Brandon Miller - Alabama

EMG518 · Post #61 » by **EMG518** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:49 am

I'm not sure where I would take him yet but I like him.

Caught the highlights from today's game, the guy at the very least has good size, length, moves well on defense, plays pretty composed, willing passer, and can really shoot.

Is he the best athlete, no. I think he can learn to use his size/length better on offense and should be able to improve as an athlete as he gets older.

I can't see him not being in the lottery. Too much to work with.

JTG_92940618 · Post #62 » by **JTG_92940618** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:42 am

I'm not sure how much it matters and he's certainly a good prospect but I think he's up to 21 assists and 25 turnovers for the season now.

Catchall · Post #63 » by **Catchall** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 10:05 pm

EMG518 wrote:I'm not sure where I would take him yet but I like him.

Caught the highlights from today's game, the guy at the very least has good size, length, moves well on defense, plays pretty composed, willing passer, and can really shoot.

Is he the best athlete, no. I think he can learn to use his size/length better on offense and should be able to improve as an athlete as he gets older.

I can't see him not being in the lottery. Too much to work with.

I think he goes in the 9-12 range and teams basically treat him as the Cam Johnson of this draft. If he can keep developing more dimensions to his game, then great, but he'll be out there to space the floor and shoot off the catch.

EMG518 · Post #64 » by **EMG518** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 4:51 am

Catchall wrote:
EMG518 wrote:I'm not sure where I would take him yet but I like him.

Caught the highlights from today's game, the guy at the very least has good size, length, moves well on defense, plays pretty composed, willing passer, and can really shoot.

Is he the best athlete, no. I think he can learn to use his size/length better on offense and should be able to improve as an athlete as he gets older.

I can't see him not being in the lottery. Too much to work with.

I think he goes in the 9-12 range and teams basically treat him as the Cam Johnson of this draft. If he can keep developing more dimensions to his game, then great, but he'll be out there to space the floor and shoot off the catch.

I get the point but disagree. Has alot more potential than Cam Johnson and I'm not ready to give a draft range outside of he is going in the lottery but I don't see teams looking at him like that. He is literally shooting as well as Cam Johnson did from 3 and the stipe in his freshman year compared to Cam in his 5th year while scoring significantly more.

SeattleJazzFan · Post #65 » by **SeattleJazzFan** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 3:05 pm

he's damn good and will be even better with nba spacing. i still think he's in the conversation for top 5 or 6.

The-Power · Post #66 » by **The-Power** » Wed Jan 4, 2023 6:53 am

I'm hard-pressed to come up with 5 better prospects in this draft. Just a very valuable profile and he continues to deliver. His 2P% is also trending upwards. Which team doesn't want a 6'8-6'9 Forward that can space the floor, pull up for 3s, create a bit for himself and others, and rebound?

NYPiston · Post #67 » by **NYPiston** » Wed Jan 4, 2023 2:35 pm

The-Power wrote:I'm hard-pressed to come up with 5 better prospects in this draft. Just a very valuable profile and he continues to deliver. His 2P% is also trending upwards. Which team doesn't want a 6'8-6'9 Forward that can space the floor, pull up for 3s, create a bit for himself and others, and rebound?

In a WIDE open draft after the top 2 and with none of these second tier prospects showing much of anything, Miller has as good a case as any of them to go #3 right now. Of course it's a very fluid situation but he's shown the most on the court of any of these other guys, projection might be another story. It's looking like a pretty weak draft after the top 2 in these early days.

The-Power · Post #68 » by **The-Power** » Wed Jan 4, 2023 2:49 pm

NYPiston wrote:
The-Power wrote:I'm hard-pressed to come up with 5 better prospects in this draft. Just a very valuable profile and he continues to deliver. His 2P% is also trending upwards. Which team doesn't want a 6'8-6'9 Forward that can space the floor, pull up for 3s, create a bit for himself and others, and rebound?

In a WIDE open draft after the top 2 and with none of these second tier prospects showing much of anything, Miller has as good a case as any of them to go #3 right now. Of course it's a very fluid situation but he's shown the most on the court of any of these other guys, projection might be another story. It's looking like a pretty weak draft after the top 2 in these early days.

I agree with the first part. Miller has indeed a solid argument for #3 even though a couple others do as well. I would disagree with the second part. I don't think it's a ‘weak’ draft after the top 2. Compared to most drafts, I actually think this draft shapes out to be pretty solid in the early and mid-lottery.

NYPiston · Post #69 » by **NYPiston** » Wed Jan 4, 2023 5:24 pm

The-Power wrote:

I agree with the first part. Miller has indeed a solid argument for #3 even though a couple others do as well. I would disagree with the second part. I don't think it's a ‘weak’ draft after the top 2. Compared to most drafts, I actually think this draft shapes out to be pretty solid in the early and mid-lottery.

This draft was pretty hyped even beyond Victor and Scoot but I feel it's a lot more projection than production at this point. Whitmore, Whitehead, the Arkansas duo, not really much going on there early on in terms of standing out on court. The Thompson twins play in a league that's almost impossible to project forward because the competition is so weak, Jackson is very toolsy but raw, George has been fine, Walker meh. Nobody really standing out outside of Miller and Wallace (really like him) of the mid to high lottery guys.
Still early days though so these observations could change week to week or even daily. I just think there was more meat on the bone in the top 5 of the previous few drafts at this point in the season.

The-Power · Post #70 » by **The-Power** » Thu Jan 5, 2023 1:50 am

NYPiston wrote:
The-Power wrote:

I agree with the first part. Miller has indeed a solid argument for #3 even though a couple others do as well. I would disagree with the second part. I don't think it's a ‘weak’ draft after the top 2. Compared to most drafts, I actually think this draft shapes out to be pretty solid in the early and mid-lottery.

This draft was pretty hyped even beyond Victor and Scoot but I feel it's a lot more projection than production at this point. Whitmore, Whitehead, the Arkansas duo, not really much going on there early on in terms of standing out on court. The Thompson twins play in a league that's almost impossible to project forward because the competition is so weak, Jackson is very toolsy but raw, George has been fine, Walker meh. Nobody really standing out outside of Miller and Wallace (really like him) of the mid to high lottery guys.
Still early days though so these observations could change week to week or even daily. I just think there was more meat on the bone in the top 5 of the previous few drafts at this point in the season.

I think you undersell Black and Whitmore here when you put them in a category with Whitehead and Smith Jr. It's early for Whitmore, but both of them have played good basketball and flashed some high-level performances. Also, I'd definitely add Jett Howard to that list.

In terms of top 7, I feel quite comfortable at this point with Victor, Scoot, Miller, Black and Whitmore. Besides the top 2, none of them is ‘safe’ in it but I very likely have them there if they just continue the season like this. Then add two of George, Howard and Walker. Perhaps Hendricks and Wallace, maybe Lewis for some. Plus you can choose from three appealing (to a broader audience) but riskier picks in the Thompson twins and Jackson if you feel like swinging. That's a pretty solid collection of talent to choose from if you're a top 7.

I suppose one of the problems of this draft is that the recruitment rankings look really bad right now. Here's the ESPN top 8.

1. Lively – not even in the lottery conversation (not even first round for me) and never warranted the hype imo
2. Whitehead – very disappointing thus far, and there were some really high expectations for him
3. Smith Jr. – hardly played but meh overall, but I also never understood the hype
4. Mitchell – I was a fan of his early on but this ranking was way clearly too high, and he has not shown much skill in Texas
5. Bailey – played more than Smith Jr. but similar issue; never understood why he was ranked this high
6. George – he's been playing as expected overall; less efficient but more playmaking flashes
7. Filipowski – strictly for college basketball – maybe; but he was never a top 7 NBA prospect out of high school
8. Ware – another big man that was a bit overhyped due to length and skill flashes, although I like him more than Lively

So that's just a lot of poor performances from the supposed top guys. But I think the rankings were just off. Now look at the next eight players.

9. Brandon Miller – clearly exceeded expectations
10. Walker – has been solid and should have been ranked higher from the start, imo
11. Walsh – okay-ish prospect but nothing more
12. Livingston – bad start to the season and hasn't played up to his ranking yet, but is progressing at least
13. Phillips – played up to or even outplayed his spot so far although it is very weird that his shot has not translated at all
14. Dick – very solid for Kansas, better than a lot of the top 8
15. Black – clearly outplayed his position and has been better than every single one in the top 8 with an intriguing profile to boot
16. Jackson – say what you will about his performances but he's certainly more intriguing than most in the top 8 right now

Then you have Wallace at 21, Whitmore at 22 (how on earth?), Howard at 44, Sensabaugh at 45 (maybe), and Hendricks at 59 who have either entered lottery conversations or are already established as obvious lottery talents.

Of course you'll see similar patterns every year but I thought last year was particularly egregious. And I can see how someone who was looking forward to watching all these top-ranked prospects in anticipation would come away very unimpressed and lower their opinion on this draft dramatically. But I think there have been enough players that have stepped up among the lower-ranked players that I consider this to be a pretty good Freshman class overall. I just don't think it's a historical lottery or top 10 as I've seen some people argue (I've pushed back against the idea myself).

BAMAFREAK · Post #71 » by **BAMAFREAK** » Sat Jan 7, 2023 9:09 pm

The Moose · Post #72 » by **The Moose** » Sun Jan 8, 2023 1:00 am

Had a 6 game stretch at the start of the season where he was 12/47 2pt (including an abysmal 9/31 at the rim)

Last 7 games he's at 24/44 2pt (16/24 at the rim)

Definitely growth there , while the 3pt shooting has stayed elite

SeattleJazzFan · Post #73 » by **SeattleJazzFan** » Mon Jan 9, 2023 3:03 pm

Miller just looks like a star. he's not always the most productive player on the floor (but damn close) but he's always the most most talented player on the floor. so, so good. Oats even has him bringing it up and initiating a bit more often lately. such a great prospect.

CptCrunch · Post #74 » by **CptCrunch** » Mon Jan 9, 2023 5:27 pm

Excuse my lazy comparison with former SEC shooting star Jabari Smith Jr, are you guys just shooting for a Jabari Smith Jr reroll or something?

This kid has worse steal, block, and assist rates than Jabari, who was as uni-faceted on offense as any PF prospect in recent history? He has a bit more wiggle, a bit better handle than Jabari at what cost? 2 years of effective age and a trade down from elite defense?

All of this offensive creation for what? 1.9 apg at negative assist to turnover ratio (2.3 tov)? Is he gonna play point forward in the league now?

SeattleJazzFan · Post #75 » by **SeattleJazzFan** » Mon Jan 9, 2023 5:43 pm

CptCrunch wrote:Excuse my lazy comparison with former SEC shooting star Jabari Smith Jr, are you guys just shooting for a Jabari Smith Jr reroll or something?

This kid has worst steal, block, and assist rates than Jabari, who was as uni-faceted on offense as any PF prospect in recent history? He has a bit more wiggle, a bit better handle than Jabari at what cost? 2 years of effective age and a trade down from elite defense?

All of this offensive creation for what? 1.9 apg at negative assist to turnover ratio (2.3 tov)? Is he gonna play point forward in the league now?

imo, that is valid. just looks like a different player to me. and don't forget, JSjr was the 2nd overall pick, in the discussion for #1 overall in a strong draft. he's not the worst guy for a prospect to be compared to.

BAMAFREAK · Post #76 » by **BAMAFREAK** » Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:13 pm

Having a day today. For sure third best prospect in this draft and probably fits most teams a lot better than Scoot. Not teams that will be picking that high but definitely already competing teams

The Moose · Post #77 » by **The Moose** » Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:13 pm

Read on Twitter

scoring evenly with a decent NCAA at half time seems pretty good

NYPiston · Post #78 » by **NYPiston** » Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:17 pm

Been saying this for a while, he's #3 for me. The way he shoots, moves and with that length, he has a very high floor and has franchise potential if he becomes more consistent with driving past defenders.

baldur · Post #79 » by **baldur** » Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:39 pm

Getting a lock at #3.

The Moose · Post #80 » by **The Moose** » Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:24 am

First 7 games : 18/55 2pt (32%)
Last 10 games : 31/52 2pt (61%)

Definitely trending in the right direction since that disaster against UNC