2012 NBA Draft

[Ruzious]

Watching Duke's easy win, Mason Plumlee showed he's filled out some over the summer and is a legit 1st round talent and fine defender - though his Jordan Williams like foul shooting is a problem. He's the pretty boy Plumlee, but I'm impressed with older bro Miles Plumlee - the lumberjack of the family - even though he's nothing more than a bit performer at Duke. He's clearly stronger than Mason, and he's really a surprisingly good athlete. He's got a nice rebound rate, is a physical aggressive (maybe overly so) player with legit center size, and I think he'll surprise people by making an NBA team and having a long NBA career.

[tontoz]

Good thing they didnt change the age limit to 20 in this CBA. That would have really hurt.

[theboomking]

I think this thread has been sleeping on Jeremy Lamb. I probably put him second, right beind Anhtony Davis. You could plug lamb in next to Wall and have a championship caliber backcourt for 10 years.

I also agree with the Gilchrist hype. He looked like a true impact player against UNC, and is clearly a different class of athlete from Harrison Barnes. Gilchrist affects the game in every phase and plays extremely hard, and will probably be the youngest player in the NBA next year.

As much as I concur with a lot of people that Barnes won't be a star, he could be an important player on a championship team. Harrison is a very good defender, has elite length and bulk for his position, has a great basketball IQ, and will probably be an elite catch and shoot player in the NBA. Harrison is currently averageing 46% from college 3Pt range.

FWIT, I would look at moving back into the first round for Tony Wroten, if Wroten fallis to the mid teens. Tony scored 23 points in 24 minutes today against Duke, on 8-12 shooting. He is a dynamic athlete, and would look pretty good coming off the bench as an energy player and scorer.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, I saw 2 really dynamic players today - in Wroten and Thomas Robinson. The only problem with both of them is that they need a little taming. They get a little out of control. But they are both super-talented. Wroten - even though he doesn't have much of a jump shot yet - was pretty much unstoppable on his drives to the basket. If there is the next Dwayne Wade out there, it could be him. Robinson makes highlight reel plays, and a lot of his game looks patterned after Amare. He has those spin moves down, but I didn't get the feeling he's in control when he does them. But great rebounder; great aggression combined with athleticisim/power going to the basket. I think a lot depends on how he measures. If he'd grow another inch, he could be great - I don't think he's the 6'10 that the announcer said he is.

As for Lamb - there's no doubt he's a real good prospect, and I'd take him on my team, but... I don't see him as a great player, because he's not a type A personality - he's not going to take over games. He's also a half step slow in reacting to things like loose balls - he doesn't quite have that aggressive mindset to instinctively go after the ball.

[Rafael122]

Liking the way Michael Kidd-Gilchrist attacks the boards.

[go'stags]

William Buford seems like the kind of player who gets drafted later then he should, then blows up and has everyone wondering-how did he slip so far? Much like Josh Howard. A great scorer and shooter on a top college team. I need to see more of him, but he has my attention.

Another guy is Victor Oladipo from Indiana-and, more importantly, DeMatha

He is just a fantastic athlete, maybe the best perimeter athlete in this Indiana-Kentucky game, and that's saying something. Sky high hops, excellent body control, and a lightning quick first step.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Yancy Gates will probably be suspended several games for the wicked punch he landed on an Xavier player today. Yates threw an absolute sucker punch that Kevin Frease, who appeared to be trying to make peace, got dropped to the floor and cut around his eye.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQQbKI6oVoE[/youtube]


Gates might have actually helped his draft potential in a LeGarrette Blount sort of way.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Yancy-Gates-1281/

Mean dude, Gates. I hope he gets suspended about 10 games for that punch. The fact that it was a sucker punch makes it inexcusable IMO.

That punch reminded me, it's time to for the PPV of Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida! (Seriously, it did).

[Ruzious]

Yancy Gates will probably be suspended several games for the wicked punch he landed on an Xavier player today. Yates threw an absolute sucker punch that Kevin Frease, who appeared to be trying to make peace, got dropped to the floor and cut around his eye.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQQbKI6oVoE[/youtube]


Gates might have actually helped his draft potential in a LeGarrette Blount sort of way.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Yancy-Gates-1281/

Mean dude, Gates. I hope he gets suspended about 10 games for that punch. The fact that it was a sucker punch makes it inexcusable IMO.

That punch reminded me, it's time to for the PPV of Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida! (Seriously, it did).

He's not a mean dude; he's a punk, and he should be kicked off the team. Take my word for it - it didn't help his draft chances. Didn't he get suspended last season for pouting?

On Buford, I've always liked him as a shooter, and he's showed he can score in various ways, but... the NBA is more physical, and he seems to awfully soft when there's contact. I think he needs to get a lot stronger to make an impact in the NBA.

[7-Day Dray]

Any European teams looking for a slow, defensively challenged 6-9 bigman who likes to float out to the perimeter and jack fadeaways? Gates NCAA privileges may be over. Good chance he's made an example of.

[7-Day Dray]

BTW, did anyone see that Kentucky v. Indiana game? What a thriller!

Hulls, Watford, Oladipo and Sheehey all played in the pro-am league this summer... It's paying off. You can see it in their confidence and swagger. They put in serious work this summer.

I'm not too impressed with Terrence Jones... I don't think he'll be a great pro. He'll be the definition of a tweener.

Teague didn't start in the second half, which was deserved, but he turned it on soon after that.

Davis' foul trouble was a big factor.

Zeller is already better than Tyler. By the end of the year, scouts will have him in the lottery. But he'll stay at least another year.

Kidd-Gilchrist is going to be a great pro.

[Ruzious]

I saw it - and felt bad for Terrence Jones. I think he's got issues with Calipari that need to be resolved. Otherwise, he's going to be sulking on the bench the rest of the season - luckily they don't have a deep bench, so he'll still get some PT. I also thought Indiana got away with a ton of defensive fouls inside in the first half - the officials weren't calling anything on them - while Davis was in foul trouble the whole time.

Watford really made a name for himself - hitting an almost historic shot - but also with his steady play throughout the game. I think that game made him a pro prospect - he's got a helluva jump shot for a guy his size and with decent athleticism.

Btw, I think Dickie V was as disappointed that KY lost as anyone. He went way overboard in his criticism of Indiana not going inside. But quite frankly, while Indy took some poor shots, they won the game because of their superior 3 point shooting.

[Rafael122]

I'm not a Duke Vitale fan, but he was right, they completely went away from Zeller when Davis had 4 fouls.

[Ruzious]

I'm not a Duke Vitale fan, but he was right, they completely went away from Zeller when Davis had 4 fouls.

And Indiana won by doing that. Notice even when they did go to Zeller, he was quick to pass the ball out to the 3 point shooters. They established the inside game early so that they could go to the outside game.

[go'stags]

I think Vitale was right. The stretch when he kept saying coincided with Kentucky getting back in the game. Poor, rushed shots without Zeller touching the ball-they didn't get any points either. I agree they won because of their 3 point shooting, Ruz, but remember after a timeout, they finally got the ball into Zellers hands, and he found a wide open shooter which was their best shot they had taken in quite a few possessions. It wasn't only about Zeller scoring, just good offense.

Man, was that a great game though. Indiana's PG made a great pass on the game winner, but it might not have come down to that if he had not been absolutely abused defensively. It did not matter who he was on-Miller, Lamb, or Teague- they found him and scored almost at will.

Any Kentucky game has the potential to be great simply because they have 6 pro prospects on their own team, plus whoever the other team has.

[fishercob]

Okay, so I'm feeling a little cynical this morning.

Someone convince me why I should be especially enthused about Anthony Davis? I mean, I get the length and the high motor. But he's rail thin and has zero offensive game outside of dunks and tip-ins. He's nowhere near the prospect Blake Griffin was, right? Even if we lucked into the number one pick, how long before this guy has an impact -- 2 years? 3?

And to that end, there's been all this discussion of the depth of this draft at the top, but it seems like everyone has question marks. Drummond has hardly been heard from since the season started. Sullinger is thought to be too short and slow to be elite. Barnes cant get to the basket. Perry Jones seems to be moving back up boards after character questions last year.

Where's the light at the end of the tunnel? Are we ever going to get off this treadmill of suckitude?

[Zonkerbl]

I've seen Anthony Davis for all of ten minutes of playing time, but he looks about as developed for his age that Dwight Howard, Rasheed Wallace, Tyson Chandler, and Kevin Garnett did.

Dude floats, is obviously going to fill out some, and is already showing enough on the defensive side to get me excited. Love to him on this team.

[Zonkerbl]

Yancy Gates will probably be suspended several games for the wicked punch he landed on an Xavier player today. Yates threw an absolute sucker punch that Kevin Frease, who appeared to be trying to make peace, got dropped to the floor and cut around his eye.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQQbKI6oVoE[/youtube]


Gates might have actually helped his draft potential in a LeGarrette Blount sort of way.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Yancy-Gates-1281/

Mean dude, Gates. I hope he gets suspended about 10 games for that punch. The fact that it was a sucker punch makes it inexcusable IMO.

That punch reminded me, it's time to for the PPV of Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida! (Seriously, it did).

Wow, lousy form on that punch -- glancing blow off the ring finger and pinky finger knuckles. Lucky he didn't break his hand.

[Rafael122]

I've seen Anthony Davis for all of ten minutes of playing time, but he looks about as developed for his age that Dwight Howard, Rasheed Wallace, Tyson Chandler, and Kevin Garnett did.

Dude floats, is obviously going to fill out some, and is already showing enough on the defensive side to get me excited. Love to him on this team.

The kid grew like 8 inches over 1 summer. He wasn't even suppose to go to Kentucky. He was going to some local college before his growth spurt. The scary thing is the kid is just getting use to being a big man, he's not even close to being a finished product yet IMO, he's well ahead of Javale in terms of BBIQ and defense. Not to mention he has range, can hit the 12-15 footer.

[Ruzious]

Okay, so I'm feeling a little cynical this morning.

Someone convince me why I should be especially enthused about Anthony Davis? I mean, I get the length and the high motor. But he's rail thin and has zero offensive game outside of dunks and tip-ins. He's nowhere near the prospect Blake Griffin was, right? Even if we lucked into the number one pick, how long before this guy has an impact -- 2 years? 3?

And to that end, there's been all this discussion of the depth of this draft at the top, but it seems like everyone has question marks. Drummond has hardly been heard from since the season started. Sullinger is thought to be too short and slow to be elite. Barnes cant get to the basket. Perry Jones seems to be moving back up boards after character questions last year.

Where's the light at the end of the tunnel? Are we ever going to get off this treadmill of suckitude?

Okay, here's the light. Henson of UNC. Davis is the improved version, and Henson is turning out real well - so Davis is going to be that much better. Their games are astonishingly similar. I don't know if you saw Henson as a frosh, but as thin as Davis is - Henson was MUCH thinner, believe it or don't - I'm talking about 25 lbs lighter than what Davis is now - at the same age. Henson's body gradually developed - and now it's to the point where it looks like he'll play in the NBA at 230 plus - and be an outstanding NBA PF. Davis has the frame to develop into an over 240 lb player - he's not going to be scrawny at all in a couple of years - and he could actually get big enough to be a power center. Jones is just about as sure a thing as it gets. He won't be the offensive force that Griffin is, but he'll be a far better defensive force.

Btw, while Drummond isn't the sure thing that Davis is, he's coming along just fine - and I'd be comfortable with him as the #2 pick in the draft. Now, if he stops progressing, that'll be another story. We'll have to see where he is towards the end of the season.

[go'stags]

Why should you love Anthony Davis?

Because, as you can see with McGee, athleticism, hops, and length mean nothing if you have a terrible defensive IQ. Davis is extraordinary in that regard. He was consistently making the correct rotations since the first game I saw him, often beating the offensive player to the spot. And once he gets there, he has the timing to go along with those physical tools to wreak havoc for opposing penetrators. In today's NBA that is extremely valuable. He is also a tremendous rebounder, and after he gathers the rebound he still has the speed to beat everyone down the court for a lob.

As for his skills, its true he hasn't shown much-yet. But he has the ball-handling ability and touch to combine with his athleticism to become an excellent offensive player. As is the case with every player, it depends on how hard he works.