Gaines entered Louisville when the program was struggling in Denny Crum’s final days, and was a big part of the Cardinals’ resurgence under Rick Pitino. He can flat-out score, as he is good at finding ways to get open and deceptively quick when he drives, while having a good shooting touch. But his biggest asset is that he can run a team, which could pose matchup problems given that he is 6’6″. Gaines can handle the ball well and was mainly a scorer because his team had limited options, but he showed his ability to distribute later when his team had better scoring options. He is a capable defender and rebounds well for a guard.
Gaines is a borderline lottery pick, but could prove to be a steal for someone. If he is able to run a team in the NBA, he could prove to be one of the better pickups in this draft.