The Nik Stauskas Thread

[MasterIchiro]

My favorite opinion from an NBA scout:

“He’s a lot like Klay Thompson in terms of body type and shooting,” the scout said. “Thompson is a pretty good ballhandler, but I think [Stauskas is] even better with the ball and a better passer than Thompson — and Klay Thompson is a fringe All-Star player. I love Klay Thompson, but I think Stauskas could be that good. Stauskas is good, man. He’s good.

If this guy is right and we pass on him, it's devastating.

If only he was as a good a defender as Klay.

I'll say it again...

Nik Stauskas would play here alongside an elite defender and within a structured defense headed by an effective coach. His biggest area of weakness is a team strength. The same can't be said for the other choices. Their biggest weakness might also be one of the teams biggest weaknesses whether it be small size (Harris), poor shooting (Payton), can't play a position of need (McDermott), lack of ball handling (McDermott).

[mrknowitall215]

I mean technically he said when both were sophomores.

Well technically, that's a illogical argument, because then I could say that Jacobsen was better as a freshman at almost every aspect. I measure a player by his overall output whenever it's more than one season to gauge by

Fair enough, but the counter is that Stauskas showed more improvement between his frosh and soph year (so the potential for development is there) and at similar stages in Jacobsen and Stauskas's career (after their soph years) Stauskas seems to have put up better numbers.

With that said, again, I don't know jack about Jacobsen and am not at all vested in this argument.

They put up the same numbers their sophomore seasons outside of the fact that 1 less assist per game. It was a silly rebuttal that had no ground to stand on

[MasterIchiro]

NBA scouts on Stauskas

“He’s the best pro shooter in the draft and he has the best pro jump shot in the draft,” said one league source familiar with Stauskas. “If he adds other stuff to his game, I think he’s going to be good.”

“He’s bigger than you think,” said one Eastern Conference executive. “He’s a legitimate 6-6. He’s also more athletic than you think.”

“Stauskas was especially impressive,” wrote ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford. “He measured with a 35.5-inch max [vertical leap], a 10.79 lane agility score, a 2.92 shuttle run and a 3.27 sprint. Those were all very good numbers and should boost his draft stock.”

“He’s a lot like Klay Thompson in terms of body type and shooting,” the scout said. “Thompson is a pretty good ballhandler, but I think [Stauskas is] even better with the ball and a better passer than Thompson — and Klay Thompson is a fringe All-Star player. I love Klay Thompson, but I think Stauskas could be that good. Stauskas is good, man. He’s good.

“The thing is, as good a shooter as [Stauskas] is, and he might be the best shooter in the draft, but he’s much more than that. His skill as a handler and passer, he’s got long hands and a good passer . . . Nik Stauskas was hands-down the 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year in a conference with [Indiana forward] Noah Vonleh, [Michigan State guard] Gary Harris, [Michigan State forward] Adreian Payne, the Ohio State guys.

“Watch Stauskas and how teams defended him. They threw everything at him and he scored every way. You couldn’t shake him right. He’ll go left. You couldn’t handle him physically. He’s a real basketball player.”

“Love him, love him, love him,” said one Western Conference scout.

“He’s really high up on our board, because we need shooting so badly,” said one Eastern Conference scout.

“I would mention him first ahead of the rest of the guys,” said a Western Conference executive. “I think he’s got an NBA game. He’s got the size for the [shooting guard] position. And he’s an excellent shooter.

“He gets his shot away quickly with really good range. I think his game is going to transfer to the NBA really well. If he lasts until the late lottery, people are going to be really happy that they got him.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/ ... story.html

I'll just refer doubters to this post.

[Crossroads24]

Not going to watch the whole Jacobsen video, but from what I remember about him, Nik is a much better playmaker. Jacobsen had insane range on his jumper and some crafty moves to the basket, but I don't really remember him creating for others like Stauskas.

I'm still not completely sold on him, but I just think he fits our team better than any other prospects at this point. (Though I'm one of the few who would be completely fine with Gary Harris)

[mrknowitall215]

I'll just refer doubters to this post.

Ben McLemore had a better rap sheet than that. He was not only supposed to be 'The Next Ray Allen', but better!

[Eoghan]

I guess a less athletic Brent Barry is worth a #9 pick.

[MasterIchiro]

I won't dignify a response. There's plenty of reading material there. I feel good about my guy.

[mrknowitall215]

I guess a less athletic Brent Barry is worth a #9 pick.

Casey Jacobsen is the most accurate comparison when you contrast size, shooting ability, and athleticism among other things, but Jacobsen's short lived career doesn't have enough luster, so we can bend different players instead

So, he's Brent Barry with far superior 3-point shooting ability

He's "J.J. Redick with ball handling ability and court vision" is OK, but he can't be Jacobsen because they were 1 assist apart in their sophomore season

He's "Klay Thompson without the defense" is just fine too, but he can't be Jacobsen because he's not Canadian

[yosemiteben]

"One guy 12 years ago didn't translate so Nik Stauskas won't either."

[Eoghan]

Nah, Casey Jacobsen sucked. Stauskas at least makes an impact on games.

Nik is not a far superior 3pt shooter than Bones, or any Barry for that matter. Better maybe but not far superior.

[mrknowitall215]

"One guy 12 years ago didn't translate so Nik Stauskas won't either."

Just because that's the most accurate comparison that doesn't mean that he'll have the same career. I could compare Jabari Parker to Eddie Griffin (in which I'm not), but I'm sure he'll have a much better career

It's the fact that people like to use stats when comparing a player, and that was my rebuttal, so now they want to try to essential the difference of one measly assist in a sophomore season to separate the two

[mrknowitall215]

Nah, Casey Jacobsen sucked. Stauskas at least makes an impact on games.

Nik is not a far superior 3pt shooter than Bones, or any Barry for that matter. Better maybe but not far superior.

Jacobsen had 10.7 win shares in his 1st two seasons at Stanford to Stauskas' 10.8

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Things that have changed in 12 years:

NBA defense rules (especially zone rules)
Emphasis on outside shooting, particularly 3 point shooting
Strength of SG position across the league (it's a bit weak now overall)
etc.

MKIA this is not a productive argument IMHO. You don't like Nik and project him as a likely bust along the lines of Jacobsen. Got it.

[mrknowitall215]

Things that have changed in 12 years:

NBA defense rules (especially zone rules)
Emphasis on outside shooting, particularly 3 point shooting
Strength of SG position across the league (it's a bit weak now overall)
etc.

MKIA this is not a productive argument IMHO. You don't like Nik and project him as a likely bust along the lines of Jacobsen. Got it.

I'm probably one of the first posters that mentioned liking Stauskas as a possibility on this board early in the season. I don't think he's going to bust. It's just the fact that when I try to be generous and compare Stauskas to a hybrid of J.J. Redick & Goran Dragic, the Stauskas' enthusiasts get offended by the Redick comparison and want to throw numbers into the equation, so I responded to them with a player that's eerily similar to Stauskas in 'overall' efficiency & assist-to-turnover ratio. It's honestly me just being a smart aleck, but they asked for it

[ARHornet]

I'll just refer doubters to this post.

Ben McLemore had a better rap sheet than that. He was not only supposed to be 'The Next Ray Allen', but better!

Stauskas is easily a better prospect than McLemore.

[yosemiteben]

Things that have changed in 12 years:

NBA defense rules (especially zone rules)
Emphasis on outside shooting, particularly 3 point shooting
Strength of SG position across the league (it's a bit weak now overall)
etc.

MKIA this is not a productive argument IMHO. You don't like Nik and project him as a likely bust along the lines of Jacobsen. Got it.

I'm probably one of the first posters that mentioned liking Stauskas as a possibility on this board early in the season. I don't think he's going to bust. It's just the fact that when I try to be generous and compare Stauskas to a hybrid of J.J. Redick & Goran Dragic, the Stauskas' enthusiasts get offended by the Redick comparison and want to throw numbers into the equation, so I responded to them with a player that's eerily similar to Stauskas in 'overall' efficiency & assist-to-turnover ratio. It's honestly me just being a smart aleck, but they asked for it

Nothing inspires good discourse like disingenuous posturing because the other side "asked for it."

[MasterIchiro]

Pestering like that is definitely a Yankee thing and I'm not a fan of it.

[mrknowitall215]

Nothing inspires good discourse like disingenuous posturing because the other side "asked for it."

There's nothing disingenuous about the indistinguishable numbers though

18.1 PPG, 51 FG%, 47 3P%, 4.0 RPG, 2.3 APG

17.5 PPG, 47 FG%, 44 3P%, 2.9 RPG, 3.3 APG



I couldn't tell the difference

[mrknowitall215]

Pestering like that is definitely a Yankee thing and I'm not a fan of it.

What have I done besides state that Stauskas remind me of Jacobsen and used similar numbers by the respective players to back it up? I didn't call Stauskas a bust. I don't think Stauskas will bust, but at the same time I am laying it out there that just because he had highly efficient shooting numbers and a little bit of ability to put the ball on the floor to create for others, that doesn't secure my doubt that he's a 'sure thing'

If Charlotte draft Stauskas, I won't even be mad. I'll be happy that they didn't draft Gary Harris, Elfrid Payton, Rodney Hood, or P.J. Hairston at #9. That's what I'll be. Remember, Stauskas is on my shortlist. If I didn't like him, I could've shortened my shortlist to 3 prospects at #9 instead of 5 of them

[yosemiteben]

What have I done besides state that Stauskas remind me of Jacobsen and used similar numbers by the respective players to back it up?

"It's honestly me just being a smart aleck, but they asked for it"

Mostly that.