Marcus wrote:ManualRam wrote:so i got e-mailed some footage of dennis smith from adidas gauntlet... and um, wow.
i might get into more detail later, but initial impression is really, really good, like in the mix for top 5 in his class good.
he's much better than seventh woods is right now, who played in another event this past w/e and supposedly looked passive and mediocre overall despite his athleticism. that's kinda how i described him after seeing him last summer for team usa. i think he's trying too hard to be a "pure pg."
Yeah the youtube clips of Smith's high school team versus Woods' is what drew me in. He obviously had a better squad around him but i didn't see much of anything else that would make Woods the better prospect outside of unworldly gifts. Smith looked like the better ball player and im guessing that still remains the case.
I was thinking about the influx of talented bigmen the league SHOULD be seeing in the near future and how the wing play should also gain some depth with the upcoming classes over the next few years. Which led me to think that the deepest position in the league right now (the PG) might be in for a drought as far as superstar talent. This year's class isn't very deep and it would appear that Mudiay might the only one on the horizon within the next few years with the ability to reach that status. What say you?
as far as superstar talent, you're right. there aren't that many PGs coming up with that type of potential. i try not to limit my discussions about prospects to superstar potential because i have a very strict definition of superstar and because they are so rare. to me a superstar is a player who can single-handedly change the fortunes of a franchise. there are some players in the league, past and present, who have been labeled as superstars, but i wouldn't. i think achieving superstar status at the PG position is even more difficult to achieve than other positions because of the responsibilities of the position and because of the size of the players. i tend to agree with barkley when he says that on a championship contending team, the most dominant player on the team shouldn't be the PG. it's too difficult of a task to manage the responsibilities of a PG, being physically dominant at that size and carrying the scoring load. we've seen this in recent yrs in the playoffs to good effect, but opposing teams can and do go bigger on really good scoring PGs, lowering their effectiveness as scorers.
while there aren't many PGs coming up with superstar talent, i believe there are a few with all-star type potential. i already mentioned rysheed jordan, who i think is being slept on for the 2015 draft. the strength of the near-term PG classes will depend on the direction that the combo guards go. there seem to be a lot of combos or shorter SGs who might have the potential to be full-time PGs. malik newman is a scoring dynamo who has hinted at eventually making the transition to the point. same story for tyler dorsey who's widely considered top 10 in 2015 as well (i'm not as high on him as an nba prospect though). isaiah briscoe's another prolific scoring combo. i'd put him in the same boat. they're all really good scorers who mostly play on the ball. with the proliferation of scoring PGs, isn't that all that matters to be considered a PG these days? well, that and being able to defend the opposing PG. when looking at the current upcoming guard crop with that view, the depth of the position doesn't look so bad.
one 2015 PG that i like who doesn't fit the aforementioned mold is justin simon out of cali. he's got dimensions similar to exum, 6'5 with super long arms, very good defender, not as fast but plays with better pace and i think is the better playmaker at the same stage.
2016, i like derryck thornton a lot, but i already mentioned him.
there's also lonzo ball who's already committed to ucla. i need to see more of him in game action, but he's another super long point with a funky game. deep range and plays with a lot of flair, but looks like he's too loosey-goosey for my taste.
