Austin Rivers...

[NYCrusader]

Early but leading Duke in scoring and seems like their best player already...

But in the grand scheme of things what are your early impressions on him so far??

[wiff]

I think he is NBA ready. He looks faster than everyone on the floor. He has a fantastic handle, solid frame. I'm sure someone will tell me he has short arms or can't bench 185 or something but I like his game. He isn't perfect though. He is very ball dominate. Which is good and bad. The guy can pretty much get his shot off at will. But he doesn't do much when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He needs work there.

But yeah I think he is going to be damn good.

[J~Rush]

Horrible feel for the game. Hopefully coach K can teach him how to be a basketball player. Otherwise very talented.

[NelsonK]

Here a good read on his game 10 games in. http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=43072

[Born_Ready]

he looks raw to me at times.

however-- if his pops can convince him to stay 4 years in school lookout!

[GothamGM]

You can tell he's used to having the ball in his hands most the time doing work. He tends be out of control at times as well, but Coach K will teach him. Remember, Coach K's never had a guard (iso player for the most part) of this type of play at duke, so they're still adjusting only being 10 + games in, long way to go. But I do agree, the kid has absolute talent, very skilled.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Wrong thread.

[cdubbz]

Pros: Great handles, NBA 3point range, can get to the rim "whenever".
Cons: Still gets out of control in some situations like fast breaks, dribbles too much 1 on 1, chucks from 3-point range. Needs to learn to run a ball club better.

The thing about all those cons is that he has grown and improved in all of those aspects since the beginning of the college season. He used to be out of control a lot more first few games with Duke and even though he still takes some bad shots, he took a lot more earlier on in the season. He's creating a lot more for his teammates and understands more that he draws a ton of defenders whenever he drives to the hoop. If he had Nolan Smith as his teammate still than he would learn everyday in practice how to run a team and be a leader, but no one else on the team is a true point guard that can mold him.

[No-Man]

He's from Duke, so he'll get a good position in the Draft and also he's shining so I wouldn't be surprised if he get drafted at any spot from 5 to 8, but for me his future in the pros is uncertain.

Kinda OJ Mayo/Jamal Crawford guy, too ball dominant, perfect 6th man I guessed, best comparison might be Ginobili/Roy being optimistic.

[cdubbz]

He's from Duke, so he'll get a good position in the Draft and also he's shining so I wouldn't be surprised if he get drafted at any spot from 5 to 8, but for me his future in the pros is uncertain.

Kinda OJ Mayo/Jamal Crawford guy, too ball dominant, perfect 6th man I guessed, best comparison might be Ginobili/Roy being optimistic.

Rivers plays nothing like ginobli or brandon roy. to be honest, i'm not sure who he plays like, but what i do know is that he fits the tweener/combo guard profile very well. He's 6'4 and plays more like a 2guard. but is too short and can handle the ball, but not quite a point guard. I've heard Monta Ellis comparisons which sound close, but Rivers has a better jumper.

Rivers can be a great guy off the bench a la Jason Terry, but i can't see him as a starting 2guard or point guard in the NBA on a winning team. His biggest problem is that he needs to accept his role in the NBA.

[RLakh23]

He's going to be a lottery pick. Hit big shots; quick off the ball. Big combo guard. Should have a similar or better career over Stephen Curry. More NBA size