Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 6

[Rude Boy 1]

Man... so much hate for a guy that just keeps winning. Kemba is a stud I'd love to have him if some of the other prospects are gone.

[TiKusDom]

All-American in HS, Rice High School (averaged 18/5), beat Derrick Rose's team at MSG
Starred on the #1 ranked AAU team in the nation, 2010
Scored 23 points in Elite Eight game while coming off the bench, 2009
Set NCAA scoring record in Big East Tournament, 2011
NCAA championship, 2011

You don't see that this guy comes to play and generally does really well, especially in big games?

first year NCAA, averaged 9 points in 25 minutes on on 47 % shooting. Obviously a basketball prodigy.
Second year NCAA, 14.6 points, on an atrocious 40 % shooting . Ok he is 20 years old now, wouldnt even be a lottery pick at this point
Third year NCAA. 23.5 points in 35 minutes per game on barely 43 % shooting.
His Pointer Per Shot have actually been declining every year, that doesnt ring any alarm bells?!

Any logical mind is going to ask, if he barely averages 43% shooting against mediocre NCAA competition, after spending 3 years in the NCAA and being older than most of his competition, what is he going to average against elite NBA defense? Would logic say he is somehow going to improve his FG%? Do we need another volume shooter who will be lucky to average the same percentages in the NBA? No the Raptors do not. We need two way players , especially those who can defend. Kemba Walker can not defend in the NCAA, and he certainly will not be able to defend in the NBA. No just no. Raptors are going to get carved out by bigger point guards taking it to him in the post. How is he going to defend the elite shooting pointguards in the NBA when nearly all of them will be bigger and taller than him? Its a recipe for disaster. Raptors do not need Kemba Walker, he just fits in with everything that is wrong with this team. Volume shooter, no defense.

[Dr Positivity]

I'm guessing we get Kanter at 4 or 5. Cause I expect Barnes goes a little too high (top 2 or 3). Kanter's a nice meat sauce choice. Can give us the presence Antonio Davis did

[Reignman]

While I would not touch him with a top 5 pick, I don't think it's fair to just look at Kemba's bad shooting nights and say he's gonna struggle against NBA defenders. Everyone, except Kyrie, had them this tournament.

Hell, even Brandon Knight, who TiKusDom likes a lot, shot 33% the whole tournament and shot 1-8 against Clemson.

I compare Kemba to another undersized prolific scorer in A.I. and at his size A.I. scored in the low 40s for most of his career. Now Kemba isn't an A.I. type of talent so I'm going to assume that as a best case scenario he'll shoot in the low 40s as well.

The problem is that those days are gone, low efficieny / high volume scorers aren't needed anymore, you have to bring more to the table and kemba doens't seem to have that.

I was high on Knight as well but he's too much of a shooting guard and I've since changed my opinion. I wouldn't touch him with a top 5 pick as well.

[Rude Boy 1]

first year NCAA, averaged 9 points in 25 minutes on on 47 % shooting. Obviously a basketball prodigy.
Second year NCAA, 14.6 points, on an atrocious 40 % shooting . Ok he is 20 years old now, wouldnt even be a lottery pick at this point
Third year NCAA. 23.5 points in 35 minutes per game on barely 43 % shooting.
His Pointer Per Shot have actually been declining every year, that doesnt ring any alarm bells?!

I would encourage you to take a look at Rajon Rondo's college stats too. College is college its a completely different game have you ever thought that the reason for the decline in percentage has anything to do with the attention he attracts? Nahh... Its all in the stats...lol

His skill set translates extremely well in the NBA where he can utilize his quicks better

[TiKusDom]

first year NCAA, averaged 9 points in 25 minutes on on 47 % shooting. Obviously a basketball prodigy.
Second year NCAA, 14.6 points, on an atrocious 40 % shooting . Ok he is 20 years old now, wouldnt even be a lottery pick at this point
Third year NCAA. 23.5 points in 35 minutes per game on barely 43 % shooting.
His Pointer Per Shot have actually been declining every year, that doesnt ring any alarm bells?!

I would encourage you to take a look at Rajon Rondo's college stats too.

2005-2006 35 48.2 27.3 57.1 209 6.0 4.8 0.1 2.0 380 10.9
2004-2005 34 51.0 30.3 58.3 97 2.9 3.5 0.2 2.6 274 8.1

Are you talking about his 50 % fg or the 48 %? both of which blow Kemba's shooting out of the water? Are you pointing to the fact that Rondo in his second year averaged more steals? More rebounds? More assists? Yes Rajon Rondo was quite better and a far better player in his second year than Kemba in his third. Except at the 3 pt shot and FT %.

[Dr Positivity]

For me the red flag with prospects pop up when what makes them in succesful isn't likely to be there in the NBA. All good players have meal tickets, something they rely on. When they have to change you're dealing in hazardous waters cause you don't know if they'll keep it up. That's why I think rebounders and deadeye spot up shooters usually carry that to the NBA, those things are guaranteed at both levels

Kemba is not going to be able to use contact like this in the NBA. When you have a Kemba who can't touch players without getting overpowered and thrown off, it's a different player. Lawson and Nelson don't need contact at all. They're too skilled, too smooth and too good at shooting. I'm not sure if that's true for Kemba. To me he plays more like a small Derrick Rose

He can be a good player, but I think taking him anywhere near our pick is a high risk, low reward move.

[SDM]

All-American in HS, Rice High School (averaged 18/5), beat Derrick Rose's team at MSG
Starred on the #1 ranked AAU team in the nation, 2010
Scored 23 points in Elite Eight game while coming off the bench, 2009
Set NCAA scoring record in Big East Tournament, 2011
NCAA championship, 2011

You don't see that this guy comes to play and generally does really well, especially in big games?

first year NCAA, averaged 9 points in 25 minutes on on 47 % shooting. Obviously a basketball prodigy.
Second year NCAA, 14.6 points, on an atrocious 40 % shooting . Ok he is 20 years old now, wouldnt even be a lottery pick at this point
Third year NCAA. 23.5 points in 35 minutes per game on barely 43 % shooting.

Any logical mind is going to ask, if he barely averages 43% shooting against mediocre NCAA competition, after spending 3 years in the NCAA and being older than most of his competition, what is he going to average against elite NBA defense? Would logic say he is somehow going to improve his FG%? Do we need another volume shooter who will be lucky to average the same percentages in the NBA? No the Raptors do not. We need two way players , especially those who can defend. Kemba Walker can not defend in the NCAA, and he certainly will not be able to defend in the NBA. No just no. Raptors are going to get carved out by bigger point guards taking it to him in the post. How is he going to defend the elite shooting pointguards in the NBA? Its a recipie for disaster. Raptors do not need Kemba walker, he just fits in with everything that is wrong with this team. Volume shooter, no defense.

So a player cannot become a better prospect by playing in the NCAA longer? That's interesting. In 2009, he got them into the final four. His team was hot unranked garbage to start the season and now they're national champions off his back.

I can see why people aren't thrilled about the prospect of drafting him... But are they taking into account the fact that his team was hot stinky garbage? That he chucked out of necessity? That he couldn't commit to defense as well as he liked? He's been getting his shot off, with decent enough results, against guys taller than he is all season long WITHOUT an ancillary threat on the court. People have seemingly forgotten about that in the NBA, you can't really slag off anyone. Walker faced constant double and triple teams and was able to shake defenders/blow by defenders/step back and shoot over defenders. Is he suddenly not going to be able to do this?

I like him based on his skills that are transferable to the NBA, which are speed, footwork, and killer instinct. If you can prove to me that these won't transfer over, fine, you win, but until he actually has some time in the league, lets agree to disagree. I can't convince everyone that he'll be a player even though I'm certain of it.

[Rude Boy 1]

first year NCAA, averaged 9 points in 25 minutes on on 47 % shooting. Obviously a basketball prodigy.
Second year NCAA, 14.6 points, on an atrocious 40 % shooting . Ok he is 20 years old now, wouldnt even be a lottery pick at this point
Third year NCAA. 23.5 points in 35 minutes per game on barely 43 % shooting.
His Pointer Per Shot have actually been declining every year, that doesnt ring any alarm bells?!

I would encourage you to take a look at Rajon Rondo's college stats too.

2005-2006 35 48.2 27.3 57.1 209 6.0 4.8 0.1 2.0 380 10.9
2004-2005 34 51.0 30.3 58.3 97 2.9 3.5 0.2 2.6 274 8.1

Are you talking about his 50 % fg or the 48 %? both of which blow Kemba's shooting out of the water?

Usage.

College is college its a completely different game have you ever thought that the reason for the decline in percentage has anything to do with the attention he attracts? Nahh... Its all in the stats...lol

His skill set translates extremely well in the NBA where he can utilize his quicks better

[TiKusDom]

Usage.

College is college its a completely different game have you ever thought that the reason for the decline in percentage has anything to do with the attention he attracts? Nahh... Its all in the stats...lol

His skill set translates extremely well in the NBA where he can utilize his quicks better

What come again, his quickness will be a bigger advantage in the NBA against quicker, stronger , more athletic players? His quickness is less of an advantage against slower, smaller NCAA players? And your reasoning behind this is?
Um no, his body does not translate well into the NBA. In fact tiny point guards are not the status quo in the NBA. Rondo is much more athletic and has freakish length making him an excellent defender something Kemba Walker could only dream of. Do not even try to compare the 2.

[Dr Positivity]

If quickness was enough to be effective, TJ Ford and Jonny Flynn wouldn't blow ass right now

[Reef]

Usage.

College is college its a completely different game have you ever thought that the reason for the decline in percentage has anything to do with the attention he attracts? Nahh... Its all in the stats...lol

His skill set translates extremely well in the NBA where he can utilize his quicks better

What come again, his quickness will be a bigger advantage in the NBA against quicker, stronger , more athletic players? His quickness is less of an advantage against slower, smaller NCAA players? And your reasoning behind this is?
Um no, his body does not translate well into the NBA. In fact tiny point guards are not the status quo in the NBA. Rondo is much more athletic and has freakish length making him an excellent defender something Kemba Walker could only dream of. Do not even try to compare the 2.

His quickness is more of an advantage because in the NBA there's more man-to-man defenses that won't be constantly double-teaming him since there's other talent to worry about than just him (and sometimes Lamb). Also the paint won't be clogged up because there's a 3 second rule in the NBA.

[5DOM]

I think Kemba's quickness is going to be at an elite level even in the NBA. With his explosiveness, better spacing in the pros and the fact that he won't see double/triple teams, I think he'll be fine at least on offense. He doesnt shoot a great percentage but he can still get to the line.

[Rude Boy 1]

If quickness was enough to be effective, TJ Ford and Jonny Flynn wouldn't blow ass right now

Until TJ's last major injury he was doing just that.

[Reef]

I think Kemba's quickness is going to be at an elite level even in the NBA. With his explosiveness, better spacing in the pros and the fact that he won't see double/triple teams, I think he'll be fine at least on offense. He doesnt shoot a great percentage but he can still get to the line.

Exactly.

[Reef]

Usage.

College is college its a completely different game have you ever thought that the reason for the decline in percentage has anything to do with the attention he attracts? Nahh... Its all in the stats...lol

His skill set translates extremely well in the NBA where he can utilize his quicks better

What come again, his quickness will be a bigger advantage in the NBA against quicker, stronger , more athletic players? His quickness is less of an advantage against slower, smaller NCAA players? And your reasoning behind this is?
Um no, his body does not translate well into the NBA. In fact tiny point guards are not the status quo in the NBA. Rondo is much more athletic and has freakish length making him an excellent defender something Kemba Walker could only dream of. Do not even try to compare the 2.

Rondo isn't much more athletic than Kemba. Kemba's got excellent lateral quickness and does a good job standing in front of his man. He'll have trouble getting posted up though.

[Rude Boy 1]

Usage.

College is college its a completely different game have you ever thought that the reason for the decline in percentage has anything to do with the attention he attracts? Nahh... Its all in the stats...lol

His skill set translates extremely well in the NBA where he can utilize his quicks better

What come again, his quickness will be a bigger advantage in the NBA against quicker, stronger , more athletic players? His quickness is less of an advantage against slower, smaller NCAA players? And your reasoning behind this is?
Um no, his body does not translate well into the NBA. In fact tiny point guards are not the status quo in the NBA. Rondo is much more athletic and has freakish length making him an excellent defender something Kemba Walker could only dream of. Do not even try to compare the 2.

So you say... I happen to think he is VERY quick and will have no trouble getting into the teeth of the defense with his quickness. Looks like a few people agree with me too.

It's simply impossible for defenders to stay in front of him – both in transition and in the half-court. His aggressiveness with the ball, ability to change speed and direction instantaneously, and phenomenal body control allow him to knife through defenses effortlessly. He's not afraid to drive full steam into the paint and draw contact at the rim, either. He shows great strength and toughness around the basket and is getting to the free throw line at an exceptional rate.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kem ... z1IreVRtBV
http://www.draftexpress.com

I'm willing to bet good money you're opinion of Rondo changed once he got to the NBA... Don't try and pretend you knew what he was, I would caution you to take the same approach with Kemba. He's clearly proven that he is a winner and has pretty much done it all on his lonesome.

Anyways 'm not professing to be the holy grail or anything of the sort like some of you, I could be wrong about him as many of you have been wrong as well. I just think from what I've seen of him and given the weakness of this draft Kemba wouldn't be a bad add. He has skills that are HIGHLY transferable to the NBA

[Reef]

Also, to those who say Kemba's inefficient, he has a PER of 29.4 and a true shooting percentage of 54%.

[TiKusDom]

His quickness is more of an advantage because in the NBA there's more man-to-man defenses that won't be constantly double-teaming him since there's other talent to worry about than just him (and sometimes Lamb). Also the paint won't be clogged up because there's a 3 second rule in the NBA.

Yeah we saw just how much more of an advantage he had against Liggins. Oh wait no he got shut down and repeatedly blocked by a taller defender. Now that is going to be guarded by long athletic freaks of the NBA who will have no need to double him, since they will be so much better than the NCAA competition. 3 second rule in the NBA , so what? There is something called help defense in the NBA, and some centers are quite adept at it regardless of the 3 second rule. Blocking shots from midgets is something they live on . If hes lucky he will be an ok offensive player, and on defense? Basketball is a two way game and there is absolutely nothing about Kemba Walker that says he is going to be able to contain or even properly defend your average NBA point guard. People who think he is worthy of a top 5 pick are out to lunch, that is why NBA GMs are where they are, and the rest of the average joes are here. I know BC wont even contemplate Walker as a top 5 pick , it is a ridiculous notion, and I am pretty confident Walker wont be coming here before Brandon Knight who is a far superior athlete. And no , Kemba Walker is nowhere nearly as athletically gifted as Rondo.

[DG88]

Kyrie or die trying