RealGM

Carter Bryant
Liam McNeeley
Will Riley

I listed them above in alphabetical order.

Bryant

Riley
McNeeley

I think Bryant is firmly in the top 10 with a solid argument for top 5. Riley is a clear first-round talent but not in the first half for me (though I can understand the argument). McNeeley I have as a borderline FRP type of prospect.

bryant is one of those guys who you barely notice is on the floor. he does nothing. guys salivate because he's tall, athletic and can shoot when he's wide open (that's the only time he shoots - doesn't create anything on his own). iow, the physical characteristics are there, but he doesn't know how to play.

last night's game was like the most typical game ever for him - 7 points, 2-5 FGs, 4 of the 5 FGAs were three point attempts (he's basically just standing around waiting to receive a pass), a 5 rebs (not terrible), 0 assists and his defense was okay. again, mostly invisible, but he hey, he looks good in a basketball uniform and did knock down 2 of those wide open attempts.

he's like the 6'6" 235 lb QB with a huge arm who can't read a defense or make decisions.

I'd go Riley, McNeeley, Bryant.

SeattleJazzFan wrote:bryant is one of those guys who you barely notice is on the floor. he does nothing. guys salivate because he's tall, athletic and can shoot when he's wide open (that's the only time he shoots - doesn't create anything on his own).

You only barely notice him when you don't care to watch defense. Bryant has the potential to be an elite defender who comes close to being able to switch 1-5. That's his primary calling card and yet you have not mentioned defense with a single word.

There's also a difference between being only able to hit wide open shots and being primarily a catch-and-shoot player. Bryant is the latter (also by design) but he can absolutely shoot 3s when opponents are closing out on him. And at his age and size, he's only going to be better at it with time. He'll space the floor.

So yeah, a strongly built 6'8+ player with potentially elite defense who reliably stretches the floor is a player every NBA team covets and at worst a lottery pick even if he never develops much of an on-ball game. I would be absolutely shocked if he's not a long-time NBA player who's coveted by teams.

The-Power wrote:

SeattleJazzFan wrote:bryant is one of those guys who you barely notice is on the floor. he does nothing. guys salivate because he's tall, athletic and can shoot when he's wide open (that's the only time he shoots - doesn't create anything on his own).

You only barely notice him when you don't care to watch defense. Bryant has the potential to be an elite defender who comes close to being able to switch 1-5. That's his primary calling card and yet you have not mentioned defense with a single word.

There's also a difference between being only able to hit wide open shots and being primarily a catch-and-shoot player. Bryant is the latter (also by design) but he can absolutely shoot 3s when opponents are closing out on him. And at his age and size, he's only going to be better at it with time. He'll space the floor.

So yeah, a strongly built 6'8+ player with potentially elite defense who reliably stretches the floor is a player every NBA team covets and at worst a lottery pick even if he never develops much of an on-ball game. I would be absolutely shocked if he's not a long-time NBA player who's coveted by teams.

i literally mentioned his defense in my post above - it's pretty much all i focus on when i watch him (because otherwise his play on the other side of the ball will put you to sleep). his defensive is fine, nothing to write home about. he's wildly overrated. but we can argue until we're blue in the face. time will tell.

SeattleJazzFan wrote:i literally mentioned his defense in my post above - it's pretty much all i focus on when i watch him (because otherwise his play on the other side of the ball will put you to sleep). his defensive is fine, nothing to write home about. he's wildly overrated. but we can argue until we're blue in the face. time will tell.

Fair, you mentioned it when it came to yesterday's game (in a one-word summary) but not when it comes to him as a player. It's fine if you disagree regarding his defense, of course, but when you talk about why other people like him, you shouldn't leave out the single biggest reason why people like him (or should like him).

Being tall, athletic and able to shoot is certainly a big part of the appeal but the biggest part of the appeal is how he uses his length and athleticism on defense. With Bryant, the ability to shoot and finish what allows him to have a role on offense and a long career. But it all boils down to his defense right now. You build everything else from there and see how far that takes you.

1º-Carter Bryant
2º-Will Riley
3º- Liam McNeeley

SeattleJazzFan wrote:

The-Power wrote:

SeattleJazzFan wrote:bryant is one of those guys who you barely notice is on the floor. he does nothing. guys salivate because he's tall, athletic and can shoot when he's wide open (that's the only time he shoots - doesn't create anything on his own).

You only barely notice him when you don't care to watch defense. Bryant has the potential to be an elite defender who comes close to being able to switch 1-5. That's his primary calling card and yet you have not mentioned defense with a single word.

There's also a difference between being only able to hit wide open shots and being primarily a catch-and-shoot player. Bryant is the latter (also by design) but he can absolutely shoot 3s when opponents are closing out on him. And at his age and size, he's only going to be better at it with time. He'll space the floor.

So yeah, a strongly built 6'8+ player with potentially elite defense who reliably stretches the floor is a player every NBA team covets and at worst a lottery pick even if he never develops much of an on-ball game. I would be absolutely shocked if he's not a long-time NBA player who's coveted by teams.

i literally mentioned his defense in my post above - it's pretty much all i focus on when i watch him (because otherwise his play on the other side of the ball will put you to sleep). his defensive is fine, nothing to write home about. he's wildly overrated. but we can argue until we're blue in the face. time will tell.

I feel like you're letting bias in the way since you're a BYU fan and we had an incident...is that what's happening here?

Riley
Bryant
McNeeley

But admittedly have not seen Bryant since he started breaking out.

azcatz11 wrote:

SeattleJazzFan wrote:

The-Power wrote:You only barely notice him when you don't care to watch defense. Bryant has the potential to be an elite defender who comes close to being able to switch 1-5. That's his primary calling card and yet you have not mentioned defense with a single word.

There's also a difference between being only able to hit wide open shots and being primarily a catch-and-shoot player. Bryant is the latter (also by design) but he can absolutely shoot 3s when opponents are closing out on him. And at his age and size, he's only going to be better at it with time. He'll space the floor.

So yeah, a strongly built 6'8+ player with potentially elite defense who reliably stretches the floor is a player every NBA team covets and at worst a lottery pick even if he never develops much of an on-ball game. I would be absolutely shocked if he's not a long-time NBA player who's coveted by teams.

i literally mentioned his defense in my post above - it's pretty much all i focus on when i watch him (because otherwise his play on the other side of the ball will put you to sleep). his defensive is fine, nothing to write home about. he's wildly overrated. but we can argue until we're blue in the face. time will tell.

I feel like you're letting bias in the way since you're a BYU fan and we had an incident...is that what's happening here?

if i have a bias - and this probably is literally a blind spot for me in terms of the draft - it's against guys who don't produce. against last night. 5 points in an 86 point game (but what's crazy is that's about his average - he had 5 points and that's a normal game) he's an afterthought on that arizona team. he's just there. invisible. also 5 fouls in 20 minutes. just not a fan of prospects who you barely know they are out there. his biggest impact last night was fouling people.

babyjax13 wrote:Riley
Bryant
McNeeley

But admittedly have not seen Bryant since he started breaking out.

Yep.

Would draft Riley after 15.

Bryant and McNeeley not until after 25.

You’ve got be able to do something on ball. If not you better be an incredible shooter or incredible defender. Riley has on ball chops.