2012 NBA Draft

[7-Day Dray]

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.

That's how I broke my hand 2 months ago. I had to wear a cast around it for a month. It sucked.

[fishercob]

Did anyone else see Kevin Love over the weekend? He looks **insane**. Must have dropped 20-30 lbs of baby fat. If I knew Sullinger was going to look like that in 2 years, I might take him top 3.

[fishercob]

Brad Beal should go pro after this year just to get away from Irving Walker and Kenny Boynton. What shotjacking ballhogs those two are.

[Ruzious]

To follow up on Drummond - who will be 1 of the 2 top picks in the 2012 draft - along with Davis - he's improving by literally leaps and bounds. He was 17 of 19 from the field in his last 2 games, and he's 6 of 9 at halftime today. And I think he's an even better shot-blocker than Davis. He's a very unusual shot-blocker in that he waits till the shooter is already in the air before he leaps. And that prevents him from falling for ball fakes - Javale please take notes. With Drummond, when he blocks a shot you wonder where he came from, because you're used to seeing the blocker jump with the shooter, but because of his crazy length and quick jumping ability, he can wait and still get the block. Offensively, he's almost too unselfish at times - but that's fine as long as he continues to improve.

[fishercob]

So I watched much of Flordia-FSU with a really close eye on Beal. He just seems like a special player. He is impacting the game so much even though he spends very little time with the ball in his hands. It reminded me of Jamison's last season at UNC when ESPN had a clock on him for one of their games (maybe Duke) to show how effective he was -- and he scored something like 30 points and had the ball in his hands for less than a minute total).

Anyhow, Beal is doing everything -- getting rebounds, steals, blocking shots. 6 boards a game for a guard listed at 6'4 is special. My main disappointments with Beal are twofold -- he's not shooting that well. That's surprising because he came advertised as one of the best shooters in a generation, and he's only shooting 31% from three. The other is that I have very little sense for his game off the dribble -- if he can create his own shot or get to the hole. Given that he's playing with Boynton and Walker, we may not find out the answer this season because he starts every possession in the corner and does very little ballhandling.

But again, that leaves me impressed. That as a freshman who is touching the ball relatively little, he's not sulking or lost. He's averaging 16, 6, 1.5 steals and a block per game.

[fishercob]

To follow up on Drummond - who will be 1 of the 2 top picks in the 2012 draft - along with Davis - he's improving by literally leaps and bounds. He was 17 of 19 from the field in his last 2 games, and he's 6 of 9 at halftime today. And I think he's an even better shot-blocker than Davis. He's a very unusual shot-blocker in that he waits till the shooter is already in the air before he leaps. And that prevents him from falling for ball fakes - Javale please take notes. With Drummond, when he blocks a shot you wonder where he came from, because you're used to seeing the blocker jump with the shooter, but because of his crazy length and quick jumping ability, he can wait and still get the block. Offensively, he's almost too unselfish at times - but that's fine as long as he continues to improve.

I appreciate this and hope to catch some of Drummond. But please keep watching him and providing updates. I'd love your impressions of Lamb as well. Ideally we'd have our team of scouts -- Sev, Dat, CCJ among them -- each assigned to a few of the lottery guys and get frequent updates. It seems like Perry Jones has been lighting it up, but I haven't seen Baylor play.

Jeez we could scout the most of the first round just by watching Kentucky, UNC, UConn, Ohio State, Florida, Indiana, Baylor, Kansas and Duke.

[hands11]

I caught a little Anthony Davis last night. The kid is active defensively... That's for sure. Basically, he D looked like what we saw in Jesely the other night. He is court aware and sticks to him man.

I was flipping around watching other stuff so I missed the scoring aspect of his game.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=313560096

The power of the brow

[pancakes3]

florida's an odd team to watch. they jack up more 3's than just about anyone else in the country short of VMI. those 3 guards are shooting something like 8, 6, and 6 threes a game which could explain the low %'s (but i don't recall Beal being touted as being a generationally great shooter). the gunning seems to be 50/50 the other guards being shot-hogs and 50/50 the system encouraging volume 3's.

plus, as i can't remember who pointed it out, but all that space has allowed their undersized C down - low to rack up the garbage buckets though. 7-7 against FSU, 12-15 against 'Zona.

the impressive thing though, as fish, pointed out is the "other stuff" that beal's doing. rebounding, defense, efficient use of the ball when shots are catch as catch can, etc. it's wade-esque. plus if you look at his highlights - he has an unfairly easy time dunking the ball. one of the HS highlights shows him regularly dunking with 2 hands with ease. for someone who's 6'3, that's on par with russel westbrook-level hops. i can easily see him rising to eric gordon status if not better.

[queridiculo]

Drummond is Webber 2.0, with all the good and the bad. Damn I would love to see that kid in a Wizards uniform.

[Ruzious]

To follow up on Drummond - who will be 1 of the 2 top picks in the 2012 draft - along with Davis - he's improving by literally leaps and bounds. He was 17 of 19 from the field in his last 2 games, and he's 6 of 9 at halftime today. And I think he's an even better shot-blocker than Davis. He's a very unusual shot-blocker in that he waits till the shooter is already in the air before he leaps. And that prevents him from falling for ball fakes - Javale please take notes. With Drummond, when he blocks a shot you wonder where he came from, because you're used to seeing the blocker jump with the shooter, but because of his crazy length and quick jumping ability, he can wait and still get the block. Offensively, he's almost too unselfish at times - but that's fine as long as he continues to improve.

I appreciate this and hope to catch some of Drummond. But please keep watching him and providing updates. I'd love your impressions of Lamb as well. Ideally we'd have our team of scouts -- Sev, Dat, CCJ among them -- each assigned to a few of the lottery guys and get frequent updates. It seems like Perry Jones has been lighting it up, but I haven't seen Baylor play.

Jeez we could scout the most of the first round just by watching Kentucky, UNC, UConn, Ohio State, Florida, Indiana, Baylor, Kansas and Duke.

I'm always happy to go on and on about the prospects. I almost like Lamb (the UConn version - as opposed to KY) of last season better than this season - because he was so underrated last season, and now I think people are over-compensating - and overrating him this season. No doot - he's got amazing length, has a nice set of all-around skills, and seems like a nice quiet kid anyone would like on his team, but... I don't look at him as a star. He doesn't have that killer edge that most stars have. And he's just a half step slow in reaction time to things like loose balls. Most people have him as high lotto - some top 2 or 3; I have him as late lotto. I'd compare him to a slightly better version of Calbert Cheaney. Actually, I like the Lamb on KY a lot - great shooter, good athuhlete - I have to watch him closer to see how he is in other aspects.

[go'stags]

No doubt Beal has a great feel for the game, is unselfish, and I'v seen him go up and grab some tough boards. But what you said was basically we have no idea as to whether he can shoot, nor do we know if he can slash. Im drafting a SG in the first round, let alone the lottery, I have to know for sure that he is going to do one of those things.We shall see.

[Ruzious]

Perry Jones is the basketball reincarnation of Tim Thomas. Last night was his chance to shine on national tv in a big game, and he was content being part of the scenery. Tim Thomas had all the physical ability and would occasionally show every skill needed to be a supastar, but he lacked the fire to really compete on a consistent basis. I see that in PJ. Also, notice - when he gets the ball, it takes him several moments to make a decision on what to do - you can almost hear the gears grinding. That has the effect of stopping the offense and letting the defense get set. Otoh, his team is undefeated.

[Liverbird]

I really like Gilcrist-Kidd. Anyone think he can be a SG in the NBA? Does he shoot well enough or have a decent offensive game? I fear he may be a duplication of Singleton, but he certainly passes my intangibles test (not to mention he's a pretty damn good player). Beyond just talent alone, I rate the commitment, desire, and BBIQ high on my scouting priorities. I think this "Kidd" will blossom in the NBA.

[fishercob]

Perry Jones is the basketball reincarnation of Tim Thomas. Last night was his chance to shine on national tv in a big game, and he was content being part of the scenery. Tim Thomas had all the physical ability and would occasionally show every skill needed to be a supastar, but he lacked the fire to really compete on a consistent basis. I see that in PJ. Also, notice - when he gets the ball, it takes him several moments to make a decision on what to do - you can almost hear the gears grinding. That has the effect of stopping the offense and letting the defense get set. Otoh, his team is undefeated.

Yep, he was completely invisible for the part of the game I saw. I believe he had a much better game the night before against a tough St marys team, but still. He doesnt seem to have that extra gear when the lights are on bright. Kevin Jones on the other hand was a grown ass man. Absolutely beasted.

[Severn Hoos]

I realize that cataloging the Wizards' shortcomings is a Sisyphean task, but if one were to begin the list, it would have to start with:

1. Shooting
2. Post scoring
3. Defensive Rebounding
4. Post Defense

(I realize that Post defense is a huge, glaring weakness, but in terms of opportunity costs, you could add Dikembe Mutombo and the team would still struggle to get out of the 70s. That's why I use the order listed above.)

So the good news is, this draft looks to be really long on shooters. Barnes, Beal, Lamb, the other Lamb all should be solid-to-great shooters in the NBA. Even if the Wiz take a Big Man with their own pick, I would really love to see them find a way to somehow get one of those 4 guys to provide some kind of shooting ability to the current roster.

As you guys know, I was Sullinger's #1 fan here last year, and would be ecstatic to see him on the Wiz. Just a heady, physical guy, hard worker, good teammate. And maybe the most fundamentally sound post scorer in college ball today. I understand the concern about whether he will be able to get his shot off in the NBA, and it does give me pause. In fact, if the Wiz are picking top 3, even I would probably pass on Jared, as much as it kills me - all the while thinking that I'd end up regretting it. But, you know he'll be solid, he'll grab boards and hold his position, although many of the current PFs will shoot right over him. Still, I would hardly be disappointed if he joins the team this summer.

Henson would give the Wiz defense and rebounding. And yet, I wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole. oh, don't get me wrong, he's an outstanding prospect. But it would be painful to add him to the current roster - talk about offensively challenged, we'd be looking at pre-shot clock scoring outputs.

I want no part of T. Jones. Same deal, we have some solid defenders, hustle guys, athuletes already. I've loved the attitude transplant from Booker, Singleton, Vesely, and even Crawford. Now, it's time to add some skill players. Henson and Jones don't give you that.

Also why I would pass on Perry Jones. He's got skills, to be sure, but I need to be more convinced we're not looking at reintroducing the knucklehead factor.

I'd take Davis - even though his current contribution is more like Henson's - purely on potential. He passes the eye test, as you can imagine him filling both the defender/rebounder role and possibly the skilled big man role on offense. But, he would have a long way to go to get there - he'll have to fill out, and develop an automatic mid-range jumper. I think he'll get there, but I still have some apprehension until he does so.

Drummond is a giant question mark for me, as I haven't seen a minute of him playing yet. Based on other people's observations, I think he could be very good. Can he coexist with McGee? Or would the team look to S&T McGee (can you still do that? I'm woefully behind on the new CBA) or even let him walk? Yikes, talk about putting all your eggs in one basket...

The hard part for me is that my "favorite" guys in this year's draft are all clearly limited. In terms of guys I'd feel really good about adding, it would look like: Sullinger, Barnes, J. Lamb, Beal. Are any of those guys legitimate 2nd stars? And when you consider that he would have to supplement some of the areas that our current #1 star doesn't have, we need more than just a sidekick. I don't know that any of those guys fit that bill, though every one would be a great 3rd option.

So what to do? Well, I don't think we need to worry about the ping pong balls, they'll take care of themselves this year.

So I'll be watching those 4 guys, plus Davis & Drummond, and hoping that our newest addition is one of those 6 players. Just about anyone else - barring a surprise emerging from the NCAAs or International ranks - would be a disappointment, IMO.

[Severn Hoos]

By the way, as I mentioned, this draft looks to be deep in SG/shooters. So - suppose we had re-upped Nick with a multi-year deal, and then found ourselves on the board in the 2012 Draft: Davis, Drummond, and Sullinger are all gone. The top guys on your board are Barnes, Lamb, and Beal. Do you take a purist, BPA approach and draft a SG anyway, even though we have so many other holes? (In that scenario, you could probably get away with playing Barnes & Young together, with Barnes as more of a SF - but regardless of position, their skillsets have far too much overlap for my taste.)

This is why I am glad that it worked out the way it did with Nick signing the 1-year QO. There's still some flexibility to re-sign him next year, but it keeps all of the options open next summer for both the draft and FA.





And Dat - I know the right answer is "Draft Perry Jones."

[Ruzious]

Sev, the one player there I disagree with you on is Henson. He's not a scoring machine, but he's a good offensive player. He's got a nice touch from 15 feet, and he can fly to the basket - he's got an explosive 1st step to his right, and I saw him this season taking his man to the left all the way to the hoop - finishing with his left hand. His physical and skills progression from his freshman year to now has been pretty amazing - he was awful as a frosh - and was a human stick figure.

[Severn Hoos]

Fair enough Ruz - as the only game I've really seen from UNC this year was on the deck of an aircraft carrier. And in that one, his defense far outshined his offense, although it's not as if he had a bad offensive game. I do have to worry, however, about any player who can't crack .500 from the FT line. Not only does that indicate a guy who probably wouldn't fall into the "skilled offensive player" category, but you'd have to worry about being susceptible to the Hack-a-Shaq (Hack-a-Hen?) strategy.

Now, if you could add Henson after drafting one of the other guys, I would be quite happy. Beal + Henson could be a very nice draft, for example.

I'll make sure to watch him more closely as conference play starts up.

[7-Day Dray]

I think the best fit for this team is Anthony Davis. He'll provide the post defense and shot-blocking that's needed for this team. He's not very strong yet, but most people say he has a frame that'll be able to add a lot of weight. He's anti-Blatche. When McGee gets taken out, we'll have another shot-blocker that can protect the paint and makes attackers think twice when driving to the rim. And I think his offense will come in time.

[nate33]

I still like Thomas Robinson. He's a terrific defender who covers a lot of ground, a great rebounder, and he has the making of a pretty good midrange game. He hits some jumpers in games, and he shoots 70% from the FT line. If McGee gets better as a post option, I think he and Robinson would make a nice tandem up front.