Nassir Little

[logical_art]

yeah no, none of those dudes could shoot, Little has special touch and shooting ability for his size

Also among those they aren't that similar really, Winslow and Brown are really good athletes with strength, Johnson is quick and strong but can't jump a page, and Jackson is slim and very rigid, not uber athletic

Winslow is the only one that was actually a stud defender, Stan is useful against certain guys (like Kawhi/LeBron due to strength), Brown and Jackson were more stocks/events guys with iffy effort/IQ

on offense, Winslow was more of a passer, transition player, cutter, smart, occasional 3, Stanley a bully-ball type guy with some comfort in the mid-range, Jaylen a bad shooter with bad IQ for driving that did damage in transition due to exceptional athleticism and size and Jackson a jack of all traits with no touch but solid passing vision that lacked size to translate his game (if he were 6'10 and could legit play PF he'd be much more effective)

I think it's generalizing too much to compare those guys without context, the only thing they have in common is their height and iffy jumper at similar ages

Little is probably the 2nd best athlete if compared to that group (below Brown and on pair with Winslow, esp Justise after injuries) and the best shooter by a mile at the same age/stage, also the best at 1on1 D with Stanley Johnson

Special touch and shooting ability for his size? He's a SF - he's supposed to be a good shooter. And you've watched more of him than I have, but 26% from 3pt doesn't say special shooter to me.

Go around the league and find me plus shooters at 6'7 and 220lbs, I'd wait

yeah 26% on 19 attempts lol, talk about small sample size, he is shooting almost 80% from the FT line which is a must better indicator and his mechanics and shot diversity are really good

Why is FT percentage a a better indicator?

Here's the guys shooting over in the top 40 in the league from 3pt land at least 6'7" 220lbs. I don't have time to look at all of them shooting over 26%.

Rudy Gay
Nemanja Bjelica
Danilo Gallinari
Juan Hernangomez
Davis Bertans
Doug McDermott
Mike Scott
Khris Middleton
Tobias Harris
Marcus Morris
Nikola Vucevic
Karl-Anthony Towns
Jayson Tatum
Dorian Finney-Smith
Marc Gasol

So like I said, being a good shooter, which Little isn't yet, is not uncommon at all at his size.

[big-shot-ROB]

I think Little compares quite a bit with Jaylen.

Iffy handles, struggle to create on his own, not natural passing vision, limited array of moves finishing and driving, suspect IQ.

Little though, has amazing shooting ability and touch for his size. I've never seen anyone shot as compact, squared and balanced as he does coming out of high school and with his size.

I can see that, Little been the better shooter and Jaylen the better athlete, but yeah, I'd agree

both better NBA than colleges players too

Yeah, usually more spacing helps opens-space atheltic players, such as Little and Brown.

I was a big fan of Stanley, but I guess he never developed a shot and was that not top notch athlete ballislife put in our head.
Winslow has been derailed by injuries, and his shot has never become reliable, but I think playing in Miami makes him get less attention than he deserves. The guy has been increasing his assists numbers every year, and is a stud defender.

[big-shot-ROB]

Special touch and shooting ability for his size? He's a SF - he's supposed to be a good shooter. And you've watched more of him than I have, but 26% from 3pt doesn't say special shooter to me.

Go around the league and find me plus shooters at 6'7 and 220lbs, I'd wait

yeah 26% on 19 attempts lol, talk about small sample size, he is shooting almost 80% from the FT line which is a must better indicator and his mechanics and shot diversity are really good

Here's the guys shooting over in the top 40 in the league from 3pt land at least 6'7" 220lbs. I don't have time to look at all of them shooting over 26%.

Rudy Gay
- Has never been a good defender, until with the Spurs was a net negative for winning basketball.

Nemanja Bjelica
- Mostly a spot up shooter, can't pretty much do anything else.

Danilo Gallinari
- Similar to Bjelica, a little bit more athletic.
- Always injured.

Juan Hernangomez
- I like him a lot, but I don't think he will ever be starting material.

Davis Bertans
- More agile Bjelica

Doug McDermott
- No comments necessary.

Mike Scott
- Spot up PF shooter.

Dorian Finney-Smith
- Career 30% shooter, doesn't belong to this list.

Marc Gasol
Nikola Vucevic
Karl-Anthony Towns
- Centers, they have a completly different game

Khris Middleton
Tobias Harris
Marcus Morris
Jayson Tatum

- This is the guys he basically compares to, though Morris is some what inconsistent and has been on fire this season. The 4 are able to shoot on the move the way Little does and defend pretty well. 3 of them are fringe All-Stars, and only Tatum I can assure will be better than Little.

The other guys that are not this 4 and are not centers would be traded in a heart beat to a chance to draft Little.

[No-Man]

Why is FT percentage a a better indicator?

Here's the guys shooting over in the top 40 in the league from 3pt land at least 6'7" 220lbs. I don't have time to look at all of them shooting over 26%.

Rudy Gay
Nemanja Bjelica
Danilo Gallinari
Juan Hernangomez
Davis Bertans
Doug McDermott
Mike Scott
Khris Middleton
Tobias Harris
Marcus Morris
Nikola Vucevic
Karl-Anthony Towns
Jayson Tatum
Dorian Finney-Smith
Marc Gasol

So like I said, being a good shooter, which Little isn't yet, is not uncommon at all at his size.

Common now, we are talking Forwards, scratch Vuc, Towns, Gasol from that list automatically

Bertans, Bjelica, Hernangómez, Gallo and McDermott can't defend in the perimeter/don't have those type of defensive tools and are mainly 4s, Mike Scott plays the 5 more often than the 3

So you have, Tatum, premium young talent, Marcus Morris, solid role player, Tobias Harris and Middleton, up-coming All Stars, DFS who shot terribly last year and is nowhere near that level of player, and Rudy Gay who has changed his game as a vet and was never a pro shooter from 3

That's like 5 players in the league, like I said, damn hard to find dudes with the combination of physical traits, shooting acumen and defensive upside that Little has

[No-Man]

I think Little compares quite a bit with Jaylen.

Iffy handles, struggle to create on his own, not natural passing vision, limited array of moves finishing and driving, suspect IQ.

Little though, has amazing shooting ability and touch for his size. I've never seen anyone shot as compact, squared and balanced as he does coming out of high school and with his size.

I can see that, Little been the better shooter and Jaylen the better athlete, but yeah, I'd agree

both better NBA than colleges players too

Yeah, usually more spacing helps opens-space atheltic players, such as Little and Brown.

I was a big fan of Stanley, but I guess he never developed a shot and was that not top notch athlete ballislife put in our head.
Winslow has been derailed by injuries, and his shot has never become reliable, but I think playing in Miami makes him get less attention than he deserves. The guy has been increasing his assists numbers every year, and is a stud defender.

Yeah Winslow has lost juice athletically over the years, I still have hope for him

Stanley is just not athletic at all and has 0 touch, hard to improve as a shooter and he needs the shooting badly considering how limited he is athletically, he is just big and has quick feet, which is good for D, but on offense he has no path but to bully guys to get buckets and he can't really do it that much

[logical_art]

I'm actually a Little fan so far and wouldn't mind if the Bulls got him, but saying he's got "special shooting ability for his size" is a bridge too far.

[Stillwater]

I'm actually a Little fan so far and wouldn't mind if the Bulls got him, but saying he's got "special shooting ability for his size" is a bridge too far.

Don't expect the eyetest in college to give you any true measure of this kids shooting ability.
He joined up with Williams to learn how to expand his skill set. He is being used away from his strengths and still doing pretty good despite of it.
I would not be surprised if he still went in the top 4 if he didn't play another college game this season.
I also think he is a candidate for returning to school after this season where he could be "the man" for Roy in year 2 and theoretically be in the conversation for #1 in 2020

[No-Man]

lol there is no way he goes back to school

[RipCity71252]

Didn't like what I saw vs UNCW.

I understand the physical tools but IQ and overall feel for the game on both ends has a ways to go. Not sure how great an overall athlete he is.

Not impressed with the skill level offensively either. Flashes some shot making, but doesn't look comfortable putting the ball down and kinda awkward in general.

Just looks lost out there most of the time.

[tidho]

Didn't like what I saw vs UNCW.

I understand the physical tools but IQ and overall feel for the game on both ends has a ways to go. Not sure how great an overall athlete he is.

Not impressed with the skill level offensively either. Flashes some shot making, but doesn't look comfortable putting the ball down and kinda awkward in general.

Just looks lost out there most of the time.

Exactly what I saw. Watched that game and though, "this is a top 5 prospect?".
Obviously early in the season but he seems miles away from ready.

[Hoopz Afrik]

He's in this Jaylen Brown and Stanley Johnson archetype for sure. Hopefully more Jaylen than Stanley (although I think the routes their careers went were a matter of environment).

[No-Man]

How are Jaylen Brown and Stanley Johnson any similar? like one of them is an uber athlete and the other can't jump

[Stillwater]

lol there is no way he goes back to school

That's what they said about Harrison Barnes too

[No-Man]

lol there is no way he goes back to school

That's what they said about Harrison Barnes too

there was a lockout dude, stay real

[Stillwater]

Didn't like what I saw vs UNCW.

I understand the physical tools but IQ and overall feel for the game on both ends has a ways to go. Not sure how great an overall athlete he is.

Not impressed with the skill level offensively either. Flashes some shot making, but doesn't look comfortable putting the ball down and kinda awkward in general.

Just looks lost out there most of the time.

He has a long ways to go if an nba team wants to make him play out of position like Roy is... what you are seeing is a player with a ton of physical tools not capable of displaying them unless he diverts from Roys scheme. I think he is a good soldier here and making the best of it to earn his stripes at UNC. He wants to win in college not just be a high lottery pick like most of these 1 and done types.

[Stillwater]

lol there is no way he goes back to school

That's what they said about Harrison Barnes too

there was a lockout dude, stay real

Sure the odds are you are right,It is the trend and he is a surefire lottery lock but if this season he continues to be used out of position of comfort and it kills his stock then all that says too me is he cares more about learning and advancing his craft at one of the storied programs more so than padding scores and getting his for the sake of a bigger payday and could very easily justify returning so he can not only increase his stock after a featured season at UNC but increase his ability to play the game and be better prepared to be an impact player at the next level from day 1.

[Duke4life831]

That's what they said about Harrison Barnes too

there was a lockout dude, stay real

Sure the odds are you are right,It is the trend and he is a surefire lottery lock but if this season he continues to be used out of position of comfort and it kills his stock then all that says too me is he cares more about learning and advancing his craft at one of the storied programs more so than padding scores and getting his for the sake of a bigger payday and could very easily justify returning so he can not only increase his stock after a featured season at UNC but increase his ability to play the game and be better prepared to be an impact player at the next level from day 1.

If Little returns to UNC, that would put a nail in the coffin for Roy and UNC with any future recruits. What is happening with Little right now Im sure is hurting their stock with recruits out on the recruiting trail.

2010: Barnes consensus #1 pick. Doesnt go OAD and doesnt go top 5 in the draft
2011: JMM top 10 player, 3 years at UNC and undrafted
3 year gap
2014: Justin Jackson top 10 player, 3 years at UNC, surrounded by other wings that went OAD
4 year gap
2018: Little top 3 player

If Little doesnt go OAD, coaches on the recruiting trail will probably just show a list like this. 2 of those guys werent even starting their freshman year. That would be a horrible look for Roy and UNC and I dont think it will help Little's draft stock at all (look at Barnes). Also if he wants to increase his ability to make an impact at the NBA level, the best way to do that is go to the NBA and get NBA training all year long and get used to the speed of the NBA game.

[clyde21]

lol there is no way he goes back to school

That's what they said about Harrison Barnes too

0% chance he's going back to school. Are you not seeing how Roy Williams uses him (or lack of using him)?

[clyde21]

He's in this Jaylen Brown and Stanley Johnson archetype for sure. Hopefully more Jaylen than Stanley (although I think the routes their careers went were a matter of environment).

Better prospect than both, and I was big on Jaylen Brown.

[Hoopz Afrik]

He's in this Jaylen Brown and Stanley Johnson archetype for sure. Hopefully more Jaylen than Stanley (although I think the routes their careers went were a matter of environment).

Better prospect than both, and I was big on Jaylen Brown.

Agree to disagree. It's still very early but I don't think he's a better prospect than Jaylen was coming out of Cal. I'd give him on par with Jaylen at best.

We still have a lot of basketball left to go. Things can definitely change.