College basketball and 2017 draft - One more poll after last game

[BrianFitz11]

I don't think we'll pass Jackson if he's available when we pick.

I hope not. His defense is a must have for this team


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[Sunsss]

I don't think we'll pass Jackson if he's available when we pick.

I hope not. His defense is a must have for this team


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Then we're on the same page?

[oddity]

Jackson had an overall off game losing to the Ducks, but he came alive for that final stretch of the second half, getting to the rim and making decent passes. He still looks raw, with some sloppy handling and moves, especially when he passed on an open 3 in the corner to... take a contested 3 in the corner... Still, his defensive upside is gargantuan, and he's a spectacular rebounder especially on the offensive end. If there's any real concern it would be his hesitance to use double moves and handle the ball on the perimeter. He clearly has those moves, but his handle is a bit raw and didn't seem comfortable tonight. I've seen him break guys down off the dribble before, but it seems he still has a ways to go before doing it several times a night.

[RaisingArizona]

Jackson and Ball are still good fits here despite their bad games to end the year.

[BrianFitz11]

I don't think we'll pass Jackson if he's available when we pick.

I hope not. His defense is a must have for this team


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Then we're on the same page?

That's right


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[Mulhollanddrive]

What if you rate a PG like Fultz / Ball / Fox higher, but Jackson as best fit?

Which do you take?

[Qwigglez]

My top 5 is... Jackson, Fultz, Tatum, Isaac, Ball.
I am really wanting Jackson, but him and Fultz are my top interchangeable top 2. I would be happy with either of them.

[bwgood77]

My top 5 is... Jackson, Fultz, Tatum, Isaac, Ball.
I am really wanting Jackson, but him and Fultz are my top interchangeable top 2. I would be happy with either of them.

You watch them a lot and do a lot of analysis? I haven't yet. I've watched some play some college ball, but not deeply analyzed yet.

[Qwigglez]

My top 5 is... Jackson, Fultz, Tatum, Isaac, Ball.
I am really wanting Jackson, but him and Fultz are my top interchangeable top 2. I would be happy with either of them.

You watch them a lot and do a lot of analysis? I haven't yet. I've watched some play some college ball, but not deeply analyzed yet.

Nope. I'm pretty bad at scouting, besides looking at top 3-5 picks. Everyone else looks pretty average to me. Jackson and Fultz though look to be potential game changers. I think Tatum and Jackson could be like a Otto Porter kind of player. Isaac's has the tools to be a solid player too, but it all depends on his mental makeup IMO.

[WeekapaugGroove]

My top 5 is... Jackson, Fultz, Tatum, Isaac, Ball.
I am really wanting Jackson, but him and Fultz are my top interchangeable top 2. I would be happy with either of them.

You watch them a lot and do a lot of analysis? I haven't yet. I've watched some play some college ball, but not deeply analyzed yet.

I'm in the same boat. I really don't enjoy watching college basketball so haven't seen any prospect enough to have a super strong opinion.

Now based on my limited watching and looking at their profiles jackson and fultz seem like relatively safe picks. They are very different players obviously but the things they are good at are traits that translate to being nba contributors.

Tatums ability to get buckets should also translate to the nba but I'm not sure hes the best fit for the suns. But hell if hes the best guy available when they pick you take him and figure it out.

Isaac and fox really intrigue me because they might be multidimensional contributors and real nba athletes. But both are still pretty raw.

Ball is a wildcard. Wouldn't shock be if he became a star but to me hes also the riskiest guy at the top of this draft.

Its a fun crop and i can't wait to see where the suns pick.

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[bwgood77]

My top 5 is... Jackson, Fultz, Tatum, Isaac, Ball.
I am really wanting Jackson, but him and Fultz are my top interchangeable top 2. I would be happy with either of them.

You watch them a lot and do a lot of analysis? I haven't yet. I've watched some play some college ball, but not deeply analyzed yet.

I'm in the same boat. I really don't enjoy watching college basketball so haven't seen any prospect enough to have a super strong opinion.

Now based on my limited watching and looking at their profiles jackson and fultz seem like relatively safe picks. They are very different players obviously but the things they are good at are traits that translate to being nba contributors.

Tatums ability to get buckets should also translate to the nba but I'm not sure hes the best fit for the suns. But hell if hes the best guy available when they pick you take him and figure it out.

Isaac and fox really intrigue me because they might be multidimensional contributors and real nba athletes. But both are still pretty raw.

Ball is a wildcard. Wouldn't shock be if he became a star but to me hes also the riskiest guy at the top of this draft.

Its a fun crop and i can't wait to see where the suns pick.

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Yeah, until we all examine these guys or read a lot/watch a lot, it's a little premature to make rankings and say "this is the guy I want". I do trust darealjuice's analysis big time and am awaiting the rest of his posts.

[DirtyDez]

You watch them a lot and do a lot of analysis? I haven't yet. I've watched some play some college ball, but not deeply analyzed yet.

I'm in the same boat. I really don't enjoy watching college basketball so haven't seen any prospect enough to have a super strong opinion.

Now based on my limited watching and looking at their profiles jackson and fultz seem like relatively safe picks. They are very different players obviously but the things they are good at are traits that translate to being nba contributors.

Tatums ability to get buckets should also translate to the nba but I'm not sure hes the best fit for the suns. But hell if hes the best guy available when they pick you take him and figure it out.

Isaac and fox really intrigue me because they might be multidimensional contributors and real nba athletes. But both are still pretty raw.

Ball is a wildcard. Wouldn't shock be if he became a star but to me hes also the riskiest guy at the top of this draft.

Its a fun crop and i can't wait to see where the suns pick.

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Yeah, until we all examine these guys or read a lot/watch a lot, it's a little premature to make rankings and say "this is the guy I want". I do trust darealjuice's analysis big time and am awaiting the rest of his posts.

Juice might take a few days to recover. Bill Self just lost to a lower seed for the 12th time. I hope he gets back on the horse b/c his breakdown's are excellent.

[jcsunsfan]

My top 5 is... Jackson, Fultz, Tatum, Isaac, Ball.
I am really wanting Jackson, but him and Fultz are my top interchangeable top 2. I would be happy with either of them.

You watch them a lot and do a lot of analysis? I haven't yet. I've watched some play some college ball, but not deeply analyzed yet.

I'm in the same boat. I really don't enjoy watching college basketball so haven't seen any prospect enough to have a super strong opinion.

Now based on my limited watching and looking at their profiles jackson and fultz seem like relatively safe picks. They are very different players obviously but the things they are good at are traits that translate to being nba contributors.

Tatums ability to get buckets should also translate to the nba but I'm not sure hes the best fit for the suns. But hell if hes the best guy available when they pick you take him and figure it out.

Isaac and fox really intrigue me because they might be multidimensional contributors and real nba athletes. But both are still pretty raw.

Ball is a wildcard. Wouldn't shock be if he became a star but to me hes also the riskiest guy at the top of this draft.

Its a fun crop and i can't wait to see where the suns pick.

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I think this is a very good evaluation. I like Ball because he is so good and he would be such a fit with the Suns team. But there is the nagging feeling in the back of my brain that there is some flaw in his game that once teams figure it out, he will be rendered very average. Not sure if its a real thing or not.

[Bogyo]

My top 7 right now:
Fultz
JJ
Tatum
Fox/DSJ
Markkanen/Ball

This might change a bit, but not by much - if we find out nothing drastic, it will remain about the same.

[Damkac]

Jackson and Ball are still good fits here despite their bad games to end the year.

Ball-Booker-Warren-Chriss lineup could be super fun to watch. But also very bad on D.
JJ is great fit. But I would also trade Bledsoe for pg who is better shooter and good defender. I'm excited for Ntilikina.

Frank Ntilikina (98', 6-5, PG, France, Strasbourg)

After several months as a back up point guard, the French prospect is now officially the starting point guard of his team. And the truth is that he seems to be up for the challenge! Ntilikina was terrific over the past month, particularly at the end of the month of February. He's had some really good games against very good competition, especially with a game against Aris in the elimitation round of Basketball Champions League, where he wasn't afraid of the big stage. He's had a few low scoring outputs recently but the team has been winning. The truth is that the scouts were already in love with him and the things that he can do on both ends of the floor. Now it's up to Ntilikina to prove to everyone that all this noise about him is legit

http://www.nbadraft.net/european-stock-watch-8

Ntilikina-Booker-Jackson-Chriss-Len
Ulis-Barbosa-Warren-Bender-Williams

[LV-Suns]

if we can nab either Fultz or Ball, Miles Bridges is someone I would trade Bledsoe for(picks 8-15).

Watch on YouTube

He put up similar production to JJ and Tatum, he is also a full year younger than JJ. Build like a tank, monster athlete. He also shoots 39% from 3 from 3 in near 5 attempts

[kennydorglas]

Josh Jackson's chart looks a lot like the Miles Bridges one
Interestingly enough to see why he was a ORtg negative there (Tatum was one too, didnt happened with Bridges and Isaac tho)

Too much USG%?

SF

Spoiler:

PF (Played at 4 and even 5 by need, but he'll be severely outmatched there)

Spoiler:

[Sampagne]

stats in college rarely ever translate, remember that michael jordan only averaged 13ppg as a freshman, which is what all these top prospects are.

Fultz-Ball-Jackson is the top 3, i see that a lot of you havent been able to see actual games but highlights only tell a small picture, almost as small as the box score. Those are the top 3 players, this is their draft, theres a noticeable drop off after them. if the suns are lucky enough to fall in the top 3 they will not regret any of those 3.

Couple posters have asked about my tier rankings, this is a pretty strong draft, but there are only 3 tiers

Ball/Fultz/Jackson

Tatum/Monk

Everyone else

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I've come around to Josh Jackson - I see the smoothness in his game, the seamless transition from the deck to the air. I get it. He reminds one a bit of Dr. J. The fact that he could potentially move between the 2 and the 3, handle the ball, facilitate, play defense, and be a great weapon on offense, it's tantalizing.

IMO, Fultz has to be your #1 guy. He's dominant. The kind of player who can carry a franchise. No matter what you have going on, that's gotta be your pick if he's there.

Compared to Jackson, there are three SFs in this draft who not only have star potential, but also appear to have pretty high floors - Tatum, Isaac and Bridges. If you miss on Jackson, you can still get one of the other three. It's even possible that Tatum or Isaac ends up the better player when all's said and done.

As for the PG alternatives to Fultz, I don't feel that kind of security. Ball's game needs to be transcendent to be good. If he can space the NBA floor with that long ball of his, it can work. It's the logical extension of what the Warriors do. They stretch you out with multiple long-range shooters. Ball stretches the defense out a bit further by maintaining a constant high percentage deep threat. But it might not work. He might not be able to make that shot happen at the NBA level. And then you run the danger of having your team's success depend on a player with real athletic and defensive shortcomings, a guy who really does not have the whole bag of tricks on offense. It's a dangerous pick.

DSJ is dangerous as well, because of attitude, intensity, defense, injuries, etc. Fox gets these comparisons to Wall, but he's a stick figure without a deep shot. Wall's built like Jason Kidd. Fox is probably the safest PG to draft after Fultz, but he has a lot of work ahead of him before he'll be an even adequate NBA point guard.

So after Fultz, the PG I feel best about is Ntilikina for a number of reasons - his physical profile, quickness and athleticism indicate that he should be able to defend both guard positions. He seems to have the mindset of a team player, but his handles appear to be not less devastating than Fox's or DSJ's. Like most young guards, he has to work on his shot, but I don't see anything approaching a broken form.

In terms of fit, of the PGs, I think that (after Fultz) Ntilikina works best between Ulis and Booker; moreover, he's younger and comes with less hype, meaning he could hang out on the bench a little while if we want to keep Bledsoe next year or beyond. Of the SFs, I think that distinction goes to Jackson, because of his ability to switch at the wing spots, his defense and his ballhandling. I wouldn't feel the need to move Warren after bringing in Jackson, the way I feel we'd likely be forced to do after a couple years with Tatum, Isaac or Bridges.

I don't think there's a perfect solution here, and most of this analysis can only begin once we've got our draft position. But Damkac and I are pretty much on the same page. If I'm at #1, I take Fultz. At #2, Jackson. At #3, if Jackson's not available, I'm either looking back for Ntilikina or I'm willing to make the draft's biggest gamble, which is what Lonzo Ball is. Huge. Gamble. I'll have Sacto and Philly (or Boston, if they're out of the top 3) on the phone.

[darealjuice]

Juice might take a few days to recover. Bill Self just lost to a lower seed for the 12th time. I hope he gets back on the horse b/c his breakdown's are excellent.

Yeah that was a rough one, I had strong feeling we were going down when Josh picked up his second foul 2 minutes into the game and was right unfortunately. They were just plain shook. It didn't help that Oregon closed out of the first half with 2 lucky chucked up 3s somehow falling to go up double digits either. I can't really blame Self though, it's tough not to eventually lose to a lower seed when you've been a 1 or 2 seed the past 10 years and Oregon is a really good team. Plus the defense came out fired up in the 2nd half, but Oregon hit some well defended shots, and our guys got plenty of good looks but couldn't hit a 3 to save their lives. Disappointing way to go out after looking so good to open the tournament, but oh well, onto the end of the NBA season and the draft.