations, his rating needs to get into the mid-teens for him to have much value.

Scouting report: Though 6-3 and slender, Douby isn’t capable of playing the point, which leads to some major matchup problems on defense. He’s routinely posted up by opposing off guards and doesn’t fare all that well even when defending the perimeter, plus he contributes little on the boards.

Offensively, he’s a pure scorer who has a tendency to force shots looking for his offense. He shot the ball extremely well in college and has been money from the free-throw line as a pro, [Pete's note: Not a contradiction - see Kelly Dwyer's comment below.] so one has to think the 3-point shot will eventually come around. But he needs to improve in a major way — think over 40 percent — for his offensive skills to merit a rotation slot.

2008-09 outlook: [...] faces an uphill battle to stay in the league beyond this season.

Murky future, thy name is Quincy Douby.

Since he’s a Sacto player, I go first to the Sacto fan (and Garbage Time All-Star), Josh Frankel. He directs me to a couple of posts at Sactown Royalty. First, Tom Ziller, from November 20:

It’s a quick fall from the summit of a tiny hill. Douby missed critical potential game-winning shots at home against Phoenix and San Antonio. No matter: Reggie Theus did the right thing and played QD heavily against Memphis woeful Memphis. And QD shot 0-9. When you’re a shooter and you’re fighting for your NBA career, I guess you’re not allowed to shoot 0-9.

[...] if you are earning a DNP-CD from a coach who is trés sympatique to your style and situation … you’re done.

But on the positive side,

QD is still an asset to someone.

More positives from Section214:

Quincy Douby just might be an NBA basketball player. When he is healthy and confident, he is a handful offensively. The perimeter shooting, the runners, the tear drop shots. This is a sixth man waiting to happen, instant scoring. But his health has been an issue, and he could not fill the role that Kings needed him to fill, that of backup point guard.

This led me right to the man, the Ziller himself. Tom, what else can Raptors fans expect from an undersized two-guard hampered by injuries?

You’ve got it right: he’s a small two-guard more apt to shoot than drive. Good length — he bothers shots and can get some steals and deflections. His supposed killer practice-court shooting never translated; most would argue he wasn’t given a good shake until Reggie pulled the trial by fire stint early this season (which Douby didn’t perform well during). If his shot comes together, he can be a nice bench scorer. But that’s an if. 

Ah, more of a shooter than a scorer, eh? The Raptors got plenty of those.

Somehow I get the impression that Douby is a bit of a character. Do you have any QD anecdotes, Tom?

He’s actually not much of a character. Quiet, shy. He has a young daughter. I believe the back of his Escalade says UNDOUBYLIEVABLE.

So where’d I get the idea that he’s someone with off-court issues? I think Josh hit the nail on the head:

I don’t remember any off-court issues … maybe just cause his name sounds like “doobie”?

Now Douby leaves the Kings and goes to the D-League. Over to you, Ridiculous Scott:

Here’s what I noticed during his time in the D-League.

Right now, he’s an undersized shooting guard, but could reasonably play minutes at the point as well.  He handled the ball very well in the D-League.  Not much of an assist guy because he rarely ever drives (and therefore can’t kick it out for an easy assist), but could at least put the offense in motion.  He’s got a great shot that he gets off pretty quickly, which helps on the catch and shoot.

Defensively, he’s inconsistent.  I was impressed with his defense in Vegas at Summer League (I was impressed with everything he did at Summer League), but he wasn’t as active in the D-League (Demarcus Nelson and Will Conroy both lit him up as well) – not sure if it had to do with the fact that he hadn’t played much basketball recently.

As far as what he’s lacking – he’s really not lacking anything that he can improve upon.  He’s in great shape and seemed to work hard while in the D-League.  Obviously he was motivated to work toward a call-up, but if you can get motivated in the D-League, you can get motivated to stay in the NBA.

He’s a niche player, a guy that will come off the bench and score.  I don’t think he’ll evolve into much more than that, but as long as a team is looking for a player to come in and make shots in bunches, along with bringing the ball up the court, Douby should have a spot in the NBA.  Probably best served as a 3rd point/combo guard.

Summing it up…

Pros:

• a pure shooter
• sixth-man potential?
• long
• not a locker-room cancer

Cons:

• an undersized two-guard who will be exploited on D
• has struggled with shot due to confidence and health issues
• doesn’t grab many boards
• rarely drives (even with an Escalade? UNDOUBYLIEVABLE!)

Analysis: Douby could become Juan Dixon for someone, somewhere in the NBA.