Okafor or Towns? Which center is the better pick?

[ManualRam]

Call me crazy but okafor is not a #1 for me ! Guy is not to athletic,towns is my guy,If the Knicks get a crack at either perhaps they go for towns ! mudiay is a special talent and the Knicks could use a point leader real bad ! Sleeper in the draft may be the kid from ND

okafor isnt athletic...but towns is? pls

Towns is more athletic than Okafor, that shouldn't be under debate.

why not? is towns a great athlete? no. neither are that quick or explosive. i don't think either will be great defending in space at the next level or vs face up bigs. laterally they're similar. i just think towns is more aggressive defensively, but he also has the luxury to be more aggressive bc they have 2 other 7'ers on their roster and tons of big man depth overall. whereas jah has...marshall plumlee. okafor is quicker, more agile, has better balance and is stronger with the ball.

i'll just go ahead and disagree with you.

[ManualRam]

In your opinion, Who is the best prospect in the draft ?

okafor

how good of player do you think he'll be? how good on defense in particular?

i think he has the potential to be a number1 option offensively.
i dont know how good he'll be defensively, but he's not lacking for physical tools on that end of the floor despite what's being said. he's not slow. he's not lacking in agility or coordination. he's clearly strong with the base to root out post bigs. his issues defensively are more so aggressiveness (i think he plays defense not to foul), awareness and inexperience (ie defending in space). all areas that can be improved, but i do NOT believe that he is physically limited. if you believe that then you believe that towns is physically limited too, since neither are amazing athletes.

[Worm Guts]

It might not be a huge gap, but Towns is clearly quicker and more agile.

[Marcus]

his issues defensively are more so aggressiveness (i think he plays defense not to foul), awareness and inexperience (ie defending in space). all areas that can be improved, but i do NOT believe that he is physically limited.

EXACTLY!!!

[ManualRam]

It might not be a huge gap, but Towns is clearly quicker and more agile.

i disagree. jah's quickness is why he can get baseline whenever he wants despite a sliver of daylight. his agility and light feet are why he can execute multiple moves while still maintaining balance.
he has light feet for his size, period. it's evident on the offensive end. he's not agile on one end and not agile on the other. his issues defensively are mental.

athletically, in terms of movement there is no clear distinction at all. strength-wise there is though. jah clearly has the stronger base.

[Worm Guts]

He's more coordinated and has great footwork, it's a different situation when he needs to react. Towns has a more athletic quickness and can react on defense.

[Marcus]

It might not be a huge gap, but Towns is clearly quicker and more agile.

i disagree. jah's quickness is why he can get baseline whenever he wants despite a sliver of daylight. his agility and light feet are why he can execute multiple moves while still maintaining balance.
he has light feet for his size, period. it's evident on the offensive end. he's not agile on one end and not agile on the other. his issues defensively are mental.

athletically, in terms of movement there is no clear distinction at all. strength-wise there is though. jah clearly has the stronger base.

so I was under the impression that Jah was/is pretty much a finished product coming into the league. then I remember that the kid is still only 19. So with all that he has going for him offensively where else does he go? what else does he add to repertoire to make him more effective? I know extending the range and all that, im asking in terms of adding things to his offense without completely changing his game.

[Marcus]

He's more coordinated and has great footwork, it's a different situation when he needs to react. Towns has a more athletic quickness and can react on defense.

Its been mentioned before in other threads and ManRam touched on it in this one but with Jah defensively its effort. Im not saying he's gonna lock anybody down on the perimeter, when he's engaged though the kid can be effective and move his feet well enough to defend. Its the same thing when he rebounds, you'll see a HUGE difference in how he goes after them on the offensive end compared to how he goes after them on the defensive end. He'll amp all that up when he's locked in, its a gear he definitely need to turn up when he hits the league. He keeps his aggressiveness toned down at Duke and shows it in spurts. He played much harder beginning today's game and towards the end of the last meeting with Notre Dame than he did during the majority of his time on the floor during the first meeting. Effort. Its the same reason he can coast for a half and still end up dropping 20 by the time the game ends. If you've watched him all year you'll see the spurts.

[Worm Guts]

Every one is better when they try harder, but Okafor is heavy footed. He's just not as mobile as Towns.
I see the same thing with Pekovic. He Has good footwork so he looks quick on offense, but on defense his lack of quickness is obvious.
Of course Okafor is more athletic than Pekovic.

[djphan]

towns is the better prospect in my book.... ok4 has been better exploiting his size advantage in every game at the college level but he's gonna have a much tougher time in the pros... he will have some success... but i doubt it will be to the degree as some project...

defensively ok4 has bad instincts and the energy level isn't there... there's a long history of bulky plodding centers who are good down low but soso defensively and he fits the same profile... the alarming thing is that teams are just not afraid to challenge him and have good success when they do... it will be even worse in the pros...

towns is just more well rounded and more versatile.... if towns was on any other team he'd be consensus #1 but given the low minutes he gets in comparison ok4 grabs headlines... he has a better face up game.. mid range... i'd argue he's a better passer also but we can call that a wash...

defensively it's not close.... towns has much better habits... keeps his hands up and moves his feet a lot better... much better against the pnr and just more engaged defensively... he challenges just about every shot within his area which ok4 has trouble doing... you would think these are easy things to coach but it has a lot to do with conditioning and defensive instincts... blocking and challenging shots is not coachable... those are athleticism/standing reach/instinct markers...

plus if you look at all the potential lottery teams when the season is over... ok4 is a tough fit for all teams except possibly the kings, la and ny.... hell.. russell might be a better fit for some....

towns is better and in my book... it's not close

[EMG518]

Okafor is nimble and smooth while Towns is more athletic.

[ManualRam]

It might not be a huge gap, but Towns is clearly quicker and more agile.

i disagree. jah's quickness is why he can get baseline whenever he wants despite a sliver of daylight. his agility and light feet are why he can execute multiple moves while still maintaining balance.
he has light feet for his size, period. it's evident on the offensive end. he's not agile on one end and not agile on the other. his issues defensively are mental.

athletically, in terms of movement there is no clear distinction at all. strength-wise there is though. jah clearly has the stronger base.

so I was under the impression that Jah was/is pretty much a finished product coming into the league. then I remember that the kid is still only 19. So with all that he has going for him offensively where else does he go? what else does he add to repertoire to make him more effective? I know extending the range and all that, im asking in terms of adding things to his offense without completely changing his game.

jumpshot. FT shooting. off-hand. improving awareness defensively. wheeling hooks across the lane.
he actually already has a dynamite spin move that he can utilize either direction, but you don't see him playing space in college like he had to do in HS. he'd often get doubled off the ball so whitney young had some sets where he'd operate from around the FT line and he'd get to the rim with a spin and giant drop step, covering ground in a hurry.
an improved jumpshot would make him a threat from anywhere around the box.

[ManualRam]

nope, sorry. there nothing you can say to convince me that jah is heavy-footed or "plodding." agile players agile. heavy-footed players aren't agile in the post.
neither are impressive run jump athletes. the difference in their athleticism is negligible at best, but considering strength/balance are facets of athleticism, towns is not more athletic than jah.

[No-Man]

Towns is been selled as a defensive, stretch, shotblocking PF for some reason, and the fans, and the boards are buying.
I guess people are going to be really surprised when they see him at the next level.

[Worm Guts]

I'm not saying anything about his defense, but Towns is clearly more athletic. I don't even understand how it's up for debate.

[SharoneWright]

I'm driving the Towns Car.

[Marcus]

I get the fact that towns plays on a loaded team so he won't get the tic that he might get somewhere else. That doesn't explain his lack of go to bucket getting ability though. Especially on a team that severely lacks that. Hard to see the "consensus number one" argument when taking that into consideration.

[ManualRam]

I'm not saying anything about his defense, but Towns is clearly more athletic. I don't even understand how it's up for debate.

uh because towns isnt clearly more athletic. that's why.

[Worm Guts]

There's no place for this argument to go since I think he is. He looks faster, quicker and like he can jump higher. At least to me.

[Worm Guts]

I get the fact that towns plays on a loaded team so he won't get the tic that he might get somewhere else. That doesn't explain his lack of go to bucket getting ability though. Especially on a team that severely lacks that. Hard to see the "consensus number one" argument when taking that into consideration.

I do think Okafor should be the first. He's too much of a sure thing on offense, a potential 25 ppl scorer.