Andrew Harrison will be Elite

Dr Positivity · Post #21 » by **Dr Positivity** » Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:59 pm

How do people feel about this athleticism? I've decided to only care about the Nike Hoop Summit, Jordan Brand, McDonald's, etc. games for judging athleticism before the NCAA and he didn't look explosive to me. Is he any more physically gifted than MCW or is the difference the expectation that Harrison will learn to shoot

ManualRam · Post #22 » by **ManualRam** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:55 am

Mr.Raptorsingh wrote:
ManualRam wrote:hs stats dont mean jack. projecting nba prospects is more so based on skills, tools and intangibles.
most hs games end up in the 50s. its a shorter game, the overwhelming majority of states, texas included, dont play with shot clocks and they don't play with NBA's generous scorekeepers for recording asts.
that 12/5/5 line is average over his soph to senior yrs. andrew's line his senior yr was closer to 14/6/5 and he missed a good chunk of the season due to injury.
for reference, 2nd ranked pg in his class: kasey hill his senior yr 13/5.5
the most important stat is that his team finished their season as the #1 ranked team in texas. state champs at the highest division. he was the mvp in the championship game. this after a herculean effort in their regionals (which was probably a greater challenge than state) to even get a chance to compete at state. his team took on the same team in the regional finals that beat them above in the video, with andrew dropping 17 pts in the 4th and 32pts overall to pull out a victory.

What kind of PG is he? Is he a true point, like Deron Williams, or is he a scoring PG in the Westbrook mold?

he's a playmaking guard to me. not score first, but he's not a pure distributor either. his whole playmaking game is predicated on his ability to drive and dish. at this point he's not the type of pg who'll just spread the ball around, getting it to where it needs to go and manipulating the defense. he is very dribble heavy.

i wouldn't be worried about his athleticism either. he's a PG and his size for the position is tremendous. he's basically prototype SG size already. he'll be one of the biggest, most physically imposing PGs right off the bat and he knows it too. he plays physically for his position and defends well. plus his change of speed is tremendous and he covers a lot of ground with his changes of direction.

jman23 · Post #23 » by **jman23** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:35 pm

Andrew Harrison is a tricky prospect to watch, I'd have to see him in a college game first before I even mention his future comparisons and deficiencies....

MalonesElbows · Post #24 » by **MalonesElbows** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:25 pm

Harrison could be a mismatch on the defensive end for quick PGs though. Schroeder was able to blow by him without even needing a screen, that's a red flag. His size will come in handy for seeing the floor, setting back picks, finishing in traffic, and overall durability, but size in general is overrated at the PG position.

HeartBreakKid · Post #25 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:19 am

I only saw the Nike Hoop Summit but he looked pretty bad defensively, not sure if he has the lateral movement to be a PG unless he becomes a one way player.

Hoopz Afrik · Post #26 » by **Hoopz Afrik** » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:28 pm

For some reason, Andrew Harrison reminds me of Tyreke Evans and Aaron Harrison reminds me of Joe Johnson.

cksdayoff · Post #27 » by **cksdayoff** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 2:44 pm

How can Harrison be elite when he doesn't have elite athleticism?

ManualRam · Post #28 » by **ManualRam** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 4:49 pm

cksdayoff wrote:How can Harrison be elite when he doesn't have elite athleticism?

now thats a dumb question to ask. im not saying that harrison is going to be elite, but having elite athleticism is not a requirement to being great.

MrBigShot · Post #29 » by **MrBigShot** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:48 am

cksdayoff wrote:How can Harrison be elite when he doesn't have elite athleticism?

....Larry Bird. Which isn't to say he's anywhere near the playmaker, rebounder, shooter or scorer Bird was but elite athleticism is not a prerequisite to being elite. Steve Nash is not a great athlete by NBA standards, and he's one of the greatest point guards ever.

sikma42 · Post #30 » by **sikma42** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:29 am

Dr Positivity wrote:How do people feel about this athleticism? I've decided to only care about the Nike Hoop Summit, Jordan Brand, McDonald's, etc. games for judging athleticism before the NCAA and he didn't look explosive to me. Is he any more physically gifted than MCW or is the difference the expectation that Harrison will learn to shoot

I agree with this...he doesn't look explosive at all to me.

I'm just not seeing great pg. I think if he becomes a starter for the majority of his career then he has done very well with his talent.

ManualRam · Post #31 » by **ManualRam** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:54 am

sikma42 wrote:
Dr Positivity wrote:How do people feel about this athleticism? I've decided to only care about the Nike Hoop Summit, Jordan Brand, McDonald's, etc. games for judging athleticism before the NCAA and he didn't look explosive to me. Is he any more physically gifted than MCW or is the difference the expectation that Harrison will learn to shoot

I agree with this...he doesn't look explosive at all to me.

I'm just not seeing great pg. I think if he becomes a starter for the majority of his career then he has done very well with his talent.

what do either of you think of marcus smart as a pg prospect?

mattg · Post #32 » by **mattg** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:54 pm

ManualRam wrote:
sikma42 wrote:
Dr Positivity wrote:How do people feel about this athleticism? I've decided to only care about the Nike Hoop Summit, Jordan Brand, McDonald's, etc. games for judging athleticism before the NCAA and he didn't look explosive to me. Is he any more physically gifted than MCW or is the difference the expectation that Harrison will learn to shoot

I agree with this...he doesn't look explosive at all to me.

I'm just not seeing great pg. I think if he becomes a starter for the majority of his career then he has done very well with his talent.

what do either of you think of marcus smart as a pg prospect?

I'm not sure he's a PG in the nba honestly. Obviously you gotta love his attitude, work ethic plus he's big and strong. But in terms of skillset, he sorta reminds me of a mini Andre iguodola. I just wonder if his handle and ability to run offense are good enough to be a full time PG in the nba.

Dr Positivity · Post #33 » by **Dr Positivity** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:24 am

Smart is an above average shooting game for a PG, from being a star IMO. Has the slashing and instincts/feel, just needs the shot. Unfortunately that's a lot to ask of him considering 1 yr of unimpressive results in that area. If he remains an unimpressive shooter I'd guess a middle of the league starter, which is still fine. I like Smart more than Harrison based on what I've seen because Smart looks more explosive. Think Jrue Holiday is good comparison for Smart.

ManualRam · Post #34 » by **ManualRam** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:20 am

harrison is quicker, faster and shiftier with ball in his hands. his handle is leaps and bounds better than smarts'. athletically, smart also has to gather to explode. his greatest athletic attribute at the PG position is his strength and harrison has that too.

sikma42 · Post #35 » by **sikma42** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:33 pm

ManualRam wrote:harrison is quicker, faster and shiftier with ball in his hands. his handle is leaps and bounds better than smarts'. athletically, smart also has to gather to explode. his greatest athletic attribute at the PG position is his strength and harrison has that too.

I will never get this Harrison hype. He really isn't a great or above average athlete athlete, isn't a great shooter and his playmaker abilities are tbd. However we do know he isn't some prodigy in terms of playmaking. Looking at his skills I'm not even sure he projects to be a starter in the NBA.

ManualRam · Post #36 » by **ManualRam** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:13 pm

sikma42 wrote:
ManualRam wrote:harrison is quicker, faster and shiftier with ball in his hands. his handle is leaps and bounds better than smarts'. athletically, smart also has to gather to explode. his greatest athletic attribute at the PG position is his strength and harrison has that too.

I will never get this Harrison hype. He really isn't a great or above average athlete athlete, isn't a great shooter and his playmaker abilities are tbd. However we do know he isn't some prodigy in terms of playmaking. Looking at his skills I'm not even sure he projects to be a starter in the NBA.

ok. now tell me what you think about marcus smart as a pg prospect.
a pg who is 6'5 215, with a 6'8 wingspan at age 18 doesn't need to be an amazing athlete. who knows how big he'll be at his peak, but as of right now without even a yr of college strength training, he's the size of an NBA SG. he can physically dominate his defender and carry him to the paint, where yes, he shows that he is a good drive and dump/kick playmaker. not only does he have the physical strength and size to bully defenders he has a tremendous handle, very good change of speed and direction as well as a long, powerful first step. compared to "normal sized" pgs, andrew covers a ton of ground with his moves. he has the deception, size and first step to get a shoulder past his defender as well as the strength to keep his defender on his hip. imagine if tyreke was really a pg, more of a passer than a scorer and actually had a left hand. imo, that's andrew's potential.

HeartBreakKid · Post #37 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:41 pm

Tyreke Evan with a passing mentality doesn't seem like a star player to me.

ManualRam wrote:
cksdayoff wrote:How can Harrison be elite when he doesn't have elite athleticism?

now thats a dumb question to ask. im not saying that harrison is going to be elite, but having elite athleticism is not a requirement to being great.

Well, if you're playing a position that isn't appropriate for your size you'd figure they'd be a great athlete. I don't think that's that crazy of an assumption. Andrew has good mechanics and Bball IQ but I wouldn't exactly call him the Jabari Parker of his position.

ManualRam · Post #38 » by **ManualRam** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:04 pm

HeartBreakKid wrote:Tyreke Evan with a passing mentality doesn't seem like a star player to me.

ManualRam wrote:
cksdayoff wrote:How can Harrison be elite when he doesn't have elite athleticism?

now thats a dumb question to ask. im not saying that harrison is going to be elite, but having elite athleticism is not a requirement to being great.

Well, if you're playing a position that isn't appropriate for your size you'd figure they'd be a great athlete. I don't think that's that crazy of an assumption. Andrew has good mechanics and Bball IQ but I wouldn't exactly call him the Jabari Parker of his position.

star? idk, but more valuable with all-star potential and a player who's really a PG as opposed to a ball-dominant scorer who doesn't make anyone around him better.

what do you mean "appropriate for your size"? if he can defend his position he'll be fine. andrew can be a really good defender when he's not trying to look cool out there. he has the ranginess and strength to fight through ball screens, plus he has the advantage of being able to play off and recovering with his size.

and i would say that his mechanics are just ok and his IQ is not great. he goes straight up and he's square but his shot is almost too mechanical. he's not a jabari parker of his position. he's more toolsy than smart. imo, his problems offensively are that he's very iso heavy, dribbles the ball a lot and he's grown too accustomed to playing with his brother.

HeartBreakKid · Post #39 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:08 pm

ManualRam wrote:
star? idk, but more valuable with all-star potential and a player who's really a PG as opposed to a ball-dominant scorer who doesn't make anyone around him better.

Yeah, but considering the thread titles name it's easy to see why the projection of being a Tyreke Evans who knows how to play basketball might have ruffled some feathers. :wink:

what do you mean "appropriate for your size"? if he can defend his position he'll be fine.

Isn't that what we're arguing? That he cant defend his position? If his athleticism is called into question then a person of that size could end up being a negative defensively. Needless to say on the small sample size that most people saw Harrison on, his defense didn't look too hot so I would think it is a valid red flag.

ManualRam · Post #40 » by **ManualRam** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:54 pm

i dont share the same concern about his lateral quickness. when he puts his mind to it he can really lock in. he sits down in his stance, he's competitive, has active hands, has the strength and range to fight through screens and recover, he can overwhelm with his size and ability to cover ground with fewer steps. the only concern that have on the defensive end are the lapses, lapses both in concentration and effort. he has moments where he lets the game get to him, either looking frustrated or disinterested, but i don't see any physical impediments to playing or defending the PG position.