Is Kelly Olynyk playing himself into the lottery?

[Leolovinliberal]

Olynyk with a ridonkulous game: 33/10 on 12-15 shooting. Kelly Olynyk in 3 road games this week: 70 pts, 23 boards, 4 asts, 3 blks on 23-35 FG/2-4 3 pt FG/22-26 FT in 81 min.

[ManualRam]

probably not lotto. he's moved into the first round most likely with his string of performances, vs good competition too. i question if he'll be able to throw his weight around at the pro level like he's able to at the college level. if he's a C, i also question his defensive and rebounding presence.

ironically, i have the same questions about him that i ask about cody zeller. he's basically playing like the mid-major version of zeller.

[Leolovinliberal]

probably not lotto. he's moved into the first round most likely with his string of performances, vs good competition too. i question if he'll be able to throw his weight around at the pro level like he's able to at the college level. if he's a C, i also question his defensive and rebounding presence.

ironically, i have the same questions about him that i ask about cody zeller. he's basically playing like the mid-major version of zeller.

Uh........except for the fact that Gonzaga has played a schedule that is 10x's harder than Indiana's thus far. The Zags are not a mid major team; they may play in a mid major conference, but they are far from a mid major team. They're 5-0 vs the Big12 this year.

[ManualRam]

probably not lotto. he's moved into the first round most likely with his string of performances, vs good competition too. i question if he'll be able to throw his weight around at the pro level like he's able to at the college level. if he's a C, i also question his defensive and rebounding presence.

ironically, i have the same questions about him that i ask about cody zeller. he's basically playing like the mid-major version of zeller.

Uh........except for the fact that Gonzaga has played a schedule that is 10x's harder than Indiana's thus far. The Zags are not a mid major team; they may play in a mid major conference, but they are far from a mid major team. They're 5-0 vs the Big12 this year.

you must've missed the part of my post where i mentioned that he's doing this against good competition.

mid-major is just a label. they're still a mid-major team and because of that, kelly would receive much less hype than a similar player performing in a better conference. whether you like it or not, hype and expectations matter...even when scouts are evaluating draft talent.

[Leolovinliberal]

probably not lotto. he's moved into the first round most likely with his string of performances, vs good competition too. i question if he'll be able to throw his weight around at the pro level like he's able to at the college level. if he's a C, i also question his defensive and rebounding presence.

ironically, i have the same questions about him that i ask about cody zeller. he's basically playing like the mid-major version of zeller.

Uh........except for the fact that Gonzaga has played a schedule that is 10x's harder than Indiana's thus far. The Zags are not a mid major team; they may play in a mid major conference, but they are far from a mid major team. They're 5-0 vs the Big12 this year.

you must've missed the part of my post where i mentioned that he's doing this against good competition.

mid-major is just a label. they're still a mid-major team and because of that, kelly would receive much less hype than a similar player performing in a better conference. whether you like it or not, hype and expectations matter...even when scouts are evaluating draft talent.

Gonzaga is not a mid major team. Like UNLV and SDSU, they're a major team playing in a mid major conference. They're #10 in the country for a reason. Olynyk wouldn't get less pub if he was playing for a bcs school, that's just stupid. Using that logic, if he played for say.....Rutgers, y'know, a "major" team and put up those #'s, no one would be talking about him. He's a great player, period.

[ManualRam]

if they play in a mid major conference then they are considered a mid major team. at the end of the yr, the majority of the teams that they would have played would be mid major teams. the reality is that if he and cody zeller perform similarly well during conference play, zeller's play would be held in higher esteem. whether fair or not, that's just the way it is.

i was giving him props and you're just stuck on a label.

oh f*** it. i knew i shouldn't have responded to your annoying ass.

[Ruzious]

It's a mis-leading label. I don't think anyone considers Gonzaga a mid-major team.

[Leolovinliberal]

It's a mis-leading label. I don't think anyone considers Gonzaga a mid-major team.

Except Manual Ram.

[ManualRam]

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2012/12/ ... oll-week-9
http://www.thesportsnotebook.com/2012/1 ... ita-state/
http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery ... 0/1688049/
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... rankings-3
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball ... nzaga-poll
http://nbadraft.net/mid-major-blog-15
http://www.collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25.php
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... week-three

[Leolovinliberal]

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2012/12/31/3822472/gonzaga-creighton-wichita-state-ap-top-25-poll-week-9
http://www.thesportsnotebook.com/2012/1 ... ita-state/
http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery ... 0/1688049/
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... rankings-3
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball ... nzaga-poll
http://nbadraft.net/mid-major-blog-15
http://www.collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25.php
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... week-three

haha, someone is butt hurt. I can find just as many, if not more links saying that they're not a mid major.

[ManualRam]

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2012/12/31/3822472/gonzaga-creighton-wichita-state-ap-top-25-poll-week-9
http://www.thesportsnotebook.com/2012/1 ... ita-state/
http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery ... 0/1688049/
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... rankings-3
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball ... nzaga-poll
http://nbadraft.net/mid-major-blog-15
http://www.collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25.php
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... week-three

haha, someone is butt hurt. I can find just as many, if not more links saying that they're not a mid major.

no, but clearly i'm not the only one who considers them a mid-major.

[UGA Hayes]

How old is he?

[Leolovinliberal]

How old is he?

21, I think.

[JN]

They are certainly in a mid-major conference (non power 6), but there are a handful of teams within those conferences that are clearly beyond mid-major status -- I guess you can say they play mid major conference schedules but are major basketball programs. The three biggest IMO being Gonzaga, Memphis and Xavier.

But even the past few years the line of conferences has blurred -- the MWC has clearly been the best western conference for a few years. If some PAC 12 teams get there **** in order, they have the infrastructure to inherently be better.


The Catholic 7 that broke off from the Big East are seriously looking at Gonzaga because they are a valuable TV property to have

[Ruzious]

Gonzaga's strength of schedule power rating is 9th in the NCAA http://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basket ... le-by-team - which is what matters, imo.

Anyway, his shooting stats are off the charts - as is his scoring rate. Even his FT% is over 80%. His rebounding rate is very low for a big, but could that be excused because he plays on a team that rebounds well? Remember, Brook Lopez got a max (or near max?) contract despite putting up terrible rebounding numbers and having a poor defensive rep. Of course, he got picked after Joe Alexander and DJ Augustin, but that's another story. There's a demand for bigs who can score like him, so he's going to be creeping up the mocks - even if draftexpress.com still has him as a 2nd rounder.

[Golabki]

Olynyk shouldn't go in the lottery. It's hard to envision him as an above average rebounder/defender at the NBA level.

His offensive game is good (obviously) and he'll be effective on that side of the court in the NBA, but just as a complementary player.

He should go in the first round, but not the lottery.

[notagenius]

how about his teammate kevin pangos? Does he have a chance to make it to the NBA?

[Leolovinliberal]

They are certainly in a mid-major conference (non power 6), but there are a handful of teams within those conferences that are clearly beyond mid-major status -- I guess you can say they play mid major conference schedules but are major basketball programs. The three biggest IMO being Gonzaga, Memphis and Xavier.

But even the past few years the line of conferences has blurred -- the MWC has clearly been the best western conference for a few years. If some PAC 12 teams get there **** in order, they have the infrastructure to inherently be better.


The Catholic 7 that broke off from the Big East are seriously looking at Gonzaga because they are a valuable TV property to have

I'd put UNLV and SDSU above Xavier, but, yeah, as i was telling Manny Rammy, these reams are major programs in mid major conferences

[Leolovinliberal]

Olynyk with his second straight 30+ game; 31/8 tonight in the win against St. Mary's.

[23-7]

He's climbing. Seven Footers who can score like that and move well are valuable.