2019 Draft Class

[nolang1]

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The DraftExpress writeup of the McDonald's scrimmages has me confident I'll be watching much less college basketball next season. Some takeaways:

The draft is looking weak enough that you can expect to see teams being much more willing to trade first-rounders than in previous years as well as 2018 guys returning to school to get drafted much higher.

R.J Barrett gets Jimmy Butler as an upside comparison, which has some (not me) wondering if such a player would even be a good return for the no. 1 pick.

In addition to the motor stuff, Reddish does not have much confidence shooting the ball and is inconsistent with his mechanics.

Big dropoff after those two with Zion having a tough time scoring outside the paint and Romeo Langford having good tools and scoring instincts but a not so good jumper and overall feel for the game.

Nassir Little and Keldon Johnson helped themselves by competing on defense and showing improved offensive ability, to the point that Little could be the 3rd-best long-term prospect.

Barrett is 1,000x the athlete & prospect that Butler is/was

Obviously (well not obviously because saying 1000x better is just stupid, but I digress), but Butler improved at a rate in the NBA that would be unfair to expect from anyone else and his background is the polar opposite of Barrett's (growing up homeless in a small town in Texas vs. having a dad who was a pro basketball player + high-ranking executive and playing for a big-name basketball academy). The only thing I'm saying is that Butler in my eyes has clearly been one of the top 5-10 players the last two years, so I don't understand how drafting a player who becomes that good or at least has the potential to would be a poor use of the 1st overall selection.

[Marcus]

The DraftExpress writeup of the McDonald's scrimmages has me confident I'll be watching much less college basketball next season. Some takeaways:

The draft is looking weak enough that you can expect to see teams being much more willing to trade first-rounders than in previous years as well as 2018 guys returning to school to get drafted much higher.

R.J Barrett gets Jimmy Butler as an upside comparison, which has some (not me) wondering if such a player would even be a good return for the no. 1 pick.

In addition to the motor stuff, Reddish does not have much confidence shooting the ball and is inconsistent with his mechanics.

Big dropoff after those two with Zion having a tough time scoring outside the paint and Romeo Langford having good tools and scoring instincts but a not so good jumper and overall feel for the game.

Nassir Little and Keldon Johnson helped themselves by competing on defense and showing improved offensive ability, to the point that Little could be the 3rd-best long-term prospect.

no possible way kids had a bad scrimmage and/or could end up improving these deficiencies huh?

No possible way they've seen these players more times than you or me and wouldn't be writing about these deficiencies if they weren't persistent, huh?

For someone like Reddish, who is reflexively described as having all the tools (even though he's not particularly big for a wing and not a crazy dunk contest level athlete) but a bad motor, I kind of assumed his ability to shoot well for his size was a given. Obviously he or anyone else could improve, but him apparently being a much better prospect than whoever's 3rd despite the fact he may not even be a particularly good shooter (on top of his other issues) doesn't bode well for the class as a whole.

lil sassy

I was asking if the write up was calling them hopeless, but someone posted it in another thread. I'll check that out.

[GameBredAPBT]

[instagram][/instagram]

The DraftExpress writeup of the McDonald's scrimmages has me confident I'll be watching much less college basketball next season. Some takeaways:

The draft is looking weak enough that you can expect to see teams being much more willing to trade first-rounders than in previous years as well as 2018 guys returning to school to get drafted much higher.

R.J Barrett gets Jimmy Butler as an upside comparison, which has some (not me) wondering if such a player would even be a good return for the no. 1 pick.

In addition to the motor stuff, Reddish does not have much confidence shooting the ball and is inconsistent with his mechanics.

Big dropoff after those two with Zion having a tough time scoring outside the paint and Romeo Langford having good tools and scoring instincts but a not so good jumper and overall feel for the game.

Nassir Little and Keldon Johnson helped themselves by competing on defense and showing improved offensive ability, to the point that Little could be the 3rd-best long-term prospect.

Barrett is 1,000x the athlete & prospect that Butler is/was

Obviously (well not obviously because saying 1000x better is just stupid, but I digress), but Butler improved at a rate in the NBA that would be unfair to expect from anyone else and his background is the polar opposite of Barrett's (growing up homeless in a small town in Texas vs. having a dad who was a pro basketball player + high-ranking executive and playing for a big-name basketball academy). The only thing I'm saying is that Butler in my eyes has clearly been one of the top 5-10 players the last two years, so I don't understand how drafting a player who becomes that good or at least has the potential to would be a poor use of the 1st overall selection.

No doubt but RJ deserves the Kobe comparisons, they've got a lot in common & their games are similar. Kobe was more fluid athletically whereas RJ is more unadulterated power & force.

[azcatz11]

Ahhhh...the patented 'worst class ever' proclamation. Which will be followed by 2020 being called 'the best ever.' Love these articles

[No-Man]

How many one and dones we have in this class really?

the Duke boyz, that's 4, Bol I guess, Langford since the hype is there, although I am not a fan, some UK dude for sure, probably Keldon, Nassir I think goes too, possibly Grimes or Dotson but KU is loaded and not sure how much burn they will get, Self might play the vets, Simi and Garland maybe esp if Langford goes to Vandy, probably someone else surprise and goes

That's about 10 guys, like this year we are getting +20 one and dones, think about it (Ayton, Bagley, Porter, Bamba, Young, JJJ, Carter, Sexton, Shai, Knox, Diallo, Trent, Duval, Robinson, possibly Walker, Troy Brown, Jontay Porter, Zhaire Smith, McCoy,...) the different in talent is pretty steep.

[Cammo101]

Barrett, Reddish, Bol, Zion, Langford, Reid, $hittu, and Garland are the only ones I have currently.

[nolang1]

Ahhhh...the patented 'worst class ever' proclamation. Which will be followed by 2020 being called 'the best ever.' Love these articles

Marvin Bagley was in this high school class until last summer and I considered him head and shoulders above the other players even after factoring in that he was older; I'm higher on him than most people but he's not even a lock to go in the top 5 in the 2018 draft. RJ Barrett reclassified from the high school class of 2019 last summer and pretty much immediately established himself as not just the best prospect but the best player. It's not rocket science to get a good idea a year or two in advance, and in fact I would be comfortable saying at this point the 2020 draft class will also be pretty weak when it comes to top-end talent unless some younger players reclassify or high schoolers are permitted to enter the draft.

[No-Man]

Barrett, Reddish, Bol, Zion, Langford, Reid, $hittu, and Garland are the only ones I have currently.

def dont see Reid there, and Garland, Simi and Langford to me are borderline.

Honestly, locks are Reddish, Barrett and Zion, probably Bol, more will go, but I wouldn't put my money on any particularly.

and Tre Jones is really good

[CptCrunch]

Hopefully Reddish playing point forward won't take too much away from Tre Jones.

Tre Jones
RJ Barrett/Alex O'Connell
Cam Reddish
Zion Williamson/Javin DeLaurier
Marques Bolden/

[No-Man]

I haven't seen enough, but in terms of preliminary rankings of this HS class, I'd say that the 15 guys I have liked the most are;

Tier I candidates

RJ Barrett
Nassir Little
Cam Reddish
Zion Williamson

def lotto potential

Jaylen Hoard
Keldon Johnson
Devon Dotson
Tre Jones

toolsy guys with some doubts about how they translate

Naz Reid
Reggie Perry
Darius Bazley

more on the fences but def some intriguing tools

Quentin Grimes
Sticks Smith
Simi Shittu
Darius Garland

Not a fan of Bol or Langford, although both have some skills that are entincing, Bol's shooting and length, not sure how he translates physically, and Langford is really fluid but I am not a fan of his shooting and doesnt use advanced dribble moves, limited athlete, the rest are pretty much meh, I like athletically Emmitt Williams and Darius Days, both going to LSU, but not sure about skillset, Tae Cherry and Ayo Dosunmu seem intriguing but I need to watch more, and I know literally nothing about the rest of this class

[The-Power]

I assume the best way to watch tape of the McDonald's All-American scrimmage and game without ESPN subscription is through the highlights on YouTube? Hate watching only the highlights but better than nothing, I guess...

[No-Man]

Starting to look like Triple J might come back and strengthen this class quite a bit

[Ruzious]

I haven't seen enough, but in terms of preliminary rankings of this HS class, I'd say that the 15 guys I have liked the most are;

Tier I candidates

RJ Barrett
Nassir Little
Cam Reddish
Zion Williamson

def lotto potential

Jaylen Hoard
Keldon Johnson
Devon Dotson
Tre Jones

toolsy guys with some doubts about how they translate

Naz Reid
Reggie Perry
Darius Bazley

more on the fences but def some intriguing tools

Quentin Grimes
Sticks Smith
Simi ****
Darius Garland

Not a fan of Bol or Langford, although both have some skills that are entincing, Bol's shooting and length, not sure how he translates physically, and Langford is really fluid but I am not a fan of his shooting and doesnt use advanced dribble moves, limited athlete, the rest are pretty much meh, I like athletically Emmitt Williams and Darius Days, both going to LSU, but not sure about skillset, Tae Cherry and Ayo Dosunmu seem intriguing but I need to watch more, and I know literally nothing about the rest of this class

Any thoughts on Sticks? Too thin for the NBA, or does he have the frame to add enough weight? There's something very charismatic about him and his game.

[No-Man]

I haven't seen enough, but in terms of preliminary rankings of this HS class, I'd say that the 15 guys I have liked the most are;

Tier I candidates

RJ Barrett
Nassir Little
Cam Reddish
Zion Williamson

def lotto potential

Jaylen Hoard
Keldon Johnson
Devon Dotson
Tre Jones

toolsy guys with some doubts about how they translate

Naz Reid
Reggie Perry
Darius Bazley

more on the fences but def some intriguing tools

Quentin Grimes
Sticks Smith
Simi ****
Darius Garland

Not a fan of Bol or Langford, although both have some skills that are entincing, Bol's shooting and length, not sure how he translates physically, and Langford is really fluid but I am not a fan of his shooting and doesnt use advanced dribble moves, limited athlete, the rest are pretty much meh, I like athletically Emmitt Williams and Darius Days, both going to LSU, but not sure about skillset, Tae Cherry and Ayo Dosunmu seem intriguing but I need to watch more, and I know literally nothing about the rest of this class

Any thoughts on Sticks? Too thin for the NBA, or does he have the frame to add enough weight? There's something very charismatic about him and his game.

I haven't watched enough but I like his length, mobility and activity level, has some touch too, the lower body strength def a concern and if he gets bigger that could result on more explosion too, he is young March of 2000, so true freshman kind of.

What is MD rotation supposed to be?

Cowan-Ayala
Morsell-Ayala
Huerter-Wiggins
Smith-Tomaic
Fernando-Bender-Herard

Wiley and Jackson leaving hurts a bit, but they still have a nice squad, I think Herard is eligible from January on.

[Ruzious]

I haven't seen enough, but in terms of preliminary rankings of this HS class, I'd say that the 15 guys I have liked the most are;

Tier I candidates

RJ Barrett
Nassir Little
Cam Reddish
Zion Williamson

def lotto potential

Jaylen Hoard
Keldon Johnson
Devon Dotson
Tre Jones

toolsy guys with some doubts about how they translate

Naz Reid
Reggie Perry
Darius Bazley

more on the fences but def some intriguing tools

Quentin Grimes
Sticks Smith
Simi ****
Darius Garland

Not a fan of Bol or Langford, although both have some skills that are entincing, Bol's shooting and length, not sure how he translates physically, and Langford is really fluid but I am not a fan of his shooting and doesnt use advanced dribble moves, limited athlete, the rest are pretty much meh, I like athletically Emmitt Williams and Darius Days, both going to LSU, but not sure about skillset, Tae Cherry and Ayo Dosunmu seem intriguing but I need to watch more, and I know literally nothing about the rest of this class

Any thoughts on Sticks? Too thin for the NBA, or does he have the frame to add enough weight? There's something very charismatic about him and his game.

I haven't watched enough but I like his length, mobility and activity level, has some touch too, the lower body strength def a concern and if he gets bigger that could result on more explosion too, he is young March of 2000, so true freshman kind of.

What is MD rotation supposed to be?

Cowan-Ayala
Morsell-Ayala
Huerter-Wiggins
Smith-Tomaic
Fernando-Bender-Herard

Wiley and Jackson leaving hurts a bit, but they still have a nice squad, I think Herard is eligible from January on.

Yes, I think that is the depth chart, and they better make the NCAA tournament next season, or that could be it for Turgeon. They are recruiting Tariq Owens, the shot-blocker who played at St. Johns - as a graduate transfer - I guess it's insurance in case Fernando goes into the draft - though I have not heard that he will.

[clyde21]

Starting to look like Triple J might come back and strengthen this class quite a bit

Why would he go back to the cesspool that is Michigan St.? That school is a step away from being sanctioned a death sentence. He needs to declare. There's no way his stock is going to get better than it is this year, either.

[The-Power]

Not overly in love with the upcoming freshman class thus far.

From the footage I have seen of Quentin Grimes (HS games), he would be my ‘freshman sleeper‘ this year. If he can show me some consistency on his long range jumper, and the tools are there, then he has the chance to really climb the ladder. One of the more intriguing prospects who could rank very high on my big board next year – he has a great combination tools for the next level.

Still not sold on Zion at all. For the time being, this is a class with Barrett and Reddish at the top for me. Zion might belong in the next tier but even that I'm not sure about yet. Grimes, Little and arguably Keldon Johnson are all more or equally interesting in my eyes, at least for now. I also like Tre Jones but he looks more like a steady PG that I'd love to have on my team rather than someone who could really move the needle.

I'm going to look for more High School footage of the guys I've just mentioned. Anyone else you'd recommend scouting in more detail because you consider him a top 5/10 talent? I'm open to any input.

edit: Not in love with Bol Bol and Langford – both guys I've seen quite a bit of – either fwiw.

[anthony00]

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[No-Man]

I'm going to look for more High School footage of the guys I've just mentioned. Anyone else you'd recommend scouting in more detail because you consider him a top 5/10 talent? I'm open to any input.

Jaylen Hoard, Devon Dotson, Naz Reid, Reggie Perry, Darius Bazley, Sticks Smith, Simi $hittu, Darius Days, Emmitt Williams

[nolang1]

Darius Bazley decommits from Syracuse and is going to play in the G league. I like the move for him as his calling card's going to be as a multi-positional defender, which he wouldn't really be able to showcase in a 2-3 zone.

Really any raw, skinny one-and-done player is going to benefit more from a year of NBA strength + conditioning and skill development than being pigeonholed as an offensive rebounder/finisher to help a college team win a couple more games.