Biggest Sleeper for 2014 Draft?

[Hoops Nerd]

Since I really don't consider Embiid a sleeper anymore, I would go with Semaj Christon of Xavier or Isaiah Austin of Baylor. If Christon played in the SEC or Big Ten, he would be a consensus top 10 pick. John Wall type guard. As for Austin: Big men take time to develop. It might be a blessing in disguise for the 7'1 Austin, that he got injured and had to come back. I could see him playing himself into the top 8.

Christon 127 HnI rating last season, ranking him 324th nationally (32nd among frosh). To be fair, his rating is close to Jahii Carson's. Super quick/athletic higher usage PGs seem to catch people's (medias's) eyes, even if their efficiency is lacking.

Austin 124 HnI, ranking 395th nationally and 43rd among frosh. I projected Jan 25th this last season on my site that Austin's rating showed he wasn't nearly ready for the NBA and his (at that time) lottery projection. That played out. He'll obviously improve though - can't teach height.

[Hoops Nerd]

I like the Semaj Christon mention. He seems to have some upside to him.

Rodney Hood, who transferred to Duke, is a guy worth keeping an eye on as well. He seems to be a cerebral player with good athleticism as a SF.

Winston Shepard, likewise, is another prospect. Coming off a mediocre freshman year, it'll be interesting to see how he responds, especially with Jamaal Franklin no longer there at San Diego St. He might be a 3 or 4 yr guy ultimately though.

I'm sure there's more guys out there like that as well.

Looking at the '11-12 rankings, Hood was just a 107 HnI, 970th nationally, 120th among freshmen. VERY low usage guy - those guys almost never become "stars". Probably overhyped because he's good enough to be at Duke (role player who defends and doesn't turn the ball over).

Shepard last year, 104 HnI, 1135th nationally, 161st among freshman. An athlete who doesn't really get steals or block shots, turns the ball over too much, and can't really shoot (yet?). Still a project.

[Hoops Nerd]

No one really know how good Hood is going to be., but last year, he was described as Duke's best player in practice.

I swear that's said about every redshirt transfer. I still remember years ago Dickie V said that Dennis Latimore was by far the best guy in practice at Notre Dame - and was a future AA. Yes, that Dennis Latimore.

[Hoops Nerd]

Jerami Grant

Grant, 116 HnI, ranked 655th nationally and 70th among freshman.

Man, all you guys have picked either incoming freshmen or returning sophs.

[Hoops Nerd]

Juvonte Reddic. I have no clue why but I think he can/will be effective in the NBA.

My ratings loved Reddic last season, 157 HnI, ranked 31st nationally, 11th among juniors.

[Hoops Nerd]

I like Austin's teammate, Cory Jefferson, as a late bloomer who's going to fit in real well in the NBA.

Jefferson, 148 HnI, 76th nationally, 26th among juniors. Was definitely much better than Austin last season - with two extra years of development.

[Hoops Nerd]

Parker's teammate Rodney Hood could easily sneak into top 5.

Oladipo was ordinary for two years and blossomed his third year. Rodney Hood was great his freshmen year, which was statistically better than Oladipo's. Sat out his sophomore year due to transfer. He was considered Duke's best player last year (in practice).

He has high character and is highly athletic.

Man - I don't understand the crazy hype for Hood.

First, Hood was NOT great as a frosh - he was ok as a frosh. Played huge minutes (32.8 mpg) on a middling SEC team - mustered a 10/5/2/0.5/0.5/53% TS% statline. I'm sorry, but elite freshmen put up much better statlines on middling teams. 107 Hoops Nerd Impact rating that season - ok for a frosh, nowhere near "great".

2nd - Oladipo was quite good as a freshman (120 HnI, 484th nationally, 56th among freshmen), very good as a sophomore (138 HnI, 157th nationally, 37th among sophmores), and left as an elite college player (174, 9th nationally, 3rd among juniors).

As freshmen, Oladipo was MUCH higher usage than Hood (indicates offensive upside for underclassmen), per minute scored much more, rebounded much more, had about the same # blocks but 5 TIMES the steals, and shot MUCH more efficiently - all that on a MUCH better team. Hood was the better passer and rarely turned the ball over (easier to do with such low usage rate).

There is absolutely nothing about Hood's freshman season that foretells future college stardom - let alone lottery pick status. Oladipo's highish usage, good TS% (despite not being a "shooter" yet), and high defensive stop rate indicated a possible future college star.

I'm telling you, I'm old enough to have seen the overhype many times before - Hood at Duke just smells of overhype. Unfortunately for him - if (when?) he falls way short of "elite" - he'll take the blame and not the people way overhyping him to begin with. Dukies - be happy if the kid plays a solid role - plays good D, facilitates some w/ low tos, and improves his shot. Don't expect some lottery level player.

[ZUDAMAGIC]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DgczvyUE6E[/youtube]
Jahii Carson looks like he can be a stud height will hurt but he's legit

[ManualRam]

one freshman that i think has legit 1 and done potential is rysheed jordan out of st john's. he's got the tools as a 6'4 PG with a strong frame. he's also the rare type of frosh who plays well beyond his yrs. he's not the type of ball dominant pg who does everything off of drives and drive n kick. he looks really poised, under control, looks solid defensively already. knows how to play to contact, is a clever finisher, has a pull up game with an improving long range J. he'll play more of a combo guard role this yr for st john's because of the number experienced guards they have, but his future pro position is definitely PG. he's got a lot of jrue holiday in his game. a little more explosive and a little less creative in terms of playmaking, but he plays with that size, strength and poise that holiday played with.

[ManualRam]

lol at the guy advertising his own stats and site.
nobody cares

[Mlockhart]

Good to see Jahii Carson getting some love. Probably the most dynamic player pound for pound in all of college basketball. I know ASU isn't on tv often but if you get the chance to watch him play it's worth it.

[dukelane22]

Rodney Hood 6'8 215

Mississippi State Highlights
http://youtu.be/JH2RJt3ZqOs

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209296893

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209292284

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209269547

Named co-captain without playing a single minute for Duke and averaged 20, 8.5, and 4 in his two pre-season games after sitting out a year and a half. It's safe to say that he's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

[sergiio_88]

Guillem Vives born in 1993 (6'3'' PG)

http://www.acb.com/stspartidojug.php?co ... edicion=58

[noobcake]

Rodney Hood 6'8 215

Mississippi State Highlights
http://youtu.be/JH2RJt3ZqOs

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209296893

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209292284

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209269547

Named co-captain without playing a single minute for Duke and averaged 20, 8.5, and 4 in his two pre-season games after sitting out a year and a half. It's safe to say that he's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Mr. Advertise-Own-Website-Hoops-Nerd used freshmen stats built on a low usage rate to illustrate to us that Rodney Hood is not that good...

In his world, freshmen who did not use up possessions do not end up as good players. I'm not quite sure if he even understands the concept of a usage rate.

[jman3134]

Cleanthony Early could easily slip into the first round due to his versatility as a forward. He can step out and hit the jumper and is athletic and plays strong at the rim. He is a bit of a tweener, but he plays a physical brand of basketball and can step out and keep defenses honest. I like him as one of those seniors who impresses with his upside.

He made a pretty incredible transition last year from JUCO D3, which is a very hard jump to make. (the vast majority of NCAA D1 JUCO recruits are D1 or 2) His presence really lifted them inside in the NCAAs and I expect that he will continue to demonstrate his athleticism near the rim and his fundamentals away from the hoop.

[ManualRam]

Rodney Hood 6'8 215

Mississippi State Highlights
http://youtu.be/JH2RJt3ZqOs

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209296893

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209292284

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209269547

Named co-captain without playing a single minute for Duke and averaged 20, 8.5, and 4 in his two pre-season games after sitting out a year and a half. It's safe to say that he's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

hood looks much more confident and aggressive putting the ball on the deck, which is a big difference from how he was used at miss st. he was a high iq player but he was primarily a spot up shooter as a freshman. just one game, but he created multiple shots last night.

[No-Man]

Marcus Lee is a stud, that level of athleticism, energy and motor, wow, he needs to play under control and improve his technique and everything, but the guy just get the job done, maybe he will wait until 2015, but he's a big time prospect.

So bouncy and quick.

[brackdan70]

This guy.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... d-sulaimon

its interesting..this is such a deep draft that we talk about some real solid players as sleepers.

[brackdan70]

Rodney Hood 6'8 215

Mississippi State Highlights
http://youtu.be/JH2RJt3ZqOs

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209296893

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209292284

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?KEY=MZHIGCDPUQHAJTL.20131105163008&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209269547

Named co-captain without playing a single minute for Duke and averaged 20, 8.5, and 4 in his two pre-season games after sitting out a year and a half. It's safe to say that he's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

hood looks much more confident and aggressive putting the ball on the deck, which is a big difference from how he was used at miss st. he was a high iq player but he was primarily a spot up shooter as a freshman. just one game, but he created multiple shots last night.

hood was impressive last night...bu he's old already can drink

[Junga]

I know someone already mentioned him but dante exum is gonna end up being a solid sleeper pick, being in australia his not going to get the attention he deserves so he will fall out of the top 5 atleast, posibly to around the later end of the top 10. Right now I have him getting picked at 3rd right after Jabari, but then again I am australian. Having played against him once I have seen the talent first hand but have nothing to compare it to but I can tell you that he has confidence in himself and that'll stick with him through out his career.