2024-2025 College Basketball / NBA Draft

[Negrodamus]

Rarely been this reliant on measurements before for a draft, but it matters for so many guys.

The guys I'm near 100% certain of stardom given their measurements check out:

Cooper Flagg
VJ Edgecombe
Jeremiah Fears
Derik Queen

Guys I'm a little shaky about for a variety of reasons:

Dylan Harper - I'm not 100% convinced of that jumper. Looks strange and he's sub 75% FT. Loser team with another top pick. Think Ben, Markelle, etc

Ace Bailey - Allergic to contact, loves midrange, allergic to generating assists, 68% FT. Loser team with another top pick.

Kasparas Jakucionis - Looks smaller than he is on the court, not terribly athletic, but otherwise love him.

Tre Johnson - bad FTr, bad defensive stats, bad team.

Unfortunately it's pretty clear the measurements for Edgecombe and Fears are NOT going to check out. They're basically Maxey and McCain size.

And I don't want Queen anyway.

The top of this draft, aside from Flagg, doesn't look great for us.

That's fair. I think Queen could end up being the best pick in this draft. He's like Julius Randle but plays defense and has passing chops. If he's 6'10, I'm taking him in the top 5, no questions asked. He plays too hard and is too fluid of an athlete to ignore for me. Get him someone to work on his body and he's going to be a menace. Would fix this year's team if we had him.

[Arsenal]

Rarely been this reliant on measurements before for a draft, but it matters for so many guys.

The guys I'm near 100% certain of stardom given their measurements check out:

Cooper Flagg
VJ Edgecombe
Jeremiah Fears
Derik Queen

Guys I'm a little shaky about for a variety of reasons:

Dylan Harper - I'm not 100% convinced of that jumper. Looks strange and he's sub 75% FT. Loser team with another top pick. Think Ben, Markelle, etc

Ace Bailey - Allergic to contact, loves midrange, allergic to generating assists, 68% FT. Loser team with another top pick.

Kasparas Jakucionis - Looks smaller than he is on the court, not terribly athletic, but otherwise love him.

Tre Johnson - bad FTr, bad defensive stats, bad team.

Unfortunately it's pretty clear the measurements for Edgecombe and Fears are NOT going to check out. They're basically Maxey and McCain size.

And I don't want Queen anyway.

The top of this draft, aside from Flagg, doesn't look great for us.

That's fair. I think Queen could end up being the best pick in this draft. He's like Julius Randle but plays defense and has passing chops. If he's 6'10, I'm taking him in the top 5, no questions asked. He plays too hard and is too fluid of an athlete to ignore for me. Get him someone to work on his body and he's going to be a menace. Would fix this year's team if we had him.

Basically he needs to slim down to play PF since he's not a rim protector, and needs to be able to shoot 3's to space the floor, right?

[Negrodamus]

Watch on YouTube

Pure animal frying the **** out of Harper/Bailey.

I'm not sure if he's not good at 3s or if he's playing a role and simply doesn't take them, but the shots he does take from midrange suggests he has upside as a shooter. Wish I could see what his 2FG jumpers percentage is but Hoop Math was shut down. The form looks decent and he's a 74% FT shooter which I view as quite good for a big man.

He's going to be a PF and small ball C. Good STL% for a big man. My hot take is that blocks aren't particularly important in this modern game. Obviously guys like Wemby are freaks of nature and block everyone. But save Wemby and AD, it's a bunch of role players at the top of the blocks per game list: Walker Kessler, Brook Lopez, Daniel Gafford, Myles Turner.

Despite being a little doughy at the moment, his agility and ability to change direction at his size is remarkable. He's also playing about 30 mpg, so he has decent stamina for a freshman big.

[Arsenal]

He's old for a freshman though as he'll be a 21-year-old rookie next year. Better to compare him to sophomores.

[mjkvol]

Kasparas Jakucionis - Looks smaller than he is on the court, not terribly athletic, but otherwise love him.

Tre Johnson - bad FTr, bad defensive stats, bad team.

Johnson has 'empty stats scorer' written all over him in the NBA. He's incredibly talented, but a chucker with no conscience. He just feels like a poor man's Carmelo Anthony, for lack of another probably better comparison.

I love Jakucionis, he's my favorite player in this draft. Quite frankly, if we can't get Flagg I'd rather be at 5-6 and grab this kid, stick him at the point next to Maxey for the next ten years.

[Kobblehead]

Even if we're picking at 5 or 6, there's still great options on the table for us.

Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley are bluechip 5 star recruits with size that can man a F spot for us.

[Negrodamus]

He's old for a freshman though as he'll be a 21-year-old rookie next year. Better to compare him to sophomores.

That’s fair, and I still like him even with the age. Once again, it’ll all boil down to his size, because his fluidity and athleticism is already there.

[stormi]

Watch on YouTube

Pure animal frying the **** out of Harper/Bailey.

I'm not sure if he's not good at 3s or if he's playing a role and simply doesn't take them, but the shots he does take from midrange suggests he has upside as a shooter. Wish I could see what his 2FG jumpers percentage is but Hoop Math was shut down. The form looks decent and he's a 74% FT shooter which I view as quite good for a big man.

He's going to be a PF and small ball C. Good STL% for a big man. My hot take is that blocks aren't particularly important in this modern game. Obviously guys like Wemby are freaks of nature and block everyone. But save Wemby and AD, it's a bunch of role players at the top of the blocks per game list: Walker Kessler, Brook Lopez, Daniel Gafford, Myles Turner.

Despite being a little doughy at the moment, his agility and ability to change direction at his size is remarkable. He's also playing about 30 mpg, so he has decent stamina for a freshman big.

Outside of Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, I'm not sure another prospect in this class self creates on drives like Queen can. Nifty blend of power, explosion, craft and touch that he's flashed this season.

~50.0% half-court rim rate & 72.5% total at the rim with over half unassisted.

I forget how the lotto works, but if we ended up selecting at #3 or #4 it'd make for an interesting decision.

I have Flagg as a clear tier 1 guy right now. Harper in a tier of his own as well right beneath that.

And then some blend of Kasparas, Maluach and Queen in tier 3.

[Negrodamus]

I might have Edgecombe #2 in this draft the more I look at it. He's the total package.

[stormi]

Haven't seen Edgecombe in depth at all, looks ridiculously explosive. Apart of the Mitchell/Wade tree?

[Negrodamus]

Haven't seen Edgecombe in depth at all, looks ridiculously explosive. Apart of the Mitchell/Wade tree?

He was real bad early on from an efficiency standpoint but has exploded onto the scene in the second half of the year. Completely salvaged his percentages. His handles are underrated the more I watch it. I look at him in the Monk, Butler type of on ball player, a bit mechanical and herky jerky, but makes plays. His defense is elite.

[stormi]

I tried to tap into some Tre Johnson and I wasn't all that impressed, footwork and handles were hideous.

Watched some VJ Edgecombe as well and I'm not exactly sure I see high end ball dominant scoring upside with how he navigates the half court. Oladipo has been thrown around as a comparable which I could definitely see. Just a superior athlete that uses stop-start acceleration to win. Flashes the ability to make upper level reads off the dribble which is encouraging. Allegedly a freak on the defensive end as well. Seems like a target for pick 5 or 6.

Queen though has me blown away. His feel for the game is special.

Watch on YouTube

The commentator might say it in this video, he just makes the game look easy which is one of the simplest benchmarks of high IQ basketball players.

[76ciology]

I tried to tap into some Tre Johnson and I wasn't all that impressed, footwork and handles were hideous.

Watched some VJ Edgecombe as well and I'm not exactly sure I see high end ball dominant scoring upside with how he navigates the half court. Oladipo has been thrown around as a comparable which I could definitely see. Just a superior athlete that uses stop-start acceleration to win. Flashes the ability to make upper level reads off the dribble which is encouraging. Allegedly a freak on the defensive end as well. Seems like a target for pick 5 or 6.

Queen though has me blown away. His feel for the game is special.

Watch on YouTube

The commentator might say it in this video, he just makes the game look easy which is one of the simplest benchmarks of high IQ basketball players.

I’ve also been high on Queen. His upside largely depends on his ability to shoot from the perimeter and transition into a four, playing alongside a big who can anchor the defense. Otherwise, we’re looking at a scoring version of Donatas Sabonis.

[Negrodamus]

I tried to tap into some Tre Johnson and I wasn't all that impressed, footwork and handles were hideous.

Watched some VJ Edgecombe as well and I'm not exactly sure I see high end ball dominant scoring upside with how he navigates the half court. Oladipo has been thrown around as a comparable which I could definitely see. Just a superior athlete that uses stop-start acceleration to win. Flashes the ability to make upper level reads off the dribble which is encouraging. Allegedly a freak on the defensive end as well. Seems like a target for pick 5 or 6.

Queen though has me blown away. His feel for the game is special.

Watch on YouTube

The commentator might say it in this video, he just makes the game look easy which is one of the simplest benchmarks of high IQ basketball players.

I’ve also been high on Queen. His upside largely depends on his ability to shoot from the perimeter and transition into a four, playing alongside a big who can anchor the defense. Otherwise, we’re looking at a scoring version of Donatas Sabonis.

Not a bad comparison, but also a scoring version of Sabonis is a pretty insane player. Match him with a stretch five who blocks shots and you have a pretty insane starting 5.

[Negrodamus]

Watch on YouTube

I don't know, maybe I'm too optimistic, but I don't really see a "bad" handle here. He can certainly tighten it up and add some advanced moves, but he's never going to be Kyrie. He also makes similar mistakes you'd see from any guard in the league.

Once again, I think he's a top 10 pick regardless of height, but if he's 6'5, he's top 5 to me. That gives him flexibility across 3 positions in the NBA.

[76ciology]

You know I like to bet big on pure perimeter scorers. I’m high on Tre Johnson—especially if his reported 7-foot wingspan is legit.

I have Tre Johnson and Queen in the same tier at the 6th spot, with Johnson slightly ahead. My rankings go: Flagg, Harper, Bailey, Edgecombe, and Jakucionis, followed by Johnson and Queen.

Tre Johnson is just a 2-3 Drew Hanlen offseason away from being an all-star.

[Negrodamus]

Jeremiah Fears is falling apart as the season carries on, but someone is going to get an absolute steal in the middle of the first. I still think he's a top 10, possibly top 5 prospect who just needs some time to put on weight and get that 3 ball right. His form looks textbook to me, so I think he's someone who will explode when he hits the NBA with the resources he'll have on hand.

[Kobblehead]

Ian Jackson seems undervalued at #28 on big board.

[Arsenal]

Yaxel Lendeborg and JT Toppin mocked in our range. Both putting up awesome numbers.

Seems like a lot of good upperclassman candidates.

[Kobblehead]

Nique Clifford is a 6'5" G with Josh Hart rebounding numbers. Assist percentage around 24% right now. Also hitting 1.8 threes per game. Very interesting traits that could be valuable for an NBA team.