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Since College Basketball is right around the corner and since we will have a presumed top 5 pick in this upcoming class, I figured it was time to start up another Draft thread.

I'm not nearly as enamored with this class outside of the top 5 as I was last year's. In fairness, last year's class was touted as one of the best in decades, && it's currently shaping up that way as we speak. However, I think there is some serious talent inside the top 5 this year. Specifically with the top 2 guys, Paulo && Holmgren.

Holmgren is a player who hit my radar over the summer as I was diving into tape on Suggs. They have a long history playing together in the AAU circuits and for Minnehaha Academy in Minnesota. I think he's an absolute stud. His shot-blocking instincts are as good as I've seen at this stage. People focus on the size, && I understand why, but he handles the ball like a 2 guard, shoots it from 3, && even shows promise as a secondary playmaker. He will have serious impact on the court at the NBA level even if he can't play the 5 for a couple of years. His length makes up for a lot of what he gives up in the weight department.

Paulo is the far more NBA-ready player. He already sits at 6'11 250 and shows promise as a 3 level scorer. Not a huge fan of his shot release, but I think it's something he can continue to refine.

With Paulo at Duke, and Chet at Gonzaga, we should have plenty of opportunities to watch them this year as well. I'm not quite sold on Hardy yet, && will need to see a bit more from him before moving him up my board. Jalen Duren a brusing center && 6'10 forward Jabari Smith are the other guys who seem to be rounding out the top 5 atm. We should have plenty of opportunities to watch both as well with Duren at Memphis, and Smith at Auburn.

At this point though I see it as a 2 player race, with Chet being the grand prize at the top. Due to so much uncertainty surrounding this class, it should be one of the more interesting years in recent memory. I'm looking forward to it though.


Note from Sam Vecinie on this upcoming draft class:

So early? We don't know yet

Team Chet. For a league that is becoming more position-less, Chet could be pretty great. The size is a concern but I looked up Durant and KG's weight coming out, and Chet should be comparable. Plus, the connection with Suggs would just be great for chemistry. Banchero would have to be really elite for me to put him above Chet because right now it looks like he would only be a four. While WCJ and JI both have question marks and lower ceilings, I'm not as excited about a player with position limits. If we want to move Cole to the bench or Markelle doesn't work out, Hardy makes sense. I just see Chet as a unicorn who also has the potential to be a big time scorer. This is an important draft because if we can get a cornerstone, IMO we'll have enough to build a contender around and start looking back at the playoffs. May take another year to get back to the playoffs, but we'd have some pretty great talent.

First off... unless otherwise "officially" confirmed, Paolo is anything from 6'8 to 6'10. I mean him standing next to the "confirmed" 6'11-7'0 Mark Williams would show that. Just don't want anyone to get dumbstruck like with Cade's supposedly 6'8 but instead is really 6'6. So yeah, he is a PF. While Chet can be anywhere from a SF-C.

* BTW this is based wholly on " secret" scrimmage and exhibition games LOL *

Oh and my darkhorse to shoot up the ranks and be in contention for the top-5 is PBJr. Based on what I heard and mix-tapes/ highlights ( again big LOL ) He is trending towards to be the next MPJ

Well: from a need perspective, Jaden 1 or Jaden 2 would be the best fits.

Therefore, I am voting for the 6'13" SF. You can't teach height and Mr. Holmgren has a chance to be an elite offensive force in the NBA.
..

I am going with Chet but why wasn't Bates included in this list, I would think he is considered top 5. And I know it's early and they obviously need more time but outside of Barnes, Mobley, and Durate I haven't been really impressed with the rookies.

Rainwater wrote:I am going with Chet but why wasn't Bates included in this list, I would think he is considered top 5. And I know it's early and they obviously need more time but outside of Barnes, Mobley, and Durate I haven't been really impressed with the rookies.

First off.. the " Masterbates for Bates " banner is being slowly taken down by the entire league based on his " so far " poor showing. I mean... sure it's early but his showing and potential is not something of a top-3 pick "so far"

Second... he is eligible for the 23 draft not the 22 one.

drsd wrote:Well: from a need perspective, Jaden 1 or Jaden 2 would be the best fits.

Therefore, I am voting for the 6'13" SF. You can't teach height and Mr. Holmgren has a chance to be an elite offensive force in the NBA.
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It's gonna be hard for Hardy. We will have the same argument that GL play won't be the same as college ball BOTH good and bad.

I mean its subjective to what happened with Green and Kuminga. Green said he could've been #1 if he went college while Kuminga could've also been higher if he bullied his way through college.

RookieStar wrote:

Rainwater wrote:I am going with Chet but why wasn't Bates included in this list, I would think he is considered top 5. And I know it's early and they obviously need more time but outside of Barnes, Mobley, and Durate I haven't been really impressed with the rookies.

First off.. the " Masterbates for Bates " banner is being slowly taken down by the entire league based on his " so far " poor showing. I mean... sure it's early but his showing and potential is not something of a top-3 pick "so far"

Second... he is eligible for the 23 draft not the 22 one.

I thought he was eligible this year but i guess i was wrong.

And i completely agree i think Bates is pretty overrated but i believe he will have the Wiggins effect where he will be picked high due to hype rather than actual talent.

I don’t think we have one of these yet. To start off, and to not bore anyone with the typical top 5 talent, here’s a kid that I’m going to keep my eye on:



Edit: this can be merged. Just saw the other thread.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2134056

I'm torn... it's hard not to draft center/PF when whole draft class are bigs.

Logic tells me that drafting bigs in 2022 is waste of pick.
Logic also tells me that drafting BPA is only logical for team that lacks talent.

Knowing Magic, they will resign Bamba and draft center to sucessfully waste pick.

Duran looks like a Dwight Howard clone.

Holmgren is so talented and skilled for his size but man he has such a terrible frame.. however his talent is undeniable

Throwing in a none PF/C prospect that I haven’t seen mentioned yet - Patrick Baldwin Jr. His shot is so pure he reminds me a bit of MPJ (he is listed at 6”9). The level of competition he’ll play this year will be terrible, he should be going nuts all season


Edit: it looks like Rookiestar mentioned Baldwin Jr above

OrlChamps2030 wrote:Holmgren is so talented and skilled for his size but man he has such a terrible frame.. however his talent is undeniable

Throwing in a none PF/C prospect that I haven’t seen mentioned yet - Patrick Baldwin Jr. His shot is so pure he reminds me a bit of MPJ (he is listed at 6”9). The level of competition he’ll play this year will be terrible, he should be going nuts all season

Watch on YouTube

Edit: it looks like Rookiestar mentioned Baldwin Jr above

What is it about Baldwins and being a lethal shooter?

Sorry.

PS I'll be watching Peyton Watson closely.

We'll obviously pick the Michigan player, Caleb Houstan.

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OrlChamps2030 wrote:Holmgren is so talented and skilled for his size but man he has such a terrible frame.. however his talent is undeniable

Throwing in a none PF/C prospect that I haven’t seen mentioned yet - Patrick Baldwin Jr. His shot is so pure he reminds me a bit of MPJ (he is listed at 6”9). The level of competition he’ll play this year will be terrible, he should be going nuts all season

Watch on YouTube

Edit: it looks like Rookiestar mentioned Baldwin Jr above

I keep saying he is my darkhorse to barge into the top-5 selection. And yes, I also said he is like MPJ. There was a reason he was in a bidding war by blue bloods but decided to go to that school to save his dad's job in it. lol

If he joined UK,DUKE,etc his name would be more mentioned right now.

I am curious about AJ Griffin from Duke. Sucks that he got injured, but want to see how he handles more physical play and where his shooting is at.

Seems to have all the physical tools to succeed though.

But even though this is protected to be a draft of bigs, my focus will still be on scorers, preferably guards, but Durant like forwards are fine as well.

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