2013 Sleepers

[noobcake]

Well, the best senior on Duke might not be Plumlee or Curry. It might be a guy who's not even listed as a 2nd rounder by draftexpress and is listed as the last guy in the draft by nbadraft.net - Ryan Kelly. I think he just convinced a lot of NBA folks he's a 1st round pick. 14 shots taken, 36 points against the 5th ranked team in the country can do that. He's basically a young poor man's Ryan Anderson (though Anderson was and is a much better rebounder). Very quick release on his 3's for a PF - classic face 4. And he plays tough - he's not soft like Kyle Wiltjer - who's somewhat similar physically and skill-wise. Wiltjer won't make it in the NBA, imo - while Kelly will. His quick release will make him a prolific 3 shooter in the NBA. Defensively, he's no star, but he's aware out there, and he gives a good effort. Put a little more weight on him, and get him to hit the defensive boards harder, and he comes closer to Anderson's level. If he's there for San Antonio and Miami, one of them takes him.

Kelly is actually really good at defense. High defensive instincts, takes charges, tries hard. Rebound hard.

Anderson is a stretch 4/3 pt specialist. Kelly is a mid range shooter. He is a poor poor poor man's Dirk.

If Kelly can pack on some strength to defend the NBA post, he'll have a long solid NBA career.

[Ruzious]

Well, the best senior on Duke might not be Plumlee or Curry. It might be a guy who's not even listed as a 2nd rounder by draftexpress and is listed as the last guy in the draft by nbadraft.net - Ryan Kelly. I think he just convinced a lot of NBA folks he's a 1st round pick. 14 shots taken, 36 points against the 5th ranked team in the country can do that. He's basically a young poor man's Ryan Anderson (though Anderson was and is a much better rebounder). Very quick release on his 3's for a PF - classic face 4. And he plays tough - he's not soft like Kyle Wiltjer - who's somewhat similar physically and skill-wise. Wiltjer won't make it in the NBA, imo - while Kelly will. His quick release will make him a prolific 3 shooter in the NBA. Defensively, he's no star, but he's aware out there, and he gives a good effort. Put a little more weight on him, and get him to hit the defensive boards harder, and he comes closer to Anderson's level. If he's there for San Antonio and Miami, one of them takes him.

Kelly is actually really good at defense. High defensive instincts, takes charges, tries hard. Rebound hard.

Anderson is a stretch 4/3 pt specialist. Kelly is a mid range shooter. He is a poor poor poor man's Dirk.

If Kelly can pack on some strength to defend the NBA post, he'll have a long solid NBA career.

I mostly agree, but imo Kelly needs to be a high volume 3 point shooter to excel in the NBA - not a guy who shoots long 2's. And I think he can. Anderson learned early in his career that the most efficient shots in the NBA are 3's and shots right near the basket. Kelly's got to do the same thing - and playing at Duke - I think he already knows.

[UGA Hayes]

Like you mentioned the bigger issue for Kelly is that he doesn't rebound like Anderson which makes him less appealing. He has got nice offensive skills though. Maybe more of a Matt bonner type.

[GreenRiddler]

Cladwell-Pope guy s just as good as Ben Mclemore but will be chosen 10-12 spots lower smh

[Manimal]

Prefacing this by saying I'm not big into college basketball..

But last season all the mocks I saw had James McAdoo up in the top 10 before he decided to return to school. And by all accounts, last year's draft was better than this year's is going to be. That was also with McAdoo being a raw freshman who barely played much of a role for the Tar Heels.

Now this season, as a sophomore playing significantly more, heading into an inferior draft...all the mocks I see have him down around 20-25. Now his stats aren't great and basically all he has done is continue his production over the increased minutes. But, is that really cause for him to fall down so far? How can a guy who was "top 5-10" just 30 games ago now be a guy that could fall into the 20s? Either he never should have been projected that high in the first place, or people are putting way too much weight into a miniscule sample size.


To me it just seems like another case where the longer these kids stay in school, and the more they get a chance to show...the less teams actually want to draft them. Sometimes it's definitely valid, I get that. If a guy doesn't show much progression over the course of a 3-4 year college career, then how can you really expect them to improve much more once they get in the league. But these days it just seems that anyone who doesn't come out after their freshman year, whether they had a good year or not, is hurting their value. A guy 20 or 21 is suddenly too old and "doesn't have any potential left." It's just crazy to me.

[Klomp]

What do you guys think of Nate Wolters?

I live about 60 miles from where he plays his home games, so I hear quite a bit about him. Stud on the college level. Not sure how he can transition to the pros though. I think his best case scenario is someone like Luke Ridnour. High end backup, low end starter.

Remember though, five years ago another no name point guard entered the draft out of a Summit League school. Like Wolters, he wasn't considered much more than a 2nd rounder in most mocks during the season despite averaging 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists per game. However, he wound up being drafted with the 26th pick by the San Antonio Spurs.

His name? George Hill.

Now Wolters doesn't have the defensive ceiling of Hill, but he can hold his own on that end of the floor.

Here's his coming-out party last season against Washington: 34 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XYRK61RfHo[/youtube]

[moss_is_1]

Well, the best senior on Duke might not be Plumlee or Curry. It might be a guy who's not even listed as a 2nd rounder by draftexpress and is listed as the last guy in the draft by nbadraft.net - Ryan Kelly. I think he just convinced a lot of NBA folks he's a 1st round pick. 14 shots taken, 36 points against the 5th ranked team in the country can do that. He's basically a young poor man's Ryan Anderson (though Anderson was and is a much better rebounder). Very quick release on his 3's for a PF - classic face 4. And he plays tough - he's not soft like Kyle Wiltjer - who's somewhat similar physically and skill-wise. Wiltjer won't make it in the NBA, imo - while Kelly will. His quick release will make him a prolific 3 shooter in the NBA. Defensively, he's no star, but he's aware out there, and he gives a good effort. Put a little more weight on him, and get him to hit the defensive boards harder, and he comes closer to Anderson's level. If he's there for San Antonio and Miami, one of them takes him.

Kelly is actually really good at defense. High defensive instincts, takes charges, tries hard. Rebound hard.

Anderson is a stretch 4/3 pt specialist. Kelly is a mid range shooter. He is a poor poor poor man's Dirk.

If Kelly can pack on some strength to defend the NBA post, he'll have a long solid NBA career.

So maybe he could be a player like Jason Smith?

[Ruzious]

Well, the best senior on Duke might not be Plumlee or Curry. It might be a guy who's not even listed as a 2nd rounder by draftexpress and is listed as the last guy in the draft by nbadraft.net - Ryan Kelly. I think he just convinced a lot of NBA folks he's a 1st round pick. 14 shots taken, 36 points against the 5th ranked team in the country can do that. He's basically a young poor man's Ryan Anderson (though Anderson was and is a much better rebounder). Very quick release on his 3's for a PF - classic face 4. And he plays tough - he's not soft like Kyle Wiltjer - who's somewhat similar physically and skill-wise. Wiltjer won't make it in the NBA, imo - while Kelly will. His quick release will make him a prolific 3 shooter in the NBA. Defensively, he's no star, but he's aware out there, and he gives a good effort. Put a little more weight on him, and get him to hit the defensive boards harder, and he comes closer to Anderson's level. If he's there for San Antonio and Miami, one of them takes him.

Kelly is actually really good at defense. High defensive instincts, takes charges, tries hard. Rebound hard.

Anderson is a stretch 4/3 pt specialist. Kelly is a mid range shooter. He is a poor poor poor man's Dirk.

If Kelly can pack on some strength to defend the NBA post, he'll have a long solid NBA career.

So maybe he could be a player like Jason Smith?

Take a look at Jason Smith's 3 point shooting http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jas ... 369/stats/ and get back to us.

[noobcake]

To be honest, Ryan Kelly's NBA comparison is Dirk.

Best Case: Borderline All-star version of Dirk.

They take the same garbage mid range jumpers. Doesn't rebound that well for their height. Decently high basketball IQ, nice hustle, high character, mediocre defense.


Worst Case: Poorman's Ryan Anderson.

[Johnlac1]

What do you guys think of Nate Wolters?

One of those "unathletic" players who is more athletic than he appears. I think he can play offense, it's his defense that will be questionable. He's not just a scorer but has good ballhandling and passing skills. I guess if Steve Nash can play despite weak defense, Wolters has a chance. I'd say he could be a taller, little more athletic Luke Ridnour.

[noobcake]

To be honest, Ryan Kelly's NBA comparison is Dirk.

Best Case: Borderline All-star version of Dirk.

They take the same garbage mid range jumpers. Doesn't rebound that well for their height. Decently high basketball IQ, nice hustle, high character, mediocre defense.


Worst Case: Poorman's Ryan Anderson.

Article on Kelly's defense.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... ts-dukes-d

[franktony]

How do you guys like SA drafting Jackie Carmichael with the late 2013 first?

Most Spurs fans are more interested in International prospects with the pick, like Dieng or Mam Jaiteh.

[sunshinekids99]

How do you guys like SA drafting Jackie Carmichael with the late 2013 first?
Most Spurs fans are more interested in International prospects with the pick, like Dieng or Mam Jaiteh.

He's my draft crush at the moment for the Celtics.....now if they can just figure out a way to get rid of Bass. For the Spurs I see him as being a good fit. He's really going to surprise some people his rookie year.

[Klomp]

For those wanting to take a look at Nate Wolters, the Summit League Tournament starts today. The Jacks play tonight at 6, and the game will be on one of the Fox College Sports channels.

[Grits n Gravy]

first time watching him but cory jefferson from baylor is having an incredible first half vs kansas. althete, dunking on people, long, even stepping out and hitting jumpers - even hitting threes, taking charge, showing post movess. looks like jason thompson a bit body wise but more of an athlete. dude is a beast!

[Ruzious]

first time watching him but cory jefferson from baylor is having an incredible first half vs kansas. althete, dunking on people, long, even stepping out and hitting jumpers - even hitting threes, taking charge, showing post movess. looks like jason thompson a bit body wise but more of an athlete. dude is a beast!

I love how he's listed at 210 lbs by espn and draftexpress. My guess is he's 250. On the negative side is - he's a 22 year old junior, but I have him as a late 1st rounder (even before today's impressive performance).

[nickforthreee]

To be honest, Ryan Kelly's NBA comparison is Dirk.

Best Case: Borderline All-star version of Dirk.

They take the same garbage mid range jumpers. Doesn't rebound that well for their height. Decently high basketball IQ, nice hustle, high character, mediocre defense.


Worst Case: Poorman's Ryan Anderson.

LOL. Dirk single handedly led his team to a title taking those "garbage midrange jumpers". and no ryan kelly is no dirk. he would be very lucky to havea ryan anderson type career, i dont see it. i see him being like the current mike miller. spot of shooter who gets 10-15 min a game

[JN]

To be honest, Ryan Kelly's NBA comparison is Dirk.

Best Case: Borderline All-star version of Dirk.

They take the same garbage mid range jumpers. Doesn't rebound that well for their height. Decently high basketball IQ, nice hustle, high character, mediocre defense.


Worst Case: Poorman's Ryan Anderson.

[Andi Obst]

To be honest, Ryan Kelly's NBA comparison is Dirk.

Best Case: Borderline All-star version of Dirk.

They take the same garbage mid range jumpers. Doesn't rebound that well for their height. Decently high basketball IQ, nice hustle, high character, mediocre defense.


Worst Case: Poorman's Ryan Anderson.

[No-Man]

JaKarr Sampson has less physical tools than Harkless, but his upside is high too, can he be a top20 pick this year like Harkless was?