Nassir Little

[Nazrmohamed]

Knox is easily a worse prospect than Little for me. Knox is more polished/versatile as a shooter, though I also really like Little in that way long term, I think Little is a way better athlete, has more handle, night and day more aggressive, works at the 3 more, much better rebounder, is a way better on-ball defender, obviously he's had his off-ball issues so far this college season but hopefully they clear up.

Eh, I love me some Nas, but I'd give Knox the nod on their handles...at least their handles right now. Can't remember quite how much weaker Knox's handle was a year ago to compare them at the same age.

Maybe, I don't think they're too far off each other. But I always felt Knox's handle was a little bit overrated.

Well Knox doesn't really have a handle besides a crossover that looks sorta Durant like which can set up a jumper. What he does have is that elongated eurostep though and if he could chain then together hed pretty much have all the options he needs to get past a defender.

But no, he doesn't really have a facilitators handle and I'm not even comparing him to guards. Amongst small forwards hes no point forward, that's for sure. He can get himself into a go to move and even that is a struggle. Shouldn't even make it seem like anything is consistent at this point.

[TruthITD]

this kid is still coming off the bench and can't break double digits in major schools thats a huge red flag to me especially in an age when elite OADs get ample playing time. Looking more and more like a bust like the rest of his fellow recent alumis from his uni, all of which have underperformed in the NBA relative to expectations pre-college.

[TruthITD]

again this kid plays awful against top level competition...out of the first round now...4 points LOL. His college is producing draft busts at a rate like no other school in the country!

[PLO]

I think I said earlier in the thread that I had "a hard time seeing him as a first-rounder" but that claim was a bit hyperbolic.

He's a first rounder. He's going to be a project in a draft with a lot of them but its not as if there are any of them with his exceptional high school pedigree, and he's a frosh.

Like there's guys like Admiral Schofield being apparently discussed as first rounders. Really? You'd take him over Little?

He may not be lottery but he's definitely first round.

[No-Man]

Yeah haha, that was my qualm with you, I think he is a tier 3 guy still, that's top20 or so for me, putting him higher than that it's a ceiling play, so it depends on your appetite for boom/bust guys

[PLO]

Yeah I probably went a bit overboard because the consensus on here early on was top 5 for him when he probably isn't. Probably I was just a bit ahead of watching the tape, because even in the games where he seemed statistically good he looked not top-tier to me. I haven't watched many games this season but for some reason I've seen a few of his and posters here were quoting stats at me and I was like: "have you seen him play?" and getting annoyed by some of the responses.

Obviously the thread seems to be coming to a middle ground on him now. Hoping for him he can put in a big second half of the season and boost up his stock a bit from here on in.

[Stillwater]

He's learning in LTD minutes often out of his element and known role on a team ,,just what it takes to become a solid team player which he never was hyped for in HS. UNC has several decent players who's understanding of Roy's system has them ahead of the rook.
Right now he would be Lonnie Walker range pick last season,but in this draft just going on athleticism for the NBA he'll still go higher.

[No-Man]

He's learning in LTD minutes often out of his element and known role on a team ,,just what it takes to become a solid team player which he never was hyped for in HS. UNC has several decent players who's understanding of Roy's system has them ahead of the rook.
Right now he would be Lonnie Walker range pick last season,but in this draft just going on athleticism for the NBA he'll still go higher.

Yeah, that's a good way to put it, I think he goes late lotto ultimately, which it's fine

[Stillwater]

He's learning in LTD minutes often out of his element and known role on a team ,,just what it takes to become a solid team player which he never was hyped for in HS. UNC has several decent players who's understanding of Roy's system has them ahead of the rook.
Right now he would be Lonnie Walker range pick last season,but in this draft just going on athleticism for the NBA he'll still go higher.

Yeah, that's a good way to put it, I think he goes late lotto ultimately, which it's fine

Yeah depends on combine confirm tests and interviews etc whether he remains a top 10 pick.
He has failed the eye test in UNC as a high lottery prospect , but he is playing out of position usually and I'm guessing is never in his zone in LTD minutes .
I would still consider him as a top 6 prospect if he kills it at the combine

[shakes0]

almost 2019 and this guy looks more like a guy who should transfer to a mid major after the season as opposed to a guy who is gonna go top 5 in the draft.

[skiz2]

Something clicked with me watching him against Kentucky to add to my recent critiques.

He attracts more double teams than anyone else on UNC. He does a poor job anticipating and getting rid of the ball to the open man. If he could punish the opponent by making a simple crisp pass to the open guy in those situations, the court would open up more for him and he would be able to take advantage of his strength and power.

Part of this is that he is overthinking/pausing when he catches the ball, the other part is that UNC runs for the most parts a freelance offensive set. When the double comes he doesn’t know where the open man is rotating to. It explains why he ends up forcing some seemingly dumb shots and gets them blocked.

Kentucky OTOH runs a lot of sets and knew where everyone was when Kenny and Cam would stupidly rotate off their man. Everyone knew where Johnson and Herro were and they were simple passes. Nas and Luke also stupidly would double Washington or Reid every possession in the first half and it was always an easy pass.

If Nas knew where guys were rotating to, as he is the most doubled on the team, this could perhaps take some pressure off of him to force bad shots.

Roy’s offense is still ridiculously efficient this year, not sure I would change much. I would consider finding Seventh Woods more minutes and having some more set plays in the half court. Seventh and Coby seemed much more disciplined as a unit not rotating off their men when they didn’t have to. I would bench Kenny for a bit until he starts playing aggressively on offense and not rotating off his man more. Cam Johnson has proven to be indespinsable and needs 35 minutes a game.

Still don’t think Nas has earned a starting spot. I would tell him not to touch a ball over his break, clear his mind and really look to give him a lot of touches for a confidence game against Davidson.

If I were Roy I would try doing a rotation along these lines (with more set plays):

PG Woods 25/White 15
SG White 15/Johnson 10/Williams 15
SF Johnson 20/Nas 10/Leaky 10
PF Maye 20/Nas 10/Brooks 5/Johnson 5
C Brooks 20/Maye 10/Manley 10

Have Nas eat into Leaky’s minutes as he learns the half court sets more.

A few minor tweaks are needed for him to reach his potential. I will admit I am dissapointed, but not ready to say that the sky is falling for him, yet.

[TheSuzerain]

He should still go top 10

[skiz2]

He should still go top 10

I feel like Nas read my post here. He has made some subtle adjustments that have paid dividends the past two games. He is looking more confident. Here is to hoping it carries over into ACC play.

[DirtyDez]

It’s funny that Little, Bol, Quinerly and Shareef were all supposed to be at AZ and are contributing next to nothing or injured/illness. Granted Naz would be getting a lot of PT but I don’t see any reason to think we’d be seeing a significant difference in his performance. He was definitely overhyped as a top-3 guy.

[clyde21]

It’s funny that Little, Bol, Quinerly and Shareef were all supposed to be at AZ and are contributing next to nothing or injured/illness. Granted Naz would be getting a lot of PT but I don’t see any reason to think we’d be seeing a significant difference in his performance. He was definitely overhyped as a top-3 guy.

shareef has a heart problem...why even mention him here? not like he would'nt have had it in Arizona instead.

[DirtyDez]

It’s funny that Little, Bol, Quinerly and Shareef were all supposed to be at AZ and are contributing next to nothing or injured/illness. Granted Naz would be getting a lot of PT but I don’t see any reason to think we’d be seeing a significant difference in his performance. He was definitely overhyped as a top-3 guy.

shareef has a heart problem...why even mention him here? not like he would'nt have had it in Arizona instead.

Hence the illness reference. Just goes to show how different things go than once expected. That class was going to be a monster.

[CptCrunch]

Nassir Little is my media overblown prospect of the year. I've seen so many fluff pieces being floated for him.

I don't remember the last time an underperforming freshman who can't even start for his team got this much media attention.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Nassir Little is my media overblown prospect of the year. I've seen so many fluff pieces being floated for him.

I don't remember the last time an underperforming freshman who can't even start for his team got this much media attention.

In fairness, didn’t the puff pieces come before he was an underperforming freshman who couldn’t even start for his team?

[BostonCouchGM]

Nassir Little is my media overblown prospect of the year. I've seen so many fluff pieces being floated for him.

I don't remember the last time an underperforming freshman who can't even start for his team got this much media attention.

right. Because he can't even start for his team. You do realize he should be starting right? That he'd likely start for every single other team in the whole country except his own? And that has more to do with his coach than his talent level and potential production? In every game he's played or will play he's the most or second most talented player on the floor. Every one. He's an elite prospect. Come workout time he'll blow teams away. And he'll likely flash big time in the tournament. There are going to be a lot of people eating crow about him. Can't wait.

[clyde21]

Nassir Little is my media overblown prospect of the year. I've seen so many fluff pieces being floated for him.

I don't remember the last time an underperforming freshman who can't even start for his team got this much media attention.

'can't even start' doesn't even mean anything at this point...he plays just as many minutes as Jaren Jackson did for Michigan St. last year.

JJJ: 11pts / 6rbs / 3b in 21 minutes

Little: 11 pts / 4.5rbs in 19 minutes

not saying Little is as good of a prospect as JJJ, but how about we chill and let it play out?