Shane Larkin Primer: Everything You Need to Know About Newest Dallas Maverick

Shane Larkin is the first addition to the 2013-2014 Dallas Mavericks roster. His rights were traded to the franchise from the Atlanta Hawks in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Larkin was drafted in the first round, going 18th overall. Born in Cincinnati, he ending up moving and attending high school in Florida. Upon graduation, Larkin accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Miami.

Here's everything you need to know about Larkin.

The Basics

Date of birth: October 2, 1992

Height and weight: 5'11", 176 lbs. 

Position: point guard.

Nickname: "SugaShane," given to him by Deion Sanders.

Family: son of Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.

Twitter: @ShaneLarkin, Instagram: slarkin_um

Larkin is considered a "sneakerhead." He collects a variety of newly released shoes and has also been spotted sporting them on the court. In a 2012 interview with TheSneakerKing.com, Larkin listed his five favorite shoes. ”My favorite five sneakers are probably the Bred 11s, Cement 3s, Cav 4s, Stealth Foamposites, and Red Foams.”

During his last season at Miami, Larkin rocked LeBron James' signature shoe as well as some other Jordan Brand exclusives.

Larkin shows off his all-time favorite pair of shoes on Twitter:

The shoe featured is the Air Jordan 11 Black/Red. It was originally worn by Michael Jordan and has been brought back in retro form. In Houston, a shoe collector was shot and killed over this 2012 retro release.

The Vitals

Vertical: 44"

Standing vertical: 34.5"

Three-quarter court sprint: 3.08

Lane agility: 10.64

Bench Press: 12 reps of 185 lbs

Larkin has an extremely impressive vertical leap. Measured at the NBA Draft Combine, the vertical leap of 44" was the second-highest recorded at the combine. Comparing that to some of the draftees?

B/R's own Jonathan Wasserman highlighted a small comparison in a May article:

"

"[Larkin] got up for a max vertical leap of 44", the second-highest in the history of the event. Victor Oladipo and Ben McLemore, two pretty explosive athletes, both finished second at 42"."

"

Both Oladipo and McLemore were lottery picks in the 2013 draft. From outside the coveted lotto round, Larkin appears to possess talents of these highly touted prospects.

The Style of Play

NBA Comparison: Ty Lawson

The Mavericks have high hopes for Larkin to successfully run the pick-and-roll. In college, he ran a lot of pick-and-roll basketball. An excellent shooter, Larkin was 47.9 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the three-point line in his last season at Miami.

Larkin is a floor general and leader on the court. He compares himself to Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson. Reported in a July article by Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, Larkin talked about his self-made comparison.

"

“I see myself as a Ty Lawson type,” Larkin said during a conference call with Dallas reporters. “Just somebody that can go out there every night and make an impact with my speed and quickness.”

"

Exactly alike, Lawson and Larkin were both 18th overall picks and stand at the same height.

Lastly about Larkin, he's played with a chip on his shoulder. His motivation came from the people that doubted him his whole life. As highlighted in the video above, he wasn't a big prospect out of high school and he wasn't expected to be in the position where he's in today.

The Future

In the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Larkin led the Miami Hurricanes to the Sweet 16 where they lost to the Marquette Golden Eagles. The point guard's role on the Mavericks is yet to be determined, but fans should be eager to see how he develops. It should be an exciting summer from the explosive Larkin, who is "ready to prove he's a starter."

Dallas Mavs news provided a link to the report on Twitter:

Based off of what Larkin has been telling the Dallas media, he sounds like he'll bring fierce competition and a positive attitude to the Mavericks. This is something that the 2011 Mavs displayed on their way to the raising the banners.