Xatticus wrote:I haven't really looked at Okoro or Stanley yet. Vassell would be my choice.
Just in terms of Stanley, I would LOVE to give my 2 cents about him. The guy is firmly a second round prospect right now and I don't get it. I don't have any misconceptions about the Magic actually landing this guy in any way. But he's just a pet cat and I love this prospect.
I think he would help bring excitement back to Magic basketball (even through his development). Elite athleticism, plays above the rim, quickness all over the floor, comfortable with the ball in his hand and constantly in attack mode on offense and defense. He likens his athleticism and mindset after Zach Lavine and Russell Westbrook.
"I'd like to be a contributing player on a championship team...Individual accolades are great, but they are all opinion-based...I can control how I contribute, how well I play, and the effort I put in. I look at Zach LaVine and Russell Westbrook...Their size and athleticism are very comparable to mine. I try to bring the same level of tenacity and aggression as Russell does, and I like the way that Zach uses his athleticism to create space and finish plays."
I stole the following stats from Knightro's earlier post but added Stanley in there for comparison sake.
Age
Okoro 19 years, 7 months
Green 19 years, 8 months
Vassell 19 years, 11 months
Nesmith 20 years, 9 months
Stanley 20 years, 11 monthsBey 21 years, 3 months
Measurables
Green 6'6" height, 6'10" 1/4 wingspan, 210 lbs
Bey 6'8" height, 6'10" wingspan, 216 lbs
Vassell 6'7" height, 6'10" wingspan, 197 lbs
Nesmith 6'6" height, 6'10" wingspan, 213 lbs
Okoro 6'6" height, 6'9" wingspan, 225 lbs
Stanley 6’6” height, 6’7” wingspan, 195 lbs / 46.5” vertical - I'm guessing his wingspan ratio alone scratches him off WeHam's board, but the vert should count for something..! right? He broke Zion's vertical jump record at Duke with a 46.5" vert. Plus, Ross @ 6'6/6'7 and Fournier @ 6'7/6'8 are guys that they obviously value... is that enough to give me hope? hah!
Playmaking
Josh Green 16.0 AST% and 12.6 TO%, +3.4%
Saddiq Bey 14.9 AST% and 10.1 TO%, +4.8%
Isaac Okoro 13.1 AST% 15.2 TO%, -2.1%
Devin Vassell 11.2 AST%, 6.6 TO%, +4.6%
Aaron Nesmith 6.9 AST%, 9.3 TO%, -2.4%
Cassius Stanley 6.6 AST%, 14.4 TO%, -7.8%Stat guys will look at the numbers and say he was the total opposite of a playmaker. But you have to look beyond that to know it wasn't his job. Sounds to me like it just was not part of his assignment.
Between Vernon Carey, Tre Jones, Matthew Hurt, Wendell Moore, and yourself, you guys were loaded with talent this year at Duke. It’s not uncommon for coaches to ask players to make sacrifices for the greater good of the group. Do you feel as if you made sacrifices in regards to your role on that team? And did Coach K directly communicate what role he wanted you to fill?
Yeah, I think I made sacrifices for sure. At the beginning of the year, Coach K told me that we had Tre Jones and Jordan Goldwire and that he wanted me to be more of a wing that’s always in attack mode and aggressive. It was a little bit of change just because in high school, I was always on the ball as the primary guard either at the one or two. At Duke, I played more of the three and it took a little bit of an adjustment for me. I had to play against and guard bigger and stronger players. On the offensive end, Coach K really honed in on me knocking down open jumpers consistently, which helped me in that position of being a wing. He also wanted me to attack on the wings and the corners. He wanted me to do more off the catch. I didn't really have that many opportunities to get the ball and dribble a whole bunch. That really helped me learn how to be more efficient with my dribbling and my moves. I had to be quick and decisive. I do think I sacrificed for the greater good of the team, but I also think that the role Coach K had me play helped my development to be more efficient and decisive, being quicker with my moves, and being more aggressive. It definitely helped prepare me for the next level.
Shooting
Nesmith .410 3PT% on 290 attempts, .825 FT% on 143 attempts, .685 TS%, .561 3PT rate .307 FT rate
Bey .418 3PT% on 306 attempts, .728 FT% on 136 attempts, .608 TS%, .477 3PT rate, .248 FT rate
Vassell .417 3PT% on 168 attempts, .720 FT% on 93 attempts, .585 TS% .361 3PT%, .221 FT rate
Stanley .360 3PT% on 86 attempts, .733 FT% on 105 attempts, .569 TS% .319 PT rate, .389 FT rateGreen .361 3PT% on 83 attempts, .780 FT% on 109 attempts, .528 TS%. .288 3PT rate, .378 FT rate
Okoro .286 3PT% on 70 attempts, .672 FT% on 134 attempts, .587 TS% .288 3PT rate, .551 FT rate
-Shooting should not be the reason why he is not in the conversation to be in the draft range that these guys are in.
Defense
Vassell 6.9% combined STL/BLK, 1.7 DWS, 4.2 DBPM
Green 4.4% combined STL/BLK, 1.9 DWS, 4.1 DBPM
Okoro 4.8% combined STL/BLK, 1.1 DWS, 2.5 DBPM
Stanley 3.8% combined STL/BLK, 1.4 DWS, 1.9 DBPMBey 2.5% combined STL/BLK, 1.4 DWS, 1.9 DBPM
Nesmith 4.9% combined STL/BLK, 0.4 DWS, 0.4 DBPM
- Vassell stands above the rest, but after that, it's a mismash.
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I'm probably being a sucker here, but he checks off a lot of the stuff for me. Elite athleticism, very fluid ball handler, natural basketball player (not mechanical), quick twitched, good shooter, coachable, team guy, fierce on the court. I don't know if he's an alpha dog which I love, but he's aggressive which I do. CONSTANT ATTACK MODE. He loves the spotlight. Wanted to be in the Duke limelight. He's an outgoing guy who's attitude is infectious and teammates love to be around. In a lot of similar ways this guy has that charisma kinda like Dipo brought that helped to give us an identity.
Must watch highlight. Dude is flat out TENACIOUS.
https://www.babcockhoops.com/post/cassius-stanley-q-a