RealGM

With the 9th pick, the Wizards draft Rui Hachimura of Gonzaga.

He is reportedly 6-8 with a 7-2 wingspan, but I'm not sure where those measurements came from. He wasn't measured at the NBA combine.

Looking at his stats, there is much to be optimistic about. He posted an extremely good 2P% of .606. It was .642 in conference play. And although he is known for his midrange shooting, he also managed 7.9 FTA's per 40 minutes. He has more turnovers than assists, but his assist rate has steadily improved in each of his 3 years while his turnovers have remained flat, suggesting that he is figuring out the game after starting basketball late in life.

The big red flag is the rebounding: just 8.6 boards per 40 minutes.

Kevin Broom's YODA rated Hachimura as the 5th best prospect.

On the other hand, Dat2U's tier system ranked him as "deep bench" guy in the 25-43 range.

Most mocks had him going in the 12-19 range.

Duke highlights from last year
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"Nate-san, did u vote for Hachimura-san in RealGM draft poll? He biiiiig stwong basketball player, uwu... hehehe..."

He's a late bloomer. I think he'll be a solid contributing piece.

I see him as a solid, but not impact player.

Don't know how accurate this is, but Jay Bilas is reporting that this is his current fiance.

Rui does not deserve Chika.

No man does.

What gives me hope is this: no AAU, 3 years in America. He's 21, but he's barely played basketball. Still room for improvement.

Didn't love the pick but as always, I'll give him a chance and hope that somebody who just started playing ball at 14 will improve on the defensive end and rebounding with some hopefully decent instruction.

BTW. Not jumping ship. Never will.

What do people think about Sheppard saying multiple times that he's a late bloomer? What does that mean? What does it imply? That he has more potential?

prime1time wrote:What do people think about Sheppard saying multiple times that he's a late bloomer? What does that mean? What does it imply? That he has more potential?

Pretty much, yeah. He wasn't my top pick at 9 and I see some risk there but he's still a decent prospect. I'm okay with it. At least he's an easy player to cheer for. The Wizards could use some more of those.

Rui apparently has similar hand size and wingspan as Kawhi. His mid-range game is definitely high upside .

Hachi sauce!!

He's Antawn Jamison reincarnated. At #9, you could do a lot worse.

TGW wrote:He's Antawn Jamison reincarnated. At #9, you could do a lot worse.

Wow, I wasn't thinking of Jamison but I can definitely sort of see it.

I was thinking he's like Mike Scott. Those rebounding numbers per 40 minutes is way too low for a PF. Plus, his defense is suspect and he isn't a passer.

Japanese Rashard Lewis is his floor I think, which isnt bad.

I see Antawn but he doesnt rebound as well.

Antawn is probably his ceiling if he advances in that area. Likely he is the next Wilson Chandler/Thaddeus Young.

Ehhh... was more excited for Clarke or Dombouya

I’m not gonna lie, all I see is Kawhi Leonard in the 40 or so minutes of offensive footage I’ve watched so far. I watched countless Gonzaga games throughout the season and Brandon Clarke was the player that always stood out.

I like the pick. I know he's a 3 year college player, but this guy is going to be a project. He just started playing basketball at like 13 or 14. We need to get him doing the small things right now. Playing defense, rebounding and making set 3's. Once he does that, then we can expand his game. Take him slow and add on slowly. I'll be diving deeper into him this weekend though. If anyone can find full Zags games, or even some good youtube videos on Rui can you post them here?

i'm talking myself into it.