Nassir Little

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

The whole season’s gonna go by without Roy letting this dude spread his wings a little. A crying shame.

[clyde21]

The whole season’s gonna go by without Roy letting this dude spread his wings a little. A crying shame.

like I said earlier, he should say F U to Roy and just go prepare for the combine/draft. Roy's doing nothing for him at this point.

[CptCrunch]

Any top ranked recruit going to North Carolina is plain dumb.

Only suitable for 3-4 star guys trying to get a good education, enjoy the nice campus, while playing basketball that gets shown on TV (in case you get good enough for the NBA in 3-4 years)

[GimmeDat]

If Little just sat out the year I'd probably be considering him at #2 (I was pretty high on him before the season). I think ultimately I'd go against that because of the unknown factor, but that says a lot given how far his stock has slipped purely due to lack of opportunity.

[PLO]

TBH its not "purely due to lack of opportunity"; by and large he hasn't lived up to his billing when he has been given a chance. Which is not to say he hasn't shown flashes but he hasn't exactly demonstrated the type of IQ you associate with a lottery player.

I think its important not to conflate what his college coach is perceived to be vis a vis an apparent negative effect on freshmen through not playing them to what Little actually is as prospect. When you look at his actual tape its really hard to justify a high position for him in what is not a strong draft. I assume its actually hard for his coach to find consistent minutes for him because he just isn't that good. Disappointing, and he'll be largely reliant on his high school reputation to get into the lottery. Hopefully the light switches on for him in the NBA.

[Stillwater]

He has been playing some more and has been very impactful on the boards and as a defender.
Supporting Roy Williams coaching here ,due to personal options.
There are too many much better jump shooters ahead of him in the rotation and no dominating big this season to dump the ball into etc. Roy is not about losing at the price of giving some 5 star recruits pt they haven't deserved yet.
That being said it proves even more Little right now is a power forward in a small ball NBA lineup until he gets more reps in from 3. Roy Williams is not going to play small ball unless all is big's are in foul trouble it's just the Carolina way and so Little is often the 3rd or 4th option on offense regardless of who his assignment is defensively.
He's a top 5 prospect, but wouldn't be surprised if he drops to 10 either and for that I think he stays another year to move into a starter role. Roy gets him another season as a smarter player and a potential champ who would solidify himself as a top 3 prospect in 2020

[MemphisX]

He has been playing some more and has been very impactful on the boards and as a defender.
Supporting Roy Williams coaching here ,due to personal options.
There are too many much better jump shooters ahead of him in the rotation and no dominating big this season to dump the ball into etc. Roy is not about losing at the price of giving some 5 star recruits pt they haven't deserved yet.
That being said it proves even more Little right now is a power forward in a small ball NBA lineup until he gets more reps in from 3. Roy Williams is not going to play small ball unless all is big's are in foul trouble it's just the Carolina way and so Little is often the 3rd or 4th option on offense regardless of who his assignment is defensively.
He's a top 5 prospect, but wouldn't be surprised if he drops to 10 either and for that I think he stays another year to move into a starter role. Roy gets him another season as a smarter player and a potential champ who would solidify himself as a top 3 prospect in 2020

With all that being said, I would not go to a Roy Williams coached team if I wanted to be a one and done.

[baca]

He has been playing some more and has been very impactful on the boards and as a defender.
Supporting Roy Williams coaching here ,due to personal options.
There are too many much better jump shooters ahead of him in the rotation and no dominating big this season to dump the ball into etc. Roy is not about losing at the price of giving some 5 star recruits pt they haven't deserved yet.
That being said it proves even more Little right now is a power forward in a small ball NBA lineup until he gets more reps in from 3. Roy Williams is not going to play small ball unless all is big's are in foul trouble it's just the Carolina way and so Little is often the 3rd or 4th option on offense regardless of who his assignment is defensively.
He's a top 5 prospect, but wouldn't be surprised if he drops to 10 either and for that I think he stays another year to move into a starter role. Roy gets him another season as a smarter player and a potential champ who would solidify himself as a top 3 prospect in 2020

He won't stay. If Little stay another year and he think himself can do 4 in Roy's system, he probably will end like James McAdoo. If he choose return as sophomore, he needs improving his shooting and score a lot, play a breakout year like Ja Morant to be top 10 as sophomore. It is way more harder to be picked in lottery as sophomore than freshman. Daniel Gafford is fringe 1st round now with stats 17+9+ 2 blocks per game... It is just how the market works now...

[clyde21]

He has been playing some more and has been very impactful on the boards and as a defender.
Supporting Roy Williams coaching here ,due to personal options.
There are too many much better jump shooters ahead of him in the rotation and no dominating big this season to dump the ball into etc. Roy is not about losing at the price of giving some 5 star recruits pt they haven't deserved yet.
That being said it proves even more Little right now is a power forward in a small ball NBA lineup until he gets more reps in from 3. Roy Williams is not going to play small ball unless all is big's are in foul trouble it's just the Carolina way and so Little is often the 3rd or 4th option on offense regardless of who his assignment is defensively.
He's a top 5 prospect, but wouldn't be surprised if he drops to 10 either and for that I think he stays another year to move into a starter role. Roy gets him another season as a smarter player and a potential champ who would solidify himself as a top 3 prospect in 2020

lol Nas isnt coming back

[shakes0]

TBH its not "purely due to lack of opportunity"; by and large he hasn't lived up to his billing when he has been given a chance. Which is not to say he hasn't shown flashes but he hasn't exactly demonstrated the type of IQ you associate with a lottery player.

I think its important not to conflate what his college coach is perceived to be vis a vis an apparent negative effect on freshmen through not playing them to what Little actually is as prospect. When you look at his actual tape its really hard to justify a high position for him in what is not a strong draft. I assume its actually hard for his coach to find consistent minutes for him because he just isn't that good. Disappointing, and he'll be largely reliant on his high school reputation to get into the lottery. Hopefully the light switches on for him in the NBA.

Dude, please delete this post! It goes against the thread narrative that Roy Williams has conspired to ruin Nas Little's career so he can keep him around for more than one year.

Please keep your obvious logic and Occam's razor approach to Nas Little out of this thread!!!

[Stillwater]

He has been playing some more and has been very impactful on the boards and as a defender.
Supporting Roy Williams coaching here ,due to personal options.
There are too many much better jump shooters ahead of him in the rotation and no dominating big this season to dump the ball into etc. Roy is not about losing at the price of giving some 5 star recruits pt they haven't deserved yet.
That being said it proves even more Little right now is a power forward in a small ball NBA lineup until he gets more reps in from 3. Roy Williams is not going to play small ball unless all is big's are in foul trouble it's just the Carolina way and so Little is often the 3rd or 4th option on offense regardless of who his assignment is defensively.
He's a top 5 prospect, but wouldn't be surprised if he drops to 10 either and for that I think he stays another year to move into a starter role. Roy gets him another season as a smarter player and a potential champ who would solidify himself as a top 3 prospect in 2020

lol Nas isnt coming back

Oh I know, he shouldn't given the odds he is utilized to his strengths right now any different next season, although it would be on a larger footprint and definitely as a starter. Idk I mean it's real tough to gauge his value in the top 10 right now, but he will probably declare just to avoid injury potential/lost ops etc I guess.

[clyde21]

TBH its not "purely due to lack of opportunity"; by and large he hasn't lived up to his billing when he has been given a chance. Which is not to say he hasn't shown flashes but he hasn't exactly demonstrated the type of IQ you associate with a lottery player.

I think its important not to conflate what his college coach is perceived to be vis a vis an apparent negative effect on freshmen through not playing them to what Little actually is as prospect. When you look at his actual tape its really hard to justify a high position for him in what is not a strong draft. I assume its actually hard for his coach to find consistent minutes for him because he just isn't that good. Disappointing, and he'll be largely reliant on his high school reputation to get into the lottery. Hopefully the light switches on for him in the NBA.

i think many already have admitted that the expectations were a little too high for where his development is it. he was a late bloomer in HS and I think that momentum carried thru a little too hard.

that said...there's no way he should only be getting 18 mins a game. he's not the type of player to come in and make an impact in 4 minutes and then come off the court. he's not a microwave scorer and can't run offense, so he'd essentially just coming in to play defense and crash the boards for a couple of minutes and that's that. it's a terrible situation for him.

also, like I posted many times...his metrics all dictate that he should be getting more time. he's posting better numbers and metrics across the board than Kevin Knox for example who was playing 30+ minutes a night for Cal last season. Even Cam Reddish is getting 28 on a team with Zion and RJ.

[Ruzious]

TBH its not "purely due to lack of opportunity"; by and large he hasn't lived up to his billing when he has been given a chance. Which is not to say he hasn't shown flashes but he hasn't exactly demonstrated the type of IQ you associate with a lottery player.

I think its important not to conflate what his college coach is perceived to be vis a vis an apparent negative effect on freshmen through not playing them to what Little actually is as prospect. When you look at his actual tape its really hard to justify a high position for him in what is not a strong draft. I assume its actually hard for his coach to find consistent minutes for him because he just isn't that good. Disappointing, and he'll be largely reliant on his high school reputation to get into the lottery. Hopefully the light switches on for him in the NBA.

i think many already have admitted that the expectations were a little too high for where his development is it. he was a late bloomer in HS and I think that momentum carried thru a little too hard.

that said...there's no way he should only be getting 18 mins a game. he's not the type of player to come in and make an impact in 4 minutes and then come off the court. he's not a microwave scorer and can't run offense, so he'd essentially just coming in to play defense and crash the boards for a couple of minutes and that's that. it's a terrible situation for him.

also, like I posted many times...his metrics all dictate that he should be getting more time. he's posting better numbers and metrics across the board than Kevin Knox for example who was playing 30+ minutes a night for Cal last season. Even Cam Reddish is getting 28 on a team with Zion and RJ.

Yeah, his metrics are actually quite good - significantly better than Reddish's.

[Hoopz Afrik]

The whole season’s gonna go by without Roy letting this dude spread his wings a little. A crying shame.

like I said earlier, he should say F U to Roy and just go prepare for the combine/draft. Roy's doing nothing for him at this point.

I don't understand why we keep pointing the finger at Roy. Maybe Nas just isn't as good as we hyped him up to be.

[clyde21]

The whole season’s gonna go by without Roy letting this dude spread his wings a little. A crying shame.

like I said earlier, he should say F U to Roy and just go prepare for the combine/draft. Roy's doing nothing for him at this point.

I don't understand why we keep pointing the finger at Roy. Maybe Nas just isn't as good as we hyped him up to be.

Little
+19.2 Net Rating
20 PER
57 TS%
6 BPM
18 minutes per game

Cam
+12.3 Net Rating
15.5 PER
50 TS%
6.1 BPM
28 minutes per game

Knox
+6.5 Net Rating
17 PER
55 TS%
4.8 BPM
32 minutes per game

care to explain to me what makes him worse than Cam or Knox and why he should be getting half their minutes?

[Hoopz Afrik]

like I said earlier, he should say F U to Roy and just go prepare for the combine/draft. Roy's doing nothing for him at this point.

I don't understand why we keep pointing the finger at Roy. Maybe Nas just isn't as good as we hyped him up to be.

Little
+19.2 Net Rating
20 PER
57 TS%
6 BPM
18 minutes per game

Cam
+12.3 Net Rating
15.5 PER
50 TS%
6.1 BPM
28 minutes per game

Knox
+6.5 Net Rating
17 PER
55 TS%
4.8 BPM
32 minutes per game

care to explain to me what makes him worse than Cam or Knox and why he should be getting half their minutes?

First things first, this is about Nas. Not Cam, not Knox.

Yes because analytics tell the entire story . The eye test is still a thing. Watching games and getting a feel for a prospect still trumps all IMO. To me, he looks like he's thinking too much out there. Disappears far too often when he's out there. Not nearly the difference maker on the defensive end that we expected him to be. Maybe its a function of inconsistent run but at some point we have to place the onus on the player. I'll always maintain that his perception was skewed because he had a huge showing on the HS all-star circuit.

I still think he's a fine prospect but he came in overrated and folks haven't seemed to adjust/temper their expectations. It's everyone's fault but his for some odd reason. Just as Cam might not be as good as he was touted to be, so too is the case for Nas.

[clyde21]

I don't understand why we keep pointing the finger at Roy. Maybe Nas just isn't as good as we hyped him up to be.

Little
+19.2 Net Rating
20 PER
57 TS%
6 BPM
18 minutes per game

Cam
+12.3 Net Rating
15.5 PER
50 TS%
6.1 BPM
28 minutes per game

Knox
+6.5 Net Rating
17 PER
55 TS%
4.8 BPM
32 minutes per game

care to explain to me what makes him worse than Cam or Knox and why he should be getting half their minutes?

First things first, this is about Nas. Not Cam, not Knox.

Yes because analytics tell the entire story . The eye test is still a thing. Watching games and getting a feel for a prospect still trumps all IMO. To me, he looks like he's thinking too much out there. Disappears far too often when he's out there. Not nearly the difference maker on the defensive end that we expected him to be. Maybe its a function of inconsistent run but at some point we have to place the onus on the player. I'll always maintain that his perception was skewed because he had a huge showing on the HS all-star circuit.

I still think he's a fine prospect but he came in overrated and folks haven't seemed to adjust/temper their expectations. It's everyone's fault but his for some odd reason. Just as Cam might not be as good as he was touted to be, so too is the case for Nas.

because the idea that Little hasn't earned more playing time is ridiculous.

and the idea that 'he's thinking too much out there' could very well be based on the fact that he barely gets any minutes to start with, so he's trying too hard not to make any mistakes b/c of Roy's short leash.

in the beginning of the year Cam looked like he didn't know what he was doing but guess what? K still gave him almost 30 minutes per and now he actually looks like a basketball player. Little was never given that benefit of the doubt by Roy.

Even after Nas had his best game of the season dropping 23 Roy didn't bother bumping his minutes at all, following it up with 22 and 16. It doesn't make any sense.

[big-shot-ROB]

Nas clearly has either a confidence or an IQ problem. He does not look natural out there, messes up rotations, ends up out of position usually on offesne. It looks really weird sometimes. Either way per 40 stats or advanced ones will never tell the whole story, and despite in any way he should comeback another year as some are suggesting, I don't think he has cracked the top-10 barrier yet.

Still, Jaylen Brown has looked at times like this this season, and although I'm clearly aware that this lack of natural understanding of the game will prevent him from being ever a top-10 player, his off-court smarts and work ethic won't make me bet against him reaching a Jimmy Butler/Blake Griffin level of player.

I guess things only scouts and teams will take out of Little's character and interviews will determine how he is rated.

[916fan]

Nas clearly has either a confidence or an IQ problem. He does not look natural out there, messes up rotations, ends up out of position usually on offesne. It looks really weird sometimes. Either way per 40 stats or advanced ones will never tell the whole story, and despite in any way he should comeback another year as some are suggesting, I don't think he has cracked the top-10 barrier yet.

Still, Jaylen Brown has looked at times like this this season, and although I'm clearly aware that this lack of natural understanding of the game will prevent him from being ever a top-10 player, his off-court smarts and work ethic won't make me bet against him reaching a Jimmy Butler/Blake Griffin level of player.

I guess things only scouts and teams will take out of Little's character and interviews will determine how he is rated.

Brown is a weird guy. He's a really smart individual who went to Berkley, BUT he's got horrible basketball IQ.

With Little, it's really hard to evaluate his IQ and all of that when he only gets a hair over 18mpg, and when he does play, he's not given the opportunity to do much. He's trying to play within the system, so not sure about his lack of IQ talk.

[clyde21]

Nas clearly has either a confidence or an IQ problem. He does not look natural out there, messes up rotations, ends up out of position usually on offesne. It looks really weird sometimes. Either way per 40 stats or advanced ones will never tell the whole story, and despite in any way he should comeback another year as some are suggesting, I don't think he has cracked the top-10 barrier yet.

Still, Jaylen Brown has looked at times like this this season, and although I'm clearly aware that this lack of natural understanding of the game will prevent him from being ever a top-10 player, his off-court smarts and work ethic won't make me bet against him reaching a Jimmy Butler/Blake Griffin level of player.

I guess things only scouts and teams will take out of Little's character and interviews will determine how he is rated.

this isn't based on anything, really. barely gets 18mpg and it usually only for defense and rebounding. ball's rarely in his hands for long stretches, not really sure how you're coming to that conclusion.

not saying he's a natural or anything, just saying that we don't have enough information either way.

and no he shouldn't come back. he's not dropping out of the lotto, and coming back to be in the same situation with Roy isn't gonna do anything for his stock.