RealGM

Anyone know much about this guy? Is there a place for him in the NBA?

Depends if you buy his shot. If you do he's a decent scorer who can create for others without major defensive flags. Personally I don't buy the shot.

eminence wrote:Depends if you buy his shot. If you do he's a decent scorer who can create for others without major defensive flags. Personally I don't buy the shot.

I mean he’s 19, his shot is definitely developable at that age. And he has a tendency to be a hot and cold player so it’s not like he can’t sink a series of shots in a row.

the biggest issue I saw was shot selection.....which killed his shooting %'s.

MachoMan wrote:the biggest issue I saw was shot selection.....which killed his shooting %'s.

There is no such thing as shot selection on 16-17 team

Any updated thoughts? Didn't follow this draft class but his rankings from draft dudes are all over the place. I've seen him as high as 18 and low as 64. Since the Rockets signed him I'm curious. Did shoot pretty well given a seemingly shaky shot selection last season (from what little info I have)

K_chile22 wrote:Any updated thoughts? Didn't follow this draft class but his rankings from draft dudes are all over the place. I've seen him as high as 18 and low as 64. Since the Rockets signed him I'm curious. Did shoot pretty well given a seemingly shaky shot selection last season (from what little info I have)

There's no doubt he should've been drafted, I'm at a loss why he didn't. Was obviously on most top 60 boards but in particular I know many draftniks had him as a late 1st/early 2nd. I think I personally had him early 2nd.

He can pass, he's an active defender (if undersized), and he shot the ball pretty well this season.

Don't see why he can't become a decent backup in the league.

Also you guys picked up William McDowell-White, who I'm rooting for (Aussie connection). Had a bit of talk surrounding him last year but he's had his momentum stalled due to injuries over the past 12 months. But he has an exceptional feel for the game, pretty quick, is a solid defender with good size for PG (6'5). The shooting is considered a bit of a question mark, he certainly hasn't proven it, but I feel like the form is pretty encouraging.

GimmeDat wrote:

K_chile22 wrote:Any updated thoughts? Didn't follow this draft class but his rankings from draft dudes are all over the place. I've seen him as high as 18 and low as 64. Since the Rockets signed him I'm curious. Did shoot pretty well given a seemingly shaky shot selection last season (from what little info I have)

There's no doubt he should've been drafted, I'm at a loss why he didn't. Was obviously on most top 60 boards but in particular I know many draftniks had him as a late 1st/early 2nd. I think I personally had him early 2nd.

He can pass, he's an active defender (if undersized), and he shot the ball pretty well this season.

Don't see why he can't become a decent backup in the league.

Also you guys picked up William McDowell-White, who I'm rooting for (Aussie connection). Had a bit of talk surrounding him last year but he's had his momentum stalled due to injuries over the past 12 months. But he has an exceptional feel for the game, pretty quick, is a solid defender with good size for PG (6'5). The shooting is considered a bit of a question mark, he certainly hasn't proven it, but I feel like the form is pretty encouraging.

I'm gonna be honest, from what I've seen of WMW I'm not encouraged but hopefully you're on to something lol

I'm thinking he was refusing to sign an exhibit 10/2-way and that backup PG isn't a very valuable position in the league right now are the main reasons he fell all the way out

bwgood77 wrote:Anyone know much about this guy? Is there a place for him in the NBA?

He definitely should have been drafted. I did a “Game Tape” series where I cut up every possession a player was majorly involved for a single game for a bunch of the prospects. Here’s Ponds tape:

GimmeDat wrote:
There's no doubt he should've been drafted, I'm at a loss why he didn't. Was obviously on most top 60 boards but in particular I know many draftniks had him as a late 1st/early 2nd. I think I personally had him early 2nd.

He can pass, he's an active defender (if undersized), and he shot the ball pretty well this season.

Don't see why he can't become a decent backup in the league.

Also you guys picked up William McDowell-White, who I'm rooting for (Aussie connection). Had a bit of talk surrounding him last year but he's had his momentum stalled due to injuries over the past 12 months. But he has an exceptional feel for the game, pretty quick, is a solid defender with good size for PG (6'5). The shooting is considered a bit of a question mark, he certainly hasn't proven it, but I feel like the form is pretty encouraging.

We have hindsight, but I think it's pretty easy to tell why he wasn't drafted.

Let's look at him from a physical standpoint. He's 6'1 180lbs with a 6'3.5 wingspan. Sounds like a bulky PG right? But he has the 2nd highest body fat from the draft combine at 9.8%. To give you some perspective, Carsen Edwards has 5.5% body fat, Tremont Waters is at 6.6%, and Kyle Guy is at 5.7%. Straight up, Ponds is out of shape for a PG. He is also one of the slower PGs in this draft.

So far, we have an undersized and chunky PG who's one of the slower ones in this class.

Going to his game, he has a ton of talent and skill. Very good ball handler with ways to score all over the floor at the three levels. He even draws fouls at a good rate. Despite my earlier critiques on his quickness, he actually does a great job stopping on dimes to get his shot off. However, his shot selection is extremely bad. He takes a lot of contested shots and plays almost like a brand of street ball. It's a bit ISO-oriented. He can be very flashy, but how much substance? His 3pt shot is extremely inconsistent. He heavily relies on his lower body strength to get his shot off. His passing is solid, but he's a score-first PG who looks to pass only when his shot isn't there rather than trying to create for his teammates.

Good versatile scorer, but has poor shot selection. He's also very inconsistent with the 3 ball. He's a ball-dominant player.
So in the end, you have a ball dominant, undersized, chunkier, chucker who struggles with his 3 ball and has average IQ. He's also pretty much a defensive liability. What desirable trait does he have aside from his scoring ability that lacks a consistent 3pt shot? I think he really needs to work on his shot and trim down the fat. Maybe he can have a FVV path to the NBA, but it comes down to him.

916fan wrote:

GimmeDat wrote:
There's no doubt he should've been drafted, I'm at a loss why he didn't. Was obviously on most top 60 boards but in particular I know many draftniks had him as a late 1st/early 2nd. I think I personally had him early 2nd.

He can pass, he's an active defender (if undersized), and he shot the ball pretty well this season.

Don't see why he can't become a decent backup in the league.

Also you guys picked up William McDowell-White, who I'm rooting for (Aussie connection). Had a bit of talk surrounding him last year but he's had his momentum stalled due to injuries over the past 12 months. But he has an exceptional feel for the game, pretty quick, is a solid defender with good size for PG (6'5). The shooting is considered a bit of a question mark, he certainly hasn't proven it, but I feel like the form is pretty encouraging.

We have hindsight, but I think it's pretty easy to tell why he wasn't drafted.

Let's look at him from a physical standpoint. He's 6'1 180lbs with a 6'3.5 wingspan. Sounds like a bulky PG right? But he has the 2nd highest body fat from the draft combine at 9.8%. To give you some perspective, Carsen Edwards has 5.5% body fat, Tremont Waters is at 6.6%, and Kyle Guy is at 5.7%. Straight up, Ponds is out of shape for a PG. He is also one of the slower PGs in this draft.

So far, we have an undersized and chunky PG who's one of the slower ones in this class.

Going to his game, he has a ton of talent and skill. Very good ball handler with ways to score all over the floor at the three levels. He even draws fouls at a good rate. Despite my earlier critiques on his quickness, he actually does a great job stopping on dimes to get his shot off. However, his shot selection is extremely bad. He takes a lot of contested shots and plays almost like a brand of street ball. It's a bit ISO-oriented. He can be very flashy, but how much substance? His 3pt shot is extremely inconsistent. He heavily relies on his lower body strength to get his shot off. His passing is solid, but he's a score-first PG who looks to pass only when his shot isn't there rather than trying to create for his teammates.

Good versatile scorer, but has poor shot selection. He's also very inconsistent with the 3 ball. He's a ball-dominant player.
So in the end, you have a ball dominant, undersized, chunkier, chucker who struggles with his 3 ball and has average IQ. He's also pretty much a defensive liability. What desirable trait does he have aside from his scoring ability that lacks a consistent 3pt shot? I think he really needs to work on his shot and trim down the fat. Maybe he can have a FVV path to the NBA, but it comes down to him.

Body fat % has to be a lack of muscle thing. Have you seen the dude? He's pretty wiry. A lot of people I've heard say he needs to add (good) weight. He's anything but chubby. Lack of muscle is a concern though but from what I've seen he plays pretty strong on offense. He could lose some bad weight and put on some good weight but I would not call him chubby lol

Edit: for example, Moses Brown has the 9th highest BF% in the draft class and that dude is bones

K_chile22 wrote:

916fan wrote:

GimmeDat wrote:
There's no doubt he should've been drafted, I'm at a loss why he didn't. Was obviously on most top 60 boards but in particular I know many draftniks had him as a late 1st/early 2nd. I think I personally had him early 2nd.

He can pass, he's an active defender (if undersized), and he shot the ball pretty well this season.

Don't see why he can't become a decent backup in the league.

Also you guys picked up William McDowell-White, who I'm rooting for (Aussie connection). Had a bit of talk surrounding him last year but he's had his momentum stalled due to injuries over the past 12 months. But he has an exceptional feel for the game, pretty quick, is a solid defender with good size for PG (6'5). The shooting is considered a bit of a question mark, he certainly hasn't proven it, but I feel like the form is pretty encouraging.

We have hindsight, but I think it's pretty easy to tell why he wasn't drafted.

Let's look at him from a physical standpoint. He's 6'1 180lbs with a 6'3.5 wingspan. Sounds like a bulky PG right? But he has the 2nd highest body fat from the draft combine at 9.8%. To give you some perspective, Carsen Edwards has 5.5% body fat, Tremont Waters is at 6.6%, and Kyle Guy is at 5.7%. Straight up, Ponds is out of shape for a PG. He is also one of the slower PGs in this draft.

So far, we have an undersized and chunky PG who's one of the slower ones in this class.

Going to his game, he has a ton of talent and skill. Very good ball handler with ways to score all over the floor at the three levels. He even draws fouls at a good rate. Despite my earlier critiques on his quickness, he actually does a great job stopping on dimes to get his shot off. However, his shot selection is extremely bad. He takes a lot of contested shots and plays almost like a brand of street ball. It's a bit ISO-oriented. He can be very flashy, but how much substance? His 3pt shot is extremely inconsistent. He heavily relies on his lower body strength to get his shot off. His passing is solid, but he's a score-first PG who looks to pass only when his shot isn't there rather than trying to create for his teammates.

Good versatile scorer, but has poor shot selection. He's also very inconsistent with the 3 ball. He's a ball-dominant player.
So in the end, you have a ball dominant, undersized, chunkier, chucker who struggles with his 3 ball and has average IQ. He's also pretty much a defensive liability. What desirable trait does he have aside from his scoring ability that lacks a consistent 3pt shot? I think he really needs to work on his shot and trim down the fat. Maybe he can have a FVV path to the NBA, but it comes down to him.

Body fat % has to be a lack of muscle thing. Have you seen the dude? He's pretty wiry. A lot of people I've heard say he needs to add (good) weight. He's anything but chubby. Lack of muscle is a concern though but from what I've seen he plays pretty strong on offense. He could lose some bad weight and put on some good weight but I would not call him chubby lol

Edit: for example, Moses Brown has the 9th highest BF% in the draft class and that dude is bones

No matter how you try to sugar coat it, 9.8% is atrocious. There was a late PG run between picks 51-57.. Tremont Waters, Justin Wright-Foreman(combo), Kyle Guy(combo), Jaylen Hands, and Jordan Bone. Wright-Foreman wasn't at the combine, but the highest body fat among this group is Tremont Waters at 6.6%.

Why wouln't you call him chubby? 9.8% body fat dude. Carsen Edwars is 6'0 at 200lbs, 20lbs on Ponds, yet his body fat is only 5.5%.

You can't take the NBA body fat % seriously. There are always like up to 10 guys with a below 5% body fat, which sounds kinda insane. Aren't the best bodybuilders around 3,x-5,x% when they are entering a competition? And they don't walk around around that percentage all the time