Tournament Players

[murray]

So far in the tournament many players have impressed me. I've been keeping my eye on the point guards that will probably be available with that Houston 1st round pick.

Maynor vs. Collison: Anyone that watched that game yesterday will tell you that Maynor is the real deal. He is a true point guard with good court vision, and a good ability to score. 21-7-6 is solid numbers especially against a strong defensive UCLA team. I do like his size (6'3") especially when comparing him to smaller guards like Collison or Lawson. Collison proved again that he will struggle against bigger point guards, being in foul trouble all night and finishing with only 2 assists. He would make a good 2nd round pick, but much later in the 2nd than we will be drafting. Hopefully he can improve that stock as he moves on despite Maynor carrying his team to a close game against a strong UCLA team.

Jonny Flynn: He is playing right now, but they just switched to another game because this is a blow out. Flynn as expected looks very solid, as he is slicing up the SFA defense. With 7:00 minutes left in the game he is having a good statistical game shooting 8-12 16/7/5. He hopefully will be available when our 2nd first round pick shows up, but I think his stock will raise to the 13 range in the lottery.

Lawson Did not play.

Blake Grifin: The guaranteed 1st pick of the draft no matter who has it had a "Blake Griffin" like game. Playing at a higher speed, and higher intensity than anyone on the court ended with 28/13, while shooting 11/12.

Willie Warren: You have to wonder how good he would be if he didn't play with Blake Griffin. My guess is his game would plumit. Now, he is still a good player, but doubt he is a top ten in this draft as projected in many places. He finished with a modest 16/4/4.

Tyreke Evans: He was offensively taken out of this game at times, being the focus of the opposing defense. His well favored team almost lost because of it. This shows me how valuable he really is. When hes off they barely beat Northridge. He did finish with 15/5/3, carved up the defense and kicked the ball out, but wasn't a typical game from him. Since his switch to point gaurds Memphis has been unbelievable.

Go ahead and add on to the list as you want.
Players to watch today include:Jeff Teague, Dejaun Blair, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Earl Clark, Demar Derozen, James Harden, and already mentioned Jonny Flynn.

[artest420]

i had VCU as my cinderella team, but they were just short. if we get griffen then i hope houstons pick gets maynor.

but my first choice is your idea of draft griffen and trade thompson for the rights to jennings since griffen makes thompson expandable.

[RIPskaterdude]

Harden and Christmas are playing right now.

[SacKingZZZ]

God Harden seems like he isn't even trying out there, I don't like the attitude I'm seeing from him today.

And Collison all but shut down Maynor in the 1st and got bombarded by iffy calls in the 2nd. Then he locked up Maynor when it counted. I think if anything Collison is a 1st round pick and maybe even higher than our Houston pick. He is one of the better defensive PG's I've seen.

I hope the Sooners make it to at least the sweet 16, I'm dying to see Griffin face off with some legit big men. The only times I have seen him take on legit prospects I haven't been too impressed.

[RIPskaterdude]

^^ Agreed on the Harden comment. It just seems like he is walking around the court. Definately not impressed with him at all. Christmas however, would be a nice pickup with our 2nd round pick, if he's available...

[artest420]

[quote="SacKingZZZ"]God Harden seems like he isn't even trying out there, I don't like the attitude I'm seeing from him today.

And Collison all but shut down Maynor in the 1st and got bombarded by iffy calls in the 2nd. Then he locked up Maynor when it counted. I think if anything Collison is a 1st round pick and maybe even higher than our Houston pick. He is one of the better defensive PG's I've seen.

I hope the Sooners make it to at least the sweet 16, I'm dying to see Griffin face off with some legit big men. The only times I have seen him take on legit prospects I haven't been too impressed.[/quote]


thats what im worried about if we get him. he plays against small nobody schools and just overpowers them without many skilled moves. i want him to at least make it to UNC and see if he can keep up. also i remember they said beasley was his size, but when he went to the NBA he was only like 6'7. if he is a legit 6'10 250-260 then i think he will be a beast in the NBA, otherwise if hes smaller than that he probably wont be as dominate as people think

[murray]

God Harden seems like he isn't even trying out there, I don't like the attitude I'm seeing from him today.

And Collison all but shut down Maynor in the 1st and got bombarded by iffy calls in the 2nd. Then he locked up Maynor when it counted. I think if anything Collison is a 1st round pick and maybe even higher than our Houston pick. He is one of the better defensive PG's I've seen.

I hope the Sooners make it to at least the sweet 16, I'm dying to see Griffin face off with some legit big men. The only times I have seen him take on legit prospects I haven't been too impressed.[/quote]


thats what im worried about if we get him. he plays against small nobody schools and just overpowers them without many skilled moves. i want him to at least make it to UNC and see if he can keep up. also i remember they said beasley was his size, but when he went to the NBA he was only like 6'7. if he is a legit 6'10 250-260 then i think he will be a beast in the NBA, otherwise if hes smaller than that he probably wont be as dominate as people think

He plays in the big 12. Its not that bad. Kansas, Texas, etc. I really think he is a legit 6'9", with great strength, he will be really good on the next level. I pick Oklahoma to win it all, so we will hopefully see what he really has at pressure time.

[artest420]

God Harden seems like he isn't even trying out there, I don't like the attitude I'm seeing from him today.

And Collison all but shut down Maynor in the 1st and got bombarded by iffy calls in the 2nd. Then he locked up Maynor when it counted. I think if anything Collison is a 1st round pick and maybe even higher than our Houston pick. He is one of the better defensive PG's I've seen.

I hope the Sooners make it to at least the sweet 16, I'm dying to see Griffin face off with some legit big men. The only times I have seen him take on legit prospects I haven't been too impressed.[/quote]


thats what im worried about if we get him. he plays against small nobody schools and just overpowers them without many skilled moves. i want him to at least make it to UNC and see if he can keep up. also i remember they said beasley was his size, but when he went to the NBA he was only like 6'7. if he is a legit 6'10 250-260 then i think he will be a beast in the NBA, otherwise if hes smaller than that he probably wont be as dominate as people think

He plays in the big 12. Its not that bad. Kansas, Texas, etc. I really think he is a legit 6'9", with great strength, he will be really good on the next level. I pick Oklahoma to win it all, so we will hopefully see what he really has at pressure time.

But didnt he miss the game against texas or kansas for a concussion? either way he seems super agressive going to the rim and kings have been lacking that for years, but if he turns out to be the 6'7 like beasley then i would consider doing something else with the pick. im a big thompson fan, but i think a power dunker like griffen would fill bigger holes. we got to wait til the lottery to see if we get him.

[SacKingZZZ]

Yeah, Blake didn't play against Kansas. I really really really wanted to see him and Cole Aldrich square off, that would have been a good test for Griffin even if Cole is probably a legit C on the next level. Still would have been the best competition he's had in college. He had trouble with the length of Taj Gibson against USC and was pushed around a little bit by Dexter Pittman when they faced Texas earlier in the year. He still put up good numbers but he couldn't get much going without system play helping him out.

I still like Blake and we'd be super lucky to have him but he still scares me, just like Rubio there are question marks about his potential and fit in the NBA.

[murray]

jeff Teague may have just dropped down to the Kings pick with that terrible game.

A little of topic but check out my alma mater (rocklin) playing for the Division 2 state title of Comcast Sports net.

[SacKingZZZ]

Still a major fan of James Johnson myself. I would love to see us get him with our late 1st should he declare, PG needs or not. He has a ton of potential. I'd compare him to a bigger, more PF version of Ron Artest. I think he has the same kind of tools and great hands that make Ron Artest such a good defender/ball handler.

[RIPskaterdude]

Teague had an absolutely TERRIBLE game today...7 TO's...ouch.

[murray]

Teague had an absolutely TERRIBLE game today...7 TO's...ouch.

Honestly, he went from lottery lock, to possibly being available in the 20's with that game. Damn I had wake going to the final 4.

[RoyalCourtJestr]

Teague had an absolutely TERRIBLE game today...7 TO's...ouch.

Honestly, he went from lottery lock, to possibly being available in the 20's with that game. Damn I had wake going to the final 4.

I wouldn't go THAT far, but he definetly did fall to the brink of a Lottery pick.

I'm getting VERY impressed with Johnny Flynn. I'm not sure that he'll last until Rocket's pick, but I'd sure as hell love that, he's very well rounded.

[murray]

Early Saturday report:

Tyreke Evans is having a bounce back game destroying Maryland. 1st half numbers: 15/3/3. He may be a player to target with the Houston pick. He is capable of being a slashing type point gaurd with great athleticism, incredible length, but still very raw in my opinion. He is the type of player that can and will take games over, while still getting others involved. If the true pg's (flynn, Maynor, etc) are off the board, I really think Evans in worth a look.

Collison: Had a better game for the Bruins with 15 points, but ended with only 1 assist and 5 turnovers, while shooting 4-10. I doubt his ability to be productive on the next level, especially considering his size, and his lack of development in the last 3 years. He will be a guy selected at the end of the 2nd round, not make what ever team drafts him, and bounce around for a few years until completely fading away. I really thought a few years ago he had a chance at being a solid 1st rounder/starter, but after the last few tournaments, and the decreased production, I really doubt he will get any playing time on any team.

Holiday: Showed again why he needs more years of college seasoning. He is not this years Russell Westbrooke, but may end up being that next year. If he declares this year, it will be the worst mistake of his young career.

Reynolds: Not sure where his draft stock will land, but I do not think another year of college would hurt it. He did have some monster scoring games, but needs to prove to be a more capable passer, as his Assist to Turnover numbers are not very good.

Blair: 27/16 against a 16 seed does not mean much, except the 16 seed played a hard fought game. Would be good if we get Rubio with the second pick and Blair with the Houston pick. The Milsap comparison is very strong.

Budinger: 20/8/6 nice to see him have a good tournament game. He is the definition of potential unreached.

Hill: 17/13. Should be a top 5 pick gaurenteed.

Derozen: 18/9/3. Should be awesome for USC next year.

Teague: Worst game of his year possibly. How far will he fall after this performance?

Aminu and Johnson: Solid game, but Teague is the deciding factor for Wake to win or lose.

Mullins: 10/3, has there been a more dissapointing draftable player this year? He needs atleast 1 more year in college.

Harden: Poor effort, poor game. Did finish with 9/7/3, really hurting his draft stock.

More to come, stay tuned.

[SacKingZZZ]

Yeah, Hills stock is beginning to rise a bit, or at least guarantee him as a high pick. I'm still a bit iffy on him as anything spectacular though. I'd kill to see he and Blake Griffin matched up against eachother!

Last year I wanted the Kings to get Donte Greene and we did, so this year I'm hoping we get James Johnson, haha, maybe it'll come true.

[RoyalCourtJestr]

Evans: Very skilled all around, I really question if PG is the best position for him at the NBA, but no doubt a great talent. But he won't fall to the Rockets pick.

Collison: Never been a fan.

Holiday: I've wanted Holiday all year, but I'll agree. He needs at least one more year, but it wobn't stop him from putting his name in and testing the waters.

Reynolds: Second rounder, and I think there will be better talent aviable with our early second rounder.

Budinger: No thanks, unless he falls to our second rounder.

Blair: Agreed. A Rubio/Blair draft would be fantastic, almost as good as a Griffin/Flynn (or so). But I think Blair's getting so much attention, I don't see him legit fallign to Rockets pick.

Teague: As I said, he'll fall, but not THAT far, and I DOUBT he'll be out of the top 13 after draft camps and such.

[murray]

I've seen evans all around the 1st round, from 10th on one site to 27th on Nbadraft.net (very reliable mock draft site). Evans finished with 19/5/5 with resting most the 2nd half in the blow out. He made some passes that would be impossible for smaller point guards. I really think he is the direction that pgs will go (big/atletic) in the future.

[murray]

Griffin: 33/17 on 14-20. Any doubt he will be the number one pick no matter who is drafting?

Lawson: 23/6/2. Not bad for coming back after injury. Possible selection for Kings with Houston pick.

Warren: 16/4 ast. Decent, but not worthy of that top ten pick he has been projected as lately.

Thabeet: 6/4. Up and down. When will he ever become a consistent player? I would not touch this guy even with the 5th pick.

[artest420]

anyone think blake could be a karl malone type of player. watching him today it made me think of malone being bigger and stronger down low with a bad free throw shot and he could keep getting a bigger.