2022 NBA Draft Breakdown - Dom Barlow
The Overtime Elite's "elite" prospect was supposed to be Jean Montero. Will another prospect from the startup org be the first to hear his name called?
The Overtime Elite started up this season and all eyes were on Jean Montero as a potential first-rounder in a class full of unknowns that was going to shock everyone and open up the world of basketball. That… is unlikely to happen, as Montero would be lucky to hear his name called on draft night at all at this point. That isn’t a slight at Montero, just an indication of where his stock seems to be trending. However, there is one player who stood out every step of the way throughout the pre-draft process and is someone that may be taken ahead of his Elite counterpart: Dom Barlow.
Barlow is a 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-foot-3 wingspan who absolutely killed it for the Elite this year, averaging 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds, hitting 53% of his shots and 36.4% from downtown. Obviously, there’s no way to compare the strength of competition for Barlow against collegiate, G League or international players, but the Elite features some elite talent, such as lottery hopeful twins Amen and Ausar Thompson.
Barlow has a nice handle for a forward and an especially nice three-point shot, capable of hitting in the corners and getting to his spots. Barlow is a great shot creator and, as mentioned, a great ball-handler who can pull up from the mid-range to great success. Barlow doesn’t dip on his shot as it goes up and it hits at a high clip. The 6-foot-9 forward has the build to bang down low with bigger opposing players and has the length to get over the top of guys. He’s lanky and can take guys to the rim with a skillful interior set.
Defensively, Barlow projects as a multi-positional defender with great effort and energy and he averaged nearly three stocks per game in the Overtime Elite.
While I had some concerns about the skill gap between leagues, Barlow was pretty awesome in the NBA Combine scrimmage games, going for 19 points in one such game, and doing a great job of drawing fouls inside.
There are some problem areas for Barlow, namely lacking a great first step to beat guys to the rim and struggling to score in traffic at the lower level of competition. However, the biggest thing working against Barlow is where he played and the uncertainty of the Overtime Elite. If Barlow had the tape he had in another league, there would be more discussion about him as a potential first-rounder or early second-type guy. Instead, Barlow is far from a guarantee to be drafted.
I would like to see Barlow get a standard contract, ideally helping to pave the way for newer pathways to professional basketball. If he isn’t drafted, look for Barlow to be a premium undrafted free agent in what will end up being one of the more loaded undrafted free agent classes in NBA history.