Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part II

[Illuminaire]

+1 Thanks Steve!

[stevemcqueen1]

Burke's having a nice game. He's managing the game very well. I like this match up on Traevon Jackson for him. Jackson has some quick handles and it's really going to be a good test of his on ball D.

Burke continues to remind me of Chris Paul. I love how he keeps the dribble after getting into the lane as he waits for the play to develop. He is so patient. On the downside, he doesn't really have a great first step. His scoring is based mostly on good fundamentals and a good perimeter shot. He might have trouble against NBA caliber defenders in one-on-one situations. He's going to need a pick to get off a shot.

He should have had about 8 assists last game, and at least 5 so far this half. His teammates can't shoot (except for Stauskas).

Yeah his first step isn't a strength. He's got a great handle. You don't have to be blazing fast to thrive as a classic, below the rim PG but it probably limits his ability to be a star because you really need to be able to get around guys and get good shots off at the rim to get the easy baskets to score in volume like a star. But Jose Calderon has had a good career and made a ton of money off of being a pure jump shooter and facilitator.

Right now Burke is a jump shooter with a great 3 pt shot whose forte is getting shots off the dribble in mid range. He's potent when he's feeling it but he can struggle pretty hard when the shot isn't falling.

One thing he does is use his strength to get position on guys and go around them somewhat like Smart does. But I wonder if that'll work for him at the next level? He's not as big and thick as Smart.

Today his shot isn't falling any more and so many of his shots are difficult jumpers. It's hard for him shoot out of slumps because of his lack of size and top notch quickness make it hard for him to get easy baskets on drives. Michigan doesn't really have another top notch ball handler and facilitator to take him off the ball for easier looks.

[stevemcqueen1]

That was a nice pass from Burke. It won't go in the assist column but it was actually bette rbecause it got a foul and still got his team two points.

The thing I like best about Burke is his ball handling. It's silky smooth. Burke has fluid hips too. He can flip them well and make sharp changes of direction, he's so hard to cover in that mid range area.

And can I just say that I am enjoying Mike Bruesewitz's Cosmo Kramer hair?

[stevemcqueen1]

Hey

thanks for this

I had requested a year or 2 ago that someone do this. No one did. Until now.

Big thanks.

No problem. I'll probably get up in the morning and do another one for tomorrow once they announce all of the matchups. Should be a lot of top prospects playing tomorrow too.

[stevemcqueen1]

And Evans #5 from Wisconsin has hair like Gerald from Hey Arnold. That's a funny looking team.

[nuposse04]

Ted just needs to outright ban EG from drafting foreign players. By foreign I mean non-north american so we still have access to our Canadian brothers if we choose that direction.

We should probably start spamming his blog posts now regarding the overall disdain towards anyone but Noel, Porter, Oladipo, Bennet, Zeller and Muhammad.

Probably goes without saying since he might go #1, but put McLemore on the list too. For me at least. If nothing else you can trade him for something good.

I'm thinking the six guys you name plus Smart and McLemore are the top 8 right now. DX has those players as the top 8. Figuring out the order of those guys is the hard part. I think Noel is the top guy but he is injured. And after him, who knows how it will go? I could see any of the players going anywhere from 2 to 8.

I mean I don't expect to get the 1st overall pick so if McLemore is the consensus number 1 by then, it is kind of moot. Even then I'm listing players that fit, and are probably a better bet than Len.

The only justification for taking Len is falling down to like...8....Even then I'd rather take Austin over him.

I think in a forward driven league now, Porter, Muhammad and Bennett should supplant Len though even if Ernie likes him, he ought to be able to notice this trend. Len doesn't look any better then Leonard from this past draft. He's a player that won't pay dividends for a few seasons.

If Seraphin actually plays well to end the season I think we have less to worry about if EG is satisfied with our bigs.

[TGW]

Zeller had 24 points and 9 rebounds, and still I came away highly unimpressed. He just doesn't do anything that will translate well in the pros. He runs the floor well, but at the expense of rebounds. He likes to lay everything in the basket, which tells me he lacks explosion and he got his ish swatted trying to lay the ball in over a shorter player.

Tyler Hansborough 2.0 — draft him between 12-20. Not the lottery.

[Dat2U]

Cody Zeller's two biggest problems are Ty Zeller's performance on the pro level and the lack of ideal length.

Unless his standing reach is respectable I can't help but look at him as a better version of Ty Zeller, which means late lottery/mid 1st rounder.

[hands11]

- Zeller and Dipo on ESPN at noon
- Trey Burke and GRIII on ESPN at 2:00.
- Len, Plumlee on ESPN2 at 7:00
- Porter and MCW on ESPN at 7:00
- McLemore and Withey on ESPNU at 7:30
- McAdoo, Bullock, Snaer on ESPN2 at 9:00
- Smart on ESPNU at 10:00
- Bennett on CBSs at 11:30

- Gary Harris and Shabazz play on their conference networks unfortunately. Few will get to see them around here. It's also unfortunate that Bennett's game doesn't come on until almost midnight on the East Coast. And it's unfortunate that so many big prospects are playing the same time as the Wizards game.

Hey

thanks for this

I had requested a year or 2 ago that someone do this. No one did. Until now.

Big thanks.

I've done it several times recently.

Thanks for todays list Steve.

[TGW]

I also agree with Nate in that I get the "Chris Paul" vibe when I watch Burke play, although without the quickness that made Paul the consensus #1 in his respective draft. He's just really smooth with the basketball, and has a knack for getting to the hoop and converting. If we didn't have Wall, he'd be a player I'd consider with our pick.

[pancakes3]

- Zeller and Dipo on ESPN at noon
- Trey Burke and GRIII on ESPN at 2:00.
- Len, Plumlee on ESPN2 at 7:00
- Porter and MCW on ESPN at 7:00
- McLemore and Withey on ESPNU at 7:30
- McAdoo, Bullock, Snaer on ESPN2 at 9:00
- Smart on ESPNU at 10:00
- Bennett on CBSs at 11:30

- Gary Harris and Shabazz play on their conference networks unfortunately. Few will get to see them around here. It's also unfortunate that Bennett's game doesn't come on until almost midnight on the East Coast. And it's unfortunate that so many big prospects are playing the same time as the Wizards game.

Hey

thanks for this

I had requested a year or 2 ago that someone do this. No one did. Until now.

Big thanks.

I've done it several times recently.

Thanks for todays list Steve.

Thanks, Hands!

[Illuminaire]

I came away relatively unimpressed with Burke as a pro prospect. I see him as a very, very good backup or a sub-par starter. I just don't think you can be a small, slow PG in today's NBA. You'll get destroyed by the elite PGs, and you won't be quite good enough of offense to make up for it.

I could be wrong. I'll keep watching him, that was just my first impression after all.

[pancakes3]

Well if you cast your net wide enough, I'm confident that Burke will fall in somewhere between Jarrett Jack and Chris Paul.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Len lottery talk needs to stop. I hope someone talks him into staying for another year. Is he even as good as other former ACC centers like Serge Zwikker and Loren Woods? Seriously.

I've been thinking Alex Len might become as good as Kosta Koufos -- good enough to start and not be a liability. The worst I could see Len being is something like a Johann Petro, and he isn't a terrible basketball player.

We have all taken enough shots at Alex Len, especially with the Vesely comparisons, that if he is the Wizards draft pick I think the expectations will be so LOW that Len won't be anything but a (mildly) pleasant surprise.

Alex Len is still just 20 years old, over two years younger than Kelly Olynyk, a player who really built his body up when he was 21.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I came away relatively unimpressed with Burke as a pro prospect. I see him as a very, very good backup or a sub-par starter. I just don't think you can be a small, slow PG in today's NBA. You'll get destroyed by the elite PGs, and you won't be quite good enough of offense to make up for it.

I could be wrong. I'll keep watching him, that was just my first impression after all.

No matter how good Burke's stats are something tells me that the best PG in this class is Marcus Smart. Smart is big, tough, physical, and a bull dog on defense. He has the instincts to become a great facilitator without having the extra gear and extremely quick jump like Wall.

I'm not a huge Burke fan. I like C.J. McCollum but he's not a true PG. He's more prone to shoot even than Lillard.

I think Lorenzo Brown is going to be the sleeper among PGs. Like Reggie Jackson out of the ACC at BC, he did a respectable job and can excel in the NBA up tempo.

Illuminaire, I think Burke will be a starter along the lines of Mo Williams.

[stevemcqueen1]

Anyone able to catch any of the Kansas game? I've barely seen any of it between flipping back and forth between Maryland. GTown, and the Wiz. Where is Ben McLemore? Is he hurt?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Anyone able to catch any of the Kansas game? I've barely seen any of it between flipping back and forth between Maryland. GTown, and the Wiz. Where is Ben McLemore? Is he hurt?

I saw the worst and best of Michael Carter-Williams. He shot a brick at the end of regulation on a three-point shot. MCW is a weak shooter. However, at the end of the OT he defended the sidelines in part of a zone trap that caused Otto Porter to turn it over.

I think Georgetown might benefit from being motivated and rested going into the NCAAs. They crushed Syracuse twice before but it is hard to defeat the same team three times. I expected this but I don't think this is a bad thing especially if it fires them up.

Only bad part is I don't care that much for Jim Boeheim. Sorry to see him win.

[nuposse04]

Ryan Kelly was 0-6 from 3 pt land against duke, its games like that, that make me wonder if we're better served looking at him in the late 2nd.

Porter struggled against cuse, I guess that'll drop his value some...which is good cause Wall is going full (Please Use More Appropriate Word) these days. Tank is hurtin.

[mhd]

You see the talent of Len. He'll be a better pro than college player because college is not suited to any big men. He's certainly passionate out there and he's got a good stroke. Again, I don't have any problem taking him assuming Noel, Porter, Bennett, and Shabaaz are gone.

[stevemcqueen1]

Zeller had 24 points and 9 rebounds, and still I came away highly unimpressed. He just doesn't do anything that will translate well in the pros. He runs the floor well, but at the expense of rebounds. He likes to lay everything in the basket, which tells me he lacks explosion and he got his ish swatted trying to lay the ball in over a shorter player.

Tyler Hansborough 2.0 — draft him between 12-20. Not the lottery.

I came away extremely impressed with Zeller's play on both ends today. He showed off a big range of scoring tools and played excellent defense. He even scored on a perimeter drive today. I didn't know he had that in him.

I suspect he's got a good mid range jumper too, he just doesn't shoot it at Indiana often. He's shown it off a little bit this year. He's also an excellent FT shooter.

Running the floor translates to the next level. And he only leaks out when it makes sense. He actually boxes out really well and he only leaks out when he's closing out on shooters from mid range and on the perimeter.

Having his array of below the basket finishes is a strength, not a weakness. Most bigs do not have his touch with the ball. The ones that do like ZBo and LaMarcus Aldridge are very prolific NBA scorers.

I think his NBA potential is good. I used to think he was a pure 5 but he's shown enough quickness and perimeter skills to make me think he has some future at PF as well. If you like that school of super skilled PF/C hybrid bigs like Greg Monroe and LMA and ZBo, it's hard not to like Zeller. He's a better defender than all of them too IMO. His PnR defense is outstanding, he can hedge and recover like fiend. And he stayed with Trey Burke on a perimeter drive. He plays good positional D and helps out and boxes out. Reminds me of Nene defensively except much quicker and better at PnR defense--though it's at a lower level of competition. I think it speaks to his defensive potential.

I think he would pair well with an athletic PF who is a rebounder and has some length. Sort of like what Portland has done pairing Hickson with LMA.