RJ Barrett

[King Ken]

Good luck running your offense in the NBA through Barrett. This isn't 2001 anymore.

I think he can do it. His offensive IQ is currently off the charts for someone so young. Looks to have lots of potential as a distributor.

Also, prior to becoming a shameless gunner, KB8 was a pretty smart & crafty distributor.

His offensive IQ is "off the charts," yet he is still turnover prone like crazy and takes some of the worst shots in college basketball. If you want to find a way to make both of those statements work, go right ahead - I'm open to hearing it. If not, then you can't really say his offensive IQ is "off the charts."

He is like Kobe in positional awareness for his age. His issues is playing off the ball to create within the team structure and obviously shot selection which is Trae Young like

Positional awareness is one of the most critical things a scoring guard needs. Its one of the reasons why Kobe, Jordan, Wade, and Mitchell are so good.

I also disagree with the functional athleticism take. He has pretty good functional athletic ability but his body control just isn't great and reminds me of Kent Bazemore. That said, he can improve but I don't think he will get to Tatum or the guys mentioned above level. While its needed in the NBA, I would say R.J. has a lot of other qualities that translate.


The college game is the hardest place to judge SGs just like it makes college PGs look too good. R.J. is a special prospect but I want to see more efficiency and consistency on offense v. Great defensive teams. Auburn, TT, and Zags really hampered Barrett

[clyde21]

Here is something that I think sticks out like a sore thumb and shouldnt be much of a surprise to anyone that has watched him this year. Here are his numbers against teams that will probably make the tournament this year (UK, Auburn, Gonzaga, Indiana, TTU), now this is only 5 games so the sample size is still small.

22/6/4 with 3.5 turnovers on 40/26/56 shooting with a 45 TS%. He has 1 more point than shot attempt (112 vs 111).

Again I would love if he was Kobe 2.0. As a Duke fan I want as many Duke studs in the NBA to root for as possible. But lets call a spade a spade here. RJ has looked horrible so far against the better competition so far. He struggles to create separation against any level of competition and tends to settle for ugly contested shots. Im not even getting started on his defense which really appears to be the only weak link in Dukes defense this year. But overall RJ's game has been a negative for Duke this year and Im very sure NBA GMs have taken notice of this as well.

Such a small sample size but the fact that he hasn't balled is something that stands out. All of the other top rookies last year killed v. Top competition outside of Knox. All of them and it translated to the NBA

By killed I mean performed at a extremely high level. While I can't saying R.J. has.


R.J. is the most frustrating top prospect I've seen with this much talent and ability since Ben Simmons at LSU and would we see Ben differently if he had Zion and Reddish instead?

Well to be fair to Barrett, he's posting some obscene numbers for a freshman, efficiency numbers notwithstanding.

24/7/4 on 47/32/65

compare that to what Wiggins posted at Kansas: 17/6/1.5 on 45/34/76.

Barrett has his flaws, but I think we can all agree that he's a better prospect than Wiggins?

[King Ken]

Here is something that I think sticks out like a sore thumb and shouldnt be much of a surprise to anyone that has watched him this year. Here are his numbers against teams that will probably make the tournament this year (UK, Auburn, Gonzaga, Indiana, TTU), now this is only 5 games so the sample size is still small.

22/6/4 with 3.5 turnovers on 40/26/56 shooting with a 45 TS%. He has 1 more point than shot attempt (112 vs 111).

Again I would love if he was Kobe 2.0. As a Duke fan I want as many Duke studs in the NBA to root for as possible. But lets call a spade a spade here. RJ has looked horrible so far against the better competition so far. He struggles to create separation against any level of competition and tends to settle for ugly contested shots. Im not even getting started on his defense which really appears to be the only weak link in Dukes defense this year. But overall RJ's game has been a negative for Duke this year and Im very sure NBA GMs have taken notice of this as well.

Such a small sample size but the fact that he hasn't balled is something that stands out. All of the other top rookies last year killed v. Top competition outside of Knox. All of them and it translated to the NBA

By killed I mean performed at a extremely high level. While I can't saying R.J. has.


R.J. is the most frustrating top prospect I've seen with this much talent and ability since Ben Simmons at LSU and would we see Ben differently if he had Zion and Reddish instead?

Well to be fair to Barrett, he's posting some obscene numbers for a freshman, efficiency numbers notwithstanding.

24/7/4 on 47/32/65

compare that to what Wiggins posted at Kansas: 17/6/1.5 on 45/34/76.

Barrett has his flaws, but I think we can all agree that he's a better prospect than Wiggins?

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one. He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

[atlantabbq99]

Has Cam already surpassed RJ in most people's mock drafts? When looking at some of the popular draft websites, it looks like not only has RJ dropped from the #1 spot but is now behind Cam.

[King Ken]

Has Cam already surpassed RJ in most people's mock drafts? When looking at some of the popular draft websites, it looks like not only has RJ dropped from the #1 spot but is now behind Cam.

Cam is not as polished as R.J. but his potential just is more obvious right now. Workouts is how R.J. is going to rebuild his stock. The NBA is just a different game for SG than the NCAAs and always has been.

[NBA Fan 1234]

I think he can do it. His offensive IQ is currently off the charts for someone so young. Looks to have lots of potential as a distributor.

Also, prior to becoming a shameless gunner, KB8 was a pretty smart & crafty distributor.

His offensive IQ is "off the charts," yet he is still turnover prone like crazy and takes some of the worst shots in college basketball. If you want to find a way to make both of those statements work, go right ahead - I'm open to hearing it. If not, then you can't really say his offensive IQ is "off the charts."

He is like Kobe in positional awareness for his age. His issues is playing off the ball to create within the team structure and obviously shot selection which is Trae Young like

Positional awareness is one of the most critical things a scoring guard needs. Its one of the reasons why Kobe, Jordan, Wade, and Mitchell are so good.

I also disagree with the functional athleticism take. He has pretty good functional athletic ability but his body control just isn't great and reminds me of Kent Bazemore. That said, he can improve but I don't think he will get to Tatum or the guys mentioned above level. While its needed in the NBA, I would say R.J. has a lot of other qualities that translate.


The college game is the hardest place to judge SGs just like it makes college PGs look too good. R.J. is a special prospect but I want to see more efficiency and consistency on offense v. Great defensive teams. Auburn, TT, and Zags really hampered Barrett

I don’t think we’re going to agree on this, man. I’ll keep an open mind going forward, but I’m pretty set with how he’s played this far.

[clyde21]

Such a small sample size but the fact that he hasn't balled is something that stands out. All of the other top rookies last year killed v. Top competition outside of Knox. All of them and it translated to the NBA

By killed I mean performed at a extremely high level. While I can't saying R.J. has.


R.J. is the most frustrating top prospect I've seen with this much talent and ability since Ben Simmons at LSU and would we see Ben differently if he had Zion and Reddish instead?

Well to be fair to Barrett, he's posting some obscene numbers for a freshman, efficiency numbers notwithstanding.

24/7/4 on 47/32/65

compare that to what Wiggins posted at Kansas: 17/6/1.5 on 45/34/76.

Barrett has his flaws, but I think we can all agree that he's a better prospect than Wiggins?

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one. He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

That was seen as a super strong class at the time, and Wiggins went #1.

[Funcrusher]

Such a small sample size but the fact that he hasn't balled is something that stands out. All of the other top rookies last year killed v. Top competition outside of Knox. All of them and it translated to the NBA

By killed I mean performed at a extremely high level. While I can't saying R.J. has.


R.J. is the most frustrating top prospect I've seen with this much talent and ability since Ben Simmons at LSU and would we see Ben differently if he had Zion and Reddish instead?

Well to be fair to Barrett, he's posting some obscene numbers for a freshman, efficiency numbers notwithstanding.

24/7/4 on 47/32/65

compare that to what Wiggins posted at Kansas: 17/6/1.5 on 45/34/76.

Barrett has his flaws, but I think we can all agree that he's a better prospect than Wiggins?

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one.He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags. And as prospects RJ doesn't compare to Simmons, he is a whole tier above Barrett with clearly a higher ceiling.

[clyde21]

Well to be fair to Barrett, he's posting some obscene numbers for a freshman, efficiency numbers notwithstanding.

24/7/4 on 47/32/65

compare that to what Wiggins posted at Kansas: 17/6/1.5 on 45/34/76.

Barrett has his flaws, but I think we can all agree that he's a better prospect than Wiggins?

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one.He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags.

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

[King Ken]

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one.He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags.

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

I am always gonna have him as a much better prospect than what DeRozan was but that's what his potential is marked for. That said, he is a superior prospect for me over DeMar. Just a superior athlete and he has gifts that I only seen from Kobe and MJ. Barrett doesn't have nowhere near the athlete flaws DeMar had out of USC. That said, DeMar, Kobe, MJ, Wade, Mitchell all improved tremendously compared to when they were prospects. That's why I am defending him hand over fist. Just a completely different prospect in the pros compared to the NCAA due to the position

[Funcrusher]

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one.He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags.

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

To be a DeRozan level player his jumper needs to be much more consistent, and with his form/mechanics I'm not sure he ever gets to that point. Derozan is at least lethal from the free throw line down, can't say the same for RJ. He can put up 20+ points I guess, but I don't know if he'll even be as efficient as peak-Derozan. Maybe he'll make up the difference in some other capacity, idk.

[Funcrusher]

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags.

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

I am always gonna have him as a much better prospect than what DeRozan was but that's what his potential is marked for. That said, he is a superior prospect for me over DeMar. Just a superior athlete and he has gifts that I only seen from Kobe and MJ. Barrett doesn't have nowhere near the athlete flaws DeMar had out of USC. That said, DeMar, Kobe, MJ, Wade, Mitchell all improved tremendously compared to when they were prospects. That's why I am defending him hand over fist. Just a completely different prospect in the pros compared to the NCAA due to the position

like what? And why is it difficult to evaluate SG prospects in the NCAA? Can you explain this?

[baca]

Has Cam already surpassed RJ in most people's mock drafts? When looking at some of the popular draft websites, it looks like not only has RJ dropped from the #1 spot but is now behind Cam.

No way Cam surpass RJ now. Cam is more like a 3D players and have displayed zero point forward or ball handling. No matter how his role is marginalized, 20 assists with 32 TOs are too much for a star or primary scorers. Cam's mediocre athleticism limited himself heavily on attacking the rim, which leads to charge foul or stripe the ball.

RJ has no wiggle or change direction but his 1st step is good to great level, it is still hard to contain RJ's slash by single defender. Just ask Jarrett Culver on the final winning drive RJ on him.... Cam, I really hope he can show more than jacking 3 or fade away jumper... But it is hard to imagine big change with his current athleticism and not very tight ball handling..

[CptCrunch]

RJ looking real sketch again Auburn and ranked teams so far. Got to show that he can score against decent teams before March madness.

[King Ken]

I still love R.J. compared to everyone not named Zion but if you ask me what range he is in last years draft. It's around the range of Wendall Carter Jr. I don't have him in that top 6 range.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[baca]

I don't think last night was bad night for RJ. His jumper and 3 is falling, he is still stiff in half court, but most his attack the rim brings to offense rebound and put backs by teammates. He also force to take 1 or 2 buzzer shots... His defense willingness is also increasing... I am not really worrying about it all..

[King Ken]

I don't think last night was bad night for RJ. His jumper and 3 is falling, he is still stiff in half court, but most his attack the rim brings to offense rebound and put backs by teammates. He also force to take 1 or 2 buzzer shots... His defense willingness is also increasing... I am not really worrying about it all..

He is clearly the best prospect not named Zion in this class. His is just so much more advanced skill wise over everyone in this class and he translates immediately to the NBA.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Nazrmohamed]

I never considered Wiggins to be a special prospect. Just came in what we know now to be a weaker draft class. The best player from that class was a barely scouted 2nd rounder from Europe who is now one of the best centers in the NBA

I always had questions about Wiggins.

With R.J., he clearly has the ability to be a NBA star at least on Mitchell level but can he be a superstar is the question. Wade was. Kobe was. Will R.J. be one.He will at least be as good as DD but that's not a superstar. That's what we are looking for from R.J.

Same was the case for Simmons

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags.

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

I don't think that's a bad comparison. People act like DD looked like this his entire career. Not to mention it takes time to learn to shoot at an elite NBA level. Right now he's getting by just well with what he has, I think he can become a better shooter and one he does will be an allstar caliber player. Cant really predict much more for anybody in this class with any level of certainty.

[King Ken]

I don't think it's even a guarantee he'll be as a good as DD. There are things Derozan has going for him that RJ doesn't currently have in his toolbox. And as much as I love Mitchell, as it stands I wouldn't call him a star. Anyway, there's pretty much no way I can envision RJ becoming a superstar. He doesn't project to have the jumper or the ball skills or the defensive chops to be in that elite tier, and his chucking mentality and selfishness are already big red flags.

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

I don't think that's a bad comparison. People act like DD looked like this his entire career. Not to mention it takes time to learn to shoot at an elite NBA level. Right now he's getting by just well with what he has, I think he can become a better shooter and one he does will be an allstar caliber player. Cant really predict much more for anybody in this class with any level of certainty.

He is a much better prospect than DD. It's just what we all see his potential as right now without some major improvement. To me, the prospect I am comparing to DD is Romeo Langford.

[clyde21]

I think he'll be a DeRozan level player in the NBA and that's always been my comparison for him. Whether a DeRozan type player is that valuable in today's NBA is the question.

I also think he'll have a lot of fans because a lot of people, especially some casual fans, will love his play style, but it's not necessarily my favorite.

I don't think that's a bad comparison. People act like DD looked like this his entire career. Not to mention it takes time to learn to shoot at an elite NBA level. Right now he's getting by just well with what he has, I think he can become a better shooter and one he does will be an allstar caliber player. Cant really predict much more for anybody in this class with any level of certainty.

He is a much better prospect than DD. It's just what we all see his potential as right now without some major improvement. To me, the prospect I am comparing to DD is Romeo Langford.

no way. Langford is more skilled now than what DD was. Much more of a playmaker. DD a better athlete.