Brandon Knight Bandwagon Thread. John Wall Stats Compared

[HSOB SIRHC]

If you guys want Knight, would you consider trading down to the 5th spot to get him cheaper? It's very unlikely that the Cavs will draft 2 PG's.

[Hoops Addict]

Wall is superior to Knight with a much better handle. Wall is a natural point guard, very fast.....great passer.

I do like Knight and think he is a good, talented , smart guy......but he is no Wall

[Reckless]

If you guys want Knight, would you consider trading down to the 5th spot to get him cheaper? It's very unlikely that the Cavs will draft 2 PG's.

that is a real possibility, though you got to be careful because Cavs could trade that pick as well

[J_Ray]

I don't understand why people love Knight as a prospect so much? He is a nice prospect don't get me wrong, but his ceiling is probably no higher than Devin Harris. Knight has plenty to desire and he is no more of a true PG than Devin Harris. Knight shot an average 3pt percentage at 37%, which is far from elite and his assists don't suggest he'll be an elite NBA passer either. If Knight hadn't played in Calipari's perimeter friendly offense or even played for Calipari, I doubt he would seriously be getting this hype.

[Litany]

I don't understand why people love Knight as a prospect so much? He is a nice prospect don't get me wrong, but his ceiling is probably no higher than Devin Harris. Knight has plenty to desire and he is no more of a true PG than Devin Harris. Knight shot an average 3pt percentage at 37%, which is far from elite and his assists don't suggest he'll be an elite NBA passer either. If Knight hadn't played in Calipari's perimeter friendly offense or even played for Calipari, I doubt he would seriously be getting this hype.

I think everyone would agree that Jimmer is an elite 3-pt shooter right?

Well, Jimmer shot 33.3% from the 3-point line his freshman year. Knight shot 37.7% from the 3-point line his freshman year.

I think he on track to be come as good of a shooter. I don't get this concern with his shooting...

Also, his "hype" as you say isn't just about being under Calipari. He was dominant in high school and came out as a top recruit. He was ranked 4th overall by ESPN coming out of high school and 2nd in PG's.

About his assists, I don't know how to interpret his assists in college. I don't know what to think. Maybe it is low maybe it's a concern, but maybe not.

College assist #'s:

Knight: 4.2 asts 35.9 mins
D-Will: 4.5 asts 27.1 mins
Rose: 4.7 asts 29.2 mins
Nash freshman year: 2.2 asts 24.0 mins
Nash Sophomore year: 3.7 asts 29.9 mins

D-Will increased his assists his sophomore and junior seasons in more playing time.

Thoughts?

[J_Ray]

I don't understand why people love Knight as a prospect so much? He is a nice prospect don't get me wrong, but his ceiling is probably no higher than Devin Harris. Knight has plenty to desire and he is no more of a true PG than Devin Harris. Knight shot an average 3pt percentage at 37%, which is far from elite and his assists don't suggest he'll be an elite NBA passer either. If Knight hadn't played in Calipari's perimeter friendly offense or even played for Calipari, I doubt he would seriously be getting this hype.

I think everyone would agree that Jimmer is an elite 3-pt shooter right?

Well, Jimmer shot 33.3% from the 3-point line his freshman year. Knight shot 37.7% from the 3-point line his freshman year.

I think he on track to be come as good of a shooter. I don't get this concern with his shooting...

Also, his "hype" as you say isn't just about being under Calipari. He was dominant in high school and came out as a top recruit. He was ranked 4th overall by ESPN coming out of high school and 2nd in PG's.

About his assists, I don't know how to interpret his assists in college. I don't know what to think. Maybe it is low maybe it's a concern, but maybe not.

College assist #'s:

Knight: 4.2 asts 35.9 mins
D-Will: 4.5 asts 27.1 mins
Rose: 4.7 asts 29.2 mins
Nash freshman year: 2.2 asts 24.0 mins
Nash Sophomore year: 3.7 asts 29.9 mins

D-Will increased his assists his sophomore and junior seasons in more playing time.

Thoughts?

High School rankings go out the window once they get on campus unless you prove on the court you're good. Knight didn't regain steam until March while Irving and Kemba have been on top of the draft world all season long. The high school class he came in with terribly underachieved, and wasn't as good as previous classes. Knight gained a lot of hype towards the end of the year with Kentucky's tourney run and has rode it up mock boards.

[idajazz]

I honestly don't get why folks think we need a point guard so bad. We have an all star point on the team, Ya sure the last part of the season with Harris wasn't impressive, but with all the other crap going on and the injuries I don't think he got much of a chance to show much.

My thought is with a pick as high as 3 if I'm drafting a point guard he better be in the Rose, Paul, Williams class otherwise I'm going big.

I have a gut feeling that Williams is going to fall in our lap, if not I would rather take Kanter.

[countrybama24]

The devin harris comparisons are insane. Knights biggest attribute is his shooting. Devin is a career 30% 3 pt shooter. I think he can be better than devin, the question is will he be better than Kanter, and is he more replaceable than Enes? I like Enes better, because I think its much easier to find Point Guards like Knight than bigs like Kanter, but thats just my opinion.

I just haven't seen anything that shows Knight can be good distributor and pure point in the NBA. Great point guards show in college an ability to set teammates up and recognize when to pass. It's pretty scary Knight hasn't shown much of that at all. I think people wanting to draft him have to recognize he is a combo guard, and won't ever be much of a distributor. Given that, I'd rather take Kanter.

[carrottop12]

To win a championship, I think you have to be truly elite in at least one area, meaning you have to be one of the top two or three teams in the league at one important part of the game.

I don't think getting Knight at 3 puts us anywhere near being elite at the PG position, there are just too many good PG's in the NBA.

However, I do think getting Kanter gives us the potential to be elite in our big man rotation. If Kanter can achieve top 10 at his position at Center, say he becomes comparable to Bogut, and Favors becomes what we all think he is going to be, all of a sudden we have easily the best big man rotation in the league.

Say he becomes something between Chris Kaman and Bogut, playing next to a full potential Favors would be scary.

[carrottop12]

High School rankings go out the window once they get on campus unless you prove on the court you're good. Knight didn't regain steam until March while Irving and Kemba have been on top of the draft world all season long. The high school class he came in with terribly underachieved, and wasn't as good as previous classes. Knight gained a lot of hype towards the end of the year with Kentucky's tourney run and has rode it up mock boards.

Deron did the same thing though. He was a borderline lottery pick most of the year, just like Knight, then after the tournaments, specifically his game against Arizona he jumped up the draft board to top 5.

I could actually see Knight having a Deron like career if he hits his very highest ceiling. He's young, he's got excellent size and he's already a very good shooter which will improve.

I wouldn't read to much into his poor PG skills as of right now. He was a freshman playing on a team with only one other consistent scorer in Jones, and he was a freshman also. He'll get better as a leader.

[J_Ray]

High School rankings go out the window once they get on campus unless you prove on the court you're good. Knight didn't regain steam until March while Irving and Kemba have been on top of the draft world all season long. The high school class he came in with terribly underachieved, and wasn't as good as previous classes. Knight gained a lot of hype towards the end of the year with Kentucky's tourney run and has rode it up mock boards.

Deron did the same thing though. He was a borderline lottery pick most of the year, just like Knight, then after the tournaments, specifically his game against Arizona he jumped up the draft board to top 5.

I could actually see Knight having a Deron like career if he hits his very highest ceiling. He's young, he's got excellent size and he's already a very good shooter which will improve.

I wouldn't read to much into his poor PG skills as of right now. He was a freshman playing on a team with only one other consistent scorer in Jones, and he was a freshman also. He'll get better as a leader.

Deron Williams led his team to the Championship in a year they had only lost twice all year long. D-Will also put up great assists numbers his whole college career unlike Knight showed this past year. You have to be delusional if you think Knight's highest ceiling is Deron Williams at this point. Knight is a bigger PG but he hasn't shown anything to compare him to Deron Williams' game at this point.

Not reading into his PG skills would be a dumb move at this point also. Knight doesn't have elite physical tools like a Westbrook or Rose where you can overlook him not showing elite PG skills. If anything, Knight is comparable to a guy like Mo Williams being his ceiling, not Deron.

[HammerDunk]

Wait, we're comparing Knight to John Wall AND DWill??? What am I missing here, because frankly, I don't see either one being close...

[carrottop12]

Deron Williams led his team to the Championship in a year they had only lost twice all year long. D-Will also put up great assists numbers his whole college career unlike Knight showed this past year. You have to be delusional if you think Knight's highest ceiling is Deron Williams at this point. Knight is a bigger PG but he hasn't shown anything to compare him to Deron Williams' game at this point.

Not reading into his PG skills would be a dumb move at this point also. Knight doesn't have elite physical tools like a Westbrook or Rose where you can overlook him not showing elite PG skills. If anything, Knight is comparable to a guy like Mo Williams being his ceiling, not Deron.

Both are big PG's who are good shooters from deep, and have the ability to use their size to get into the pant to score with out being blazingly quick. Neither are elite athletes but are very strong players that help them offensively, and they are certainly capable athletes.

Now, Knight is certainly more of a score first player than D-Will was at this point in his career, but he's also a better player than Deron was at this point in his career.

I don't think they will be similar players as far as style, but I wouldn't count out a kid like Knight having a great career. Young, smart, and extremely talented. It's usually a good combo.

[J_Ray]

Deron Williams led his team to the Championship in a year they had only lost twice all year long. D-Will also put up great assists numbers his whole college career unlike Knight showed this past year. You have to be delusional if you think Knight's highest ceiling is Deron Williams at this point. Knight is a bigger PG but he hasn't shown anything to compare him to Deron Williams' game at this point.

Not reading into his PG skills would be a dumb move at this point also. Knight doesn't have elite physical tools like a Westbrook or Rose where you can overlook him not showing elite PG skills. If anything, Knight is comparable to a guy like Mo Williams being his ceiling, not Deron.

Both are big PG's who are good shooters from deep, and have the ability to use their size to get into the pant to score with out being blazingly quick. Neither are elite athletes but are very strong players that help them offensively, and they are certainly capable athletes.

Now, Knight is certainly more of a score first player than D-Will was at this point in his career, but he's also a better player than Deron was at this point in his career.

I don't think they will be similar players as far as style, but I wouldn't count out a kid like Knight having a great career. Young, smart, and extremely talented. It's usually a good combo.

No way are they comparable man. Deron Williams has a wider body that is a big reason he gets into the paint in the NBA. Knight has nice size, but he his frame is much more slight. This strength difference on the college level will probably not be his forte in the NBA in a few years because of his frame.

I find it hard to say Knight is better than Deron at this point in their careers also since they have different games. Deron was 3rd in the Big Ten in assists as a freshman and he played alongside other guards like Dee Brown, and led the league in assists during actual Big Ten play. There is no way to compare them at this point considering both had different games and different opportunity.

Knight is more suited as a combo guard as his career progresses. He could still get bigger to play SG, but at this point, he more than likely isn't a pure PG and his physical tools don't warrant him being much more than Mo Williams or worse than a slower Daniel Gibson. If Utah takes Knight at #3, I will be disappointed.

[carrottop12]

Knights early athletic tests are better than walls. In case you were interested.

[Paper Face]

Maybe a better comparison is Chauncy Billups?

[babyjax13]

Knights early athletic tests are better than walls. In case you were interested.

Do you have a link? There is nothing on draftexpress yet.

[reapaman]

Knights early athletic tests are better than walls. In case you were interested.

Do you have a link? There is nothing on draftexpress yet.

Its just the top 10 and worst 5 for each category, the full results will be out later tonight.
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2011-NBA-Combine-Athletic-Testing-Results-3725/

[babyjax13]

Well, any concerns about his speed have been thoroughly quashed. I still don't think he is anywhere near the prospect as Irving (I guess we will have to agree to disagree).

[StocktonShorts]

I think it's interesting that Ginony himself admits these numbers are mostly nonsense. He brings up Durant as a classic case of a guy who had horrible athletic measurements, and not just the infamous bench press failure. His vert was poor, too.