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Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch

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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#421 » by KillMonger » Sun Dec 2, 2012 2:05 am

the more i think about it the more i think we need to focus on getting guys who can create for themselves and others if need be. We have so many holes though it seems like we need everything but honestly for me i think Point Guard is the hole we need to plug first on this ship, Depends on what you want.

Scoring/athleticism? C.J McCollum
Passing/playmaking? Trey Burke
Defense/Intangibles? Marcus Smart

We can go BPA and we should if we have a top 3 pick but to be honest so far the top guys have been not really living up to the hype. Noel has potential he does but he continues to look raw and is still getting pushed around almost like a rag doll on the college level plus he basically has no touch around the rim. Bazz might just need some time but he's SO STIFF out there not dominating like i thought he would. McAdoo looks like he doesn't have that hunger to be the man and just wants to follow instead of lead.

Adams looks raw, Tony Mitchell has been good but has not taken that next step. It's still early and things could change but right now this might be a draft where there is more under the radar guys that has the real talent.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#422 » by thelead » Sun Dec 2, 2012 3:39 am

Shabazz on ESPN U right now
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#423 » by Noonskadoodle » Sun Dec 2, 2012 3:52 am

thelead wrote:Shabazz on ESPN U right now


How is he looking so far? Is he going head to head with Jamaal Franklin.....Really like Franklins game & the way he competes.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#424 » by thelead » Sun Dec 2, 2012 4:21 am

Noonskadoodle wrote:
thelead wrote:Shabazz on ESPN U right now


How is he looking so far? Is he going head to head with Jamaal Franklin.....Really like Franklins game & the way he competes.


Okay. Not great. You know that I'm not a huge fan though. He is all offense and nothing else and doesn't run back on defense. More often than not he is the last player back on defense.

Franklin is playing well but he loves to shoot the 3. Has jacked up 7 3's already and there's still 15 minutes to go. Then I look up his stats and see he shoots 5 per game while only shooting 20%...

This game also gives me some confirmation that Shabazz isn't 6'6". He looks slightly shorter than the 6'5" Franklin.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#425 » by magicman123 » Sun Dec 2, 2012 4:29 am

thelead wrote:
Okay. Not great. You know that I'm not a huge fan though. He is all offense and nothing else and doesn't run back on defense. More often than not he is the last player back on defense.



i just turned on the game, and 2 straight possessions he was the last one to get back, and its not like he was under the basket or anything :lol:
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#426 » by thelead » Sun Dec 2, 2012 4:35 am

Shabazz isn't even a game changer on the offensive end. Don't get me wrong if we were sitting at pick #5 and my other top prospect were gone, I would still probably take him but he nothing more than a slightly bigger but slightly less talented Ben Gordon.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#427 » by KillMonger » Sun Dec 2, 2012 5:24 am

Caught a good chunk of the UCLA game Bazz looks O.K but not great. Saw a few plays where he didn't get back on defense and paid the price for it. IDK maybe he just needs to adjust his game for the higher competition, i mean he was dominating H.S kids now it's time to step your game up. IDK but for some reason they had him in the paint alot posting him up so i didn't see how he looked on the perimeter. From what i did see i'm not sure i can say he's a creator per se, he's more of an off the bounce guy rather than a "give him the ball and he'll create" guy. Still early so maybe he can adjust and play up to the hype but right now he looks O.K for someone who is hyped to be quite a bit better than just O.K
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#428 » by Def Swami » Sun Dec 2, 2012 7:29 am

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Made drive to watch Lehigh's @3JMcCollum tonight. What an impressive pro prospect. NBA execs impressed w/ growth since beating Duke in NCAA.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#429 » by KillMonger » Sun Dec 2, 2012 7:40 am

Damn even though Oklahoma state lost to VT Marcus Smart put up some numbers man. 18 points/11 rebounds/6 assists/2 steals all from a PG. McCollum had a nice game as well, 23 points/3 rebounds/3 assists/4 steals he's looking good. Now these guys are meeting and exceeding my expectations, can't say the same about certain "top" prospects
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#430 » by G-Heel » Sun Dec 2, 2012 7:51 am

thelead wrote:Shabazz isn't even a game changer on the offensive end. Don't get me wrong if we were sitting at pick #5 and my other top prospect were gone, I would still probably take him but he nothing more than a slightly bigger but slightly less talented Ben Gordon.


Ben Gordon is 6'1... Shabazz is almost 6'5 without shoes -- so, definitely a bit more than "slight bigger". Even if he's "slightly less talented" than Ben Gordon, he would still be a real nice player in this league. If Ben Gordon was 6'5, he'll be a star. All in all, lets give him a few more games to adjust before dismissing him. At this point, if he's available at any spot, I would still take him because I don't see any other players that's more appealing.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#431 » by G-Heel » Sun Dec 2, 2012 8:07 am

Bobby Ray wrote:Damn even though Oklahoma state lost to VT Marcus Smart put up some numbers man. 18 points/11 rebounds/6 assists/2 steals all from a PG. McCollum had a nice game as well, 23 points/3 rebounds/3 assists/4 steals he's looking good. Now these guys are meeting and exceeding my expectations, can't say the same about certain "top" prospects


Marcus Smart? We shouldn't even talk about this guy unless we're making the playoffs. He's an undersized SG, and doesn't look like he can play PG in the NBA. The dude shooting 38% FG, no thanks.

McCollum, on the other hand, looks like he can ball. But he's a 6'3 (probably not even) combo guard, which means undersized SG in the NBA. Also, he's a senior, playing for Lehigh. Not much potential there, he'll be a good role player. If we're picking top 5, I want a player with franchise-talent potential, not a slightly better JJ Redick.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#432 » by KillMonger » Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:34 am

G-Heel wrote:
Bobby Ray wrote:Damn even though Oklahoma state lost to VT Marcus Smart put up some numbers man. 18 points/11 rebounds/6 assists/2 steals all from a PG. McCollum had a nice game as well, 23 points/3 rebounds/3 assists/4 steals he's looking good. Now these guys are meeting and exceeding my expectations, can't say the same about certain "top" prospects


Marcus Smart? We shouldn't even talk about this guy unless we're making the playoffs. He's an undersized SG, and doesn't look like he can play PG in the NBA. The dude shooting 38% FG, no thanks.

McCollum, on the other hand, looks like he can ball. But he's a 6'3 (probably not even) combo guard, which means undersized SG in the NBA. Also, he's a senior, playing for Lehigh. Not much potential there, he'll be a good role player. If we're picking top 5, I want a player with franchise-talent potential, not a slightly better JJ Redick.

Speak for yourself dude i've personally watched these guys i'm not just looking at boxscores(not accusing you) these guys look good and they're both PG's make no mistake. That's the position they play and that's the position they will play in the league. I also hope you're not bringing up the fact that C.J is playing at a small school i mean that has been put to bed already, i remember people saying the same thing about Steph Curry who C.J resembles. They were saying Steph was undersized, played at a small school but i think he turned out alright, Damian lillard is balling and dude went to Weber State just as obscure as Lehigh.

With Smart he can play the PG position if you've watched him play live then you'd know that the man is playmaker he has great vision. Ultimate competitor and consummate leader, even as a freshman you can see that he leads by example. What do you want out of Smart that he doesn't give you? he'll give you points, steals, blocks, rebounds, defense and that will to win and willingness to get his teammates involved instead of trying to take over. There is a reason why some draft boards have him as high as 4th overall, to me him and C.J are both good PG prospects and are both projected lottery.

Marcus will probably be top 10 and if we have a pick in the 5-10 area like i'm expecting then he is a good pick. If not then we could try to get C.J in the 13-17 area with the mid-first rounders we're bound to get at the deadline this season(i'm assuming)
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#433 » by MagicFan32 » Sun Dec 2, 2012 10:25 am

Shabazz will be fine unfortunately i think he made a bad decision going to UCLA, and in combination with him not being in gameshape things don't look great, i still think his game translates better to NBA basketball, the UCLA offense is excruciating to watch
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#434 » by Def Swami » Sun Dec 2, 2012 4:37 pm

MagicFan32 wrote:Shabazz will be fine unfortunately i think he made a bad decision going to UCLA, and in combination with him not being in gameshape things don't look great, i still think his game translates better to NBA basketball, the UCLA offense is excruciating to watch

I agree. Ben Howland is holding the potential of that team back. I was shocked when Shabazz and Anderson chose UCLA.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#435 » by Def Swami » Sun Dec 2, 2012 4:39 pm

Bobby Ray wrote:
G-Heel wrote:
Bobby Ray wrote:Damn even though Oklahoma state lost to VT Marcus Smart put up some numbers man. 18 points/11 rebounds/6 assists/2 steals all from a PG. McCollum had a nice game as well, 23 points/3 rebounds/3 assists/4 steals he's looking good. Now these guys are meeting and exceeding my expectations, can't say the same about certain "top" prospects


Marcus Smart? We shouldn't even talk about this guy unless we're making the playoffs. He's an undersized SG, and doesn't look like he can play PG in the NBA. The dude shooting 38% FG, no thanks.

McCollum, on the other hand, looks like he can ball. But he's a 6'3 (probably not even) combo guard, which means undersized SG in the NBA. Also, he's a senior, playing for Lehigh. Not much potential there, he'll be a good role player. If we're picking top 5, I want a player with franchise-talent potential, not a slightly better JJ Redick.

Speak for yourself dude i've personally watched these guys i'm not just looking at boxscores(not accusing you) these guys look good and they're both PG's make no mistake. That's the position they play and that's the position they will play in the league. I also hope you're not bringing up the fact that C.J is playing at a small school i mean that has been put to bed already, i remember people saying the same thing about Steph Curry who C.J resembles. They were saying Steph was undersized, played at a small school but i think he turned out alright, Damian lillard is balling and dude went to Weber State just as obscure as Lehigh.

With Smart he can play the PG position if you've watched him play live then you'd know that the man is playmaker he has great vision. Ultimate competitor and consummate leader, even as a freshman you can see that he leads by example. What do you want out of Smart that he doesn't give you? he'll give you points, steals, blocks, rebounds, defense and that will to win and willingness to get his teammates involved instead of trying to take over. There is a reason why some draft boards have him as high as 4th overall, to me him and C.J are both good PG prospects and are both projected lottery.

Marcus will probably be top 10 and if we have a pick in the 5-10 area like i'm expecting then he is a good pick. If not then we could try to get C.J in the 13-17 area with the mid-first rounders we're bound to get at the deadline this season(i'm assuming)

I think CJ is lottery pick for sure. I'd be surprised if he fell out.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#436 » by thelead » Sun Dec 2, 2012 5:52 pm

VGOSWAMI wrote:
MagicFan32 wrote:Shabazz will be fine unfortunately i think he made a bad decision going to UCLA, and in combination with him not being in gameshape things don't look great, i still think his game translates better to NBA basketball, the UCLA offense is excruciating to watch

I agree. Ben Howland is holding the potential of that team back. I was shocked when Shabazz and Anderson chose UCLA.

I can only go by what I've seen (AAU games/HS games/International games/ and now college games), I've seen the same thing across the board. When he's playing against good competition he looks like an NBA starter but I don't see any exciting or special. What have you guys seen of this 18 year old that makes you think differently?
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#437 » by G-Heel » Sun Dec 2, 2012 7:38 pm

Bobby Ray wrote:
G-Heel wrote:
Marcus Smart? We shouldn't even talk about this guy unless we're making the playoffs. He's an undersized SG, and doesn't look like he can play PG in the NBA. The dude shooting 38% FG, no thanks.

McCollum, on the other hand, looks like he can ball. But he's a 6'3 (probably not even) combo guard, which means undersized SG in the NBA. Also, he's a senior, playing for Lehigh. Not much potential there, he'll be a good role player. If we're picking top 5, I want a player with franchise-talent potential, not a slightly better JJ Redick.

Speak for yourself dude i've personally watched these guys i'm not just looking at boxscores(not accusing you) these guys look good and they're both PG's make no mistake. That's the position they play and that's the position they will play in the league. I also hope you're not bringing up the fact that C.J is playing at a small school i mean that has been put to bed already, i remember people saying the same thing about Steph Curry who C.J resembles. They were saying Steph was undersized, played at a small school but i think he turned out alright, Damian lillard is balling and dude went to Weber State just as obscure as Lehigh.

With Smart he can play the PG position if you've watched him play live then you'd know that the man is playmaker he has great vision. Ultimate competitor and consummate leader, even as a freshman you can see that he leads by example. What do you want out of Smart that he doesn't give you? he'll give you points, steals, blocks, rebounds, defense and that will to win and willingness to get his teammates involved instead of trying to take over. There is a reason why some draft boards have him as high as 4th overall, to me him and C.J are both good PG prospects and are both projected lottery.

Marcus will probably be top 10 and if we have a pick in the 5-10 area like i'm expecting then he is a good pick. If not then we could try to get C.J in the 13-17 area with the mid-first rounders we're bound to get at the deadline this season(i'm assuming)


I admit I don't watch them much, but looking at the box score can tell you a lot about a player. I looked at Lillard's stats in college and I was able to tell he'll turn out to be a fine player. He listed as a SG in both college and expected NBA position, but I'll trust you on Smart being able to play PG, since he average almost 6 assists a game. He'll need to up his shooting %, however, because no way he'll be able to play in this offensive-minded league shooting 38% in college, and 20% from college 3's, that's just pathetic. Granted it's only a few games so far, and he can definitely improve that. But until he does, I'm not taking him in the lottery.

Again, McCollum will needs to be able to play PG in the NBA -- if he can't, then he's not worth talking about.
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#438 » by KillMonger » Mon Dec 3, 2012 5:08 am

Is it just me or is Mason Plumlee playing better basketball than Zeller is?
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#439 » by MagicFan32 » Mon Dec 3, 2012 8:02 am

thelead wrote:
VGOSWAMI wrote:
MagicFan32 wrote:Shabazz will be fine unfortunately i think he made a bad decision going to UCLA, and in combination with him not being in gameshape things don't look great, i still think his game translates better to NBA basketball, the UCLA offense is excruciating to watch

I agree. Ben Howland is holding the potential of that team back. I was shocked when Shabazz and Anderson chose UCLA.

I can only go by what I've seen (AAU games/HS games/International games/ and now college games), I've seen the same thing across the board. When he's playing against good competition he looks like an NBA starter but I don't see any exciting or special. What have you guys seen of this 18 year old that makes you think differently?

Because he can score from anywhere on the floor, he's also a freshmen, and not many freshmen will walk right onto a team and take it over, i don't think he's been nearly as aggressive as he normally has been in the past and this style of offense isn't good for him either
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Re: Official Draft Thread: Prospects Watch 

Post#440 » by Def Swami » Mon Dec 3, 2012 6:14 pm

Marcus Smart has the highest assist % of all the top recruits so far.
The game of the weekend featured Baylor ending Kentucky’s 55-game home winning streak. I’ve often described Scott Drew as an excellent recruiter, but without the in-season coaching ability of John Calipari. But for at least one afternoon, Scott Drew’s club ended up on top.

A couple of things fascinated me about the game.

First, John Calipari had Kyle Wiltjer on the bench for a long stretch in the second half. And he really had no choice. Wiltjer finished the day 1-for-11 from the floor, and he doesn’t have the defensive ability to stay in the game if his shot isn’t falling. Wiltjer has to find ways to provide value to his team other than just knocking down threes if he is going to be a true leader this season.

Second, I continued to be impressed with the all-around game of Baylor’s Isaiah Austin. I wish he would settle for a few less outside shots, but what I love about Austin is how he always looks extremely focused when on the floor. Even if he commits a turnover or takes a dumb shot, Austin doesn’t ever appear to get rattled.

Of course it is easy to describe an intangible like “quiet confidence” when a player is winning. And with Kentucky losing, it is easy to attack Nerlens Noel’s complete lack of an offensive game. But had Kentucky rallied to win, we’d instead be talking about all the little things Noel did to help his team win on Saturday. Noel had 16 rebounds and 6 steals in Kentucky’s loss, and Kentucky needed those defensive stops in a game where they shot so poorly. Watching so many freshmen play prominent roles made me want to do a quick update of how all the top recruits have fared this season. Here is a summary of the RSCI Top 80. * = injured or ineligible for part of the season

Kentucky has had a problem with rebounding this year, but don’t blame Nerlens Noel. He needs some help from Willie-Cauley Stein and Kyle Wiltjer who are very poor defensive rebounders for their size.

If Kaleb Tarczewski and Steven Adams aren’t earning major minutes at this point in the season, it is hard to envisioning them becoming full scale stars later. When conference play rolls around, coaches tend to be less patient with their freshmen. Thus in many ways, percentage of minutes can be the most important stat this time of year.

Efficiency is also important, and Kyle Anderson’s 87.9 ORtg is terrible for an elite recruit. Point guards can struggle more than other players to adapt to the college game and Anderson was considered to have point guard skills out of high school. So perhaps Anderson’s struggles aren’t a complete surprise. On the other hand, Archie Goodwin and Marcus Smart weren’t really point guards in high school and they have adapted to the position. Goodwin’s turnover numbers are far too high, but he’s set up his teammates passably while setting up his own shot a lot. And Marcus Smart has made a tremendous transition to playing the point-guard position at the college level. Smart’s assist rate is much better than many players regarded as better passers out of high school.

I really think the problem with Anderson is that Ben Howland hasn’t figured out how to use him. Lots of coaches from Rick Pitino to John Thompson III have been able to feature great lanky passers, by positioning them at the high post and letting them see the whole floor. Anderson still has the potential to be that type of player, even if he has struggled early.


Check the full stats here: http://basketball.realgm.com/article/22 ... Have_Fared

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