Top 5 Prospects for 2012 NBA Draft

Jazzfan12 · Post #81 » by **Jazzfan12** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:09 pm

McAdoo seems like he'd score really well at pick-and-roll so putting him at SF seems like a waste, no one should do it.

littlerock2277 · Post #82 » by **littlerock2277** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:52 am

Number 1 prospect is Harrison Barnes

JamesNaismith · Post #83 » by **JamesNaismith** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 3:52 pm

ManualRam wrote:-how are they even projecting him as a SF when he is neither a good shooter nor a good ball-handler?

Not sure why you keep saying he's not a good shooter. I read that he shot 44% for 3pt land so I thought he was a decent one but maybe you got some different stats, I don't know. But I also don't make their opinions I'm citing them and you know every scout is projecting him to be so.

-i dont see the james worthy comparison because again, he's not a good shooter or ball-handler. he's simply not as fluid with the ball as young worthy.
-beasley and derrick williams did ok in college? they dominated in college...at their best position, which is PF.
-mcadoo's style of play doesnt remind me of a true, legit SF either...whatever that means. he's at best right now using his length and athleticism to score on the interior a la josh smith.

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Hey I don't get the Worthy comparison (nbadraft.net makes) either but I can see how he turns out a tweener like Josh Smith and Micheal Beasley. The reason Josh was played at PF is because ATL is undersized but wanted their best talent on the court just like why they play Horford as C. Realistically they want to push both over and have started to do so with Josh.

Beasley on the otherhand was dismal as a PF and really did not have the strength to compete on the blocks with the names I mentioned in my second post. Smith is atleast a shotblocker cuz of his leaping ability, McAdoo is not considered a shot blocker so he's more likely lumped with Beasley. Really these guys would need to use their base like Barkley did and none of them do. They all seem to use their speed and agility much mor then the BEST or even above average PFs do.

I'm not sure how you can say with a straight face you rather have McAdoo compete (and my opinion would get abused on the blocks) with the PFs of the NBA then try his hand against the SFs that I listed...hell it won't shock me when Sullinger and Davis abuses him this year in collgee. I mean its your opinion but I really don't see how he couldn't hang with guys like Marion, Wallace and Artest of the NBA but I could see him looking pretty crappy against even Kaman, Milsap and Boozer.

ManualRam · Post #84 » by **ManualRam** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:51 pm

i keep saying he's not a good shooter because he's not shooter. the 3's he did make were on low volume, but i wouldnt consider him a good shooter at all. outside of 10 feet his mechanics vary. as the range extends he shoots a slower release, flat footed, arm shot moonball. the only instance he can get it off is from a standstill position.

also the hawks tried josh smith at the 3. what that led to was him being taken away from the basket on defense, putting him in less interior help situations and it also caused bad spacing problems on offense. it's easier to hide his offensive deficiencies when he's screening and hanging out around the mid-post area as opposed to him being on the perimeter.

beasley was dismal as a PF because he was lazy, dumb and soft. also, being on the worst team in the league can do wonders for your productivity. i still think he's a PF. he probably cant guard either F position, but he's seriously one of the worst SF defenders i've ever seen...worse than glen robinson.

i dont think mcadoo can be a young josh smith/ak47 type of shot blocker at the 4, but i think he'll be able to block shots at the same rate as say, a young shawn marion. he picks his spots well and is long and springy.

i think mcadoo will be able to hang with most PFs better than other tweeners because right now he is more advanced physically than most tweeners at the same stage. he looks around 230 now and it's obvious that he hits the weight room. he's not like josh smith who still lacks definition and adequate body strength. his game is also physical, he has good length and he plays with good energy.
i think you're overestimating the post up ability of modern NBA PFs. few of them exist. footspeed, length and hops are more important than straight up body strength (of which mcadoo is not lacking).

when i think about mcadoo checking SFs, i think of the norfolk christian v norcom game footage that i saw which pitted mcadoo vs dorian finney-smith (top 20 2011 SF recruit). when dorian looked to take him off the dribble he would completely turn mcadoo around on changes of direction. there are still some clips on youtube if you want to check it out. mcadoo is not a lower center of gravity SF who can change direction on a dime. his center of gravity/defensive stance is high and upright. i see him getting beat off the dribble easily vs good college SFs, let alone pro ones. his athleticism would play much better at the PF position IMO.

#1 pick · Post #85 » by **#1 pick** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:57 am

Pre-season
1. Barnes
2. Perry
3. Sullinger
4. Anthony Davis
5. Drummond

Anything is possible but I don't see anyone passing Barnes who was fighting for the top spot in my book last year with Irving.

If Davis is KG 2.0. Davis will probably pass Barnes. Drummond seems too raw right now. He has a center body with a point forward game. I don't know how it will work but he needs to become a lot smarter. His BBIQ is bad from the games I've seen.

Cineast · Post #86 » by **Cineast** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:34 am

I admit not having seen a lot of all the top prospects, but from the information I can gather this is my pre-season top 5 with comments for 2012:

1. Andre Drummond
Just his size and athleticism makes him the preseason favorite to be the #1 pick. If he has a dissappointing freshman year he'll still be a top 5 pick.

2. Anthony Davis
The combination of his body, skills and motor make him a really good PF prospect.

3. Harrison Barnes
Could be the best player in college, will be a very solid pro from year one.

4. Jared Sullinger
Same as for Barnes.

5. Thomas Robinson
Some recent reads has me believing Robinson will have a big breakthrough this season.

lukekarts · Post #87 » by **lukekarts** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:37 am

Why is Barnes all of a sudden appearing in top 3's again? I asked this earlier in the topic but don't think anyone responded.

Last year before I declared he was returning, he'd fallen to 10th or 11 in most mock drafts, notably DraftExpress even earlier, due to sub-par play all season.

What has he done since then to jump back into the top 3? Surely his potential is still the same?

ManualRam · Post #88 » by **ManualRam** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:16 pm

lukekarts wrote:Why is Barnes all of a sudden appearing in top 3's again? I asked this earlier in the topic but don't think anyone responded.

Last year before I declared he was returning, he'd fallen to 10th or 11 in most mock drafts, notably DraftExpress even earlier, due to sub-par play all season.

What has he done since then to jump back into the top 3? Surely his potential is still the same?

he mightve been around 10 when conference play started last season, but not at the end of the year. he finished the yr strongly and has looked great this off-season.
again, people forget that 2 yrs ago harrison was primarily an interior player. what made him shoot up the rankings to the top of his class (among other things such as his maturity, physical build, length, etc.) was his ability to quickly learn and transition to the perimeter game. some people think that he's done the necessary things, such as seeking to improve his ball-handling ability by attending PG camp, to make that next leap and become a star.

#1 pick · Post #89 » by **#1 pick** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:33 pm

ManualRam wrote:
lukekarts wrote:Why is Barnes all of a sudden appearing in top 3's again? I asked this earlier in the topic but don't think anyone responded.

Last year before I declared he was returning, he'd fallen to 10th or 11 in most mock drafts, notably DraftExpress even earlier, due to sub-par play all season.

What has he done since then to jump back into the top 3? Surely his potential is still the same?

he mightve been around 10 when conference play started last season, but not at the end of the year. he finished the yr strongly and has looked great this off-season.
again, people forget that 2 yrs ago harrison was primarily an interior player. what made him shoot up the rankings to the top of his class (among other things such as his maturity, physical build, length, etc.) was his ability to quickly learn and transition to the perimeter game. some people think that he's done the necessary things, such as seeking to improve his ball-handling ability by attending PG camp, to make that next leap and become a star.

Quality post and I've always rated him highly.

JamesNaismith · Post #90 » by **JamesNaismith** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:07 pm

I'll still don't think that validates Barnes as a top 3 draft pick....it's not like a week PG camp transform's your ballhandling skills from Shawn Bradley to Derrick Rose. It helps but to the point that he's not even a consensus top 3 pick in a bad draft but is in a great one; just doesn't sit with me.

fredericklove · Post #91 » by **fredericklove** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:39 am

JamesNaismith wrote:I'll still don't think that validates Barnes as a top 3 draft pick....it's not like a week PG camp transform's your ballhandling skills from Shawn Bradley to Derrick Rose. It helps but to the point that he's not even a consensus top 3 pick in a bad draft but is in a great one; just doesn't sit with me.

Huh, if he was to enter 2011 draft he would have been drafted 2nd after Irving.

Post #92 » by **jman3134** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:02 am

Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, Jared Sullinger, Michael Gilchrist, and Thomas Robinson.

7-Day Dray · Post #93 » by **7-Day Dray** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:05 am

fredericklove wrote:
JamesNaismith wrote:I'll still don't think that validates Barnes as a top 3 draft pick....it's not like a week PG camp transform's your ballhandling skills from Shawn Bradley to Derrick Rose. It helps but to the point that he's not even a consensus top 3 pick in a bad draft but is in a great one; just doesn't sit with me.

Huh, if he was to enter 2011 draft he would have been drafted 2nd after Irving.

This. I see a lot of people on this board saying "Barnes wasn't even projected to go top 10 at the end of the year last year" or something like that, but that's false. that could've been said at the beginning of the year, but almost everybody had him going at least top 5 when he went on his late-season tear.

If he had declared last year, he would've most likely been picked #2 behind Irving, or even #1 if teams like Minny and the Wizards won the lotto.

S.W.A.N · Post #94 » by **S.W.A.N** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:44 am

Barnes would of been a top 3 pick in 2011 and could of gone 1. His tourney run was huge and he showed why he was the pre-season number 1 pick.

He has great size for SF, good defense, clutch shooter, smart.

Its possible that teams will take the big guys first because of their unique talents but Barnes is going to be an All-star

Elden Payton · Post #95 » by **Elden Payton** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 9:25 am

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Agreed Barnes is an All-Star in waiting...

what does everyone reckon his chance of being POY in college this year??

Who does he compare to in the league????

Jazzfan12 · Post #96 » by **Jazzfan12** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:15 pm

Luol Deng or Wesley Matthews

Elden Payton · Post #97 » by **Elden Payton** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:20 pm

Serious??

There's a big difference between them two, Wes Matthews wasn't even drafted & Barnes is a million times the prospect.

Barnes is even better already than Deng was coming out of Duke.

JamesNaismith · Post #98 » by **JamesNaismith** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:58 pm

So far that's all I see of Barnes is a better version of Deng which btw is a solid damn player just not sure that's really a franchise player yet....imo it's all dependent on developing his ballhandling skills to take him from good to great.

I'm not asking this as loaded question but genuinely interested to know if anyone can recall a player who made some massive strides in their ballhandling after college?!?!

I also just wanted to point out that Barnes was actually at CP3's camp LAST year as well....I'm just saying that because it seems a lot of stock is being put into the fact that he attended it this year as if it was going to clear up a lot of issues. Of course every little bit helps but that's why I proposed the question above because I'm genuinely interested to know.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kgdL0xWBGU[/youtube]

Dr Positivity · Post #99 » by **Dr Positivity** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:19 pm

Is expecting around the lines of Sean Elliott's career fair for Barnes? Nice solid 18/5 wing with a good attitude, if he lands on a team with a superstar he could sneak in as the 2nd or 3rd all-star. And tbh I think Washington or Sacramento or the Clippers could use a 3rd option Elliott type as much as another alpha dog anyways

ManualRam · Post #100 » by **ManualRam** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:26 pm

^^
To answer your question, rudy gay is an example of a player who improved his handle in the pros.

And no, people ARENT putting a lot of stock in the fact that he attended cp3s camp. It's just an example of a kid who who recognizes defiencies in his game and is working hard to improve those facets.
The ability to quickly expand one's game is often overlooked when evaluating a prospect's game. Barnes has already shown that has the work ethic and willingness to take the steps necessary to be a more complete player. He's also shown the ability to learn and incorporate new aspects to his game quickly as exemplified by his quick transition from the interior to the perimeter.