tontoz wrote:PIF is going to be insufferable tomorrow. The Memphis game is still in the 3rd quarter. So far in 14 minutes of play Clarke has 16 points (without a miss anywhere) and 7 rebounds.
Nah.... I've made my point about Brandon Clarke.
Honestly, it was
obvious how good this kid was going to be. Instead, people looked at a static measurement (wingspan) as if somehow it could erase his incredible athletic dynamism. After the Combine, even those who'd liked Clarke put him out of the picture, not just for us but as a significant NBA player. Hell, @3 days ago, nate -- one of the most thoughtful & best informed posters in our gang -- had him most likely as a good low usage journeyman -- nothing special (I don't recall the exact words: correct me if I misread you, nate).
What's equally interesting, IMO, is that there wasn't much discussion here of Rui Hachimura at #9. Most people were just hop-hop-hoping that somehow we'd get "lucky" & one of De'Andre Hunter, Darius Garland, or Jarrett Culver would fall to us. & if not, there was a lot of sentiment for Sekou Doumboya. Maybe Jaxson Hayes. The fact that Doumboya, Hunter, Culver & Garland have none of them looked at all good hasn't resulted in any of their supporters here saying, "I guess I might have been wrong."
Once we picked Rui, otoh, there was an instant rush to jump on the bandwagon. &, hey... it might turn out that Rui is one of the very very best players out of this draft. Better than Brandon Clarke. It's early days. I don't think it's gonna be that way (though I hope Rui becomes absolutely tremendous!!), but it might.
So... really, what's interesting is how we think about draft prospects. A guy who is terrific in college has a shot to be terrific in the league. A guy who is better than another guy in college is a good bet to be a better pro.
We all make the same mistakes. Clarke was better than Hachimura in college. Much better. Then again, I had no interest in Bruno -- but when I looked again just now, I found that his numbers as a Sophomore were absolutely great!