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Got a question for some of you guys who've been around awhile. Have we ever been this excited or thought this highly of a wing we've drafted ever? Did we hype Fred Jones like this? Was Danny hyped like this and expected to produce like he has? On the negative side, was Shawne Williams?

bender was the last pacer hyped like this that i recall. danny was hyped in the aspect that he was expected to come in and contribute to a winning team as a 4th option/6th man type deal. he wasn't hyped as becoming a star. but bender was the last to get such high praise.

^^^ Yeah, that's accurate.

Danny was picked at 17th, so you don't put tons of hype into such a mi-round pick like that. Freddy was hyped as a great athlete (which he was), but not as the all-around player we're stoked about Paul being.

Shawne had a bit of hype for awhile, but nothing like the immediacy of the hype that George is getting right now.

I don't ever remember the hype being too big on Freddie Jones, except he was one of the most exciting players to watch. I think there was a lot of hope towards him, not exactly hype.

The hype over George is starting to build up, and he is becoming what Jonny Bender was supposed to be.

Mark Boyle recently said that George will be the BEST Pacers draft pick ever. Interesting comment from a guy who has seen A LOT of draft picks play right infront of him.

I thought Shawne was hyped when he was getting double-figures, but that's more in hindsight. Talking about him being better than Granger.

I'd say he's the most hyped rookie since I've been following the team in '94. Granger was expected to do big things, but didn't show the flashes of brilliance that Paul has shown. Ditto for Shawne Williams, who didn't show one-tenth the athleticism or ability to finish at the rim that Paul's shown. Paul is shooting .579 from inside the three point line, which is just incredible for a non-big man.

Its the flashes of brilance that I think is driving the hype machine. He seems to be blowing up right before our eyes. Last night there were times when the "man playing with boys" analogy came to mind. Buckner made the comment last night that he does pretty amazing things seemingly without even thinking about it.

Expand your population to all guys who have played with the Pacers and I'd say I'm comparing him to Jermaine O'Neal maybe George McGinis?

yes, Danny was thought of this highly too. at the end of his pre-draft workout, Bird apologized to him for wasting his time with the workout because the coaching draft all agreed that there was no way a player that good could drop to 17. however, I don't remember anyone saying Danny could be better than Reggie but people are saying that Paul can be better than Danny.

A more appropriate comparison would be Roger Brown or Billy Knight.

Danny was projected to go top-five and started to slip right before the draft because teams were worried about his knee. We were very fortunate he dropped to 17.

The hype surrounding Paul was the opposite of Danny. Originally PG was project to be a low first until he shot up right before the draft.

It's up to Larry to see through it and make the right selection, kudos to him for making good choices.

As of right now I haven't experienced this type of hype since Danny was playing at his best ( 25y.o.). The fact Paul George is just scratching the surface is pretty amazing to a lot of the experts. His demeanor proves that we won't have some long drawn out process of preparing him to play in this league. PRICELESS!

Miller4ever wrote:A more appropriate comparison would be Roger Brown or Billy Knight.

I wasn't thinking as much about position as age and speed of development. Brown was probably 26 or so and pretty sure Knight was a four year guy in college.

Yeah, I see that. What I wouldn't like in any of the JO, McGinnis, Brown, Knight comparisons is the fact that after 27, it was all downhill.

I would say the most hyped players that weve drafted since ive been a Pacers fan have been Clark Kellogg,Wayman Tisdale,Chuck Person,and maybe even Rik Smits to a point,now Bender was talked about being really great,but we traded to get him so I dont count him in the guys we drafted and hyped up. But all thoses guys were hyped up because of there scoring,except for Clark,so Id say George is the most hyped for a more all around game of our draft picks.

Miller4ever wrote:Yeah, I see that. What I wouldn't like in any of the JO, McGinnis, Brown, Knight comparisons is the fact that after 27, it was all downhill.

Yeah, that potential is troubling. One thing I've noticed. Muscled up guys seem to lose it quicker. McGinnis v Irving, Robertson v West. Long rangy guys are the ones who typically play well deeper into a career. George needs to incease his strength but I hope it only involves an additional 10 lbs or so.

It's more important to condition well and be lucky when it comes to injuries than to be strong in the long run.

All I want to see if he can make a Granger like jump in year 2.

^^^^^PG is 2 yrs behind in terms of his age at the start of his career. So actually Granger's 2nd yr is equivalent to Paul's 4th year.

Haven't you heard what the experts are predicting for this kid by his 4th season?

Everybody better be ready for THE MADNESS.

@Boneman2
what are they predicting?


i think he has great upisde,he's humble and works hard add that to a very good athlete and a pretty good shooter for that age,not to mention above average defence already and there you go you have a potential great player

i think he has all the tools to be a all star for years to come,he just has to work hard and be in the right situation

i honestly think if he where on a team this year where he starts and get's many touches(tyreke evans in sac last year,kevin durant in seattle when he was a rookie) he would be in the running for ROY,i think his numbers right now as a first option would be around 17.5 PPG 7 RPG 2.5 APg 1.8 SPG


i think if he works hard an maybe becomes a leader and develops a killer instinct his career numbers could look like this:

my prediction for his first 7 years

PPG/RPG/APG/SPG
1 9.1 3.9 1.3 1.1 (i think it's reasonable if he continues to get around 22 min)
2 15.9 5.8 2.1 1.6 (in around 32 Mpg)
3 18.9 6.7 2.8 1.9 (37 min starts to take over the team)
4 20.5 7.2 3.3 2.0 ( has taken over and maybe gets his first all star berth)
5 23.2 7.4 3.5 2.2 (improves percentages and defence,develops passing game)
6 24.2 7.1 3.9 2.1 (slowly becomes a leader and star)
7 25.3 7.2 4.3 2.3 (becomes a superstar and leader)


sure this predictions are only my opinion and showing what i think George can become if everythink turns out right, like "the perfect version"