Nassir Little

[akhan786]

I mentioned this in another thread but at the moment he's bad. Why can't he crack the starting 5 on his own college team?

Outside of the physical profile what is he showing that says top 5 pick?

He sounds good in theory, but when you watch him play, ugh.

I haven’t watch him play much yet, but him not starting is an Ol’ Roy Williams special. Roy does this to first round lock freshmen so that they stay a couple years.

This strategy has affected UNC in recruiting this past decade far more than their blatant cheating scandal imo.

[Duke4life831]

I mentioned this in another thread but at the moment he's bad. Why can't he crack the starting 5 on his own college team?

Outside of the physical profile what is he showing that says top 5 pick?

He sounds good in theory, but when you watch him play, ugh.

At the moment he's bad? His per 40 is 26/11/2 with a 68TS% and playing elite defense.

Him not starting says nothing about his talent. If him and Zion switched places, Little would start and Duke and Zion would be coming off the bench for UNC. This is what Roy does.

It has effected him in recruiting elite talent, but it's hard to argue his results.

[No-Man]

I mentioned this in another thread but at the moment he's bad. Why can't he crack the starting 5 on his own college team?

Outside of the physical profile what is he showing that says top 5 pick?

He sounds good in theory, but when you watch him play, ugh.

At the moment he's bad? His per 40 is 26/11/2 with a 68TS% and playing elite defense.

Him not starting says nothing about his talent. If him and Zion switched places, Little would start and Duke and Zion would be coming off the bench for UNC. This is what Roy does.

It has effected him in recruiting elite talent, but it's hard to argue his results.

He ain't playing elite defense though, I largely agree with you, but lack of play-making and how troublesome he has been at some stuff on D can worry some people

UNC is using him almost like Gonzaga uses Rui, other than Little been a much better shooter and way younger, which helps, he hasn't had the chance to showcase much play-making at all, he looks a bit heavy

It's nice that he kinda plays within himself and isn't hunting shots all over, plays miss-matches, goes inside, attacks the Oboards, etc but I understand why somebody would be lower on him if they don't see him ever dribble, and only to get to a pull-up three or mid-ranger

He had more of a herky-jerky game in high school, not sure he has the role at UNC to showcase it

[cgf]

I mentioned this in another thread but at the moment he's bad. Why can't he crack the starting 5 on his own college team?

Outside of the physical profile what is he showing that says top 5 pick?

He sounds good in theory, but when you watch him play, ugh.

What the...? He's not starting because Roy doesn't know how to do this whole one-and-done thing

Would not be surprised if this kid was the best player out of this draft 5 years down the line.

I'd be very surprised. I really like him but I'm not passing on Zion or Cam for him. Maybe not RJ either.

I wouldn't pass on Zion for him, but Cam v Nas is a toss up. Nassir's defensive, shooting, and athletic advantage may well carry the day over Cam's playmaking advantage & superior handle.

That said Nas is safer. Zion's body holding up is still a concern, even if his game is not, and Cam's mindset is still a question mark that he has to continue grinding to answer. He started off on fire last year as well, before growing complacent & disengaged as the season wore on; so while he's been very encouraging on that front this year...the question is still hanging in the air with him.

I'm off the RJ train until he gets over himself and remembers that his playmaking was supposed to be one of the most intriguing aspects of his game...before he got all salty with the attention that Zion gets...

[cgf]

I mentioned this in another thread but at the moment he's bad. Why can't he crack the starting 5 on his own college team?

Outside of the physical profile what is he showing that says top 5 pick?

He sounds good in theory, but when you watch him play, ugh.

At the moment he's bad? His per 40 is 26/11/2 with a 68TS% and playing elite defense.

Him not starting says nothing about his talent. If him and Zion switched places, Little would start and Duke and Zion would be coming off the bench for UNC. This is what Roy does.

It has effected him in recruiting elite talent, but it's hard to argue his results.

He ain't playing elite defense though, I largely agree with you, but lack of play-making and how troublesome he has been at some stuff on D can worry some people

UNC is using him almost like Gonzaga uses Rui, other than Little been a much better shooter and way younger, which helps, he hasn't had the chance to showcase much play-making at all, he looks a bit heavy

It's nice that he kinda plays within himself and isn't hunting shots all over, plays miss-matches, goes inside, attacks the Oboards, etc but I understand why somebody would be lower on him if they don't see him ever dribble, and only to get to a pull-up three or mid-ranger

He had more of a herky-jerky game in high school, not sure he has the role at UNC to showcase it

I love Nas as a prospect but I can't really disagree with the concerns you bring up about his role. It's what is annoying me about Roy's use of him even more than Nas not getting a starting spot out of the gates like the Duke kids did. But I don't think that bothers me with how many OAD kids we've seen who never got to show off some of the things that make them special when they were in college. At least if he focus on his handle during his pre-draft training, so he can impress with it in workouts.

He can still get sloppy as a help defender, but I've seen him turn that smothering 1-on-1 D, on already this year and that's what excites me so much about him on that end. The absent-mindedness when he's off-ball, I'm willing to chalk up to youth...for now.

[PLO]

Right now he's a bad defender, he's also very limited offensively. He just looks like he lacks a feel for the game.

I had high hopes for him, I'm really disappointed so far. Given his physical profile he could switch things around, but as I've said elsewhere, at the moment he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.

[GimmeDat]

If he's not playing good defense now, which he's not, he definitely needs to show it by the end of this season or else a significant chunk of his top tier value goes out the window.

I'm okay with the average feel, I don't love it, but I think you just keep him in a role without tons of on-ball usage.

He's been productive, he's definitely got dog in him, he just needs to put it together.

[No-Man]

Right now he's a bad defender, he's also very limited offensively. He just looks like he lacks a feel for the game.

I had high hopes for him, I'm really disappointed so far. Given his physical profile he could switch things around, but as I've said elsewhere, at the moment he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.

his feel is there, I mean you can see him off-ball, he positions himself really well, he aint a passer on the move, but he is not a play-making wing, he is a scorer right now, he knows how to get to his spots

I don't think you can fault him for lack of physicality if that's what you are implying, he is getting his buckets inside, working the boards, fitting for positioning, like he hasn't gotten a chance to show much through dribbling or facing up, other than the occasional pull-up 3, which is freaking impressive for his size/age, so not sure what did you expect? passing was always a knock on him

[PLO]

Right now he's a bad defender, he's also very limited offensively. He just looks like he lacks a feel for the game.

I had high hopes for him, I'm really disappointed so far. Given his physical profile he could switch things around, but as I've said elsewhere, at the moment he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.

his feel is there, I mean you can see him off-ball, he positions himself really well, he aint a passer on the move, but he is not a play-making wing, he is a scorer right now, he knows how to get to his spots

I don't think you can fault him for lack of physicality if that's what you are implying, he is getting his buckets inside, working the boards, fitting for positioning, like he hasn't gotten a chance to show much through dribbling or facing up, other than the occasional pull-up 3, which is freaking impressive for his size/age, so not sure what did you expect? passing was always a knock on him

I’ve got no knock on him from a physical standpoint. He definitely looks the part, but his ball handling is, let’s face it, basic at best. I was expecting a top 5 prospect I guess, whose main calling card was elite D and some semblance of incipient play creation, neither of which he will seemingly offer.

Long season ahead though I guess?

[No-Man]

His main calling card is D, esp 1on1 at this point, but also switchability due to size and frame, and shot-making for that size, on the move, pull-up etc, he has shown that imo, even if team D hasn't been good (expected honestly), and he isn't creating for others, which well, he never has and his role as a finisher for UNC isn't conductive to do so either

I think he is a top5 prospect on that alone, I mean Hunter is a top10 prospect imo, and he is old and offers similar stuff (worse athlete, worse shooter, better D)

[Hoopz Afrik]

I'd use this time to point out that Cam has been much more impressive on the defensive side of the ball than Nassir has so far.

[cgf]

His main calling card is D, esp 1on1 at this point, but also switchability due to size and frame, and shot-making for that size, on the move, pull-up etc, he has shown that imo, even if team D hasn't been good (expected honestly), and he isn't creating for others, which well, he never has and his role as a finisher for UNC isn't conductive to do so either

I think he is a top5 prospect on that alone, I mean Hunter is a top10 prospect imo, and he is old and offers similar stuff (worse athlete, worse shooter, better D)

Yeah, Nas had knocks for daydreaming at times as an off the ball defender, but it was his 1-on-1 D & versatility that made him exciting as a wing-stopper that you could throw on your opponent's star to lock them up. And though he's shown that he still hasn't cleaned up his team D as much as you'd like him to by his prime, he hasn't yet had much chance to show of what he can do as a 1-on-1 stopper against an elite wing. He'll certainly get his chances to show this part of his game by season's end, so this is a question that should be addressed, but I haven't seen anything to raise much concern on this front to this point.

And though I have my gripes with how he's being used offensively, playmaking was never a big selling point for him like it was for the Duke trio, and he has gotten to show off some of the various shots he can knock down. His handle will need to improve to be a star in the NBA, but his pull-up game, athleticism, length & strength should open a lot of things up for him even if that handle never becomes elite.

[skiz2]

Give Nas some time. To say he is bad and point to his starting status as evidence is a really weak argument, IMHO.

I am a UNC homer and on one of the boards I post on there is a dude who does in depth +/- analysis. A few things:

Little is number 4 on the team in +/- at the moment with +80. He is number 5 in minutes played at 99, playing more minutes than the guy who starts over him and likely would have more minutes if it was not for early foul trouble against St. Francis.

UNC has played over 45 different lineups this season already. Roy is in full scientist mode looking for the right rotation. In the stanford game alone Roy played 16 different lineups. That is Roy’s MO is using the small games as pseudo scrimmages to have guys prove themselves.

Roy also has played Nas from the 2-4.

Watch the rotation cut back a little bit as UNC faces steeper competition. He has been highly efficient on offense, still figuring out things on defense.

I complained about his lack of usage after one game but it has only gone up since then. Still 13 ppg, 5 rpg shooting 64% from the floor and 36% from 3 is nothing to scoff at in 20 mpg.

He has shot 84% from close to the rim so far this season too.

He is still a top 5 pick IMHO. Where he falls in the pecking order will be determined as Roy’s rotation becomes more consistent. He may never start, but it is clear that Roy wants Nas to have more of a role than Garrison Brooks, IMHO.

[PLO]

I'm not going to harp on it but he's basically invisible in this game, except when he's turning it over. This guy is a top 5 pick?

[reanimator]

Just from what I've seen vs Texas + Michigan : No burst going to the rim, not knocking down shots. Starts pressing and going into ISO mode including highly contested pull ups as soon as he gets touches. Terrible off ball defender and not very impactful on ball. Handle is fine, I guess. Idk man I was high on him so hopefully Roy/Nassir figure this out...

[PLO]

He was doing these blind turns into traffic with the ball in this game which just led to turnovers, he air balled a shot off the dribble from about 14 feet. 2 of his points were from the FT line when he should have been called for a charge. He seems to have an innate ability to repeatedly dribble into traffic when given the opportunity.

On D he was bad as reanimator says.

He looks basically lost out there. I guess the only way is up from here.

I think we can put to bed the "Roy has him on the bench because Little is good" thing or whatever it is. He's on the bench because he's not a starting level player on this team.

Not a lottery level guy right now and that's in a pretty bad draft. In fact I have a hard time seeing him as a first rounder, no doubt though even if this level of play keeps up he'll go there because of "upside".

[RipCity71252]

Little looks like a longer Martell Webster....

[No-Man]

Couple things here, he has gotten massive over the summer, added mass and he has not gotten the right body control, feel for his new weight, he was more of a nimble, herky-jerky type player, secondly, Roy wants him to crash the boards, play off the ball and hit the occasional 3, he has been doing that at a high level, the system has no place for him as a handler

if you combine that the guy has lost some of his traits or is in the process to add them back to a confident level with his new physique, and that the system is everything but conducive to him handling it and showcasing that type of game... well, that's the result

I think patience is necessary with Little, I believe in him as a prospect, needs to adjust to his added strength (has lost some grip, confidence as a handler, and clearly doesn't have the same body control, you can see it with his strides while he dribbles), but has still been productive on a different role and playing in a system that isn't ideal for him

Ultimately he would have been much better in a motion offense like Gonzaga's

[No-Man]

I'm not going to harp on it but he's basically invisible in this game, except when he's turning it over. This guy is a top 5 pick?

I'd advise people to watch these players in HS, college is extremely SSS and you need to get a real idea of their resume and game in other circumstances, basketball isn't that simple

[No-Man]

Not a lottery level guy right now and that's in a pretty bad draft. In fact I have a hard time seeing him as a first rounder, no doubt though even if this level of play keeps up he'll go there because of "upside".

yeah cause the draft is all about drafting the guys that perform best in college, seriously... we have had NBA stars that were 7th man in college as freshman, like if you can't see past the circumstances and get the whole picture I am not sure what's the point