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I myself go to IU and have seen firsthand how good some of our players are and I'd like to know what everyone else thinks without my home team bias clouding my judgement.

Specifically these are the four players that I feel have potential of being drafted someday:

Point Guard, Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell : I see a good ball handler and playmaker, excellent 3pt shooter (42% on the season), a good leader who without a doubt is the driving force for IU playing as well as we have this season. Averaging 17/4/5 on 45/42/82. I'd compare him to a more disciplined Aaron Brooks with more mass.

Shooting Guard, James Blackmon Jr. : He only played in 13 games this year due to injury but man can this guy score. He can score inside, from midrange, and 3 (46% on 80 attempts so a decent sample size). Heard that he's lacking defensively but I see a pure scorer in him.

Small Forward, Troy Williams : Earlier in the season he was pegged as a potential top 20/25 pick in the draft but his inconsistent play has done a number on his stock I feel. Troy's a phenomenal athlete that thrives in transition and playing downhill. He's turnover/bad decision making prone, but I also think he has a better jump shot (33% from 3) than he was criticized for earlier in the year. I see a potential 3&D guy out of him.

Center/Power Forward, Thomas Bryant : Our heralded top recruit coming into the year hasn't disappointed. I feel he doesn't get enough touches (11ppg/6rpg in 23 mpg) but he's a crucial part to our offense and improved defense the second part of the season. Defensively he gets caught in no-man's land in pick and roll situations sometimes and struggles to hold his ground against some of the bigger centers in the Big 10 (Hammons and Stone specifically from what I saw). Offensively, I think the kid is going to be solid. He mainly scores from post-ups, put backs, and off dump passes following a drive in the lane. He even led the nation in FG% at one point. He's also shown 3 point range (5-11) including a sweet step back 3 last night against Maryland. His shooting splits are 69/67/45.


TLDR; What do you guys think about Ferrell, Blackmon, Williams, and Bryant?

The best prospect on that team is OG Anunoby and it is not even close.
Blackmon, Troy and Bryant should go back to school, they are not ready for the pros and they can improve their stock, I think Bryant should be a 3 year player and Blackmon maybe 4.

Yogi is interesting, superquick and can shoot but still has some questionable decision making and the guy cant defend, I think he can make it, but might go undrafted.

Robert Johnson is good also.

Fischella wrote:The best prospect on that team is OG Anunoby and it is not even close.
Blackmon, Troy and Bryant should go back to school, they are not ready for the pros and they can improve their stock, I think Bryant should be a 3 year player and Blackmon maybe 4.

Yogi is interesting, superquick and can shoot but still has some questionable decision making and the guy cant defend, I think he can make it, but might go undrafted.

Robert Johnson is good also.

Agreed that they should go back to school, just looking for outside opinions nonetheless.


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I would like to see a Blackmon-Johnson-Williams-Anunoby-Bryant lineup next season.
James needs to develop some PG skills and OG is so versatile and god knows IU needs to improve defensively.

Morgan is good, Newkirk will play and Niego and Hartman can offer you depth, that is a solid 9 men rotation, they have a few guys coming but I think I havent really seen any of them, De'Ron Davis rings a bell as an athletic big, that was high in the rankings before, and the others are Guards, maybe they can get a cople ofplayers from them.

sterfry94 wrote:What do you guys think about Ferrell, Blackmon, Williams, and Bryant?

Maybe one or two players compare to Ferrell (Berea first and Nelson second, imo).

Also, there are around 15 active players under 6' in the NBA--less if you use their height in shoes. That's out of 450 active players, so about 3% of the league.

With that said, if he can consistently knock down NBA 3's--say at 40%--and rededicate himself to defense, I can see him making a roster.

I like Williams. Has very impressive physical tools. 3pt shot isn't horrible

My opinion from least likely to make the NBA to most likely - looking at just those four players.

Ferrell seems like a guy who might make a good backup PG. Not sure his skills will translate well into the NBA - but he's got a shot and once in a while, someone is better in the NBA than in college, so it's hard to say.

Blackmon has the talent as a shooter, but he's rather short for an NBA SG - he'd probably need to become a PG and he doesn't seem to have that mindset, so it's hard to see him being drafted, but he might make a team because shooting can always be used.

Williams seems like a complete player on offense and defense - he seems able to do everything - except stay focused - if he isn't applying himself, he gets lost - scouts use the word "inconsistent" when discussing his shooting and passing and defense and rebounding and and and - if he can develop consistency, he might be a wow-factor in the NBA.

Bryant would seem to have the best shot at the NBA - he'd be a PF but with that massive wingspan, he could cover some centers and be a good rim protector - he's young and needs some weight.

DubCeeSwag wrote:

sterfry94 wrote:What do you guys think about Ferrell, Blackmon, Williams, and Bryant?

Maybe one or two players compare to Ferrell (Berea first and Nelson second, imo). Also, there are around 15 active players under 6' in the NBA--less if you use their height in shoes. That's out of 450 active players, so about 3% of the league. With that said, if he can consistently knock down NBA 3's--say at 40%--and rededicate himself to defense, I can see him making a roster.

Those are pretty good comps to start with. If you're that small and you're mostly a scorer, you have to be pretty lights out (and have a big ol' bag of tricks) to be useful in the NBA. E.g., Aaron Brooks who's just barely hanging on in the NBA despite constantly making difficult shots and understanding space and pace really really well. It's just a lot harder to do basic NBA things when you're that size, and there are always other options if you're not delivering right away. You've got to have super skill + inventiveness and/or perfect decision-making. I wouldn't bet on Ferell getting there, but of course you never know how players will develop, and he has the speed/athleticism and shot to have a chance.

By the way, there are only about 25 players in the league who shoot 40% from 3 (out of those that are real rotation players), so that seems pretty optimistic. Be a big boost if he can be an elite NBA shooter though.

I don't consider Yogi superquick like a number of small guards in the NBA such as Ish Smith and others. He's more like J.J. Barea type quick. But he can hit the long ball and is a better passer and sees the floor better than Barea.