Hassan Whiteside

[dcaff1893]

Holy Crap just seeing this guys highlight videos how hes dominating in college he looks like a dhoward type player to me, now would you guys gamble on this guy or rather take cousins? Whiteside seems like a petrie type pick, someone everyone has little knowledge of but will turn out to be really good, what do you guys think?

Whiteside:
13.6 points 9.2 rebounds 5.4 blocks
3 10+ block games including a 14 point 11 rebound and 13 block outing on 2/27

Cousins
15.9 points 10.1 rebounds 1.8 blocks
18 double-doubles

[RoyalCourtJestr]

The one thing for Cousins is - who plays against better opponents? Marshall only has an RPI of 64 and a 116 SoS.

Still, Whiteside certainly looks good. I'd never even heard of him until last week. He needs more bulk, and hopefully he can become more than a one-trick pony, and not end up like Thabeet. That said - I'd be more comfortable with Cousins or Aldrich myself.

[longfellow44]

If cousins is gone then I would love to go with Whiteside even over Aldrich. Whiteside has elite level potential the only issue is that his offensive game is pretty basic, very much like D Howard. The one major positive is that with the short time that he's been playing in college he has improved a lot and has shown a few nice post moves. His defense looks natural and a major difference between him and thabeet is that he is an elite athlete where Thabeet as of yet doesn't have the athleticism of a normal NBA player.

Basically potential wise Whiteside is like Andrew Bynum but instead of being geared toward offense he is a defensive monster.

[cuad]

The whiteside is the right side. I'm always willing to give a guy who gets 5 blocks per game a chance. That's ten points right there.

[cuad]

The one thing for Cousins is - who plays against better opponents? Marshall only has an RPI of 64 and a 116 SoS.

Still, Whiteside certainly looks good. I'd never even heard of him until last week. He needs more bulk, and hopefully he can become more than a one-trick pony, and not end up like Thabeet. That said - I'd be more comfortable with Cousins or Aldrich myself.

By the way it's not like Dwight Howard played against elite competition either.

[Norbit]

Haha um the way things are going we probably wont even have a shot at cousins. I personally rather have cousins tho if we had the option but im scared we are going to continue to fall maybe all the way down to the 8th pick.

[longfellow44]

Falling to the 8th pick just makes Whiteside that much more attractive if we can get him there. Personally i would rather Cousins but I wouldn't be mad if say petrie drafted Whiteside and Cousins was still on the board the kid has ridiculous potential.

[deNIEd]

Exactly. While Cousins may be a far more dominant and better offensive player, Whiteside's potential on the defensive end is insane.

For this team, I'd gladly take a center that gives me 10 pts, 11 reb, 3 blks, with amazing defense
over a center that gives me 20 pts, 10 rebs, 1 blk, with mediocre defense

Prime Marcus Camby or Current Al Jefferson

[longfellow44]

I don't think that Cousins projects to be like Jefferson at all. I'm imagining a mini shaq, his array of moves is insane, has a better feel for dealing with double coverage in the post and is very athletic despite his actual weight. His ability to move other players around the way he does is at an elite level. While there are similarities between Cousins and Jefferson I think that there is something innately different about them when you watch them play.

[darkadun]

Cousins does show the potential. But the question is potential for what? He could be great, but he could also be a total bust. He seems like a risk player to me. Yet, risks pay off as well. Its hard to say, but I'll trust Petrie to sort the talent and see who is the best player available.

Personally tho, for our roster I like Whiteside, and don't see a dramatic difference in Cousins that tells me its crazy not to pick him. But hey, I could be wrong, I don't get to watch a ton of NCAA

[longfellow44]

Honestly I think if Whiteside weighed 30lbs more I would prefer him. I'm just a little weary of 7 footers who don't fill out and with Whiteside already a couple years older than most freshmen I worry weather he will gain enough weight to bang in the pro's or if he will always be in the Camby mold.

[SacKingZZZ]

Exactly. While Cousins may be a far more dominant and better offensive player, Whiteside's potential on the defensive end is insane.

For this team, I'd gladly take a center that gives me 10 pts, 11 reb, 3 blks, with amazing defense
over a center that gives me 20 pts, 10 rebs, 1 blk, with mediocre defense

Prime Marcus Camby or Current Al Jefferson

That's Cole Aldrich right there. I don't know if that's Whiteside at the moment. Obviously his ceiling is higher, but Cole will be an awesome defender from day one.

[SacKingZZZ]

Cousins does show the potential. But the question is potential for what? He could be great, but he could also be a total bust. He seems like a risk player to me. Yet, risks pay off as well. Its hard to say, but I'll trust Petrie to sort the talent and see who is the best player available.

Personally tho, for our roster I like Whiteside, and don't see a dramatic difference in Cousins that tells me its crazy not to pick him. But hey, I could be wrong, I don't get to watch a ton of NCAA

Hmmm...I don't know about that, he's too skilled to be a "total bust". Athletically he could have problems at the next level, but he's already got the skills to be a pretty dynamic role player if nothing else. I think his low point is a higher skilled Eddie Curry which isn't what we need, but isn't bad either. He bangs like Magliore but the vision and hands of Chris Webber.

[KF10]

Aldrich or Whiteside would make this team's defense in general improve dramatically. It isn't even funny.

But the problem is that, do we draft a guy like a Aldrich with a top 5 pick? (assuming we are picking in that range). It's like drafting a guy like a Joel Pryzbilla, Brendan Haywood-type of player in high lottery. Is it the right thing to do, if we are looking at that perspective?

I'm kind of leaning towards Whiteside over Aldrich IMO.

[wiltchamberlain]

Honestly I think if Whiteside weighed 30lbs more I would prefer him. I'm just a little weary of 7 footers who don't fill out and with Whiteside already a couple years older than most freshmen I worry weather he will gain enough weight to bang in the pro's or if he will always be in the Camby mold.

We could do a lot worse than have a young Marcus Camby on this team. As of right now I'd go with Cousins (It's a gamble) and Aldrich over Whiteside. But then again I don't exactly know a ton about college basketball.

Either way I think it'll be a moot point. As some have already said I don't think we'll have a shot with Cousins or Aldrich, so maybe this guy will be the best way to go. Also don't forget our newfound need for a guard.

[Norbit]

Um out of curiosity, who here has actually seen whiteside play? I have a weird feeling that most of you haven't or have seen a very remote sample size, like on youtube.

[longfellow44]

I've seen plenty of clips of him playing but I've only watched 1 game. That was when they played OU. Whiteside had a great game. He looked very dominant. He was a complete and total intimidator in the post. He gobbled all kinds of rebounds and his shot blocking was very impressive. He was both a good man to man defender and blocked several shots on the guy he was guarding but the majority were from the weak side. He scored a decent amount but I don't remember him having any post moves most everything came from put backs and open court opportunities. He did frequently go over top the defender to dunk the ball , D Howard style. He looked good but very very raw and in desperate of more post moves.

However in all of the more recent clips I've seen he's using fakes and has solid but still rudimentary post moves. But, and this is a huge difference maker here, He now has range waaaaay more range than I saw in the OU game. He truly looks like Camby out there, IT is the single best comparison when it comes to what he's doing right now. But if the difference in his game between Thanksgiving and Now is as huge as it seems I can only expect that this kid will learn and grow as a player very quickly because the difference is vast.

Basically he went from a too skinny Dwight Howard to a more assertive in the low post version of Camby. His progress makes me very happy and if we happen to end up with him I will be thrilled, that is unless we pass on cousins then I'll have mixed feelings.

However as I said before if the kid can bulk up and remain as quick as he is then I think he could become scary. Lets say he gets up to 260 lbs that puts him in the weight class to shove other guys around pretty well hopefully still have his leaping ability and with him developing some range out to 15-18 feet that's a dangerous combo. But so much of his potential relies on him continuing to learn on the offensive side of things and weather his body can develop to the level he needs it to.

[Norbit]

I've seen plenty of clips of him playing but I've only watched 1 game. That was when they played OU. Whiteside had a great game. He looked very dominant. He was a complete and total intimidator in the post. He gobbled all kinds of rebounds and his shot blocking was very impressive. He was both a good man to man defender and blocked several shots on the guy he was guarding but the majority were from the weak side. He scored a decent amount but I don't remember him having any post moves most everything came from put backs and open court opportunities. He did frequently go over top the defender to dunk the ball , D Howard style. He looked good but very very raw and in desperate of more post moves.

However in all of the more recent clips I've seen he's using fakes and has solid but still rudimentary post moves. But, and this is a huge difference maker here, He now has range waaaaay more range than I saw in the OU game. He truly looks like Camby out there, IT is the single best comparison when it comes to what he's doing right now. But if the difference in his game between Thanksgiving and Now is as huge as it seems I can only expect that this kid will learn and grow as a player very quickly because the difference is vast.

Basically he went from a too skinny Dwight Howard to a more assertive in the low post version of Camby. His progress makes me very happy and if we happen to end up with him I will be thrilled, that is unless we pass on cousins then I'll have mixed feelings.

However as I said before if the kid can bulk up and remain as quick as he is then I think he could become scary. Lets say he gets up to 260 lbs that puts him in the weight class to shove other guys around pretty well hopefully still have his leaping ability and with him developing some range out to 15-18 feet that's a dangerous combo. But so much of his potential relies on him continuing to learn on the offensive side of things and weather his body can develop to the level he needs it to.

Ok i was just curious, I wasn't understanding how so many people were picking him over cousins. I understand that what he could potentially be is exactly what we need from the center spot. I'm just afraid of drafting a potential bust, cousins seems like more of a sure thing. I don't think we can afford to miss on our next pick.

[SacKingZZZ]

Aldrich or Whiteside would make this team's defense in general improve dramatically. It isn't even funny.

But the problem is that, do we draft a guy like a Aldrich with a top 5 pick? (assuming we are picking in that range). It's like drafting a guy like a Joel Pryzbilla, Brendan Haywood-type of player in high lottery. Is it the right thing to do, if we are looking at that perspective?

I'm kind of leaning towards Whiteside over Aldrich IMO.

I see what you're saying and in a sense it's the exact reason NOT to draft a player like Aldrich that high. Could maybe trade down but every year you see the big defensive presence in the middle taken high. The only positive is that I think Aldrich clearly has at least more offensive potential than Przybilla or Haywood. That would have to be something he either shows in the tourny or in workouts.

[nolimit0820]

I know very little about him, in terms of in game action. I have only seen clips. I looked for past games, but could not find much.

However, he truthfully sounds like someone most were talking about last year. That is, Javal Mcgee from the Wizards. Mcgee has a very similar game and many were intrigued by him about this time last year. Look at Mcgee, he is really showing signs of being a true interior presence, both offensively and defensively.

I look at Whiteside as the same sort of risk. He could potentially provide us with an interior defensive presence and with great finishing ability. Truthfully, that's all I want in that position. The ability to affect and change shots, as well as finish around the rim....could be a viable option for us...Personally, if he is projected to be the #1 pick in the 2011 draft, I very well could see him waiting one more year..